Travel Tips

Have a dream vacation in mind but lacking the funds to make it a reality?  Check out 7 ways to save up for your next vacation without feeling like you are depriving yourself:

1. Set Up a Separate Travel Fund Account To ensure that you don’t start using the money that you want to be saving for your next vacation, set up a separate savings account specifically for your travels. Just make sure you are choosing an account that doesn’t hit you up with too many fees.
2. Make Automatic Deposits Most banks offer the ability to easily transfer money from one account to another. So once your travel account has been set up, start having a certain amount automatically transferred from your checking account each pay day. That way, you don’t even have to remember to log in to transfer it.
3. Download a Money Saving App  Check out apps like Mint where you can consolidate your various accounts, set personal finance goals and alerts, and tag expenses by category. You can then pull reports in easy to understand charts and graphs and identify areas where you can slash excess spending.
4. Reduce Your Energy Costs  Your water heater is most likely set higher than it needs to be. Go ahead and turn it down a few notches. Replace your regular light bulbs with energy efficient ones. Not only will you be going green, but you’ll save some money doing it.
5. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize  At first saving money for your vacation will seem easy and maybe even fun.  But after a few weeks, you might lose track of your goal.  Try to keep it top of mind by leaving photos of your vacation destination around your house, office, or car.  The more you can stay focused on your goal, the quicker your savings will add up.
6. Use Cash On Fun Spending If you’re like me then using cash for every transaction seems pretty daunting and unnecessary in today’s world. And life without a few treats here and there seems rather dull.  Instead of using cash for everything, try using it on things that are seen as wants rather than needs. Try taking out $50 of cash at the beginning of each week and only use it on things like coffee, tickets to the movies, etc. It will help you stop and think whether or not that purchase is really worth it. And if you have any money left at the end of the week, you can put it back into your bank account or roll it over to use in the next week.
7. Use your Local Library First off, you are most likely already paying for the services of your local library through your taxes so why not use it? Secondly, you can save a good amount of money borrowing not only books but movies, magazines, newspapers, audiobooks, and more, rather than purchasing from Amazon or other retailers.

Taking these small steps in saving can really add up over time and put you well on your way to booking your dream vacation.

Happy saving!

Ever get home from a vacation only to feel like you need another week to recover from it? You have every intention of fully relaxing and enjoying every second of your trip … but somehow with trying to get from place to place with all your luggage on your own, figuring out what you actually want to do while there, and wishing you had planned out more details ahead of time, you end up exhausted.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you had a wonderful and memorable vacation. But there is another way of taking a trip that takes away the stress of trying to organize all the details on your own. Next time try leaving the vacation planning to a travel professional.  Whether it’s through a tour operator on a set itinerary or a more customized trip through a travel agent, leaving the details to those whose job is to plan an amazing vacation for you will allow you to truly relax and fully enjoy something that you’ve most likely been looking forward to for months!

Reasons to leave the vacation planning to the professionals:

• Save time Time is money and you can spend hours researching various aspects of your vacation on the Internet and still feel like you don’t have a good idea of what you want to do, where to stay, or where to eat. Save some time by letting a travel professional figure it out for you.  If you have your heart set on going to a specific restaurant or seeing a specific sight, let them know and they’ll be happy to build that into your itinerary.
• Knowing where to go A lot of times we take vacations to explore new destinations. But unless you know a local that can show you around, you may not know the best places to visit while you’re there. Sure, you can do your own research ahead of time, but you may only be able to find the more touristy spots.  A travel professional has the knowledge and the connections to create a vacation for you that you may not have even known was possible.
• Leaving the details to the pros Sit back and relax. When working with a travel professional, they’ll take care of making any reservation you might need including hotel, dinner, or excursions. All you have to worry about is showing up and enjoying yourself, instead of keeping track of every little detail you may or may not have thought about ahead of time.
• Troubleshooting Sometimes things just don’t go as planned which isn’t always a bad thing.  But for the times when a major hiccup occurs during your vacation like a missed flight or a hurricane is heading your way, it’s great to know you have someone in your corner to help you work through your options. When on a group tour or when working with a travel agent, you have a fallback person that will help you figure out what needs to happen next and when possible, complete whatever task needs to occur.
• Save money Tour operators and travel agents a lot of the time can get you better rates than if you just booked something on your own.  This is due to the travel professionals having existing relationships with local businesses or getting a discount because of bringing in a group of people rather than just you and your travel buddy.

Next time you’re planning your vacation, remove the stress of figuring out every little detail and contact a travel professional.

We are in the middle of the holiday season which for most people means traveling to and from family and friend gatherings. Not only does this mean that you may be vulnerable to your adorable little nephew’s cold that he got from daycare, but you are most likely getting exposed to a large number of other people who may be sick as well.  We thought it would be helpful to provide a few tips on how to avoid getting sick while traveling.

Drink More Water. 

Staying hydrated can be one the best actions you can take in fighting off an impending sickness. It oxygenates your blood and flushes out harmful toxins from your immune system. It allows you to digest your food better saving you from potential stomach aches. And, it helps organs like your eyes and mouth to retain moisture and repel foreign particles or contaminants that could cause infections. So keep a water bottle with you whenever possible.
(Photos source: Rubbermaid Products)

Boost Your Immune System. 

You may already be taking a daily multi-vitamin but during cold season that may not be enough. Try taking a few Vitamin C supplements and using a nasal spray before you get on the plane.  The Vitamin C will help fight off the airborne germs that are sealed in once they close the cabin door of the plane.  The air is quite dry when flying so spraying a few puffs of nasal spray will help your nose stay moist and therefore able to flush out the germs.

Stay Active.

We get it – most holiday celebrations involve food and drink, but it’s important to stay active while traveling (or anytime really). One of the best ways to fight off unwanted germs or infections is exercise. It not only helps get rid of toxins in your body when you sweat, but it has been proven to strengthen your immune system. Instead of sitting on the couch after a big meal, gather your family or friends to head out for a nice long walk.

Wash Your Hands Frequently.

You already wash your hands whenever you have used the bathroom (hopefully!) but when you are traveling and even during cold season in general, you should wash your hands more frequently. Just think of how many door knobs, counters, or arm rests you touch while you travel. Now think of how many other people are traveling through the airport or have been on the plane before you. Washing your hands more frequently helps prevent the germs that you’ve been in contact with throughout your day from getting into your system. Those anti-bacterial soaps that were so popular a few years ago have proven to be less effective – nothing beats good old soap and water.

Avoid Touching Certain Surfaces 

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid touching germy surfaces – you most likely will have to use the bathroom at least once on a longer flight, right? But there are a few other germy surfaces that can be more easily avoided.  The website, Travelmath, did a study of the dirtiest surfaces on an airplane and in airports. The number one offender was the tray table. They speculate that they are the worst due to the littler turnaround time airline staff have to clean a plane between flights – bathrooms on the other hand always get cleaned. You may want to think twice before placing food or even your laptop on a tray table, but if it can’t be avoided, the best thing to do is to wash your hands frequently and try not to touch your face, mouth, or eyes.

Hopefully, these tips will arm you against potential germs and help you avoid getting sick while traveling this holiday season – warm wishes and stay healthy!