For years, savvy travelers have been booking flights as many as 6 months ahead of time to take advantage of early booking discounts. This year, however, what used to be a smart move could end up costing travelers more money as airlines begin to cut back and cancel flights this fall. According to Airline Cuts Hit Fliers Who Planned Early by Matt Phillips of the Wall Street Journal, many travelers have already been influenced by this situation.
Some of the ways in which these flight cancellations are affecting travelers’ plans and pocketbooks are:
Disrupting carefully planned schedules and itineraries
Added hours or days to trips
Longer hotel stays
Missed connections (flights, cruises, etc.)
Required use of more vacation days than planned
Nonstop flights being broken up (adding layovers)
While the airlines offer to change flights or refund the airfares, they will not cover additional associated expenses.
For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.
My suggestions are divided into the following subsections:
Summer Hobbies - activities with lasting benefits and meaning
Summer Studies - develop skills that will be useful in life
Summer To-Do’s - a few ways to get your life or home in order
Here are some ideas for catching up on tasks that may have been neglected during the year.
Write in your journal
Write about your past year, what’s on your mind, who and what you like and dislike, your daydreams, anything. In future years you will be glad you did it and also amused by your younger self. You think you will always remember what happened when, but as time goes by, memories do fade and become forgotten. (Trust me, I’m speaking from experience and I’m not yet 30 and have a memory better than most.)
Make a family video
Go around the house and take a video of your family going about its regular business. You will be glad for the memories one day.
Scrapbook
Organize family photos, report cards, birthday cards, artwork, concert programs and other keepsakes from the past year into a scrapbook.
Reading
Reading (even fun fiction) can help improve your mind, vocabulary, grammar and writing skills. If you go to the library, you can read in an air-conditioned environment without having to pay for the air-conditioning or the books.
Summer Studies
Yes, summer should be fun, but there’s no reason it can’t be both fun and productive.
Learn a new language The benefits of learning languages are endless. Learning a new language can help you to:
Get ahead in your career
Make new friends from different parts of the world. When you show an interest in someone’s language or culture, they are often appreciative and take an interest in you in return.
Improve your English (or first language)
Learn to play a musical instrument
Music enhances the mind in many ways. Studies have shown that children who study music at an early age do better in school than those who don’t. Aside from that, it is also just plain fun.
Learn to sew
Sewing is a very useful skill to have regardless of your gender. You can learn to mend clothes, make your own clothes and other things for your house, which can save you a lot of money. Older and more skilled children can even make their own clothes for the coming school year. Check out one of our earlier articles for more info: Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes.
Take a computer class
Learn to type properly, use a spreadsheet or database, design websites, make presentations, etc. Most jobs these days involve computer use, so knowing as much as you can about computers might help you get a higher salary.
Summer To-Do’s
A few suggestions for improving life at home and getting ahead on the coming year.
Get a head start on your Christmas shopping
This could save you time and money because you can shop at your leisure and take advantage of summer sales. Leaving your shopping to the last minute usually costs more because you are up against a deadline and usually have fewer options.
Sort through your stuff
Go through your clothes and things and prune out those you no longer want or need. You could donate the things you no longer need or hold a garage or yard sale and make some money to put into your college or retirement savings.
Re-arrange your room or home
Re-arranging your room or home can have a positive impact on your life. A change can be uplifting and produce an overall feeling of well-being and accomplishment, renew your energy and increase productivity.
Clean out your computer
Ideally you would do this several times a year, but if you use the internet and download a lot of things, it’s a good idea to clean out your computer on a regular basis. If there are programs you don’t use, uninstall them. If there are files that you no longer need, delete them. Clean your registry if you’ve had the computer for a while. Keeping your hard drive from getting too full will extend its life.
There is nothing like a vacation with the whole family. Four-legged family members add a lot of fun to the trip, but they also add a lot of work and responsibility. (I’m thinking maybe each two legs is the equivalent of one two-legged person’s worth of energy.)
As I mentioned in my previous post, Frugal Travel Begins Before the Trip: Vacation Preparation Checklist, it is the preparation that determines how much fun you will have; the better prepared, the more you will be able to enjoy your trip. And again, the way to travel frugally is to travel prepared. So to follow up that post, I wanted to share some tips for helping your entire family enjoy your summer vacation. Most of these suggestions will help save you money by avoiding costly situations such as tips for staying in a hotel with your pet, keeping your dog healthy and safe to prevent costly vet bills (either immediate or future), and also just maintain your pet’s general well-being.
Safe and Smart Pet Travel
Finding Pet Friendly Lodgings
Hotels are becoming more and more dog-friendly as businesses realize how many people consider their pets a part of the family and wish to travel with them. Do a search for Pet Friendly Hotels (or Discount Pet Friendly Hotels) to find lodgings at your destination. However, do not rely solely on the word of the pet friendly referral site; even if you will be booking your hotel stay through a referral site such as Expedia, which allows you to search for pet-friendly hotels, always double check the hotel’s pet policy on its official website. Some referral websites contain outdated, incomplete or simply wrong information on hotel pet policies. Some hotels may have accepted pets at one time but no longer, or have pet type, breed or weight restrictions. Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is to just call the hotel and ask.
When calling a pet-friendly hotel, be sure to:
Ask if they accept the type, breed and weight of your pet
Ask if there is a non-refundable pet fee (some hotels do not charge a non-refundable pet fee, something called a “cleaning fee”, and others charge as much a $150 per stay)
Ask about daily fees - per pet, per stay, etc. (most hotels charge per pet, per day)
If you are bringing more than one pet, be sure to check that they allow more than one pet per room
Merriam-Webster defines the word “vacation” as “a respite or a time of respite from something”. Well, if that “something” from which one is taking a respite is “peace and quiet” then I would have to agree with the definer. Otherwise, gathering from my 2 recent “vacations” (one to Disneyland, one [working] vacation to Las Vegas from which I have just returned), vacation seems more like a respite from peace and quite to me.
Anyhow, I thought I would put together a pre-vacation checklist to help all you other poor vacationers prepare for your vacations, because if there is one thing I have learned, vacations are costly - and I am not just talking about transportation, lodging and amusements, but all the little everyday necessities - and the only way to travel frugally is to travel prepared.Also, the better prepared you are, the better the time you will have on your vacation; knowing that everything back home is taken care of and that you are prepared for most common travel mishaps will allow you to enjoy yourself to the utmost.
And yes, I am the extremest of Type A personalities, but admit it, sometimes it is handy to have someone who has the bases covered. You’ll certainly be glad to have one of us along when the unexpected happens because we’ve planned and prepared for it (or at least have given some thought to it beforehand so as not to be caught by surprise). This isn’t a list of what to pack (toothbrush, underwear, etc.) but rather more of a pre-departure to-do list to help prepare for your trip. I’m not saying you need to do everything suggested, but hopefully a few items will prove helpful or relevant to your circumstances.
Prevention is the best medicine
Just because you are on vacation, it doesn’t mean everyone else is. This goes for utility companies, burglars and your own plumbing and wiring. When you come home from vacation, you want to make sure you still have an intact home to come home to, and aren’t met with a mountain of additional expenses. Therefore before you leave, you might want to try some of the following:
(These checkboxes are check-able, so feel free to come back and use it.)
Home and Business
Bills
Schedule (online) or mail all your bills that are due during and a few days after your vacation in case of travel delays. You never know if there may be technical difficulties that prevent you from accessing your accounts while you’re away. Better to pay early rather than pay late fees.
Library Books
Return or renew library books. Libraries often offer a vacation extension loan period if you want to take a few books with you. It might be a good idea to bring a few books if traveling with children who might need an occupation at airports, on flights, etc. If taking library books, just be sure to count the number of books you take and bring them all back.
Windows & Doors
Secure and lock all doors and windows, including any in the garage, and draw blinds or curtains.
Appliances & Faucets
Unplug all appliances including computers, TVs, lamps, hair dryers, etc. Check that all faucets are securely shut off and not dripping or leaking.
Mail
Request a Mail Hold with USPS if you’ll be gone for more than 3 days (this can be done online). This way any packages that arrive while you’re gone won’t be left outside your door and stolen or blown away.
Neighbors
If you have a neighbor or two that you can trust, let them know that you will be away and ask them to help keep an eye on your place for you. Offer to do the same for them the next time they will be away. A small thank-you souvenir when you return probably wouldn’t hurt.
Houseplants
If you have houseplants but would prefer not to have people entering your home, consider asking a neighbor if he/she wouldn’t mind keeping and watering them for you at their home while you’re away.
Lights
Leave at least one light on that is visible from the exterior of the house. If you will be gone more than a few days (or even for a few days), it would probably be worth the money to purchase an automatic timer that switches a lamp on and off at certain times. Using energy efficient bulbs would definitely help cut costs.
Business Email
If you have a business, be sure to set up an automatic Vacation Reply for your email(s) to let customers and clients know that you are away and that you will get back to them as soon as you return.
For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.
There is nothing like a vacation with the whole family. Four-legged family members add a lot of fun to the trip, but they also add a lot of work and responsibility. (I’m thinking maybe each two legs is the equivalent of one two-legged person’s worth of energy.)
This isn’t a list of what to pack (toothbrush, underwear, etc.) but rather more of a pre-departure to-do list to help prepare for your trip. I’m not saying you need to do everything suggested, but hopefully a few items will prove helpful or relevant to your circumstances.
