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This is a guest post from Kathryn Katz with some great tips to help you save money on your holiday travel. See more about Kathryn at the end of this post.

Last year travelers cashed in big when travel industry panicked and lowered prices right before the holiday travel rush. The airlines weren’t prepared for Q4 2008 travel backlash, and lowered prices to entice consumers to make last minute travel plans. However, this year many airlines are grounding more planes and the tide has turned for consumers. Less seats and greater demand are causing airfare rates to rise.

How can you save on holiday airfares?

#1 Stop Procrastinating

Unlike last year the longer you wait, the more you’re going to pay. If it’s in your budget, book now rather than wait for the airfares to get lower; otherwise, you may end up paying more and give up the convenience of traveling when you want to.

#2 Be Flexible

Avoid traveling during the popular Wednesday-to-Sunday trip. Many of the major airlines, such as American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta, are adding a $10 surcharge to those holiday airfares. Instead, consider flying Tuesday to Saturday. According to Bing’s holiday forecast, you can save up to 20% if you’re flexible with your travel plans.

#3 Compare Prices

There are hundreds if not thousands of price comparison travel websites. Some of the popular travel websites include Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline. Bing.com even offers a price comparison between travel websites, such as Hotwire, Expedia and Priceline. Before you buy that ticket at one of these bargain travel sites, make sure to go direct to the airline and see if you can get a better deal. Sometimes dealing direct with the airline can save you money.

#4 Avoid the Up-sell

If you’re booking your airfare online, many travel sites will try to up-sell a travel package. In some cases, booking everything in one place will save you money, but sometimes that convenience will end up costing you more. Break the travel package apart and make sure you’re really getting a deal. Also, check with relatives and see if you can stay with them to avoid the hotel and car rental fees. Sure you’re giving up a little independence, but it can make the whole trip a lot less expensive.

#5 Travel Light

Most major airlines charge baggage fees to travelers that are checking in bags, and limit the size and weight of the carry-on bag. Check with your airline ahead of time to find out their specific rules and alter your packing plans accordingly. Some airlines will offer reduced fees if you pre-pay for bags on their website. If you’re bringing gifts to the family, limit it to what will fit in your bag or use gift certificates.

If you can’t take advantage of the prices now and have to wait to buy your tickets, setup a Fare Alert so you can keep track of airline fares for your destination on a daily basis. You might get lucky and find a last minute deal.

About Kathryn Katz

Kathryn Katz is an avid cat lover, single mom, internet marketer and professional copywriter. Kathryn is a Certified Personal Finance Counselor and works for Consolidated Credit Counseling Services.

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Banks around the country are continuing to bleed red ink due to the foreclosure crisis and the weak economy. As such, they are looking for any possible way to make up for the lost revenue. I don’t know about you but I don’t have any extra money to give away to the banks. In this economy, it is important to watch and hold on to every penny.

Here are some fees you can avoid:


Bank Fees. There are way too many free accounts out there. If you don't know if you are being charged for your account, be sure to check your bank statement. If you like the bank you are currently with, check and see if you can switch to a different type of account that does not charge fees. If your employer offers direct deposit, many banks will waive the monthly service charge on your account.



ATM Fees. Fees for using another banks ATM can run as high as $3 and then you may be charged again by your bank for using another banks ATM. If your bank does not have many ATM's, consider switching to a bank that will refund ATM fees. My current checking account is with a small community bank that only has 2 branches. I like the account because they pay 4% on checking balances up to $50,000. They compensate for their lack of ATM's by reimbursing fees for using another banks ATM up to $20. Another way to avoid an ATM fee is to use your debit card at a grocery store or stores like Wal-Mart and Target and get cash back. 


Overdraft Charges. Here's another charge you can easily avoid. I won't say that I am perfect and have never made a mistake. I too have made a mistake in my balance and bounced a check or two in my lifetime. The important thing is to make sure it doesn't happen all the time. Keep your account in balance and don't try to "float" checks. If you don't have the money, you don't have the money. It's very simple; if you have $5 in your checking account, don't write a $10 check hoping your paycheck will beat the $10 check to the bank. Checks clear a lot faster these days and that $10 check may just end up costing you $25 - $35 more depending on what your bank charges for overdrafts. Don't rely on the balance you are given at the ATM because there may be items that have not cleared yet. 

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Today is the 5th anniversary of my grandfather's death. I still miss him a lot but I know he is in a better place.

My grandfather was like a father to me growing up since my father was not around. We lived across the street from my grandparents growing up so I got to see him everyday. He was my hero and my role model.

My grandfather was a hard worker. He worked in construction up into his late 60's; only stopping due to health issues. He was never in a management position and worked for the same company for over 30 years. He was only making about $10 an hour when he retired but he still managed to get the bills paid and save money. 

My grandfather taught me that it was important to always set a little something aside for a rainy day. Whenever he would get paid, he would give my grandmother cash to spend on the things she needed and buy groceries.  The rest of the money went to the bank for the checking and savings accounts. My grandmother knew that once the spending money she had was gone, that was it until the next paycheck came. 

When I was in high school, my grandfather would have me write out the checks for the bills and go to the bank for him. Even though there was not a lot of money, he would make sure he paid everyone he owed. He stressed the importance of keeping your word. Whether it be the gas company or your buddy, if you owed someone money, you made sure you paid them back.If you told someone you were going to do something, you better be sure you did it.

Those early lessons still stick with me today. If I owe someone money, I make sure I pay them; no matter how small the amount. I always make sure I set something aside for a rainy day and if I tell someone I am going to do something, I do it.

What money lessons did you parents teach you?

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If you own a car, motorcycle or any motorized vehicle, you need insurance to cover those unfortunate accidents that may happen. No matter how careful you are, bad things happen.

Perhaps the driver of the car behind you is a little too busy talking on the cell phone and not really paying attention or you happen to park your car near a tree that falls on your vehicle.

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Sometimes, you may have a minor fender bender that you can pay for out of pocket or the damages may just be cosmetic and you decide not to repair the damage. One thing you don't want to do is make a bunch of small claims.

Each time you make a claim, there is a possibility of the claim showing up on your motor vehicle report. A motor vehicle report (MVR) is similar to a credit report for your driving history. Just as having a lot of debt can decrease your credit score and cause you to pay higher interest rates, a bad driving record can cause you to pay higher insurance rates.

How can you save money on your auto insurance?

High Deductibles. If you have money set aside to cover unexpected expenses, I recommend maintaining a high deductible. I carry a $1000 deductible on my vehicle. A deductible is the amount of money you are responsible for before the insurance company will start covering the damage. The higher your deductible, the lower your insurance rate will be. Be careful when you choose your deductible! If you can only afford to pay $250 out of pocket, don't choose a $1000 deductible.

Drop Extra Coverage. It may not make sense to carry anything more than basic liability coverage on your vehicle. There are several rules of thumb to determine whether or not you need to carry Collision and/or Comprehensive coverage. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, your lender will require you to carry Collision and Comprehensive coverage until the loan is paid off. If your vehicle is more than 5 years old and/or less than 10 times the amount you pay to insure the vehicle, you probably don't need to carry the extra coverage.

Discounts. Make sure you are taking advantage of all the discounts that are available to you such as: being a safe driver and insuring your car and home with the same company.

Maintain Your Credit. Most insurers will most likely want to check your credit when you apply for a new policy. Maintaining good credit will help you get the best rates.

Shop Around. Shopping for auto insurance may seem about as interesting as going to the dentist. Thanks to the internet, this process is a lot easier and you don't have to contact multiple companies. There are sites such as InsureMe that allow you to put in your information one time and they will submit it to multiple insurance companies for you. I recently used them and it took me less than 10 minutes to enter my information and I received several instant quotes.

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I was looking at my blog stats one day and saw that there were numerous searches from people looking for information on how to "get out of an upside down car loan" and whether or not they "should pay off my car loan". 

Unfortunately, I have to say that there is no quick and easy way to do either if you don't have a pile of cash sitting around to do it. When I paid off my car loan, that I was seriously upside down on, I pulled money from my savings account and paid it off eliminating two problems at once. I was no longer upside down and a I no longer had a car payment draining my finances each month. After the car loan was gone, the money I used to send to the finance company started going to rebuild my savings account. Believe me, not having to make a $556 car payment each month is a big relief and now that I am free of a car payment, I never want one again.

How do you get upside down in a car loan?

There are a few main reasons you end up upside down in your car loan. You either financed too much, financed the car too long or you traded in a car with a balance and rolled the old balance into your new loan. 

Once you drive off the lot, your brand new car starts to depreciate; no matter what kind of car it is. New cars can depreciate by as much as 40% in the first year. Unfortunately, car values fall much quicker than your loan balance and leave you owing more than the vehicle is worth (negative equity).

Back when I was in my twenties, I used to buy a new car every two years (pardon me while I kick myself in the a**). Each time, I would roll in the negative equity from the previous loan and get further and further in the hole. I finally paid off my loan but I can't even imagine how much money I threw down the tube just to have a new hunk of metal that got me from point "A" to point "B" the exact same way the old one did.

But how do I get rid of my upside down car loan SingleGuy?

My recommendation is to first figure out how much you are upside down. You can do this by going to NADA, Kelley Blue Book, Autotrader, checking your local classifieds or even checking with local dealers to see how much cars like yours are selling for. 

One word of caution, when using NADA or Kelley Blue Book, make sure you rate the proper condition of your vehicle. If your vehicle has a huge dent in the quarter panel, do not rate your vehicle as excellent. Once you know how much your vehicle is worth, find out what the payoff on your vehicle is. Once you have those two numbers, subtract the value from your payoff and presto - you now know the ugly truth of how much negative equity you have. 

Example: Vehicle Value $10,000 - Loan Payoff Balance $15,000 = $5,000 (negative equity or amount you owe over the value of the vehicle).

Now you know how much you owe over the value of your vehicle, you have a couple of options:

1. Sell It. If you can do without the vehicle and sell it at a fair price, do it. Some financial experts, such as Dave Ramsey, recommend financing the difference. I can see his way of thinking since I would rather be $5,000 in debt than $15,000 using the above example. I just don't think it will be that easy to go and get an unsecured loan if you have a large balance remaining once you pay off the vehicle. Hint: You usually get more money by selling to a private party vs. a dealership. 
   
2. Pay it off. If you have extra money remaining each month after all your necessary bills (rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance, savings) are paid, throw that toward the car loan. Once the loan is paid off, you no longer have to worry about negative equity and you can use the car payment you were making to the finance company to build your savings so you can pay cash for your next vehicle. 
   

Now for those of you that want to know if you should pay off your car loan:
I can't answer that without knowing the details of your finances. It may make sense for you to pay off the car loan or it may make sense for you to use the money elsewhere. It all depends on your individual finances. 

I can tell everyone though, the best way to avoid a car loan and being upside down is to never finance another vehicle again, never buy new and pay cash if you can. If this is not a possibility, make a large down payment and finance the vehicle for no longer than 3 years. If you can't afford the payment on a 3 year car loan, you probably shouldn't buy the car. 



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I recently spent four nights in San Juan, Puerto Rico and had a great time. An even bigger highlight of the trip was the cost.

I never thought I would be able to afford a nice vacation to the Caribbean. I always thought the cost of a trip like that would run a few thousand dollars and I was just not willing to part with that kind of money.

I found a company online that was offering airfare and hotel deals to the Caribbean. The numbers were unbelievable and it seemed like it may have been a bait and switch deal. I discussed it with my other buddies that were going on the trip and we decided to go for it.

I'm happy to say that everything was excellent and we had no problems at all. We flew directly from Atlanta to San Juan on a direct flight via Airtran. Once we got to San Juan, our hotel reservation was at The Ritz Carlton - San Juan.

How much did we pay per person for a round-trip flight and 4 nights at the Ritz? How about an amazing $465 per person!!! I checked with the hotel front desk when we checked out and the regular nightly rate for the hotel is $329 per night.

How much did I spend in total on my trip?

• Hotel/Airfare - $465.00
• Food/Drinks - $275.00
• Taxis - $80.00
• Souvenirs - $100.00
• Tips/Misc - $75.00
• Total Trip Cost - $995.00

My 4 days in paradise cost less than $1000. I think we were able to get such a good deal because we traveled in the off season and the travel industry is hurting because of the slow economy. I think I will start taking a yearly vacation around this time of year.

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I haven't updated the balance of the savings challenge in a couple of months. It's still one of the highlights of my financial goals.

How am I funding the savings challenge?

Each month, after all of my regular monthly obligations have been covered, any leftover money (even after my regular monthly savings contributions) goes toward the savings challenge.

What's the goal?

My goal is to have $50,000 in my savings account be December 2010. If you are wondering why I am saving so much, you can check out the post here.

Where am I now?

At the end of June, I was up to about $42,000 but had to withdraw about $12,000 for my home refinance in July. Right now, the balance is around $34,600.

You can follow along on the savings journey here or here. 

Related Post:

Cash is King

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Do you ever think back to how and when you started using credit? The days where if someone pulled your credit file, instead of pages and pages of accounts and inquiries, you'd only see a blank sheet of paper.

I'll never forget how my credit history started. The year was 1995 and I was 18 years old. I'd applied for one or two regular credit cards but I was declined due to lack of a credit history. I didn't let that stop me though; I was bound and determined to get a credit card. After all, an 18 year old with a credit card would make people think I had money, right?

I don't remember if I saw the advertisement for a secured credit card on a TV commercial or in a magazine. All I had to do was send them $300 and they would send me a credit card with a $300 credit limit. The $300 I mailed them would stay in an savings account and earn interest but I could not withdraw the money.

I mailed them the money and received my credit card. In fact, I still have an account with the bank. Only now, my initial $300 credit line secured card is now an unsecured card with a $35,000 limit and I am not required to maintain a savings account to serve as collateral. I don't really use the card that much since I have another credit card that offers a better cash back program. This is my oldest credit card though and I try to make sure I use the card every now and then just to keep the account open and active.

Now it's your turn, how did your credit file start?

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