Wise Bread (David DeFranza)

Make Your Own Deal Tracker

David DeFranza — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:08:51 +0000

If you are not already familiar with them, websites like Woot! and Steep and Cheap offer a single item at a time, often at huge discount, but only until their limited stocks run out. If you need a new piece of travel gear or gadget, these sites can be a great way to find it for cheap. However, they also encourage frequent refreshing, procrastination, and impulse buying.

What if there was a way to filter the results so that you were only notified of items you were most interested in?

Well, I am going to show you an easy way to do just that.

Introduction: RSS and Yahoo! Pipes

Real Simple Syndication, commonly known as RSS, is just an easy way for readers to stay up-to-date with new content on their favorite websites. Using RSS is commonly refered to as "subscribing" because new content is delivered to the reader's browser or email, eliminating the need for them to visit the site themselves. The major difference between an RSS subscription and most magazine subscriptions is that the former is totally free to use.

Yahoo! Pipes is a fun, straight forward, way to manipulate the information carried by the RSS subscription. I say it is fun because really it is a lot like playing with blocks. Here are five simple steps to creating a custom deal finder with Yahoo! Pipes.

Step One: Grab your sources

The first thing we need to do is insert the RSS links into Yahoo! Pipes. The links themselves can be found on each deal site, marked by either a text link labeled "RSS" or a square, orange, icon. Copy the link from you favorite deal site and head over to Yahoo! Pipes.

To create a deal tracking machine, we are going to link several modules together with "pipes." The first module we want is under "Sources" in the left column and called "Fetch Feed." Drag the module from the left column into the working area to add it to our machine.

In the dialog box on the Fetch Feed module, add the RSS link from your favorite deal site. I did this twice, once for Woot! and once for Steep and Cheap.

Step Two: Sort the results

The next thing we want to do, is sort the results from the two sites, so that the newest deals will always be at the top of the list. This is easy with the use of the "Sort" module, found under "Operators" on the left side.

Connect this module to the first one by clicking the little circle at the bottom of the Fetch Feed module and dragging it to the top ofSort. You should see a "pipe" appear between the two. It's kind of like connecting the dots.

Under the "Sort by" drop-down menu on the Sort module, select, "item.pubDate" and then set it to "descending." Once that is finished, click the plus sign on the module to create another sort option.

Set the second sort option to "item.y:published" and, again, descending.

I did this twice, once for each of my RSS links.

Step Three: Combine the feeds

Note: If you have only a single Fetch Feed module than you can skip this step.

If you have been working with the RSS links from two sites like I have, we can now combine them into one. We do this using the "Union" module located under Operators in the left column. After dragging it into the work area, you will see that the module has several input circles but only a single output.

Click and drag between the output circle of the Sort module to one of the input circles on the Union module. Do this for each differentSort module you have created.

Step Four: Filter the results

The goal of this process is to filter the many deals that will appear for things you do not need, from those that you do. We can do this using the "Filter" module, located under Operators in the left column.

Once you have dragged the Filter module over from the left column, you will see that you have the option of either blocking or permitting certain items. The easiest thing to do is to permit only the items you are interested in.

As an example, lets say I am interested in buying a new winter jacket. I would set the Filter to "permit items that contain all of the following." For the rule, I would select "item.description" from the first dialog box, leave "Contains" selected in the second, and type "jackets" into theword box at the end. That's it.

We are almost done, but I like to do one more thing to limit the results I recieve. Drag the "Truncate" module from the Operators section in the left column and connect it below the Filter module. Set this to however many results you want to see. Something like two, five, ten, so on.

Now is also the time to connect a pipe between the bottom of the Truncate module to the "Pipe Output" module.

Step Five: Grab your feed

Once you have connected to the Pipe Output module, click save and name your new feed.

Once created, there are many ways you can view the results of your new deal-tracker feed. If you click "Run Pipe," you will notice that you can view the results on that page, add them to a Yahoo! or Google homepage, get them sent to your phone or email, or view them through any other RSS reader. How you view the results is up to you.

Once you find that great deal on a winter jacket, simply go back in, edit you Filter to permit a different item, and save the Pipe again.

Deal-a-day sites can be a great way to find discounts on items you do not urgently need. To beat their impulse buying trap, try using the free and powerful Yahoo! Pipes tool to create your own deal tracker.

What is your experience with Yahoo! Pipes? What are your favorite deal-a-day websites? Let us know in the comments.

Permalink | 5 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Shopping

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5 Easy Recipes Perfect for the Traveling Chef

David DeFranza — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:10:52 +0000

By David DeFranza

Self-catering while traveling is an excellent way to save money. However, cooking on the road poses a whole set of problems and challenges that can seem impossible to overcome. You don't want to have to buy an entire spice rack to make your favorite recipe and then be faced with the difficult decision of lugging it around or leaving it. Even if you are willing to buy what you need, you cannot always count on foreign supermarkets having the items you are accustomed to. When you finally get a meal cooked, there is often a huge amount leftover that cannot be packed to the next destination.

These challenges have put me on the lookout for simple, good, food that can be cooked with a minimal number of widely available ingredients, and prepared in variable portions. Of course, I am thinking mainly of travelers staying in accommodation, be it a hostel, friend's house, or rental house, with a basically stocked kitchen.

Here are five easy recipes for the traveling chef:

1. Fritatta

Like a more-hearty omelet, the frittata is a frugal cooking classic. What makes this dish great for the traveler, in my opinion, is that it is based around eggs, one of the most universal ingredients in the world, and that it can be modified to include any local meat, fish or produce you can find. For a basic introduction to making a frittata, check out this recipe from the New York Times. For an example of how this simple dish can be elevated to something spectacular, have a look at this spinach frittata recipe.

2. Lentil or Bean Stew

Though you probably won't use the whole package in a single meal, a small bag of dried lentils or beans is easy to carry with you. I prefer lentils to beans because they do not require soaking prior to cooking. If you use beans instead and are planning to cook after a travel day, I recommend placing them in a resealable water bottle that you can carry in your bag throughout the day.

Making the lentils or beans into a stew only requires a single pot and can consist of any rooty vegetables, potatoes, and spices you find at the local market. For an example of a very simple lentil stew, check out this recipe.

3. Sauted Noodles

Whether it is a local native or an import from Italy, dried noodles can be found in markets and convenience stores around the world. To quickly cook noodles using a minimal number of ingredients, try sauteeing them (after they have been mostly cooked in boiling water) with some oil, crushed or chopped tomatoes, and any other vegetables or spices you can find.

4. Baked Fish

If you can find fish for sale, this is an incredible recipe that uses very few ingredients. Take some fish fillets or a whole fish, gutted and scaled, cover it with salt and pepper, a pad of butter or some olive oil, and a generous helping of lemon juice. Then put it in a 350 or 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. That's it.

For an example of this popular recipe, check out this version from the Hillbilly Housewife.

5. Drunken Chicken

Nothing gets a hostel full of backpackers excited like the sound of beer cans cracking open. This is why drunken chicken, is a great dinner to make when traveling, even though it typically produces more food than you could comfortably eat yourself in one night. Most simply, this dish requires a chicken, a can of beer, and some basic seasonings. If you roast some local vegetables while the chicken is baking, you will have a feast that will certainly win some new friends. For a fairly simple recipe, look no farther than Paula Deen's Drunken Chicken.

One of the great pleasures of traveling is the opportunity to sample another country's cuisine. Eating out for every meal, however, can add up even in the cheapest of destinations. And cooking for yourself not only saves money, it gives you and excuse to tour some new supermarkets and an opportunity to make new friends wherever you are staying.

What are some of your favorite, simple, recipes? Let us know in the comments.

Permalink | 3 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Frugal Living, Food and Drink

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Your Couch Can Earn Cash And Support A Band

David DeFranza — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:26:53 +0000

By David DeFranza

By now, anyone interested in budget travel has heard of CouchSurfing, a website that helps connect travelers with benevolent strangers in cities and towns around the world. The concept has hit the mainstream, even approaching trend status, best evidenced by a recent television commercial featuring a couch surfer armed with a particular brand of cell phone.

Of course, CouchSurfing has obvious advantages for travelers looking to meet locals and save money, but it can also be fun for hosts as well. Having a foreign guest, especially one eager to visit your town's tourist attractions with you, can almost be like taking a trip yourself. If you are trying to learn a foreign language, or even an international language, hosting a couch surfer is a great way to get some practice. Simply hearing someone else's stories can make for a memorable evening. Certainly, there are many reasons to participate in home stay programs, even if you don't plan to take a trip in the near future.

If you are considering becoming a host for couch surfers, be sure to check out these two, slightly different, opportunities.

AirBed & Breakfast

The basic premise of AirBed & Breakfast is familiar: travelers search for hosts listed in an on-line database, booking a night or two through the website. The significant difference is that, as a host, you can set a price for your accommodation. This means that, in addition to the less tangible benefits of hosting a guest, AirBed & Breakfast can help you make some extra money as well. The program is open to everyone, whether you have an extra room or simply a couch available, but the amount of money you can make clearly depends on what you have to offer and where it is located.

Better Than the Van

Another interesting alternative to hosting a couch surfer is to host a band on tour. Better Than the Van is a website designed to facilitate just such an arrangement. Though the thought of having a band crash in your place may be a bit frightening, it is a great way to support independent music and up-and-coming artists. If you are a fan of music, this could be a great way to meet some musicians.

What is your experience with couch surfing? Ever hosted a stranger? Let us hear about it in the comments.

Permalink | 7 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Lifestyle, Making Extra Cash

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Facebook For Budget Travelers

David DeFranza — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:13:48 +0000

By David DeFranza

For the frequent traveler, Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances from around the world. Is it possible, however, that the popular social network could help budget-minded travelers save time and money when looking for cheap accommodation and transportation?

These applications could help you do just that.

Find a Couch

Of course, the best way to find a free place to stay through Facebook is to mine your pool of friends. If you don't have a connection in a particular area there are many services that connect you with generous strangers. Two applications, CouchSurf and CouchSurfing, allow you to search for and book available couches through Facebook. The advantage to this over separate, dedicated, sites like CouchSurfing.com is that you will be able to use your host's Facebook profile and network of friends as an indication of his or her disposition, interests, and so on. If you are comfortable with the Facebook platform, it could save you the trouble of becoming established on a more specific site.

Reserve a Hostel

Before couch surfing, the accommodation option of choice for budget travelers was the hostel. Scary movies aside, hostels are still great places to stay if you are on a budget, especially if you are interested in meeting like-minded travelers. Two different Facebook applications, confusingly called Hostels and Hostel, help you find hostels in your destination, evaluate your options with user reviews, book rooms, and coordinate plans with your friends. If you like booking hostels on the internet, and many travelers do, these applications help streamline the process.

Find a Ride

Once accommodation is squared away, the next concern for most travelers is transportation. There are a number of applications that help you search for airfares to visit your friends, but I don't think they are particularly useful or concerned with budget travel. More useful, in my opinion, are applications that allow you to find or offer a ride throughcarshare networks. Both Carpool, an extension of the popular Zimride, and Share My Ride can help secure cheap rides most places in the United States.

Send a Postcard

As you may know, I am a huge fan of postcards. There are many applications, including Kiwee postcards and Photo Wall, that allow you to send "postcards" to your friends for free. If you are on such a tight budget that the cost of postage is a concern, this could be a solution. However, it seems that almost all of the romance of sending a card through the mail is lost on these digital interpretations. The solution may be Hippopost, which sends a printed postcard via snail mail from your Facebook account.

Find a Travel Partner

Traveling with a friend, someone with whom you can share the excitement and hardships, can enrich any trip. Having a second person who can help split costs can also significantly reduce the cost of your trip. One application,appropriately called Trips, helps you find people interested in joining you on your next adventure. It also helps you plan, document, and share your trip. With its focus on sharing something that is important to you, Trips is likely the most social of the applications discussed here.

Facebook is one of the most popular social networks not only because of its simple interface and massive pool of users, but because of its functionality as a platform for accomplishing common tasks socially. When preparing for your next trip, trying using this platform to help save you time and money.

Let us know how it works out in the comments.

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Can AirNinja Find Airfare Deals?

David DeFranza — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:30:06 +0000

By David DeFranza

Everyone has his or her own strategy for finding the best price on airfare. Some people swear by sites like Farecast, Farecompare, and Air Fare Watch Dog. More and more people, however, are relying on Kayak.com to sniff out the cheapest fares.

The only problem with big search engines like Kayak and others, is that they do not include many smaller, regional and discont, airlines. A new site called AirNinja is designed to fill that niche. Enter your departure point and destination into AirNinja and the site returns a list of small and discount airlines that service your route. It does not help you book flights, or even hint at ticket prices, but it does provide contact information so you can check for yourself.

The question that emerges: will this really help you save money on a ticket?

Putting it to the test

I deceided to do a little comparison shopping to see if AirNinja could help save money. On June 30, 2008, I tried four diffrent itineraries and comapared the prices between Kayak.com's results and those offered by AirNinja's suggestions.

Round 1: Newark to Los Angeles

My first test was a crosscountry flight. I searched for a flight from Newark's EWR on July 29, 2008, to Los Angeles LAX with a return on August 5, 2008. Kayak's search computers went crazy and, for this week long trip, turned up a ticket on AirTran for $385. When I went to AirTran's website the actual ticket price was $360. Not bad.

Over at AirNinja, I actually searched for flights from all airports in the New York area to all airports in the Los Angeles area. The search turned up JetBlue and Southwest Airlines. JetBlue is searched by Kayak and didn't really offer me a close enough route to be acceptable. Southwest, which is not searched by Kayak, turned up a ticket for a total of $447. This is not a great price, especially considering it requires a flight out of an inconvenient airport on Long Island.

Result: Kayak wins

Round 2: New York to San Francisco

I wanted to test the crosscountry flight again. This time I searched for flights from New York's JFK, departing on July 29, 2008, to San Francisco's SFO, returning, again, on August 5, 2008. Kayak found a ticket on JetBlue for $329.

AirNinja searched and the only carrier it returned was JetBlue. Out of curiosity, I entered the same itinerary into the JetBlue site and the same price, $329, came back. I am inclined to call this one a draw, but must conceed that Kayak was more conenient.

Result: Draw on price, though Kayak was more convenient

Round 3: New York to London

I wanted to try some international flights as well so I went to Kayak and searched for tickets from all airports in New York to all airports in London. I kept the departure date July 29 but this time I changed the return to August 12, 2008. Kayak returned a fair of $737.64 on Air India, one of my favorite airlines.

With AirNinja, things got a bit more complicated. Three airlines were suggested: AirBerlin, Aer Lingus, and Zoom Airlines. I had a lot of trouble booking a flight through AirBerlin. Everytime I tried to get the price to London, I eneded up looking at a ticket going to Vienna. I fiddled for a few minutes and gave up. I moved on to the Aer Lingus website which was a pleasing shade of green. I entered the information and, for a flight going from JFK to London Gatwick, a price of $1,228.05 returned. Finally, I gave Zoom Airlines a try. Several of the flights had been booked already, so I had to change the dates a bit. Still, I managed to find a ticket only a day or two off the original itinerary for $988.55.

Result: Kayak

Round 4: London to Barcelona

AirNinja claims its strength is finding deals on flights within Europe. I did a search for flights from all airports in London to all airports in Barcelona, departing on July 29 and returning August 5. Kayak found a flight on Easyjet, which did not surprise me, for $185. However, when I went to the Easyjet website, the actual fare was increased to $228.61 by various fees Kayak had not detected.

AirNinja found five airlines that could make the trip. The first, Thomsonfly returned a comparably absurd price of more than $535. The second, Fly Thomas Cook, would not return a price. At this point I realized that navigating airline websites was a serious pain. The next on AirNinja's list was Easyjet. Again, out of curiosity, I did a search and was able to adjust the times, though I kept the same days, to get a slightly cheaper fare of $200.72. Finally, I checked the last airline, Ryanair. The website required little fiddling and returned a price of $156.42.

Result: AirNinja

The Verdict

In this test, Kayak emerged the victor. To be fair (or should I say "fare") this was in no way a scientific or conclusive test. The dates and routes I chose were completely arbitrary. Looking at the list of airlines AirNinja has indexed, I suspect this tool is especially useful for shorter, regional flights in areas you are not familiar with, particularly in Europe.

Where Kayak really stood out was in the ease of use compared to badly designed airline websites. I am sure this is no accident of the Kayak team, or a surprise to fans of the site, but the interface really wins points for usability.

That said, I think I will add AirNinja to the list of sites I check when doing airline ticket research. You never know when it might find something you had never heard of before.

Permalink | 2 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Cars and Transportation

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Don't Greenwash Your Holiday

David DeFranza — Sat, 31 May 2008 01:03:01 +0000

By David DeFranza

As consumer concern over environmental problems has increased, we have witnessed a push to make almost every industry "greener." The travel industry, as we all know, has not ignored this trend. From hybrid car rentals to carbon offsets, green hotels to conservation oriented vacation packages, the number of options now available to the environmentally conscious traveler are numerous.

While I appreciate these efforts, the reality is that, at this point, much of it is greenwashing.

This greenwash, which describes any good or service that is misleading about its environmental virtue, often comes at a premium, adding several additional fees to a vacation. To save our budgets and our conscience, we must filter out the truly green from the imposters.

The first step is to define ecotourism, or green travel, in a way that is meaningful to you. In order to do this, you must decide what shade of green traveler you are. Decide to what lengths you are willing to go in order to make your trip easier on the environment before you start shopping around for hotels and packages. If you are looking for a more concrete definition, perhaps the best place to look is the International Ecotourism Society, which defines ecotourism as:

"Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people."

When evaluating an element of your holiday, whether it is a carbon offset, eco-hotel, or environmental tour, compare its promises to your definition. If they do not match, than it is probably not a good option for you. If it does match your definition, than you should check to make sure it holds up against the "Six Sins of Greenwashing." These "sins" offer an excellent framework for evaluating, not only ecotourism options, but all "green" products and services.

Hidden Trade-off: Make sure that one green initiative does not cause other problems. For example, a hotel may advertise that it is heated with wood instead of oil, but harvesting local wood for fuel may be contributing to the deforestation of the region.
No Proof: Many hotels and operators will claim to be doing things to help the environment, but cannot offer any evidence of their efforts. Don't hesitate to ask if a hotel or tour company has a written policy concerning environmental initiatives and relations with local people. If they don't have it written down, it probably isn't happening.
Vagueness: This likely goes without saying for Wise Bread readers, but you should never take a claim of "green," "environmentally friendly," or even "ecotourism" at face value. Look for specific definitions of terms and actionable policies that produce measurable results.
Irrelevance: It takes a little effort, but it is a good idea to do some research to verify the relevance of claims. For example, if a hotel boasts that it has a "property wide recycling program," it is worth checking to see if, in fact, there is a citywide recycling program mandated by law.
Fibbing: It is easy to say that a building was constructed from "environmentally friendly materials," but it is harder to know what this means. For the traveler, the best way to sniff out fibbing is to look for widely accepted certifications, or their absence. Some common ones include Green Globe, Energy Star, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Lesser of Two Evils: A carbon offset flight is still harmful to the environment in several other ways. Whether you give up certain unavoidably impacting activities or not depends on what shade of green traveler you are. Either way, consider the true benefit a green upgrade has in comparison to the damage done by the activity before you pay extra for it.

As the travel industry clamors to turn green, it will, at times, settle for the appearance of environmental friendliness. It is important for us, as consumers, to take a little effort to make sure these initiatives are all that they seem.

More importantly, it is necessary for travelers to define their own understanding of eco-travel, one that takes into consideration individual tastes, tolerances, and budgets. By doing this, we may help make the travel industry one that is genuinely concerned with its impact.

For some more about greenwashed travel, check out the following:

Permalink | 3 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Art and Leisure, Consumer Affairs, Green Living

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Europe Reborn As A Budget Destination?

David DeFranza — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:30:23 +0000

By David DeFranza

I had abandoned Europe as a possibility for the budget traveler long ago. I did it with great difficulty, because I know from experience there is nothing like the food, history, and atmosphere of Europe. Still, a strong euro and expensive flights seemed to offer no other choice. That is, until I read about a deal to be made on Sunday.

The Open Skies agreement, reducing restrictions on flights between the United States and Europe, is expected to foster competition and, at some key airports like London's Heathrow, spark as much as a 20% increase in transatlantic traffic by June. With this increase in volume and competition experts predict "in the next 18 months you will be able to travel at a steep discount to Europe."

We may not have to wait for major airlines to catch on. Zoom airlines has already begun an aggresive expansion program, with flight schedules modeled after the regional low cost carriers, to drive down the price of flying to Europe. At the moment it is still no bargain, but with a little more competition and room to operate, these already discounted fares will likely drop even further.

For me, the possibility of more reasonable airfares triggered daydreams about lazy coffees at French cafes. With the current exchange, that would be a lazy, budget breaking, $10 coffee. Reality seeped in and I realized that even with the cheapest flight possible, the value of a weakening dollar is a serious budget challenge. But, does it necessarily make travel in Europe impossibly expensive?

Thanks to EasyJet, RyanAir, and other pioneers of low cost airfare, it is still cheap, even with a weak dollar, to fly around Europe. With CouchSurfing and other room share programs, It is possible to sleep for free. This option may not work well for families, but there is always the opportunity of a home exchange.

Of course, there are other expenses that will have to be dealt with. Perhaps the best way to beat the weak exchange is to avoid the euro all together. From Poland and Hungry, to Estonia, Sweeden, and the Czech Republic, there are many excellent destinations not yet on the euro. Even if forced to face a euro exchange, all is not lost. There are many tricks to eating cheap abroad, visiting museums, and even shopping that can help cut the costs.

This is all good in theory, but is it possible in the New Europe? I found some admirable examples of budget travel in Europe. Frankly, it was inspiring.

So, am I off to find the coffee of my daydreams? Well, if I am, it will be relegated to a planned "splurge" in the budget, I am afraid. Still, I am now convinced that a budget trip to Europe, while it may require some careful planning, is possible. I think that, even with frightening reports, this most expensive of destinations can show us just how much travel is possible with a small amount of carrefully spent money.

Permalink | 17 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Lifestyle

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Free Travel With Postcard Fun

David DeFranza — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:00:14 +0000

By David DeFranza

A strange picture. A quick message filled with glancing references to the exotic. Odd postmarks and stamps in a foreign tongue. At the same time nostalgic and alluring, nothing epitomizes travel so much as the postcard. Unlike letters, magazines, or websites, postcards require flipping and by this actionseparate the picture and message, creating a pause between them, inviting the mind to wander.

For these reasons, having a little fun with postcards is a great way to simulate the experience of travel, get into the spirit, and take a trip for free (or very cheap) albeit in the imagination.

Here are some of my favorite postcard activities:

Make travel inspired wall decorations

If staring at your walls has you down, postcards can make some inspiring new decorations. Though you can find frames that will fit the exact dimensions of most postcards, I prefer the look of the mounted postcard. To do this, affix the card to the center of coloredcard stock or heavy paper before framing. How you acquire a frame is up to you, but I like to reuse frames from cheap pictures bought at thrift shops or liberated from the dump.

Create a travel journal

If you are like me, you have a stack of postcards from various trips that you bought but never got around to filling out and sending. This pile is a great resource for revisiting old travel memories. Take a card and fill out the back as though you were sending it to a friend or even yourself. It will feel silly at first, but after you fill two or three cards your mind will loosen up and the memories will start flowing. Of course, you could do this on the computer or a sheet of paper, but I think the back of a postcard limits the amount of time you can spend on each memory, preventing burnout and overload.

Make your own postcards

If you don't have a pile of postcards lying around, you can make some of your own. A postcard can really be made out of any material. The only limitation is that it must be 5-6" long and 3.5-4.5" wide. You can cut card bases out of card stock or old manila file folders and glue any picture you want to the front. Magazine or catalog pictures are great, or make a collage. You can also cut down the fold of most greeting cards to make two regulation postcards.

Send a postcard puzzle

Making a puzzle is a fun thing to do with homemade postcards. Take a large picture and cut it into four, postcard-sized, pieces. You can start a fun mail game by sending the pieces to a friend over a period of time. For a more complex version, send the pieces to different friends with a message indicating who to contact for the rest.

Turn your photos into postcards

There are many ways to turn your own photos into postcards. I like to print them out myself and, if necessary, glue them onto a piece of card stock. For a more professional finish, get some prints developed from your favorite kiosk or development service.

Send a PostSecret

If you are having fun making postcards, but can't think of anywhere to mail them, you might want to check out the popular PostSecret website. To participate, create an anonymous, confessional, postcard and mail it in. Looking at the postcards can, at the very least, serve as inspiration for your own designs.

Join Postcrossing

If you are not in the confessional mood, but are still looking for a place to mail your postcards, check out Postcrossing. This fun website gives you a random member's address to mail a postcard to. Once the card is received, someone will mail a postcard to you. This is a fun way to get mail from all over the world.

Travel is about so much more than movement. Get in the spirit this weekend with some postcard fun!

Permalink | 1 comment | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Art and Leisure, DIY

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7 Reasons To Take The Bus

David DeFranza — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:00:19 +0000

By David DeFranza

In the deeply entrenched hierarchy of transportation options, flying has always been comfortable in its position above all others. Recently, air travel's superior convenience has been eroded by crowded routes, increasing delays, and long security lines. At the same time, increases in fuel prices have made budget fares difficult to find. By now, the glamor of flight has faded in the eyes of most travelers.

Meanwhile, a once lowly mode of transportation, the bus, has been working hard to craft its niche in the budget market. More comfortable buses and cheaper fares are covering more routes than ever before.

Here are seven reasons to consider taking the bus:

1. Cost

Low cost airlines have made huge progress in America over the last five years, but even at their most discounted, it is hard to compete with the bus. The well known "China Town" buses continue to operate between Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Washington D.C with fares around $15 one way. At the same time, newcomers like BoltBus have introduced fares on similar routes as low as $1. Even Greyhound has introduced a group of fares that range in price from $13 to $34 one way.

2. Coverage

Cheap buses have always been available to take you around town, but it used to be that longer routes were limited to trips between New York and Boston. Recently, however, these low cost buses have dramatically increased their route coverage extending up and down the both coasts, around the Midwest, and even, with some changes between carriers, across the country. Currently, Gotobus and the British owned Megabus dominate these networks. Of course, if you are thinking about taking a really long trip, Greyhound still claims it will take you anywhere in the United States for $99.

3. Time

I know what you are thinking: sounds good, but the bus is so slow. It is true that while the bus plods along around 55 mph, the airplane is high above, cruising at hundreds of miles an hour. But when you add up connection times and layovers, indirect routes that cater to an airline's hubs instead of your travel plans, and the time it takes to get to and from airports, the time savings in transit are drastically reduced.

The bus, which has a main station in the center of most cities, may indeed get you there faster, especially if you are traveling to a nearby city. I don't even want to get into the hassle caused by delayed, canceled or missed airline connections, but it does remind me of my next point...

4. Reliability

I have been a frequent traveler on the route between New York City and Syracuse, which passes through a notorious snow belt. These trips have taught me one thing: the bus will continuing driving though conditions that would stop your personal car, let alone an airplane. It is very rare for a bus to be canceled and, in my experience, the companies know their routes well enough that significant delays are rare (though they do occur, of course). When you book a bus ticket you can be almost guaranteed that the bus will depart as scheduled.

5. Its More Green

Many analysts say that one flight produces the same amount of CO2 per person per mile as if the passengers were driving alone in separate cars. In addition, airplanes emit many other harmful materials and it all goes directly into the upper atmosphere. The result of this, we are told, is that the damage to the atmosphere done by flying is almost twice that of driving the same number of miles in a car. When you look at the numbers, a full bus is much more gentle on the environment than a flight of the same distance. That said, the debate is ongoing.

6. Free Wi-Fi

The second major complaint commonly voiced about bus travel, after its perceived slowness, is that it is uncomfortable. Interestingly, as many airlines stripamenities to become more bus-like, some bus lines have taken action to make travel more comfortable. A notable example is the BoltBus, which in addition to its $1 fares, offers free Wi-Fi access on all of its routes.

7. Flexibility

Many bus lines offer exceptional flexibility with their tickets. Greyhound, for one, allows you to use a ticket for the reserved route on any day or time for which there is availability, up to a year after the original departure date. Other companies, notably Megabus, allow you to change your reservation with 24 hours advance notice and only a $1 service charge. I have also found drivers to be very generous with the baggage allowances as long as the bus is not too full, something you will never experience flying.

The humble bus is coming back as a cheap and friendly alternative to flying. With the environmental controversy, security and scheduling hassles, and increasing prices andsafety concerns, why not give this old, budget travel standby, another chance?

Permalink | 17 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Cars and Transportation

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Frequent Flier Programs For Infrequent Fliers

David DeFranza — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:00:29 +0000

By David DeFranza

It's hard to argue with the basic idea of the frequent flier program. Getting credit towards a free flight every time I spend money on a ticket does make it a little easier to finalize travel plans. The only trouble is, I do not generally fly in a way that allows me to capitalize on the benefit. At their root frequent flier programs are consumer loyalty programs and I am, admittedly, a woefully disloyal consumer.

Most people fly infrequently or with whichever airline offers the cheapest fare. Frequent flier programs are not designed for customers like this. Nevertheless, they hang there, a carrot from a stick, beaconing us towards an unrealistic reward.

Even if you fly frequently and are consistent with airlines, changing rules and restrictions make it advantageous to use your credit as soon as possible.

Fortunately, there are several tricks for maximizing miles and using them in creative ways to get the most benefit with the smallest credit.

Earn miles on the ground

Most people are aware of the many credit cards available that provide bonus air miles for every purchase. While I am personally not a big fan of credit cards, this is one of the many reasons to use your credit card to pay for everything, that is, if you can do so responsibly.

Besides credit card bonuses, there are several other ways to earn miles on the ground. Both e-rewards and e-miles give airline miles for viewing marketing information and taking surveys. Whether this is a worthwhile use of your time is debatable. However, if you only need a few more miles to attain a reward, these programs offer a no-cost way to do it.

Finally, if you like shopping, mypoints.com and the WebFlyer Milage Mall might be a good solution for building up some additional air miles or hotel credit through purchase you had planned to make anyway.

Trade and exchange miles

If, like me, you have miles spread across several different programs you do not frequently add to, consolidating may be the best option. The basic strategy most people use is to find a "common denominator" between various flight programs. For example, If you have a few miles from an international flight with Virgin Atlantic, but the majority of your miles are from domestic flights with American Airlines, you can use the Hilton HHonors reward system to transfer between the two airlines. Keep in mind that when you transfer your Virgin Atlantic miles to Hilton HHonors points, you will lose some credit and that even more will be lost when you convert the HHonors points into American Airlines miles. Another useful "common denominator" program is Amtrak Rewards.

A while ago Wise Bread writer Nora Dunn introduced us to Points.com, a great place to manage reward programs. This service is also a great place to trade and transfer points between programs, informs you of any applicable bonus offers available, and even allows you to buy more points.

Make a donation

Finally, if you are feeling philanthropic, or that your miles are too insignificant to ever be of use, consider donating them to your favorite cause. Many well known charities accept frequent flier miles donations including the Red Cross, and Project Hero. More examples can be found at this guide for OnePass members. While you generally will not receive a tax deduction for these donations, it is a good way to help out and prevent your miles from going to waste.

It is true that frequent flier miles have the greatest value when applied to the airline from which they were earned. However, for most fliers, this simply isn't practical. With a little research you can consolidate and maximize you rewards and apply them to something worthwhile.

Permalink | 5 comments | David DeFranza's blog | Channel: Cars and Transportation

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