Simple Steps to Afford Your Dream Vacation

M/S Silver Shadow in Örnsköldsvik archipelago,...

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Your dream vacation is a getaway that makes you feel joyful and alive. Close your eyes and imagine your ideal vacation spot. Cruises, exotic islands, skiing and water sports are just a few options. Paying for your ideal vacation may be the one obstacle standing in the way of enjoying all that your favorite getaway has to offer. However, with a few simple steps and tips, you’ll be able to travel and enjoy yourself.

Register for Travel Site Mailing Lists

Many travel companies reward loyal customers with promotions and discounts. Sign up for their mailing lists and receive newsletters with special offers. If you don’t want to be bombarded with emails, create an alternate email address specifically for your vacation plans. Visit that account every few days to take advantage of special offers.

Pay Attention to Discount Patterns

Look for off-season discounts and times when vacation spots are less populated. Families tend to travel more when kids are on holiday from school. That means you’ll get better deals during the fall and winter and a few weeks before and after major holidays. Enjoy Silversea Cruises, ski lodges and cross-country train rides for lower costs during these times.

Spend More Time Researching

A little bit of extra research time often translates into significant vacation savings. You may find that a taxi ride to a car rental location away from the airport results in a cheaper car rental. Cruises may come with hotel packages before or after you sail. Research doesn’t have to be limited to the Internet. Be sure to also ask friends, family, neighbors and colleagues for their vacation tips.

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Budgeting for Your Kids Favorite Super Hero Costume

Children dressed in Batman & Robin costumes, 1966

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You want your kid to have a Halloween costume that he or she will love, but some superhero outfits cost an outrageous amount of money. Even if you don’t have a lot of extra cash, you can find an excellent superhero costume by making a budget that keeps your Halloween festivities affordable.

Create a Budget

Start by deciding how much you can afford to spend on Halloween gear. This includes candy, decorations, trips to haunted houses and Halloween costumes. Now that you know how much you can afford to spend overall, you can plan how much to spend on each item.

You can skimp or skip certain things to free up more money for your kid’s costume. For instance, you might skip the haunted house, or perhaps you can buy cheaper candy this year.

Saving Money on Superhero Costumes

Save money by searching for costume retailers that have lower prices or offer sales on costumes close to Halloween. You don’t necessarily want to buy from a costume store that has the absolute cheapest options because those costumes could be uncomfortable or poorly made. You want your kid to have a good time, so you need a convincing costume that won’t fall apart after the first couple of trick-or-treat stops.

Consider saving money by making some pieces of the costume yourself. If your child wants to dress as Batman, then you could make the outfit and buy Batman accessories from a costume shop. Your kid will have a great costume and your bank account will still be intact.

What are some of your favorite superhero costumes for Halloween? Have you ever made a costume that really impressed other people or do you get the best results when you buy costumes from a store?

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How Loans Can Change Your Life

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There comes a time in life when money is short and an urgent bill must be paid. However, the current credit crunch initiated by banks makes it difficult for many to get loans when they need them. Banks have no obligation to loan money out to anyone they deem unfit, and that tends to be anyone without a large amount of net worth. So where does one go to get money when it is desperately needed?

The best option are short-term lenders—but avoid pay day loan places. They are the most expensive of the “quick money” companies and do not offer much in the way of options. There are better alternatives such as Plain Green Loans. No need to put up a car title or lose a paycheck. Unsecured loans are quick, discrete and flexible.

There is nothing worse than not having enough money coming in to pay the bills. Having to decide to pay the mortgage or a utility bill but not both is a devastating choice. This is the time to turn to a short-term loan company that understands that these situations happen. Short-term loan operations fulfill a gap that the major lending institutions don’t even touch.

It is unknown how long the economy is going to stay in a slump. Until something gives and wages improve, a majority of households are going to be in a continual financial bind. You can make your life a little easier by obtaining a small loan for the short term. Pay your bills, get a little breathing room and pay back the debt under terms.

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Public vs. Private Education: Can you Afford The Best?

Ideas of class in the United States can be subtle.  Frankly, class is something of a dirty word in this country, as the U.S. is a place where many people like to say there is no such thing as a class system.  After all, we are all beholden to a government that pronounces us all equal and free, with equal rights established under the law.

Yet the reality is that economic inequities in the U.S. have formed a kind of class structure in which money opens doors in many areas of life. For those without money—many doors remain closed.

How have ideas of class played out in the U.S. educational system?

Old schoolhouse.

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The unstated secret is that education is becoming a two-tiered structure. In recent decades, private schools have emerged as a major educational force, as families became less comfortable with public education and the social mixing that comes along with it.

Public education provides great opportunities for children in the United States, but with loss of funding and some cities and neighborhoods in social decline, many families with the financial resources have opted out of the public educational system.

While the change is understandable for families who are seeking the best education possible for their children, the difficulty is that the price of private education has gone up and up, making it an unaffordable option for many families of lower economic status.

Yet the story isn’t over for public education. In the midst of these changes, charter schools have emerged as another option, offering a mix of public schooling with ideas from the private sector. Though charter schools haven’t become the salvation of education in the United States, they have certainly invigorated the school culture in many cities—which is good news for all of us.

 

 

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Lifestyle Changes To Go with the New Economy

The changes in the U.S. economy since the real estate bubble blew up and then exploded in the crash of October 2008 have brought a transformation in the way many people are living their lives. Though it’s been a highly stressful time for many people, some of the changes may actually be welcome ones. If not utterly welcome, they are at least, well, interesting.

During the last thirty years, the boom and bust cycles (or “recession and recovery” as it is often referred to by government officials) in our economy have seen many people invest more and more of their life savings in homes. Real estate has been the be-all end-all of investment in many quarters, with run ups in prices during the boom times so high, it’s been nearly impossible to resist buying into the real estate rush.

1967 Elcona Mobile Home

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Along with the run-up in prices has come a run-up in home sizes, with modest homes built in earlier decades being torn down or remodeled into “McMansions” – mini mansions that were frankly outsized and often an eyesore in suburban neighborhoods.

Since the crash and ensuing recession, many people have been forced to downsize, however, as homes have fallen into foreclosure due to job loss and mortgage problems. For some, the solution has been to turn the page and invest in a simpler lifestyle, by renting instead of buying a property, or in some cases, leaving it all behind and living in a mobile home or trailer, or even a specially designed “tiny house,” measuring less than 200 square feet.

Downsizing to a tiny trailer or mobile home is a dramatic change for some, but for many people, living simply is becoming increasingly alluring as a simpler way to live.

More simplicity, less stress. Not a bad idea, is it?

 

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