I was in Boston last week, and usually I stay in the Seaport—the high-rent district.
You know my personal finance shtick: There are little things, and there are big things. Pets are both little things and big things.
The purpose of money is enjoyment. If you do all the basic things right, then you can splurge on yourself sometimes.
Most problems in personal finance come from people focusing on the small things, not the big things.
Here is the thing with miles and points: People spend a lot of mental energy trying to figure out how to get the miles and points, and then they get the miles and points but never use them.