Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008-2009 Anson Werner
While it is sometimes difficult to find specific vacation specials that match your travel desires for the Christmas holiday, there are other considerations you can take into account that could help you save a lot of money. Here is a list of ten tips that might help you to save money on your next holiday vacation adventure:
1. Since most airlines are now charging for extra bags, taking your gifts on the airplane could very well end up costing you a lot of extra fees. In fact, most travelers will find that shipping gifts via UPS or the U.S. Postal Service will be much cheaper than trying to carry those gifts onto the airplane.
2. If you are going to carry Christmas gifts on the airplane with you to your destination, it is recommended that you do not wrap your gifts until you reach your destination. With the heightened security concerns at American airports, airport security will likely unwrap your gifts for you, just so that you can board the airplane. So don't wrap your gifts before you leave, and you will not have to wrap those gifts twice. Additionally, whenever possible, you should pack loose items in clear plastic bags for the same reasons. If security needs to dig through your small items, items may be lost.
3. If you need hotel rooms at your destination, hotel-flight packages are generally far less expensive than buying the two items separate, in some cases as much as 75% cheaper. Even connecting flights are generally cheaper than direct flights.
4. Before you order those airline tickets, take some time to check the alternative travel methods including: Amtrak train, bus, or rental car. You may even find packaged Christmas vacation deals offered by specific airlines, such as those offered by American Airlines (described on our website), which is offering flight and hotel Christmas package deals for as little as $139 per night per person.
5. When talking to a travel agent, don't give the agent a specific travel date, but instead, give a date range to the agent. Your flexibility on travel arrangements could literally save you as much as 50% on your travel arrangements.
6. If you are willing to catch an afternoon flight, as opposed to a morning flight, and travel on Tuesday instead of on Monday, once again, you could save a lot of money on airfare.
7. For holiday travel, if you are willing to travel on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day, you will find the airports relatively empty and the flight ticket prices extraordinarily low.
8. Be willing to consider alternative airports. For example, you could fly into Dallas / Fort Worth airport (DFW) or you could fly into Dallas Love Field (DAL), which is located just to the northwest of downtown Dallas. If someone is picking you up at the airport, there may be little difference to them which airport they pick you up. And, if you are catching a cab or rental car from the airport, the extra drive time will not be that much, since there is only 20 miles between airports.
9. When you rent a car at your destination, be sure to refill the gas tank before you return the car to the rental car agency. If the car rental company has to refill the gas tank after you drop off the car, they will charge you their gallon price, which is typically much higher than the gas station across the street from the car rental agency.
10. If you plan to stay in a hotel while visiting family over the holidays, ask if the hotel offers courtesy shuttles to and from the airport. This could prevent you from needing to have someone waiting for you at the airport, and it could eliminate the cost of catching a taxi cab to your hotel, which could cost quite a bit of extra cash.
Vacation package deals are a nice method for getting great travel deals at great prices, but travel package deals only offer value to those who are more flexible in their travel plans. When it comes to holiday travel, flexibility is not usually a luxury most of us have, especially if we plan to spend our holiday at grandma's house.
It is my hope that these travel tips can actually help you to conserve the money you need to spend on your next holiday vacation.
Author's note: This article is derived from the one posted here: http://www.shoppingtraveldeals.com/blog/2008/12/12/christmas-travel-money-saving-tips/
About the Author:
Anson Werner is a travel hound. He spends his spare time shopping travel offers and learning tricks to help him save money and get more enjoyment from his limited travel dollars. Anson's friends had always asked him about the travel deals he finds, so he decided to share his knowledge and travel discoveries in his travel blog at: http://www.shoppingtraveldeals.com/blog/
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Payday Loans - Convenience and Danger
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008-2009 Fred Vanhoosen
Every now and then a financial emergency arises that you just did not have planned in your budget. Maybe you had a fender bender with the car and you need cash to get it running, but the check from the insurance company will take a week or so to get here. Or the refrigerator or washer craps out and you don't have the cash to get it repaired, but you also can't afford to be without it. You have run out of money before you ran out of month. Or, you have a once in a lifetime chance to buy something you really, really want at a spectacularly low price, but don't have the cash.
One solution to your "one time only" dilemma could be a Pay Day Loan - this is where loan companies will give you a short-term loan, just until your next payday. If you qualify, many of the companies will lend $100, to as much as $1500, for a short period of time. Mostly what you need to qualify is a job that provides you with a regular paycheck and an active checking account. You will probably need to show them a recent paycheck stub and they will probably call to confirm that you haven't just been laid off and, therefore, have no next paycheck coming.
A loan for a car or a boat, or a mortgage to buy a house, are secured loans - the value of the asset serves as security for repayment of the loan. A Pay Day Loan is an unsecured loan - there is no property to serve as security, only a contractual promise to pay. It is a signature only loan. Usually this kind of loan is for a term of not more than two weeks.
Pay Day Loans may be convenient, if you have an occasional need. But this kind of loan is very expensive. Typically the fee to borrow $100 for two weeks is over $15, more than 15%. The annual percentage rate is staggering.
If you take a Pay Day Loan, the loan company will probably require that you give them a post dated check for the full amount due (including their fees). Come pay day you are expected to show up and pay the amount due in cash - and they will then give you back the post dated check.
If you are not able to pay off the principal amount on the due date, the terms of the loan agreement may allow you the option of renewing the loan by paying just the interest due, bringing your interest cost for borrowing $100 to a total of $30 for four weeks.
If you don't show up to pay off the loan, they deposit your check. If the check bounces, for insufficient funds (possibly why you didn't show up in person), you have even greater trouble - you owe them everything you originally did plus bank fees for a returned check plus their fees for collecting the money owed. And, generally speaking, it is against the law to write a check that is a "bad check". If you do it, legal action can be taken against you - further complications, problems and costs.
If you fail to pay off the loan, as agreed, the loan company can file a lawsuit and obtain a judgment against you. With that judgment they can obtain an order to garnish your wages to collect the debt owed. Generally the contract also makes you liable to reimburse the company for all its legal costs and costs of collection, adding further to the cost of you borrowing.
The most important thing about this kind of credit is to use it only when you need some money for a truly temporary situation and where you can fix the situation very quickly.
You may have heard stories of people who used one credit card to pay off another credit card, then a third to pay off the second, then a fourth to pay off the third, etc., with their debt spiraling totally out of control.
Well, the same kind of thing can happen with Pay Day Loans if you are not careful and responsible in how you handle your finances. This is not a long term, or even intermediate term, financing method. This is a one-time-only emergency funds technique and to use it any other way could be very risky and extremely expensive.
How big is the Pay Day Loan industry? The Center for Responsible Lending (http://www.responsiblelending.org/) reported in 2006 that there were about 25,000 outlets in the U.S. making Pay Day Loans.
If you were considering a Pay Day Loan it would be worthwhile to check it out thoroughly before applying and signing those papers. The Consumer Federation of America is one place where you can get a variety of information to help you evaluate the situation. The information there explains, in detail, the mechanics of a Pay Day Loan. According to the CFA (http://www.paydayloaninfo.org/), industry analysts estimates $40 billion in Pay Day Loans are made every year in the U.S.
No matter where you live, you can probably find a company locally that will make Pay Day Loans. There are also many companies on the Internet, which make these loans. As in any business, there are reliable firms and firms who will try to twist the laws and regulations as far as possible. Companies who operate on the Internet are harder to effectively regulate than companies with a physical office right there on Main Street in your hometown.
If every week in your life is an emergency, if every payday is a panic, then using Pay Day Loans will probably only make a bad situation much worse.
On the other hand,
If it is truly a one-time emergency, and
You have a clear plan which assures timely pay off of the loan, and
You have researched the potential problems, and
You have carefully selected a reputable loan company, and
You have researched and understand all the terms and conditions of the loan
then maybe - just maybe - a Pay Day Loan is the right thing for you to do.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance industry. To learn more about these loan products, we recommend visiting: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Copyright © 2008-2009 Fred Vanhoosen
Every now and then a financial emergency arises that you just did not have planned in your budget. Maybe you had a fender bender with the car and you need cash to get it running, but the check from the insurance company will take a week or so to get here. Or the refrigerator or washer craps out and you don't have the cash to get it repaired, but you also can't afford to be without it. You have run out of money before you ran out of month. Or, you have a once in a lifetime chance to buy something you really, really want at a spectacularly low price, but don't have the cash.
One solution to your "one time only" dilemma could be a Pay Day Loan - this is where loan companies will give you a short-term loan, just until your next payday. If you qualify, many of the companies will lend $100, to as much as $1500, for a short period of time. Mostly what you need to qualify is a job that provides you with a regular paycheck and an active checking account. You will probably need to show them a recent paycheck stub and they will probably call to confirm that you haven't just been laid off and, therefore, have no next paycheck coming.
A loan for a car or a boat, or a mortgage to buy a house, are secured loans - the value of the asset serves as security for repayment of the loan. A Pay Day Loan is an unsecured loan - there is no property to serve as security, only a contractual promise to pay. It is a signature only loan. Usually this kind of loan is for a term of not more than two weeks.
Pay Day Loans may be convenient, if you have an occasional need. But this kind of loan is very expensive. Typically the fee to borrow $100 for two weeks is over $15, more than 15%. The annual percentage rate is staggering.
If you take a Pay Day Loan, the loan company will probably require that you give them a post dated check for the full amount due (including their fees). Come pay day you are expected to show up and pay the amount due in cash - and they will then give you back the post dated check.
If you are not able to pay off the principal amount on the due date, the terms of the loan agreement may allow you the option of renewing the loan by paying just the interest due, bringing your interest cost for borrowing $100 to a total of $30 for four weeks.
If you don't show up to pay off the loan, they deposit your check. If the check bounces, for insufficient funds (possibly why you didn't show up in person), you have even greater trouble - you owe them everything you originally did plus bank fees for a returned check plus their fees for collecting the money owed. And, generally speaking, it is against the law to write a check that is a "bad check". If you do it, legal action can be taken against you - further complications, problems and costs.
If you fail to pay off the loan, as agreed, the loan company can file a lawsuit and obtain a judgment against you. With that judgment they can obtain an order to garnish your wages to collect the debt owed. Generally the contract also makes you liable to reimburse the company for all its legal costs and costs of collection, adding further to the cost of you borrowing.
The most important thing about this kind of credit is to use it only when you need some money for a truly temporary situation and where you can fix the situation very quickly.
You may have heard stories of people who used one credit card to pay off another credit card, then a third to pay off the second, then a fourth to pay off the third, etc., with their debt spiraling totally out of control.
Well, the same kind of thing can happen with Pay Day Loans if you are not careful and responsible in how you handle your finances. This is not a long term, or even intermediate term, financing method. This is a one-time-only emergency funds technique and to use it any other way could be very risky and extremely expensive.
How big is the Pay Day Loan industry? The Center for Responsible Lending (http://www.responsiblelending.org/) reported in 2006 that there were about 25,000 outlets in the U.S. making Pay Day Loans.
If you were considering a Pay Day Loan it would be worthwhile to check it out thoroughly before applying and signing those papers. The Consumer Federation of America is one place where you can get a variety of information to help you evaluate the situation. The information there explains, in detail, the mechanics of a Pay Day Loan. According to the CFA (http://www.paydayloaninfo.org/), industry analysts estimates $40 billion in Pay Day Loans are made every year in the U.S.
No matter where you live, you can probably find a company locally that will make Pay Day Loans. There are also many companies on the Internet, which make these loans. As in any business, there are reliable firms and firms who will try to twist the laws and regulations as far as possible. Companies who operate on the Internet are harder to effectively regulate than companies with a physical office right there on Main Street in your hometown.
If every week in your life is an emergency, if every payday is a panic, then using Pay Day Loans will probably only make a bad situation much worse.
On the other hand,
then maybe - just maybe - a Pay Day Loan is the right thing for you to do.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance industry. To learn more about these loan products, we recommend visiting: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
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