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Posted
Aug 06 2008, 07:37 PM
by
Karen Datko
It's a jungle out there in the airports with all the new fees airlines are charging to cover higher fuel costs. It's a real public service that FIRE Finance has assembled the baggage fees and policies all in one place. Unfortunately, the list doesn't include those other charges that seem to pop up every day: JetBlue's new $7 charge for a pillow and blanket that you get to take with you, US Airways' charge for bottled water, and the like. And, thank goodness FIRE also provides links to the airlines' Web sites. Some of the baggage fees have already changed since FIRE Finance wrote the post, or are about to go up.
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Posted
Aug 05 2008, 07:11 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Lots of people are staying close to home as the price of gas makes long-distance travel prohibitive. A group of personal-finance bloggers is offering a collection of guides to low-cost fun in their own hometowns. These posts have lots of links and lots of prices. This is great if you live in one of these cities or are planning to visit. We'll start with the city we grew up near -- the venerable Steel City, home of a mighty football team.
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Posted
Jul 30 2008, 04:03 PM
by
Karen Datko
File this under: Sometimes you don't get what you pay for. Thousands of passengers on American Airlines, which now charges $15 for the first checked bag, were forced to depart from John F. Kennedy International Airport and leave their luggage behind. Because of a computer glitch, American's state-of-the-art baggage-sorting system stopped working about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. Passengers could board flights without their luggage and rely on the airline to get it to their destination, or hang around until the problem was fixed -- not a viable option for many. Meanwhile, workers began sorting suitcases oh so slowly by hand.
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Posted
Jul 10 2008, 03:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Note to future self: If we're traveling on US Airways after Nov. 1, take a book. That's when the downsizing airline will stop showing movies on domestic flights. The decision to end in-flight films shouldn't be a surprise. The video systems weigh 500 pounds, a lot of extra weight -- particularly when they aren't paying their freight. Fewer and fewer people have been willing to shell out $5 for the headsets.
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Posted
May 09 2008, 03:29 PM
by
Karen Datko
A USA Today/Gallup poll released today says 60% of Americans are cutting spending "significantly" elsewhere in their budgets to compensate for higher gas prices. The Gallup Web site says that "only 38% said this when gas prices were shooting up three years ago." Gallup surveyed 1,017 people in early May about 10 possible ways to deal with record-high gas prices, and got some remarkable results. "It seems a tipping point has been reached," says an article at Gallup by Lydia Saad.
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Posted
Apr 28 2008, 05:11 PM
by
Karen Datko
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In case you didn't know, the Hummer was invented in the 1980s to fight Nazi zombies, we learned from Nick at Punny Money. "This vehicle, known as the 'Humvee' or 'Human-crushing Vehicle,' was so successful at repelling the zombie invasion that Hummer decided to modify it and sell it for general civilian use," he writes. Somehow we missed this invasion. But, thus the poster vehicle for gas-guzzling, environment-wrecking behemoths was born.
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Posted
Apr 28 2008, 11:01 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Higher gas prices are assuredly hurting people with incomes near or at minimum wage. But how about many of the rest of us? Has the price done as much damage to our standard of living as some people claim? Not hardly, said Seb at Pinching Copper. This blogger often approaches problems from a fresh point of view, and this time he analyzed what higher gas prices are costing many drivers.
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Posted
Apr 17 2008, 01:43 PM
by
Karen Datko
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In these days of near-record flight delays, no food, baggage charges -- not to mention passengers stranded on delayed flights for hours at a time or last week's 3,000 canceled American Airlines flights -- the government is throwing airline passengers a bone.
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Posted
Apr 07 2008, 07:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
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"Lazy Man" at Lazy Man and Money took a cruise on his honeymoon last year and figured it would be a bargain. He and the lucky woman who is now Mrs. Lazy Man, aka "Energy Gal," booked a seven-day trip in the Caribbean for $542 a person. "I could eat $400 or more of food alone in seven days at a restaurant," Lazy Man writes. Plus, he says, "Seeing Bowzer from Sha Na Na was worth the price alone." But was it really that cheap? Heck, no. Once you add in the cost of day excursions to the islands, Lazy Man's addiction to diet soda (which wasn't included in the price), plus the alcohol, you're paying a lot more. And don't think about sneaking hooch onto the boat. He writes: "The cruise's policy is extremely strict. They are happy to drop you off at the next port if you violate it." Lazy Man also noticed that the TV in his cabin featured a cruise ship shopping channel that urged passengers to spend, spend, spend.
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Posted
Mar 17 2008, 07:37 AM
by
Karen Datko
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It seems as though everyone and their uncle have tips for saving on gasoline as prices inch closer to the $4-a-gallon milestone. Short of getting a car with better gas mileage, there are plenty of ways to use less gas. We've looked at lots and will pass on our favorites in an effort to save you money. Best possible tip: Drive less. You don't have to pay for gasoline if you don't use it.
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