20 Ways to Save Cash When Traveling

For the past week the hubby and I have been bouncing around the country, visiting family and reaching some travel goals. We are convinced that we are some of the cheapest travelers you will meet. Here's some easy ways to save money when traveling:

1. We only travel with one carry on bag each. For the cost of bringing a checked bag each way with us ($40 to $50 per person), we could use the extra cash to buy any other item we need at our destination.


2. Our travel dates are always flexible. Having to travel on specific dates usually locks you into higher fares. I usually check out http://www.orbitz.com/ via their flexible date search and choose a range of days to travel, thus coming up with the lowest fares.


3. We use public transportation at our destination. There may be a rare occasion when we need to rent a car (ie: visiting family that lives in the boonies), but for most of our travel, we are in cities or suburbs that have pretty good public transportation options (ie: the $5 24-hour fare card in Las Vegas that takes you all over the strip, and the entire city for that matter or the daily Metro pass in Washington DC).


4. We take our own food. Staying in hotels, we never use the mini bar or the snack basket ($5 for a small tube of Oreos?!?). Instead, we head out from the hotel to a grocery store and buy bottled water and snacks to take back with us to the hotel.


5. When we are traveling, we generally eat light snacks in the room for breakfast (or better yet, many of the mid-range hotels we stay at offer a free breakfast), eat lunch out at a different restaurant every day, then dinner usually consists of picking up picnic items at the local grocery store or Super WalMart. This way we get to try wonderful restaurants at discounted lunch prices and still have plenty of food to keep us satisfied throughout the day.


6. One of our favorite ways to travel is by cruise ship. We find discounted cruises (usually at the beginning or end of the season or during travel "dead times" such as the second week of December) and enjoy a week or more of cruising at less than $50 per person per day. The best part about cruises is that EVERYTHING is included--food, cabin, entertainment, recreation, etc.


7. When we go on cruises, or travel anywhere for that matter, we don't sign up for guided tours. Our usual M.O. is to walk around a city to see what's happening then take public transportation or hire a car to take us to off the beaten track places if there is something we really don't want to miss.


8. Using the web is an excellent way to find discounted attractions in your destination city. We have attended plays, symphonies, lectures, garden tours, and many other events simply because we checked out the local events calendar for a particular city and found free and low cost entertainment options.


9. We do splurge on once-in-a-lifetime activities. If you are only going to have an opportunity once in your lifetime to do something, better to spend some extra cash than have regrets later.


10. We use debit cards instead of credit cards when traveling. Actually we don't use credit cards period so that leaves only cash and debit cards as a form of payment. We carry some cash with us but not a huge amount so if it were to get stolen, it wouldn't be the end of our vacation. We have debit cards from three different banks with plenty of cash in each account. We use one for hotel and car rental because we know these places will place a significant hold on the cash in the account. We use another for cash withdrawals because it has a low fee for this, and we use the third card for expenses. The secret is to keep plenty of money in these accounts AND be sure to tell your card issuer when you are going out of town so a fraud hold doesn't get placed on the card for suspicious activity.


11. We are good guests. Actually we are very low maintenance guests. One way we travel cheap is to stay with friends and family if possible when we travel. We try to get to their places under our own steam so as not to inconvenience them, usually cook and clean while we are there, even offering to do simple home fix up projects if we have the time, clean up after ourselves, and generally be good guests so that we will be invited back.


12. We like mid-range hotels. Many times we have used Hotwire to find super discounted hotels in our destination cities. We have been pleasantly surprised on a couple of occasions (a suite at the Palms and a luscious room at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver BC) and unpleasantly appalled (hotels to remain nameless) a couple of times. Most of the time we have been satisfied with the surprise hotel rooms that we stay in. We tend to choose mid-range hotels when possible as they usually offer a clean room and a wealth of amenities as opposed to five star hotels which charge you for literally everything (parking, breakfast, internet, using the pool, etc). On the flip side, I simply refuse to stay in a crappy hotel even if it is cheaper--life is too short to be miserable.


13. We seek out free wi-fi. Hopefully our hotel will provide this free amenity, if not, however, we come prepared with our own list of places that offer free internet, previously researched online before we left home. Note that purchasing internet time on a cruise ship is a huge expense for what equates to a dial-up speed network. Better to find a (much) cheaper internet cafe when you get into port.


14. Getting to the airport can be a challenge. We live nearly two hours from our closest major airport so we have devised a few options depending on our flight times. First, we absolutely hate to impose on family or friends to cart us to and from the airport; we'll do this in an emergency but otherwise try to use other means. One option is to keep the car at home then ride public transportation to the airport which is always a good option, if the flight is not too early or too late; note this is very easy if you only carry one bag. We also know of a very cheap airport parking lot which is a little ways from the airport but has excellent shuttle service which we use for shorter duration trips. For really long trips, we park our car a a friend's house who lives near the airport and will keep an eye on our car for us while we are gone (ie: he starts it once a week to keep the battery charged, etc).


15. We don't buy souvenirs when we travel. Most of it just gathers dust when we get back anyway. If there is something useful I can find, such as duty-free alcohol which we give as gifts, beautiful blankets or other handiwork that has an actual use, or unique gifts that I find for specific people who I know will like them, we will buy them (haggling all the way of course). Otherwise we just take pictures and are happy to save memories that way.


16. The hubby and I tend to travel with coordinating stuff. This means everything from clothes (we travel with jeans, t shirts, fleece jackets, etc) to electronic equipment (laptops, cell phones, iPods) to other travel items are basically the same. This way, if one of us loses our cell phone charger, the other's charger will work. We carry one digital camera charger and multiples of the same type of memory cards because we both have the same kind of digital camera.


17. We haggle. A lot. We ask for discounts on everything. Meals, event/activity entrance fees, hotels on occasion...basically if we are going to be paying, we are going to be asking for a discount based on anything we can think of (ie: a senior discount for hubby, a military discount for both of us, a Costco discount, a AAA discount, or if all else fails, a "we only have this much money to our names" discount).


18. We find unique vacation experiences in the oddest places. My hobby is visiting cemeteries, the older the better. This is a free activity, by the way. One of my most memorable experiences was visiting a friend who had to visit a relative in a hospital when we were in a third world country. I've never been to a third-world hospital before so I was happy to tag along. It was an interesting and enlightening experience.


19. We try to give back when we travel. Whether it is helping a relative fix a handrail or bringing donated books or medical supplies to third world countries, being useful at your destination, even though you are technically "on vacation" is a wonderful way to help others, spread good will, and make unique vacation memories. Surprisingly, this often rewards us with many unexpected perks--a great meal at a restaurant compliments of the relative we helped, unique handcrafted items from a tribe in the South Pacific that couldn't even be found in museums in gratitude for medical supplies we delivered to them, etc.


20. We travel as often as possible. This may not be a money-saving tip but for us, traveling is worth its weight in good memories, if not gold. Other people may spend their disposable income on golf, some on shopping for brand names shoes and purses, but for us, the expense of traveling is well worth it when compared to what we receive from our travel experiences.

How My Giant 'To Do' List Saves Me Money

I am almost always busy. I run a non-profit, I own a business, I volunteer a lot, and I am active in all kinds of community events. Plus I like to travel and this year I have a little list of 400 goals to complete in 400 days. Wow...I am busy. The way that I keep on track (and keep my sanity) it to have a huge daily "to do" list. I recently noted that this list also saves me a lot of money. Here's how:

• I make up my list for the next day before I go to bed the night before (if I tried to keep all of these things in my head I would never get to sleep and the fatigue/stress would certainly cause future health problems thus costing me money).
• I arrange my day in logical order. Nearly every day I end up traveling from one end of the region to the other. If I arrange my day in logical order I save money on gas. I figure out the route I will take, trying not to recross my steps, while dropping off or picking up things along the way so no special trips are needed. With planning, I can often carpool to many meetings (again saving gas money) with others who I know are going to the same place. On less busy days when I have more time, I often opt for public transportation which saves money as well.
• When my day is laid out on paper, I can figure out how/when/where to eat for the day. Generally I start off my day with a good breakfast at home but I may be away from home for lunch and dinner. If I see that this will be the case by looking at my schedule, I bring food from home so I am not caught out without a meal which would mean an expensive stop at a restaurant(s).
• Having a clear schedule allows me to save time and money on errands. Instead of spending money for a stamp, I can pay many bills on my way to and from where I am going (ie: the cable company is next to the post office, the Target bill can be paid when I meet my carpool in the Target parking lot). Coupons for groceries are attached to the to do list with a paperclip so that if I happen to pass by a particular store, I have my coupons with me and then no special trips to the store are needed, thus saving gas.
• Bill payment due dates are included on my calendar and are put on the to do list as they come up. This way I am never late on a payment and don't incur late fees.
• Follow up phone calls and messages are listed on the to do list as well. While this may or may not save me money, there have been a few times where a message was for work from a new client. If I would have let these calls slide, I would have missed out on earning money.
• Birthdays are put on the to do list. This way, I send a simple (inexpensive) acknowledgement of the person's birthday or special occasion instead of the more expensive "sorry I forgot your birthday" gifts that I can sometimes feel guilted into giving.
• If my list is too overwhelming, I can call in reinforcements (the hubby). By letting the hubby know in the morning that I need him to cook dinner, we save money which we would otherwise spend on eating out because we were both too tired or too disorganized to cook. If the yard is getting overgrown, I can either make time in my schedule on a slow day or ask the hubby to do it so I don't have to hire a yard service.

The bottom line is that being organized can save you money. I know people (and I've been the person) who are so disorganized that they end up spending a whole lot of money for things that with a little planning would have not cost them a penny.

Link Roundup: To Your Success Edition

Here's a bunch of links that have been rattling around my favorites list for a while. All, happily, success-related:

• 45 of the Weirdest College Scholarships. The name pretty much says it all. If you qualify, apply!
• 15 Real World Lifestyle Design Case Studies. Tim Ferris started a four hour work-week trend and while I personally think it would be impossible to work only four hours a week and be at all successful, the idea of people designing the lifestyle they want is totally cool. Check out these videos!
• The Uncovery. How to discover hidden revenue streams based on your passions, skills, and dreams.
• 15 Books Everyone Should Read at Least Twice. I've read most of these books but not all of them, however it is a great list that you should definitely put on your "to do" list. One more I would highly recommend is "Your Money or Your Life."
• 42 Ways to Radically Simplify Your Financial Life. Excellent list. I've done most of these tasks and highly recommend that you consider doing some of these tasks as well.

A Contest: How Dangerous is Debt?

I found this link about a contest that will let you make a picure about the danger of debt, submit it, and possibly win $1000 (enough to lessen the danger of YOUR debt). Check it out!

Murphy Has Moved In

Quite a few times when you watch 'debt free Friday' stories on the Dave Ramsey show, you hear about people who had to overcome some pretty significant problems in addition to clearing up their debt. I guess I am in good company and I am taking it as a sign that I am on the right track because Murphy has done moved in and set up housekeeping in our guest room!
I was making some headway on our debts however over the past couple of weeks the following has happened:

• Our furnace is dead. Not even on life support but totally not working. And it is like 40 degrees outside! After paying $90 for a diagnosis, we found out that it will cost around $700 to fix the ignition control board and another part. Bummer.


• Our one car needs some work. It has a leak around the thermostat that is getting worse. We have been putting off getting it fixed but it looks like this problem will soon move to the top of our "fix it" list. In addition, the tail light went out and changing the bulb isn't fixing the problem so it looks like the shop needs to take a look at that as well before we get pulled over for having a light out. Ouch.


• Our house's main line drain is not working. It backed up and made a mess and two plumbers later they are still working on it (for some reason I think we picked the two worst plumbers in the phone book).

I'll quit whining now. I am sure things will work out. I am fortunate, however, that we do have an emergency fund and employment, some things that many people don't currently have.

p.s. In case you don't watch Dave Ramsey, some of the things the callers have to go through before they overcome their problems and eventually reach financial success, are much, much worse than my little problems. I still can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Save $200 in One Day

For most people, spending money almost automatically throughout the day is nearly a given in our society. Here's how to save around $200 in a typical day.

• Make and eat your breakfast at home instead of at the drive through. Save $5.
• Make your own coffee and take it to work instead of stopping at Starbucks. Save $5.
• Take a ziploc baggie of fruit and nuts to work with you for your morning snack instead of stopping by the vending machine. Save $1.
• Take your lunch from home instead of going out with the gang to the corner deli for lunch. Save $10.
• Take a soda and snack from home instead of stopping by the vending machine in the afternoon. Save $3.
• Cook dinner at home for the family instead of calling the local pizza delivery company. Save $25.
• Pay two bills online instead of buying stamps to mail them. Save $1.
• Have the two kids and spouse eat breakfast at home and pack lunches to take with them to work/school. Save $30.
• Pick up a movie from the library instead of taking the family out to the movies. Make popcorn at home too. Save $50.
• When the two kids have their paws out for $20 each because they want to go to the mall with their friends after school, you let them know the bank of mom and dad is closed and that from now on they will need to earn their own fun money. Save $40.
• When a co-worker asks you for a $20 contribution towards a gift for another co-worker who is going to have a baby soon, you make the suggestion that instead of buying a baby gift that will last a very short time and be quickly forgotten, each person in the office (ten of you in all) volunteer to each make a dinner which can be frozen and popped into the oven when needed since new mothers would rather sleep than cook. Save $20.
• Instead of driving your car through the car wash on the way home, you get the whole family to pitch in for a quick do-it-yourself car wash in the driveway. Save $10.

Total amount saved: $200. Money tends to slip through our hands just that quickly. Whether you are handing out cash to the kids, feeling guilted into giving a donation for a gift, or consoling yourself at the local coffee shop/diner because "you deserve it", before you know it, you'r out $200! Make a few changes today and see how much you can save in a typical day.

How to Put an Extra $1000 in Your Pocket in One Week

Whether you need to bulk up (or start) an emergency fund, your furnace finally decided to go toes up, or you just want to comfort of having an extra $1000 in cash in your pocket, here's how to gather up an extra $1000 in only one week:

1. Have a garage sale. Everyone has extra stuff laying around. Put an ad on Craigslist, hand paint some signs to hang around the neighborhood, and hold a one or two day sale. Net: $100.
2. Sell something on eBay. You can sell higher value, easily shippable items on eBay and have the product sold, paid for, and shipped during the course of a three-day auction. Items that seem to sell particularly well: cell phones and other small electronics, name brand purses, name brand shoes, new things. Net: $100.
3. Sell something on Craigslist. On Craigslist you can sell bigger, bulkier items that would be too costly to ship if you sold them through eBay. This is also a great way to sell items and get a better price than selling them at a garage sale. Simply put a free ad on Craigslist for your unused or out grown bicycles, the punching bag that started out as a good idea but is seldom used, the basketball hoop that the kids left behind when they moved out, the treadmill you used a couple of times, or anything else that you don't need. Net: $100.
4. Sell your gold to a reputable local dealer. Look through your jewelry box and find broken gold chains/rings/bracelets or gold items that you no longer wear and sell them to a local gold dealer (I don't recommend sending your gold to places that advertise on late night TV, local dealers tend to pay more). Net: $100.
5. Pocket $100 out of your weekly shopping money and force the family to eat the food that you already have at home. You may find food that you haven't seen in ages at the bottom of your freezer or in the back of your cabinets. This is an excellent way to both save money and clean out your cupboards/freezer! Net: $100.
6. Work overtime or an extra shift. Depending on your job, you may be able to work an extra shift or pick up some overtime and pocket the extra cash. If this is not possible, check out the Craigslist ads for 'gigs' which provide one-time job opportunities. Net: $100.
7. Advertise a service on Craigslist. There has to be something you can do for one day that can net you some extra cash with a cleverly worded ad and some good before and after pictures. Mowing lawns, house cleaning, etc. Net: $100.
8. Sell blood or plasma. Depending on your proclivities, you may also consider selling semen (to fertility clinics) and/or participating in medical research studies (yikes) which often pay very well. Net: $100.
9. Sell stuff. Whether you choose to sell cut firewood, home-made bird houses, or oranges on the side of the road or buy pizzas in bulk and hustle them after the big football game, the idea of buying low (wholesale) then modifying/repackaging the product and raking in a profit can be done nearly anywhere Net: $100.
10. Get creative! Write up a couple of articles and sell them to local newspapers or online publications, slap some advertising on your vehicle (for a fee) and earn as you do your errands, develop a website and sell a product online such as an e-book or e-lessons or e-consulting. Obviously you don't want to fall for "pay us and we'll tell you how to make money online scams;" there is plenty of free information on the web about making money online. Net: $100.

There. That's $1,000 that you can very conceivably add to your savings account at the end of one week. Good luck!

Eating Out vs Eating In

Last Saturday the hubby and I enjoyed a dinner out courtesy of a belated Christmas gift from a relative. We went to a chain steak place and I was floored for a number of reasons. Mostly because the dinner for two--shared appetizer, one soda for hubby, two basic steak dinners, and two desserts plus tip--cost $70 (!). Further, the place was packed--there was nearly an hour wait for a table, the customers were mainly families with kids and they didn't look wealthy, they looked fairly average. My first thought was how do these people AFFORD such dinners? It didn't look like these were celebratory dinners like for a birthday or anniversary, it looked like people were just eating a regular dinner out.
I think I pointed out in an earlier post that we don't eat out very often. When we do eat out, usually when we are out of town, we always tend to choose ethnic, hole-in-the-wall restaurants that give you a big serving of yummy food for really reasonable prices. Eating out this weekend only reinforced the reasons we usually choose to eat in:

• I don't wait in line to eat. Mostly because I don't like crowds and don't think I will get a great meal if my meal order is one of hundreds. In fact our order took over an hour to get and was marginally cold when it arrived at our table.
• I don't like chain restaurants. Chain restaurants are so...chain-like. Everything is the same. There is no room for a chef's creativity, no way to even talk to the cooks, and no special "the chef wants you to try this" that often happens in small, out of the way, family run restaurants.
• I don't like paying $70 for a meal for two people! Unless it is a one time "restaurant experience" like going to the Melting Pot or the Space Needle or the Herb Farm, spending a ton of money on a meal you can make at home for, in this case, maybe $15 total, is ludicrous. If this was my money I was spending I would have been able to buy groceries that would last us nearly two weeks.
• I don't like the "yuppie restaurant experience." Cute young waitresses that answer "I don't know" and don't bother to find out the answers to your questions. Food that is very generic and not at all amazing (I much prefer a sublime container of dim sum at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Seattle which costs about $3). Food that is way over priced (one appetizer of two smallish crab cakes for $10.95!). More or less mandatory tip even though the service wasn't that great. The loud, rowdy-ish atmosphere.

Overall it was a nice gesture on the part of our relative and the experience wasn't a total wash. The steak leftovers made a wonderful fried rice the next day, we both agreed that the experience was a good one-time event but nothing we want to repeat in the near future, and we are secure in the fact that our choice to limit eating out is both a boon to our finances and our health.

10 Financial Disasters I Learned to Avoid from Judge Judy

I like Judge Judy. If there is one TV show I try to catch each day, besides Dave Ramsey which comes on right afterwards, it is Judge Judy. Both Judy and Dave have a refreshing, no BS, take on things which is highly appreciated (and necessary!) in a world that seems to reward stupidity and bad decisions. If you watch for a while, you will notice that Judge Judy seems to handle the same cases over and over, only the people change, and most cases revolve around money. Here's 10 ways to keep you out of financial trouble (and off of the Judge Judy show):

1. Don't sign up for a cell phone contract for anyone (ie: boyfriend, girlfriend, roommate, family member, etc). Once you sign your name to a contract, you are responsible for that contract and with cell phones, that usually means you are stuck paying for two years unless you pay the early termination fee. The problem with getting a cell phone for others is that they tend to use way more minutes than they are allotted, not pay their monthly share like they promised to, lose their job so they have no money, etc. Which means you are stuck holding the proverbial bag. If you want to help someone out with a cell phone, get them a cheap, pre-paid phone to get them started then they can pay for their future minutes.
2. Don't get into a lease with anyone. It is better to get on your own lease, for your own place, even if it is the size of a closet, rather that expecting your current boyfriend/best friend/Craigslist buddy to pay their half of the lease payment for a year or more. Like the above, they will lose their job, decide they hate you, find a better room mate, etc. and you will be stuck for the entire cost of the lease.
3. Don't loan money to anyone. Again, like the above, people tend to lend money to friends, family members, or even near strangers and wonder why they never get paid back. NEVER loan money to anyone. If you have money and you want to help someone, give them the money as a gift without expecting to be paid back.
4. Don't sell something (like a car) to anyone (like friends, family, or strangers) on credit. You aren't a loan agency, you aren't the repo man, and you aren't a business that can write off a bad debt. Never sell something to anyone on credit. Like the above, they will lose their job, figure out they can't afford to pay you, or become dissatisfied with the car, and you will be left with nothing. If you want to sell a car or other item, make sure the transaction is a cash-only deal with all sales final.
5. Don't pay someone's bail/pay someone's fines/pay someone's child support and expect to be paid back. If people are in such a lousy position that they can't even #1 stay out of trouble, and/or #2 take care of their basic responsibilities, don't be surprised if you never see your money again.
6. Don't fight over a guy/girl. Many cases come about because people are jealous and end up fighting over a loser with someone else. A girl is mad at her "boyfriend" because she sees he is hanging out at another girls house so she keys one or both of their cars. A guy is mad at another guy because he sees his girl out with the other guy so he does the guy thing and beats up the other guy. Either way you could end up arrested, with a record, and paying court costs/fines/restitution. If your significant (or insignificant) other doesn't want to be with you why would you want to be with them??
7. Do control your kids. There's usually a few cases each week in which someone didn't control their kid and said kid caused someone else a financial loss--drove a friend's parent's car when they were drunk and wrecked it, rode their bicycle into the side of a parked car and scratched it, beat up a neighbor kid and caused damage. Then you end up on TV making a weak explanation for your kid's bad behavior, you lose, and end up paying for damages.
8. Do get every contract in writing. Even with your best friend or close family member, if you decide not to heed the warnings above and sell something to/buy something from/get into a contract with said friend or family member, get EVERYTHING in writing. Verbal contracts are not worth much and assuming things doesn't even fly in court.
9. Do watch out for cons. Some people are just con artists. They offer something that is too good to be true, which usually includes the exchange of money, and then you end up with the short end of the stick. Don't expect something for nothing and definitely do your research before you part with your money.
10. Do rectify problems quickly and efficiently. Some people drag out their problems for years. Some people keep hoping to get paid forever. Some people keep throwing good money after bad like when a girlfriend/boyfriend borrows money, doesn't pay it back, then they loan them MORE money. Judy Judy hates it when a person allows another person to get away with bad behavior, then goes right back and allows that bad behavior to continue.

The bottom line is that you need to keep your money to yourself and allow others to sort out their own financial problems. Otherwise, I might just see you on Judy Judy!

Going Cash Only? Other People Are Too

I was happy to wake up to a new year and see these great articles about living cash only (apparently I am not the only weird person around here):

• Family Saves With Cash. Although this is an older article, it just showed up on Consumerist today. I read the article and knew exactly what they were talking about because the same things have happened to me. Going into the grocery store with a set amount of money means you don't throw extras into your basket. Yes getting gas with cash is a pain but you also get a little more exercise because you need to walk into the store to pay. And no, I don't go to the mall randomly any more, I will just want to shop and since I don't have credit cards and don't want to spend my cash that is budgeted for other things, I simply skip the mall all together.


• In Debt? Go Cash Only. I have heard this excuse many times.,,"we only use our credit cards for emergencies and always pay them off each month." But what happens if you lose your job, or you use your card to buy something you don't really need and then for some reason can't pay off the entire balance? No credit cards is the best way to go. If you have an emergency you should (duh) have an emergency fund to draw from. This is why Dave Ramsey says to get your starter emergency fund together then destroy your credit cards so that you will have some cash available if you have an emergency which is much better--for any emergency--then putting yourself into credit card debt.


• Living on a Cash Only Diet. This article shows you that there are a number of reasons to go cash only and a number of challenges that come along with this change. The bottom line is that it can be done and lots of people are doing it.


• Cash Only Medical Care. Not only is the public getting in on the cash-only craze, but so, apparently, are doctors.