Trekeo

Several months ago Steph (my wife) asked if I had seen the blog Man vs Debt.  Evidently some fellow-Hoosiers broke free from the gravity of the American rat race, sold their goods, took their finances by the throat, and travelled the world.  Once I “met” Adam and Courtney,  I was hooked.  They blog their adventures and share openly how they do what they do (all without a trust fund).

Last week Adam released his first eBook, Unautomate Your Finances.  I received a copy  and just finished the 83 pages.  So, is it worth the price?

The good:

With an honest style, Adam offers a resource with a balance of theory and practice.  If you are ready to get to work, he offers plenty of practical step-by-step ways to dig your way to freedom.

I won’t spoil some of the great stuff Adam lays out.  I will say that I found some of the steps so unique that I found myself thinking through them during the day (that’s the test of a good resource for me).

While there are sprinklings of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and Tim Ferris’ Four Hour Work Week, Adam lays out some original thoughts that tweak some of the practices we are starting to take as gospel.  I find that refreshing.

Several people talk about getting on a budget.  Adam shows you HOW, step-by-step.  In addition he suggests a unique approach to getting your budget under control.

One of the most powerful concepts is Adam’s marriage of finance to emotions.  Most of us ended up debt because of emotional decisions.  Baker offers some practical steps to use emotion for the positive; to get out of debt.

What could make it even better?

Hmm.  Not sure I have many negatives.  Sometimes I found the the reading a bit lengthy.  However, I budget like stink on ape so the budget sections for me were not totally applicable.  That being said, first-time budgeters will find it extremely helpful.

Is it worth your $17?  Yep.  And for the price, Adam also throws in templates, updates, and almost 60 minutes worth of video interviews.  Honestly, it’s worth the $17 even without the extras.

Adam also offers the best guarantee in the biz.  If he is breathing, you can return the product at any time for a full refund.

Get your copy.  Kill your debt.  Travel the world (optional).

For your copy of Unautomate Your Finances, click here.

 

 

17

Anthony’s Key resort is located in on the island of Roatan, just off the coast of Honduras.  This resort caters specifically to divers and snorkelers.  They claim some of the best diving in the world, paired with exceptional service.  Does it live up to the hype? 

In March of 2010, a group of 4 friends and I spent a week at Anthony’s Key.  Here was our experience:

The Good

Staff. The staff was exceptional.  They became more than staff.  As the week went on, quick relationships were built.  We asked questions and heard many of their stories.  Several in our group commented on the friendliness and passion of the staff.

Food.  Excellent.  Many of the chefs were from the cruise line industry.  The food was fresh, tasty, and served quick.  Some of the best iced-tea I have had, ever.

Location.  This is the Caribbean, and it is B-E-A-U-tiful.

Number of dives.  At 3 boat dives per day (and more with shore diving, channel diving, and night dives), it is hard to beat this deal.  Eat-sleep-dive.  We logged 19 dives and could have done more.

Organization.  The system runs like a well-oiled machine.  With over 100 guests each week, the staff does a great job of getting everyone oriented, fed, and under water.

Wreck diving.  We did 3 great wrecks.

The OK

Diving.  The diving was good, but it was not great.   The coral is amazing, but the sea life was lacking.  We saw many smaller fish, but were looking for some bigger life and bigger schools.  That being said, we did see an eel or 2.  On our last dive, we saw 3 turtles and 4 spotted eagle rays.  We were hoping for that kind of action on the other dives.

Accommodations. The accommodations are simple.  They are cabins.  Don’t expect anything fancy here.  However, the cabins are used for sleeping and little else.  We opted for a standard cabin (no air conditioning).  We made the trip in March.  Any warmer than March and sleeping without AC would have been sticky.

Would I go back?  Probably not.  Why?  Because the world is a big place and there is much we have yet to explore.  Would I recommend it to others?  Yes, but take into account the lack of sea life; that was my only negative. 

Overall, it is hard to beat the value of Anthony’s Key.  The all inclusive plan means that once you are in the resort, there is little to worry about (note that tips are not included).  I ran comparisons with several dive shops and resorts in Roatan, and I couldn’t beat the deal the offered; a “2nd Diver 1/2 off package.” 

For pictures from our trip, click here.

The ARK website also offers great pictures and descriptions. 

Stay tuned for video reviews coming over the next couple of weeks.  Also, I’ll let you know how we scored round trip tickets to Roatan from Indy for just over $300.

 

Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Non-conformity is offering his e-book, Frequent Flyer Master for $49.  Chris claims that by following the advice in FFM, you can easily score at least 25,000 air miles (one free round trip airline ticket).   Beyond that, he claims that you continue to get free flights by creatively gaining frequent flyer miles.

Really?

Steph and I got our hands on FFM and put it to the test.  With thousands of people claiming that their product will help you travel the world, we wanted to know if there was anything behind the hype of FFM.

It is worth your hard-earned cash?  Can you really get enough frequent flyer miles to score a free ticket?  Multiple free tickets?

Short answer:  Yes.

Long answer:

I like Chris. He is down to earth, personable, and is living what many people dream of.  He is highly organized, has insane knowledge about travel hacking, and is open to sharing it with others.  I may just have a man crush on him.

The good of FFM.  It is laid out well and is clear and easy to follow.  I don’t want to give away the content as Chris makes a living on his resources, but I will say that Stephanie and I followed some of his steps and in 3 months will have enough frequent flyer miles for a free ticket.  Free is good. Very good.  Right off the bat, Chris’ claim is true.  Follow his steps and get a free ticket.  If you are a traveler, that’s worth the price of FFM.

When you purchase FFM for $49, Chris offers to throw in a second resource, Travel Ninja , for a package total of $79 (a savings of $29).  Travel Ninja is for the serious traveler.  Chris breaks down some tips for travel (much of it international) on a scale that I have yet to experience.  Travel Ninja makes you realize that Chris isn’t playing games.  I half-way expect to see him setting some nunchucks on the airline counter as they rush to give him an upgrade to first class for free.  He’s the man.

The challenges of FFM.  If you don’t want to follow directions or if you want something handed to you, don’t buy FFM.  You will have to do some work.  You will have to be organized. 

Much of the game of gathering frequent flyer miles involves the use of credit cards.  If you do not pay off your balance every month, do not play this game.  Trust me.  In my younger days I racked up tons of miles along with a mountain of debt.  Two free tickets to Hawaii ended up costing me . . . well, that’s for another day.  Take my word here, if you can’t organize your finances, you will sink deeper in debt for “free” airline tickets.

We ran into a slight challenge with a credit card company that Chris suggested (not his fault).  We applied for a card, were approved, and began to charge some expenses on the card.  Three charges were denied because they were suspected to be fraud.  When I called the company, they said they would approve the charges since I called.  I could not call to pre-approve any future charges.  They stated that once they learned my spending pattern, they would loosen up.  I informed them that of this continued, I could not continue to do business with them.  Time will tell how this turns out.

Beyond that challenge, we are on our way to more frequent flyer miles and more travel.  All in all, FFM is a solid product for those who are organized and serious about travel.  In addition, I highly recommend adding Chris’ site to your RSS.