Personal Finance Advice

In this economy, many of us probably can’t afford to take a summer vacation like we’re used to. But if there’s a trip you can’t avoid in your future (like an out-of-town wedding or a family reunion), there are things you can do to minimize the cost of your trip no matter where you’re going. [...]

I recently had to book a two night stay at a hotel in Tampa. The excursion was going to be work for me and an opportunity to relax for my wife and one of my sons. The hotel was an upper end brand – partly because I am a bit germphobic and always find that [...]

One of our favorite things to do is travel. There are so many places we want to see, I doubt we’ll ever make it to all of them. However, despite the fact that we want to see so much, we are not willing to incur debt to do it. People ask me how we afford [...]

If you ever vacation with friends or family, chances are that one of your journeys will eventually find you traveling with people whose financial means are different from yours. They may have more money than you (or be more willing to incur debt on vacation) or less than you. Whatever the case, vacationing with people [...]

When we pay so much money for plane tickets, why does the experience have to be so miserable? Well, maybe it doesn’t have to be. While this article won’t tell you how to maintain your sanity in a grounded plane for seven hours, it will give you some ideas for making the best of a [...]

Sometimes it seems like a minor miracle if you can make it from the airport doors to your seat on the plane without being searched, patted down, waiting in an exorbitantly long line, having your gate changed, being charged a fee, or a host of other annoyances. There are many things at the airport that [...]

When I was growing up in the 60′s and 70′s, it seemed that everyone except my parents were members of the American Automobile Association (AAA). Roadside assistance was the great appeal, especially in the days before cell phones. I recall being quite jealous of the silver and red AAA stickers that my friends had in [...]

When traveling outside the United States, there’s a good chance you’ll need certain vaccinations in order to fully protect yourself from illnesses that are more common in other countries than they are here. These vaccinations may be ones that you would probably never need if you didn’t leave the United States (like typhoid and yellow [...]

There was a time when I thought a weeklong vacation to Hilton Head would be outrageously expensive — either that or I’d have to stay at a less-than-desirable hotel 15 miles from the beach to make it affordable. In my seemingly never-ending quest to find the best deal on everything, I serendipitously stumbled upon something [...]

I hate rush hour almost as much as I hate Paris Hilton. I understand that scientists believe that we are putting the earth into an oven and turning up the heat too high. I’m keeping their warnings in mind and making rational decisions with this information. When I have saved enough to make a down [...]

The fourth of July promised to be a leisurely, stress-free weekend. My credit card was paid off and ready for gas purchases. My car was running smoothly. Our campsite was at a private cabin at a lake, and we’d long ago collected all necessary camping gear. The food was to be communal so we brought [...]

A friend recently had a run of bad luck that required her to cancel a much-anticipated vacation. Her father died two weeks before they were to leave. Aside from the grief, she had to deal with much of the estate and legal matters. That alone would have made it difficult to go on vacation but [...]

When you take a vacation away from home, you spend enough to get there (especially with the higher gas prices this year) and to stay there (even if you camp) that you might not want to spend a whole lot on attractions. Thankfully, most areas have at least a few fun and interesting things to [...]

We are friends with a couple I’ll call the Joneses. The Joneses are exactly what they sound like. They are the ones on the block with the latest cars, toys, and gizmos. Despite that, they are nice people and we’ve been friends for years. Each year we go on vacation together to a small resort [...]

Now that it’s spring and the government rebate checks are starting to roll in, many people are sounding like that old Super Bowl commercial: “You’ve just received your rebate check! What are you going to do now?” “I’m going to Disney World!” If you decide to go to WDW this summer and you want to [...]

I have always enjoyed camping, first in a tent and then in a mini-motorhome. We’ve always found it to be an economical way to travel. It’s always been cheaper than flying or driving, staying in a hotel room, and eating out three meals a day. Campsites have historically been inexpensive and food is a non-issue [...]

Somewhere along my most recent three-week vacation, I started to compare it to last year’s three-week road trip. I began to make a list of the little things that make a big difference when it comes to the price, cost, or value on vacation. Here are 20 lessons that I have learned. 1. If you [...]

Ah, it’s that time again. Time to begin planning yet another vacation (the sixth for this year). And time for well-meaning (I think) friends and family to ask, “How do you afford to go on so many vacations each year when we can’t even afford one? You must be putting it on credit cards or [...]

Working in the web development industry, I get a chance to go to at least one conference, seminar, or training class every year. This way I can keep up with the latest technologies and our company benefits from my acquired knowledge. However, convincing the company my conference of choice is worthwhile can be a problem. [...]

My husband and I just returned from a 17 day, 5,500-mile road trip westward from our home in South Carolina. Even though 4.5 million visit the Grand Canyon every year, we still felt like bold adventurers because it was all new to us. And, I have learned that as a white person, apparently I can [...]