Great tips -- the one thing that helped me the most was to ask someone with absolutely perfect credit to open a 0% interest card in her name, and let me set up the online monthly payment thing. I transferred my balance and paid it off.
Carl: Everyone starts somewhere. Just research as much as you can, get a lot of different viewpoints, and then trust your gut instinct on what's best. You can always start with mutual funds and/or ETFs, too, which generally are less risky than stock picking. I personally don't own a lot of stocks, but some people love them. There's not necessarily a "right" or "wrong" way.
Drew: Yeah, definitely. I'm probably revealing myself as complete geek here, but I grew up on Morningstar thanks to my dad. And Investopedia rocks. I have seriously excused myself from group meetings, looked up theories and terms on Investopedia, and then quietly rejoined a few minutes later, feeling less clueless.
I agree you have to surround yourself with passionate people. Its a lot of fun working with people who want to create the best and most enjoyable products possible. It also pushes you to excel and do your best, which is a very rewarding feeling.
I stay in places with kitchens and cook most of our meals -- this saves SO much money, and it makes "going out to dinner" a treat, and not the default. Until I started doing this, I would get exhausted by the end of the weekend due to going out SO much.
My apartment is technically a "junior one bedroom" but it feels like a studio apartment a lot of the time. Stacking shelves help, and I agree with the other comments that recommend shelf brackets. If you own a bike, they're ESPECIALLY space saving.
I visit people I know (free lodging and often also free trasnportation).
When I'm not staying with a friend or family, I pack meal bars and snacks so that I usually only need to buy one meal per day. (And that way I can spend a little more on a nice meal to really enjoy the area that I'm visiting.)
I absolutely love Morningstar and the insight they have. The 5-star rating tool is especially nice, even for those who maybe don't know how to expertly analyze business.
I also use Investopedia all the time. It's like my cheat sheet whenever I am not sure about some financial information. Love it.
No one likes sitting through seminars or being influenced to by some timeshare they will never use. However what's 2 hrs of your time for free airfare and lodging. It's a great way to stay at some nice Places for free and once your there you can be ou and Rome around with the extra $ in your Pocket that you saved just from a couple hours of your time. Just remember though you have to be able to say no thank you and not actually by a timeshare.
I travel frugally by finding the cheapest airfare via Kayak, then actually making the purchase through the Upromise site and paying with a reward credit card, and also by avoiding fees by taking only carry-ons.
I stay with friends as much as possible. Even when traveling abroad, I try to cultivate relationships where I'd be able to stay with them in the future.
Staying with locals gives me a better sense of the actual culture, and they are able to give me better suggestions of places to eat, places that are often cheaper and better than any fancy schmancy restaurant.
I love to see how frugal I can get...within reason! Some of the things I do on a regular basis....lunches/sandwiches from the local grocery store, planning out my route to my lodging or hotel with public transportation online instead of taxis and looking online for the free offerings at this particular location. When my kids were little, I would make sure to buy inexpensive location-specific souvenirs BEFORE the trip (like Disney) and hand them out while on the trip. Kids don't know the difference! And the last few tips, get on the mailing lists of all the budget airlines, as that will be the first notification of their specials/price drops and stay in small B&Bs or rented rooms (such as airbnb, etc).
You have no idea what you are talking about. Once you are infected with the HSV 1 virus you build up antibodies and it is virtually impossible to transmit it to other body parts, it is very unlikely and rare unless you have just contracted the virus and haven't had time to build those antibodies yet. But once you have the antibodies, it would be very hard to spread it to other body parts. Get your information straight or stop writing about stuff you don't know.
My girlfriend and I have been traveling around the US since November with nothing more than our dog and our truck full of gear. While US-based travel isn't as cheap as some areas, like Asia and South America, we're able to travel full-time for about what most people spend on a week-long vacation (aside from our normal expenses for health & car insurance, school loan payment, etc, we spend $1500-2200/mo to travel).
Here are a couple of our tools for cutting expenses and getting a better experience:
- Hotels.com - usually cheaper rooms and every 11th night is free
- WWOOFusa.org - go help on a farm, get free room and board (typically)
- WorkAway.info - pretty much the same as WWOOF
- HelpX.net - pretty much the same as WWOOF
- Local Harvest - find local farmer's markets
The WWOOF/WorkAway/HelpX stays have actually been the most rewarding part of the trip, giving us the chance to learn new skills, figure out what we enjoy and don't enjoy, and meet new people around the country.
Aside from that, we camp when it's warm enough, which is usually $40-50/night cheaper than staying in a hotel. We do most of our own cooking. We have a 2-burner Camp Chef propane stove that works as well as any normal kitchen range. And we have a basic kitchen setup...cast-iron skillet, a couple pots, a knife, cutting board, backpacker's fork and knife set, a couple bowls and plates.
When we're in hotels, we eat out here and there and try to make a giant salad in our room other times. When we eat out, we look for small local places where the two of us can eat with tip for under $30...why travel if you're going to eat at chains anyway?
On our return trip home in May, we're going to snag our crockpot and that will allow us to cook in hotel rooms without having a kitchen so that our hotel meals aren't always salads. Even when we're in hotels, we've pulled into a park picnic area, pulled our stove out, and cooked right there in the park, then packed up and went about our day.
There are tons of ways to save money when traveling. Eating out and drinking out are the most expensive things. Also, look for roadside produce stands and seafood stands (when near the ocean).
Sold! I'm buying myself a 4G phone. I can definitely relate to point #3. Whenever a page is loading slowing, I get distracted and find something else to occupy my mind with. It never fails!
Great tips -- the one thing that helped me the most was to ask someone with absolutely perfect credit to open a 0% interest card in her name, and let me set up the online monthly payment thing. I transferred my balance and paid it off.
Carl: Everyone starts somewhere. Just research as much as you can, get a lot of different viewpoints, and then trust your gut instinct on what's best. You can always start with mutual funds and/or ETFs, too, which generally are less risky than stock picking. I personally don't own a lot of stocks, but some people love them. There's not necessarily a "right" or "wrong" way.
Drew: Yeah, definitely. I'm probably revealing myself as complete geek here, but I grew up on Morningstar thanks to my dad. And Investopedia rocks. I have seriously excused myself from group meetings, looked up theories and terms on Investopedia, and then quietly rejoined a few minutes later, feeling less clueless.
I agree you have to surround yourself with passionate people. Its a lot of fun working with people who want to create the best and most enjoyable products possible. It also pushes you to excel and do your best, which is a very rewarding feeling.
Loved reading all of these comments! I am moving this weekend and NEED this inspiration! :)
There's a lot to be said for having a roommate.
There's also a lot of joy to be found in living alone.
I stay in places with kitchens and cook most of our meals -- this saves SO much money, and it makes "going out to dinner" a treat, and not the default. Until I started doing this, I would get exhausted by the end of the weekend due to going out SO much.
My apartment is technically a "junior one bedroom" but it feels like a studio apartment a lot of the time. Stacking shelves help, and I agree with the other comments that recommend shelf brackets. If you own a bike, they're ESPECIALLY space saving.
Thank you so much for your extremely well-researched and thoughtful argument.
I've actually heard from reputable sources that the virus can and can't be spread after the initial infection.
Can: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/cold-sores-topic-ov...
Can't: http://www.hopkinsbayview.org/infectiousdiseases/rti/herpes.html#Canherp...
I prefer to err on the side of caution.
I visit people I know (free lodging and often also free trasnportation).
When I'm not staying with a friend or family, I pack meal bars and snacks so that I usually only need to buy one meal per day. (And that way I can spend a little more on a nice meal to really enjoy the area that I'm visiting.)
I absolutely love Morningstar and the insight they have. The 5-star rating tool is especially nice, even for those who maybe don't know how to expertly analyze business.
I also use Investopedia all the time. It's like my cheat sheet whenever I am not sure about some financial information. Love it.
No one likes sitting through seminars or being influenced to by some timeshare they will never use. However what's 2 hrs of your time for free airfare and lodging. It's a great way to stay at some nice Places for free and once your there you can be ou and Rome around with the extra $ in your Pocket that you saved just from a couple hours of your time. Just remember though you have to be able to say no thank you and not actually by a timeshare.
We have friends all over the world so we almost never have to spend money on hotels because we are such awesome guests!
I travel frugally by finding the cheapest airfare via Kayak, then actually making the purchase through the Upromise site and paying with a reward credit card, and also by avoiding fees by taking only carry-ons.
I used to travel for work and accumulated enough frequent flier miles to take a few free personal trips.
Stay in hotels with a kitchen for less expensive meals. There is also a major hotel chain that offers free dinner three times per week.
Stay in hotels with free shuttles to and from airports and that take you to and from your destinations.
Assess whether all-inclusive packages are really worth it. I've found they rarely are.
I liked Wise Bread on Facebook.
I travel frugally by researching ahead of time and buying food/meals at least part of the time in grocery stores.
I travel in the off-season which is much cheaper than traveling in-season
I stay with friends as much as possible. Even when traveling abroad, I try to cultivate relationships where I'd be able to stay with them in the future.
Staying with locals gives me a better sense of the actual culture, and they are able to give me better suggestions of places to eat, places that are often cheaper and better than any fancy schmancy restaurant.
I love to see how frugal I can get...within reason! Some of the things I do on a regular basis....lunches/sandwiches from the local grocery store, planning out my route to my lodging or hotel with public transportation online instead of taxis and looking online for the free offerings at this particular location. When my kids were little, I would make sure to buy inexpensive location-specific souvenirs BEFORE the trip (like Disney) and hand them out while on the trip. Kids don't know the difference! And the last few tips, get on the mailing lists of all the budget airlines, as that will be the first notification of their specials/price drops and stay in small B&Bs or rented rooms (such as airbnb, etc).
You have no idea what you are talking about. Once you are infected with the HSV 1 virus you build up antibodies and it is virtually impossible to transmit it to other body parts, it is very unlikely and rare unless you have just contracted the virus and haven't had time to build those antibodies yet. But once you have the antibodies, it would be very hard to spread it to other body parts. Get your information straight or stop writing about stuff you don't know.
I keep my eye open for deals, take just one bag, and have simple expectations. Travelling in the off-season doesn't hurt, either. :)
I always buy plane tickets at least two weeks in advance!
SS51,
That is assuming you did one 15 gallon run, at one time. Not 3, 5 gallon runs.
My girlfriend and I have been traveling around the US since November with nothing more than our dog and our truck full of gear. While US-based travel isn't as cheap as some areas, like Asia and South America, we're able to travel full-time for about what most people spend on a week-long vacation (aside from our normal expenses for health & car insurance, school loan payment, etc, we spend $1500-2200/mo to travel).
Here are a couple of our tools for cutting expenses and getting a better experience:
- Hotels.com - usually cheaper rooms and every 11th night is free
- WWOOFusa.org - go help on a farm, get free room and board (typically)
- WorkAway.info - pretty much the same as WWOOF
- HelpX.net - pretty much the same as WWOOF
- Local Harvest - find local farmer's markets
The WWOOF/WorkAway/HelpX stays have actually been the most rewarding part of the trip, giving us the chance to learn new skills, figure out what we enjoy and don't enjoy, and meet new people around the country.
Aside from that, we camp when it's warm enough, which is usually $40-50/night cheaper than staying in a hotel. We do most of our own cooking. We have a 2-burner Camp Chef propane stove that works as well as any normal kitchen range. And we have a basic kitchen setup...cast-iron skillet, a couple pots, a knife, cutting board, backpacker's fork and knife set, a couple bowls and plates.
When we're in hotels, we eat out here and there and try to make a giant salad in our room other times. When we eat out, we look for small local places where the two of us can eat with tip for under $30...why travel if you're going to eat at chains anyway?
On our return trip home in May, we're going to snag our crockpot and that will allow us to cook in hotel rooms without having a kitchen so that our hotel meals aren't always salads. Even when we're in hotels, we've pulled into a park picnic area, pulled our stove out, and cooked right there in the park, then packed up and went about our day.
There are tons of ways to save money when traveling. Eating out and drinking out are the most expensive things. Also, look for roadside produce stands and seafood stands (when near the ocean).
Cheers
Scott
Sold! I'm buying myself a 4G phone. I can definitely relate to point #3. Whenever a page is loading slowing, I get distracted and find something else to occupy my mind with. It never fails!