By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Markus Rodder/flickr
Tired of the usual Thanksgiving traditions? Want to put the giving back in Thanksgiving? Try these 10 ideas.
- Volunteer on an organic farm in Italy in exchange for room, board, education and culture. I’m sure there would be a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on an organic farm. There are farms willing to take volunteers all over the world.
- Help out at a food bank.
This post is brought to you by TungstenWorld.com where you’ll find the finest selection of designer quality tungsten rings and tungsten wedding bands.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
Vectorportal/Flickr
I had a bad experience at a hotel recently, and didn’t keep quiet about it. Neither should you.
A couple of weeks ago, I went “glamping” (glamorous camping) with my daughter. A bunch of families camped out on the beach, but sleeping on the ground wasn’t doing it for me. I booked a hotel near the camp site so could spend time with my friends camping, but sleep on a good mattress. I snagged a good rate using the online special and my AAA discount.
When bedtime came, I went into the hotel to get my pre-confirmed room. It was between the pool entrance and the gym. I could hear the thump thump thump of
A fancy Vegas hotel room. (Not where our reader stayed). Credit: prayitno/Flickr
The Unethical Man wrote in with another money morality dilemma (he seems to run into them often):
Sorry, I got one more question for you. As you may already know, I go to Vegas quite a bit. I try to take advantage of as many free room night offers as I can. Why? Because when traveling out of town, one of the incidental expenses is the room. My question is whether you think it is unethical to accept an offer of free rooms from a property but not gamble there or eat there? You hardly spend any time at the property except for showering and sleeping. At checkout time, the bill reads $0.00 on the TV screen.
Ethical or unethical?
I think you are in the clear as long as part of the agreement for the free hotel room does not include a promise to spend time at the hotel eating or gambling. I’m sure that’s what the hotel wants, but it can’t force you to gamble any more than it can force you to starve.
More money morality posts:
Freebie tacos a deal or a steal?
Is BB a good Samaritan or greedy stranger?
Dilemma: Neighbors gave us cash we don’t want
Longtime reader Glenn shared a dirty secret about hotel room safes. They’re not safe at all! He writes:
Do you ever use the hotel safe in your room? If so, do you know about the default combination code that can make your valuables “less safe” than you thought? If the answer is “No,” then you must check out a video that was posted on YouTube on Sept. 6th by skyrangerpro.
Here is the video Glenn mentioned. It’s been viewed more than a million times!
Work a little, play a little. Credit: vastateparkstaff/Flickr
The Sunday New York Times Travel section had a good article on volunteer vacations, which is when you put in time for a good cause while on vacation. A major upside is reduced cost. Here’s my take on the story, with specific cheap volunteer vacations listed below.
Pros
Cost reduced by as much as 50%!
Unusual activities and trips built into your vacation.
Burn extra calories on the trip, making up for indulgent eating and drinking.
You can feel good about visiting third world countries, or wherever your trip takes you.
Cons
Some of the trips require 6 hours of work a day.
Not all the work is light labor. You’re going to break a sweat!
Specific trips (prices do not include airfare)
Appalachian Mountain Club
Help clean up trails from New Hampshire to St. John for about $220 a week
With 20%, 30% and 40% off properties, HostelBookers Summer Sale promises budget fun in the sun for all. For beach and city breaks rolled in to one, travellers can find bargains in Barcelona, Malaga or Dubrovnik while sun seekers longing for a slice of island paradise should try Hvar in Croatia or Santorini. Alternatively, there are some fabulous hostels with roof terraces in Granada, Florence and Marrakesh – the perfect spot for an aperitif at sunset. Discounts are available until 31st July for travel completed by 31st August 2011.
HostelBookers has properties in 3,500 destinations, charges absolutely no booking fee and offers a lowest price guarantee. Their dedicated Group Travel Team can help make arrangements for larger parties such as school or university groups, sports clubs or stag and hen dos.
To find a hostel, cheap hotel, B&B, apartment or campsite to really suit you and your trip, you can read reviews and ratings from previous guests. If you are looking for a party hostel, search by atmosphere. If you are planning a family trip, search by safety and cleanliness. Our website also clearly displays properties with private rooms, dormitories or both!
The HostelBookers Blog
From advice on how to pack your backpack to finding the best clubs in London, the HostelBookers blog is a treasure trove of city guides, places to visit off the beaten track and local know-how.
HostelBookers on Facebook
A great place for posting your travel queries, keeping up to date with the latest offers and sharing your experiences with the travel community. Go on, like us!
This is a sponsored post. Interested in an ad? Read my blog adverting page.
1. Choose the right transportation method: If you take your car, don’t forget to take car insurance before you travel. It can be really helpful if you happen to be unlucky. You never know what can happen while you’re abroad! If you take the train, remember to book early and be aware of discounts train companies might offer. If you take flights, book early as well and be careful not to overload your luggage, otherwise you will have to pay fees if you happen to travel with low-cost companies.
2. Prioritize your destination choices by price, and don’t accept what the travel agency is offering you first! Their offers might sound attractive, but take the time to look into the details. You might find some nasty surprises!
3. If comfort is not one of your highest priorities, backpacker’s hostels or camping can be a cheap alternative to hotels. This will give you the opportunity not only to save money but also to be more flexible and to meet new people!
4. If you really want to save money, avoid booking organized tours – even though they seem cheap and you don’t need to organize your holiday, they might turn out to be boring and expensive. In fact, it’s often cheaper to organize your holiday by yourself, and you will have the freedom to decide what you want to do.
5. Budgeting is the key if you don’t want to come home and don’t have a penny in your bank account. While you’re on a holiday, you might easily forget how much you’re spending on drinks, food, and little shopping tours. Try to organize your budget before you travel and set yourself a limit. I’m sure you will enjoy that cocktail when you know you can afford it, but you will regret that little summer dress you bought once you’re back if it wasn’t in your budget.
6. Finally, don’t forget to take a travel insurance, which you can find on LV life insurance for instance. It will help you save a lot of money if something happens while you’re on your journey!
This is paid content. Interested in an ad? Read my blog advertising page.
A free airfare offer I received: scam?
We received a postcard for an offer that was so obviously fake, we had to laugh. This is my second brush with fraud in two weeks! Here is what it said:
We have identified you and you are now on record. We are happy to contact you directly at your residence to inform you that you have been confirmed to receive this notice for our complimentary* airfare certificate. This offer is real and is no mistake. Please respond promptly so that we may process you.
As soon as we receive your call, we will process your validation number and tell you all about your 2 round trip airfares to many exciting destinations in the Continental U.S.!
Ben Miller, Disbursement Manager
*Some restrictions apply
The postcard, shown above, was troublesome for a few reasons.
Rennett Stowe/FLickr
Going somewhere? You better be getting a cash back rebate when you book flight, hotels, or car rentals! One of my favorite cash back sites, Shortcuts, has a page dedicated to cash back travel deals. New to this? Here’s my guide to how cash back rebates work.
A sampling of the travel savings available:
Hotels
3.5% of your purchase back from Hotels.com on Ebates
2.5% of your purchase back from Best Western on Ebates
Hotel freebies for me!
My first thought yesterday when I saw the huge spread of toiletries on my Radisson hotel room vanity was, “I’m totally going to take this stuff!” Somehow, the spectacular display of toiletries made me feel as if the hotel wanted me to take it all. A hotel that parts with an essential bar of soap, shampoo and conditioner has a stingy glow, while a hotel that displays no fewer than 23 items clearly has riches to share.
Which of course reminded me of a guest post from a reader who takes toilet paper from hotels to save money. I draw the line at tp and tissues, but confess my plans to stash away these goodies, which I estimate are worth about $25. It’s the biggest assortment of hotel goodies I’ve ever seen:
- toothbrush and toothpaste
- small comb
- mouthwash
- body wash
- razor and shave cream
- shower cap
- two bars of soap
- shampoo, conditioner, and lotion
- sewing kit
- cotton balls and cotton swabs
- shoe mitt
- shoe polishing kit including black polish, a buffing pad, a small brush, and a shoe horn, all in a cute carrying case!
- finally, a loofah clinched the deal. Who has ever seen a loofah in a hotel?
Do you take hotel swag home?
Is getting off a flight partway to save money ethical? Credit: stevendamron/Flickr
One solution to finding cheap flights is to get off the plane early, suggestions a story in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. So-called “hidden-city ticketing” is when you book a cheap flight to Vegas, for example, but deplane during a connection at your true destination of Salt Lake City.
What’s going on here? Flying to smaller airports with fewer flights is more expensive than flying to a major airport like NYC, Vegas, Miami, or Boston.
Obviously, this doesn’t work for non-stop flights. But for connecting flights, the New York Times Magazine reporter found four instances where buying a ticket directly to a big city, but then getting off at the connecting city, was less than 50% of the cost of buying a ticket to the connecting city. Examples:
N1NJ4/Flickr
Reader Meital wrote in with a common summer vacation problem:
I would like to go camping this summer with my boyfriend and our friends. I know that on your website you always mention that parks have free admission during certain times of the year. Can you recommend a few parks that are beautiful and cheap/ reasonable in california (probably about a few hours out of the san fernando valley or LA)?
Meital, here are five places you can camp for free or park an RV for $10 a night. There are many places near Los Angeles on the list. Camping is my favorite cheap summer vacation, among others.
Where do you like to camp in California or another state?
Got a question or savings tip? Email me and you could be featured on BargainBabe.com!
Jetblue flights are $9 each way!
Fly from Boston to Newark for just $9 on Jetblue when you book your flight today, Apr. 28, 2011 by 11:59 p.m. EST or local time. Prices are good for travel between May 4-June 15, 2011 when you fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday. Fees and taxes apply, see below for details. THIS DEAL WILL GO SUPER FAST!
Caveats: Offer subject to availability; may change without notice; nonrefundable, nontransferable; oneway. $15 fee applies for fares purchased by phone or JetBlue ticket office. Offer does not include Passenger Facility Charges up to $9 each way; Sept.11th Security Fees up to $5 each way; Federal Segment Tax of $3.70 per domestic segment. Taxes/fees must be paid at time of purchase. Previously purchased tickets may not be exchanged for these special fare tickets. Cancellations/changes must be made prior to scheduled departure (otherwise all money for fare is forfeited) $100 fee p/p and applicable fare adjustment apply, at jetblue.com or 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583), TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530. Cancellations receive JetBlue travel credit, valid for one year. Proper documentation required for boarding. Second bag fee $35.
Hawaii on $70/day. Credit: Glenn
Hawaii can be frugal – longtime reader Glenn proves it with his 10-day jaunt for $1,501.61 – including hotel and airfare! Without hotel, he spent $83 per day. Here is how he did it:
I flew with Hawaiian Airlines using all my air miles to book the round trip. According to their web site, the value of each flight was $402, so I saved $804 plus taxes and government fees. I accumulated my miles using the Hawaiian Visa Air Miles card since 2005. The annual fee was $25, so from 2006 through 2010, it cost me $125 by the time I was able to redeem my miles. I was able to cancel my card before the 2011 annual fee was due. Overall, not bad I would say. I did have to pay $25 for my one checked suitcase each way which I think is a total rip. And I did pay $40 for shuttle service to-and-from my house to LAX and back. And $27.50 for shuttle service to-and-from Honolulu International Airport to my hotel.
I booked my hotels through Hotels.com. My original plan was to use Priceline so I could enter my own price. However, after (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
Rubenstein//Flickr
Finding family activities that don’t break my budget and are stimulating is a challenge. As a homeschooler, I am always on the lookout for places to learn and have a good time. We are fortunate to have many wonderful institutions that allow for such activities. Depending on how often you go, membership may save you money. Here are five of my favorites:
- Children’s Museums. Many major cities have invested in children’s museums. These museums are set up to withstand rigorous play and encourage “hands on” activities, as opposed to the normal look but don’t touch rule. A truly fabulous place to go with young children.
- Science Museums. My favorite is the Boston Science Museum. With its proximity to M.I.T., it is hard to (more…)
