Not signing up for a travel rewards credit card was the dumbest financial mistake of my life, especially in my 30s. I've been using my credit cards all wrong:

• use travel credit card as default
• use quarterly category cards when possible

Thankfully, I learned about this just in time to sign up for Chase Sapphire Reserve and its AWESOME 100,000 travel points bonus program.

I've been jealous of all my friends traveling so much. My biggest reason for not traveling these past few years is money, but this bonus program makes it possible for me to cross out some things from my bucket list.