Harlan Vaughn

About Harlan

Just a dude living in Memphis, traveling, and working toward financial independence.

Airbnb First Month By the Numbers

December 4, 2014 by Harlan 13 Comments

Also see: I rented an Apartment to Airbnb in NYC

I have set up an Airbnb here in NYC as a new income stream.

There has been a lot of spilled ink about Airbnb lately, especially in New York where it is a VERY hot topic, to say the least. I work in real estate, so am particularly close to the issue.

I found an ideal one bedroom apartment in New York’s East Village neighborhood for $2,300 a month. And then I spent a lot of money on it. This post is about exploring the investment and starting up this side income stream with a focus on numbers. REAL numbers (except my electricity bill which I have to estimate.)

Cash outlay

State of the Game: What I’m Looking Forward To (MS, Points/Miles, & Status)

November 24, 2014 by Harlan 3 Comments

No doubt that the landscape of “the game” has greatly changed recently. Alas, there is no more Bluebird, Vanilla reloads are long gone, and even our trusty Serve is taking a knocking from cash advance fees. Oh, and Amazon Payments finally closed down its cash cow. Yet it trundles on. Here are a few things I’m looking forward to and can’t wait to write about in the upcoming months:

REDbird

26 More Awesome and Creative Uses for Evernote

November 24, 2014 by Harlan 12 Comments

While brainstorming for my previous post, 7 Awesome Uses of Evernote for Travelers, I found some really inventive ways to use this app in ways other traveling and thought I shouldn’t keep it to myself. Thus, this entry. So pardon for the Evernote bonanza!

Evernote is one of those apps that found its way into my life gradually, then suddenly, and now I use it all day every day, for hundreds of tiny things. It really is my external brain, and increasingly, as I use it to remember the things I love and the goals I hold dear, my external heart.

Here are some other things to use Evernote for.

1. Brainstorming.

7 Awesome Uses of Evernote for Travelers

November 23, 2014 by Harlan 10 Comments

Be the elephant

It’s no secret that I love Evernote. It’s available on every platform and every device. The web clipper is a godsend. I use it for so many things, including my ~~obsession~~ interest with points and miles and to help me while traveling. Here are 7 uses that never get old.

1. Make a notebook of every one of your trips.

I rented an Apartment to Airbnb in NYC

October 27, 2014 by Harlan 15 Comments

Also see: Airbnb First Month By the Numbers

Ladies and gentlemen, one of the craziest things I have ever done (other than using Airbnb as a verb in the title).

I just rented an apartment in Manhattan for the express purpose of listing it on Airbnb.

As some of you know, I work in real estate in New York, so I’m privy to rentals and have seen a lot of spilled ink on the whole Airbnb debate. It’s a very hot topic in the city right now.

I heard of an apartment in the East Village that was sitting there, easy approval, beautiful block, door was open if I wanted to go check it out.

A few people in my office have Airbnb apartments and seeing their calendars full of green (which means days booked) got me thinking.

So when I walked into that apartment, I quickly ran some numbers and just like that, decided to go for it.

Starting up

Points and miles as insurance – why it’s good to have a stash

October 12, 2014 by Harlan 3 Comments

Everyone knows I’m Mr. Earn and Burn: I typically like to keep my miles balances as close to zero as possible.

I don’t trust any mileage or point program, really. Not for a second. Every major airline has had a drastic, no-notice-given change to their mileage program this year.

That being said, I like to have a little stash.

Where to keep the stash and how many to tuck away

Cut the Crap: The Fidelity Investment Rewards Credit Card is THE BEST cash back card!

October 12, 2014 by Harlan 11 Comments

You da best

Had to get this off my chest.

There’s always a lot of talk in the points and miles world about which cashback card is “the best.” The speculation is constant, rampant.

Bank of America recently introduced a card where one could get 2.65 points per dollar so long as they dump $100,000 into an investment account.
The Barclaycard Arrival always gets mentioned because it’s an effective 2.22% cashback on travel purchases.
Citibank has a new one too: the Citi Double Cash card.
Freedom gets a mention due to its rotating 5% categories, which yes, is a good deal, and yes you can cash it out (but keep them for Ultimate Rewards transfers!).
Then there’s the Fidelity Investment Rewards Amex.

Why it’s the king

Club Carlson-ing my way through Europe

October 12, 2014 by Harlan 6 Comments

In the middle of Eurotrip 2014, I had a moment where I was like, OMG, I’m staying exclusively at Club Carlson properties (except for one night at the Grand Hyatt Berlin).

So the news that US Bank, issuer of the Club Carlson Visa, may be imposing cash advance fees for Serve reloads was disconcerting. And now that Amazon Payments is over, too… I don’t know what I’ll do to manufacture spend now. This is a hot topic in the points and miles community, and there is some speculation about the new REDcard and possible changes to Serve. In any case, I am looking forward to the next step because I do think the Club Carlson Visa is a very good card to focus on for day-to-day, non-bonused, or manufactured spend.

I couldn’t have done Eurotrip 2014 without that card.

How I did it

Review: Air France Lounge @ TXL

October 11, 2014 by Harlan 1 Comment

Quick note: both of the posts so far today (10/11/14) have poo-pooed various things. I do not like to focus on negativity, but want to be honest. There are lots of good things coming, I promise!

Air France Lounge entrance @ TXL

As part of Eurotrip 2014, I had the opportunity to visit the Air France lounge following my unannounced schedule change to an Airberlin flight TXL-JFK.

I showed up two hours early, and was oddly directed to the Air France lounge even though there was a British Airways lounge on the floor beneath it (?). I don’t know what kind of crazy voodoo AB worked out with AF but whatever. I was early and was in need of coffee.

This lounge sucks. Read More

American Airlines changed my flights without telling me :/

October 11, 2014 by Harlan 4 Comments

Had a bit of a scare yesterday. I went to check in for my Airberlin flight TXL-HEL (that was to connect to Finnair HEL-JFK) to end my Eurotrip 2014.

I booked the one way award flight on aa.com and up until I went to check in the day before the flights, it showed up in the “My Trips” section of aa.com.

Trouble in Euroland

When I logged in, it said “No upcoming trips” so I typed in the confirmation number and it found the reso after a few heart palpitations, thank gods. But the flights were wrong. Read More

Ways to keep up with the blog

October 8, 2014 by Harlan 3 Comments

Dear readers,

Out and Out has been growing slowly but steadily over the past year and I don’t always update the blog as often as I should.

I do post quite a bit on Facebook and Instagram (especially when traveling) and wanted to put this out into the world if you’d like to keep up in other ways:

Twitter and Instagram are my personal accounts, as I am only one man.

There are also two ways to ensure you never miss a blog post:

Subscribe with RSS on a reader like Feedly, Digg, Pocket, etc. (I prefer Feedly.)
Sign up for daily emails. Only receive an email when I post – and if more than one a day, you get only one email. Never spam.

Oh, and Dr. Google tells me that last month I had a reader from every single US State. Love it! Thank you for reading!

A reader from every state!

I will keep optimizing content as I go along, so keep the emails and comments coming. I love interacting with you guys!

Safe travels and cheers to you. Am enjoying this ride so much.

Snap: An Awesome App for Saving Money on Groceries

October 7, 2014 by Harlan Leave A Comment

A friend of mine (HT: Jason) shared this link with me last night, and I thought I’d pass it along to you guys because I know I will definitely be using it in the future. It’s called Snap, from Groupon.

Snap

Snap’s a new app for saving money on groceries – at any grocery store. You locate a coupon you want to use, “snap” a picture of the receipt, then upload it through the app. After it’s approved, they add money to your account, and you can request a check once you hit the $20 mark, which seems really easy to do as some of the coupons are for unlimited use.

And a lot of the coupons are for household staples. Here are some screenshots: Read More