Do you "envelope" budget? Credit: PinkMoose/Flickr
A friend emailed me with a bit of budgeting advice passed on from her mother, the professional organizer Janet Fishman:
Set up separate bank accounts for: living expenses, play, long-term savings, education, charity, and retirement and have either a percentage or fixed dollar amount from each paycheck go into these accounts. Most all companies that offer automatic deposits for payroll have the ability to automatically deposit into multiple accounts. Figure out how much you need to pay taxes, divide by the number of weeks you work, and that constitutes the dollar amount to set aside for each week. Repeat this for the categories above and you will be fully prepared and organized year round!
This ads up to six accounts – or more if you set up one for taxes and other categories. Phew! That strikes me as a lot to manage. Plus, you would have a harder time hitting minimum balance requirements to keep your account free or low cost.
On the other hand, how much money you have to spend on any given thing would be crystal clear. No pushing money earmarked for one expense to cover something else. Plus, retirement is singled out, which makes it more likely that you will save for retirement.
What do you think of this modern take on the “envelope” system? Would you use it?
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
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.
Free IHOP pancakes!
There are 17 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, check if there is a cash back rebate for shopping through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join and you can save a bit extra.
Free museum entrance – Military personnel and their families can get into 1,000 museums across the country for free now through Labor Day, September 5, 2011 as part of the Blue Star Initiative. Thanks Frugal Freebies!
Free IHOP - Get a free meal at IHOP when you join the pancake chain’s mailing list. I just love their pancakes!
Free glasses (again) – CoastalContacts.com is giving away 10,000 pairs of free prescription glasses to folks who “like” its Facebook page. Giveway starts June 3, 2011. You pay shipping and handling (about $15) and for any upgrades.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
zoetnet/Flickr
Got vacation time coming your way? Trying to decide what to do? I’ve got 10 steps for a great staycation (a vacation at home, so no hotel and travel costs), plus specific things to do in 80 towns across the country below.
I’m always amazed by people who haven’t been to some of the interesting places in their hometown. Don’t wait for visitors to be a tourist in your own town!
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
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:
SkyMall.com
My least favorite thing about flying is SkyMall. I’ll put up with stinky closet-bathrooms, screaming jet engines, and ear aches, just please banish SkyMall.
The items and prices in this catalog are so ridiculous, it’s an affront to my bargain sensibility. I mean, who really shops at SkyMall? Have you EVER purchased something from SkyMall? What would compel you to shop there? Please enlighten me. I really don’t understand who would pay $59.95 for a bug vacuum.
I’m writing about SkyMall because one of my favorite things about flying – GoGo Wireless in-flight Internet – has partnered with my flight nemesis (more…)
Royal Street in New Orleans Credit: ~MVI~/Flickr
This post was brought to you by Corus Hotel, which have hotels throughout the UK including Lake Windermere Hotels, a Central London Hotel and their Famous Berkshire Hotel (an ideal wedding reception venue). Unfortunately they don’t have any hotels in New Orleans!
Maureen asked if I knew of a great hotel in New Orleans, but I’ve never been so I can’t answer firsthand. I do know there are a ton of travel bargains right now. Folks travel so much for the November and December holidays that the travel industry offers steep discounts to entice people to travel in January and February. The site Travel Ticker has compiled some of the best MLK travel deals (including many deals that extend through February and beyond).
Here is what Maureen is looking for:
I am heading to New Orleans the weekend of January 20th! I was wondering if you might have any pointers on securing a great hotel, in the “happening” part of New Orleans. I prefer to stay closer to the French Quarter. I’ve already browsed hotel websites using their member loyalty programs.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Maureen
Here are five quick tips to get a travel bargain and you can find more ways to get a travel deal here. If you book over the phone, remember you can bargain down the price!!!
What would you tell Maureen? Want to share a great bargain tip? Email me.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
bfhoyt/Flickr
For many people, holiday time means taking their kids to non-kid-friendly homes or having kids come to their non-kid-friendly homes. For either party, it’s a tough time if you aren’t prepared. Kids, unlike their older counterparts, do not understand that if they are bored, they should find some quiet non-destructive activity to pass the time. Kids WILL find something to do if they aren’t given someway to entertain themselves. Unfortunately, their solution might not be something YOU find entertaining.
Do yourself a favor and spend a bit of time preparing for your visitors. You will be well rewarded by happier kids and a less stressful visit. (more…)
Posing for pics is part of every trip. Credit: pixajen/Flickr
As an addendum to my recent posts on cheap holiday vacations and cheap holiday travel tips, I just discovered a very cool map on the travel site FareCompare.com.
Plug in your starting location, your budget, the month you want to travel, and the map shows you exactly where you can afford to go across the globe.
You can narrow your search by choosing activities (ski, beach, golf), specific airlines, or price per mile. It’s easy – and fun – to think about all the trips you can take across the world. Chile! New Zealand! Turkey!
The map pulls fares published in the past four hours, so prices are accurate. Prices include taxes and fees, but not checked baggage costs, which vary greatly by airline. Flight prices may not be available on all days of the week. The map is for departure points in the U.S. only.
Thanks, Dan!
UggBoy+UggGirl/Flickr
I’ve never spent Christmas away from home so I’m fascinated with trading in a fragrant douglas fir for a margarita on the beach or map of Paris. If you are considering traveling instead of visiting family (or perhaps traveling with family), there are many affordable places to visit. Getting a cheap flight is possible, too.
Hotel prices in major American cities are 75% lower than rates in the summer in some cases. Hotels in (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
spookyamd/Flickr
I love road trips. One of the best things about moving from Boston to Los Angeles was the opportunity to drive across America and experience the Crayola Crayon Factory, the Route 66 Museum, the Giant Coke Bottle AND the Giant Milk Bottle. Road trips offer untold opportunities to stop and visit unique tourist attractions. Not to mention the enlightening conversations with the owners of said establishments.
There is simply no better website for finding unusual destinations than Roadside America. Where else can you find a motel to watch a drive-in movie from your motel window? What about a museum in New York where you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Jello? Or a ranch in Texas where they grow Cadillacs (pictured above)?
Roadside America (per the editors Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, and Mike Wilkins) is devoted to oddball or over-the-top places that make them laugh. They apparently make a lot of other people laugh as well because this site has been growing steadily since it first appeared in 1994. The content is created by the editors as well as attraction owners and visitors. They sell a phone app, Muffler Men memorabilia. However, it looks like they most likely support the site through booking hotel and motel rooms. (more…)
My tip was a lot bigger than this! Credit: Dauella manera/Flickr
It’s amazing what two twenties will do. When I arrived at LAX last week, I had no intention of lugging seven heavy boxes through the airport by myself to the regular check-in counter. Instead, I stuffed my fist with cash and walked up to the Sky Cap counter, which had a line 40-some people deep.
Two nights before a reader named Eileen had shared a valuable but expensive lesson on luggage. “My Mother taught me this,” Eileen said. “If you ever need help at the airport, put a fifty dollar bill in your raised hand and ask if anyone can help. Someone will find you.”
Eileen was right. With $40 in my left hand, I approached the Sky Cap counter.
“I have seven boxes to check. Is it okay if I put them right here while I wait in line?”
Two junior Sky Caps conferred and decided it would be okay to tuck my bags off to the side so I wouldn’t have to inch them forward as I waited in line. I think they saw my twenties.
I put my cash back in my pocket and began unloading boxes from my friend’s car. A senior Sky Cap came over while I was dropped off box No. 3 and I double checked that it was okay to stockpile my boxes while waiting in line. It was.
When I dropped off the last box he was waiting for me. Had he seen my twenties? I’m pretty sure.
“How many are you flying with?”
“Just me.”
“We’re going to have to charge you for those extra bags, unfortunately.”
“That’s fine. I did the math and Southwest is the cheapest.”
The senior Sky Cap asked for my full name and suggested I step down two counters so he could check me in. What? No line?
He DEFINITELY saw my twenties. Because he offered to let me cut, I didn’t protest.
I checked in and was free of my burdensome bags within 10 minutes. I paid $250 for my seven pieces of luggage (the first two bags are free on Southwest and each bag after that up to 10 bags is $50). Not a single bag was weighed – at least that I saw. Bags over 50 pounds are $100 and one of my pieces was awfully heavy. Did my big tip save me an overweight baggage fee? I’ll never know.
I jumped into the security line and wondered if big spenders regularly experienced the ease and comfort I had. My $40 saved me time, reduced my stress, and got me out of the mid-day heat.
I rarely sympathize with big spenders – I have been known to scoff at overt displays of wealth – but after my $40 worked wonders at the airport I have a new perspective. Spending money, and not just saving it, can bring peace of mind. So if a Sky Cap at my destination airport happens to notice my fresh twenties and offers to lug my seven boxes across baggage claim? Well, I’m going to smile and say thank you.
What was your most worthwhile splurge?
Thanks for the tip, Eileen!
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
goodrob13/Flickr.
Do you yearn to be a screaming audience member on The Price is Right or a cheering fan on the Tonight show? Do you dream of watching your favorite star being filmed on-set? With some pre-planning, patience and luck, these experiences can be yours – for free.
As hard as it is to believe, television studios have to work to fill their audiences each time they shoot. It’s not just a matter of opening their front door and letting any old riff-raff in. There are dress codes and rules. Doling out coveted set passes sucks up staff time and energy. For many (but not all) shows, this coordination is too much trouble so television show turns the duty over to a company that specializes in finding audiences.
Here are some ways to get in to the shows you want to see:
- For free tickets for Two and a Half Men, Wizards of Waverly Place, Melissa and Joey, I’m in the Band and more, try Audiences Unlimited, Inc.
- If you are a Jimmy Kimmel Live! fan, you can get tickets online or call 866-546-6984 (weekdays from 1-4 p.m. PST).
- American Idol, Hannah Montana, So You Think You Can Dance?, and Dancing with the Stars tickets can be obtained through On Camera Audiences.
- Your dream to be on a game show can come true at game show contestant submissions or go to any of the major TV network’s websites and look for a “casting” link.
- The Tonight Show tickets are distributed at the studio’s ticket window the day of taping or by mail. Write to 3000 W. Alameda Ave, Los Angeles, CA 91523 or call 818-840-3537.
- Saturday Night Live tickets are distributed by lottery.
- And last, but not least… if you are just dying to be seen on television wearing a hula outfit and scuba gear holding a sign saying “I love Drew Carey” then you are destined to be on The Price is Right.
Going to the taping of a TV show is an impressive first date (if the show is your date’s favorite), a frugal and memorable vacation event, or an educational field trip. There is a LOT more going on off the screen than most people know.
I’ve seen some really cool shows with my friends and family using some of these links.
Have you ever gone to the taping of a TV show? Was it fun?
