If you are trying to find the cheapest flights, consider going through a local or online travel agency. Travel agencies can bundle different airlines together to get the lowest price, so you don’t have to travel on just one airline - your return flight might be through a different airline. You can also get great hotel and flight pricing when packaged together.

Be cautious booking through a discount site. It may save you money but you may have less flexibility if something goes wrong and you need to make a change.

Happy flying!

Would you like to find a way to save money or get extra perks during your next hotel stay? First, decide on a hotel or at least narrow it down to just a few choices a couple months in advance. Then consider becoming a member of one or all of the hotels’ free travel clubs or rewards clubs. Once you become a member, there is a good chance that the hotel will start sending you special hotel rates and offers by email with some amazing deals or packages.

 Additional benefits to becoming a member of a hotel’s travel or rewards club may include special offers for breakfast or free dining such as “kids eat free” and express check in or late check out. Hyatt club members are able to enjoy a later checkout at 2:00 pm which may come in quite handy if you have a later flight or would like to enjoy the pool just a bit more. Look online or call the hotel or hotels of your choice to check the savings and perks they offer. 
 
In your search for hotel savings, another option to consider and look into is combining an airline ticket with a hotel reservation. The combined rate will be much less than if you booked each separately. You can try an online or local travel agency such as American Express Travel to book your airline and hotel together.

Recently when making travel arrangements I found that when I added a hotel stay to the booking of my flight my additional cost per night was a mere $23 which included all hotel taxes and fees.  It is rare you can get a hotel for under $100 a night with the fees and taxes included, so at $23 a night it is a steal!

Remember that with just a little extra planning before you make your travel arrangement you might find easy ways to save money.

Wishing you a happy and inexpensive hotel stay!

Trying to find the cheapest car rental agency? Here’s a trick to find one.

Explore a website where you can book travel plans (car, hotel, flight) as opposed to the site for a car rental agency. Once on the travel site enter the rental location and the dates that you need the car and then the site will generate a list of car rental companies and their rates. Once you have determined the agency you wish to rent from, you can rent by contacting the car rental agency directly or through the travel agency. An example of a travel website is AmericanExpressTravel.com

If you need transportation after a flight typically the cheapest rate will be found at a car rental facility that is not located onsite at the airport. Onsite rental agencies usually have to pay additional airport fees therefore increasing your cost to rent the auto. Many airports have car rental agencies within a short distance of the airport and provide shuttle transportation to and from the airport.

“Avoid doing it (renting) at the airport: You could pay as much as 30 to 40 percent more than at an agency just off the airport grounds” says Real Simple. For instance I found you can save as much as $100 for a weeklong rental from Payless which is just around the corner from The Orlando International Airport. And the Palm Beach Airport has an Enterprise Rental Agency about a mile away where you can get a car for as little as $20 a day. If you do decide to rent your car offsite from the airport make sure the rental agency provides a shuttle service between the agency and the airport.

Before leaving home, find out whether or not your auto insurance agency insures car rentals - bring a copy of your insurance card with you on your trip. Also, check with your credit card company as some provide auto rental insurance free of charge when the rental is processed through your credit card.

Car rates may go down the closer you get to the date of your trip, so be sure to check online to see if in fact the rate has gone done. If it has, call the agency to change your reservation.

And finally, if you are a AAA member, check to see if the car rental agency provides a discount to AAA members. AAA members may also receive discounts to local and chain restaurants and stores. For example AAA of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania provides a discount at TGI Friday’s, A-1 Japanese Steakhouse, Bounce U (parties), New York and Company, Gold’s Gym (membership fee), 1-800-GOT-JUNK, Lenscrafters, Pearle Vision and Sears Optical. 

Whether on vacation, or at home, you may be able to save money.

Happy car renting!

How many times have you had to forego returning merchandise to a store because you couldn’t locate the sales receipt? Or how many times haven’t you been able to take advantage of a manufacturer’s warranty because you couldn’t find the sales receipt showing proof of purchase?

Now is the perfect time to end your sales receipt clutter and your hunt for lost ones by placing your sales receipts in a 4 x 6 box with a lid. Add an A to Z alphabetical file card index inside the box so you can organize your receipts by store name. If you have a Target receipt, place it behind the letter “T.” If you have a Bed Bath & Beyond receipt, place it behind the letter “B.” If you have no reason to keep the receipt toss it.

I recommend using a box that is decorative or stylish so it looks like it is part of your décor. If your box is tucked away in a cabinet or drawer, it may take too much effort to use it consistently. One of my favorite lines of storage boxes is the Cargo line (pictured) as they are sleek and stylish and available in six colors.

If your receipt is for an item with a warranty, photocopy the sales receipt and attach it to the item’s manual and warranty. If you don’t photocopy the receipt, you may find that in just a few months your receipt is so faded it appears blank. Most sales receipts these days are on thermal paper. Thermal paper images will fade eventually making your sales receipt blank.
Don’t wait any longer to organize your receipts. Perhaps you can use items you already have on hand. Find a small box and cover it with fabric or paper to match your décor. Label blank index cards with the letters A through Z and place them inside.

I recommended purging your sales receipt storage box every 6 months. You can to it effortlessly while watching a television show.

Happy receipt organizing!

If you have ever shopped for a major appliance like a refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, washer or dryer, you know how daunting the task can be. It is exhausting and confusing going from store to store.

To simplify your shopping experience, take along a digital camera. When you see an appliance that interests you, take two pictures - one of the entire appliance and a second close up picture of the sign with model number, features, and price. Follow these same steps as you continue to take pictures of other models you are interested in within the store. Before leaving the store snap a picture of the store’s name. When you visit the next store, repeat the same procedure.

Now you might be wondering why I said to take a picture of the store’s name before leaving it instead of when entering it. Allow me to explain. When you go to preview the pictures on your digital camera, the preview typically starts with the last picture taken. So as you scroll back through your photos you will see the name of the store, the sign with the model and name, and then a picture of the appliance.

Keep in mind you can zoom in on the photos with model numbers, features, and prices. This way when you are at the next appliance store, you can pull out your camera, preview the pictures of appliances you already looked at, and immediately compare prices.

Don’t limit this tip just to appliance shopping. You can do it for cars, prom dresses, cameras, and other electronic items. You can even email your friends to help you select your prom dress – be sure to take a picture of the dress with you in it!

Happy shopping!

Over the past few years more and more retail stores and restaurants are offering coupons. This is great for the consumer but it can be a daunting task keeping these coupons organized.

First of all, don’t mix grocery store coupons with non-grocery store coupons. Grocery store coupons should have their very own organizer and a totally different type of organization that isn’t being covered here.

Now for your retail store and restaurant coupons (like Bed, Bath, & Beyond and TGI Friday’s), keep them together in an organizer that allows you to have dividers with alphabetical separations. You’ll want to organize your coupons alphabetically by the name of the retail store or restaurant. A coupon for Chico’s would fall behind the letter “C” while a coupon for Macy’s would fall behind the letter “M” and a coupon for TGI’s Friday would fall behind the letter “T.” You can group 2 or 3 alphabetical letters together, i.e., AB, CD, EFG.

If the store begins with the word “The” don’t file it under the letter “T”, instead use the next main word. You will find that some coupons are so large that they need to be trimmed on the sides. Use an organizer similar to the one pictured above. You can find this particular organizer at Office Depot. There are 13 divided compartments and 13 small paper tabs that group alphabetical letters together.

Now that you have taking the time to organize your coupons, you’ll want to make sure that you use them. To increase your chance of using the coupons, I highly recommend keeping your coupon organizer in your car at all times.

Please note, if you use the type of organizer pictured above, place a tiny piece of Scotch™ tape on each side of the clear tab to hold the white paper tab inside. If not, when the organizer is tipped, the paper tabs may fall out.

Happy coupon cutting,