Hey everyone

My name is Nick, and I'm a personal finance writer. If you're interested in the professional side, that's all at http://www.linkedin.com/in/nickfarina - feel free to connect with me if you'd like.

Had a funny journey to get to being a frequent flyer. When I was a kid my dad worked in the LA division of a Chicago based company, so I was always flying out to visit him - 10 or so ORD-LAX a year, so was pretty used to flying. Became really afraid of flying when I turned 11 or so - just seemed unnatural - and then realized the only way I could conquer my fear of the 'unknown' of flying was to learn everything about it. So I read up on airsafe.com, and learned everything I could about flying. I remember sitting at a gate looking up the safety record of an MD-80 to reassure me. AS 261 popped up, that didn't reassure me...

So anyways, I gradually became comfortable with flying again. One day I decided to try out a cash upgrade opportunity, and realized how much easier it was up front. Never wanted to fly coach again... but certainly couldn't afford first all the time, so then I set off on my journey to master all the frequent flyer programs I could.

Now I find myself on the road quite a bit as I try and build up my personal finance brand, and love every minute of it. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel alive if they aren't traveling, so I try and stay on the road as much as I can.

Hope to hang out here a lot more!