This is a new entry where I’ll try to relay some good things that the week has brought me. I think a lot of us have a propensity to dwell on the negatives, I know I do. And this week has no shortage of negatives. But in the stock market your returns are categorized as Realized or Unrealized gains–the difference being whether or not you “cashed out”. Until you sell stock you haven’t really made or lost that number in the total returns column. By my own investing philosophy, my gains are unrealized because I’m holding for the long term.

But in life good comes as well as bad and we need to spend some time celebrating our wins. This morning I got a routine email asking me to come up to a gorgeous Colorado resort town called Steamboat Springs this June to run either a Marathon, a half marathon or a 10k. I loved the idea but it’s a long drive and these things start early in the morning. Just for fun–or maybe I was looking for an excuse not to run–I decided to check hotels against my IHG credit card points. Turns out I had enough points to pay for my hotel and now I get to take my son and spend a weekend in this amazing town.

This is a not-common-enough thing called travel hacking. It’s actually more credit card hacking. I have this credit card because I build up rewards on groceries and gas–and, of course, stays in IHG properties. This isn’t the first time I’ve cashed in points but it is the first time I’ve done it on a spur of the moment.

The lesson is this, I think, being responsible has more rewards than we know. I was positioned for this June weekend in a hotel that would normally physically hurt me to pay for–to run a 10k, yes, I picked the 10k, In one of the most scenic routes in the country. It’s not something I planned on, but it’s a great reward for being financially responsible.

I hope you’ve realized some gains this week too, in your life or your pocketbook.