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This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson.

For most people, pursuing credit card rewards is a game of cat and mouse. You keep a watchful eye on your credit score, seek out the best offers, and strike when the iron is hot.

But that is just one component of the hobby; the other part of the equation is that it can be extremely exciting to watch your point balances climb. Obviously, the more credit card rewards offers you sign up for, the more sign-up bonuses you earn, and the more spending you complete over time, the more points you accumulate.

If you love to save like I do, it can be tempting to do the same with your points and miles and hoard them in the same fashion as you would your monthly paycheck. But there are a number of reasons why you shouldn’t treat your airline miles and hotel points like cash in the bank. Here are a few:

This article is by staff writer William Cowie.

The era of spending unending retirement days on a golf course in plaid pants and interminable games of bridge with the blue-rinse set seem to be on the wane. Younger people are looking for more adventure, with more activity … and lower costs. Few strategies deliver like (of all things) the recreational vehicle (RV) retirement lifestyle.

This article is by staff writer Honey Smith.

Love is in the air at this time of year, and the Internet is full of tips and tricks for how to celebrate Valentine’s Day on every end of the spending spectrum. All price points are represented, from customized jewelry to those with something a little more affordable in mind for Valentine’s Day.

In past years, we’ve asked people to share their Valentine’s Day plans, but this year I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane. What do we remember, and does what we remember the most equate with how much money was spent?

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

The odometer on my car is nearing 223,000 miles. While I am hoping the dented-on-all-four-sides sedan is going to make it to at least 250,000 miles and beyond, realistically, we need to plan for a replacement.

But before we go car shopping, we need to decide what we are looking for. There are a lot of things to consider here like the manufacturer, style, color, etc., not to mention just our own personal tastes in the matter. You can really go to town thinking about all the possibilities. But I wanted to simplify the process. I wanted to narrow it down to the basic decision of finding the best car for our situation at a price we could afford. I didn’t want our wants to become our needs, at least not until I got further along in the process.