Browse by Tags
-
Posted
Aug 29 2008, 09:33 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Last night I bought a plane ticket to New Jersey for the holidays. I'll stay about a week so I can work at my dad's annual New Year's Eve country line dance party: help set up tables, take care of the food, refill the cooler with soda and bottled water, and pitch in to clean up afterwards.
Here's the kicker: I don't particularly like country music. In fact, I listen exclusively to KING-FM, Seattle's classical station. Nor am I going to South Jersey in December because it's beautiful there at that time of year. I'm visiting to spend time with my dad, my younger brother and other loved ones while I have the chance.
Read More...
-
Posted
Aug 25 2008, 02:40 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Do you happen to be in Ghana and want to find free wireless Internet access? Maybe you're in Spain or Hong Kong, just motoring through Hardin, Mont., or in a town near your home. Happily, several resources exist to point you in the right direction. Shaula at Your Mileage May Vary compiled a number of them for readers in a post called "Finding free Wi-Fi."
Read More...
-
Posted
Aug 22 2008, 02:14 PM
by
Ryan MacClanathan
Rating:
"Slugging" an impromptu form of hitchhiking/car pooling is quickly
becoming the hottest way to travel in our nation's capital. The practice allows
commuters to save money, time and the environment by driving in a car-pool
lane.
The catch -- you must be willing to share your car with a stranger.
Matt at the GreenUpgrader
describes this simple concept:
- Drivers line up in a
designated area.
- The drivers pull up to the
line of people waiting for a ride and hold out signs with their destination or shout it out to the
first person in line.
- If that person isn't heading
to that destination, he or she shouts it out to the rest of the line and
the first two people going that way jump into the car.
Read More...
-
Posted
Aug 14 2008, 03:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
We have great memories from our many travels across the country by bus: the image of the first working cowboy we'd ever seen as we crossed into New Mexico, a new card game we learned from fellow passengers as we pulled out of the Chicago terminal, our first visits to New Orleans and San Francisco. As Amy L. Fontinelle at Two Pennies Earned says, the bus is an affordable alternative to plane and train travel. The round-trip fare between New York City and Washington, D.C., is about $20 to $40 depending on which bus company you use.
Read More...
-
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.
Read More...
-
Posted
Aug 05 2008, 07:11 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
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.
Read More...
-
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.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jul 25 2008, 12:49 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
We've read about how more people are running out of gas on their way to wherever. Were they short on money for gas, or were they employing one of Punny Money's "5 incredibly stupid ways people are trying to save money on gas"? The fact is, with gas at more than $4 a gallon, auto clubs all over the country are reporting an increase in calls from stranded travelers. Some truly didn't have enough money for gas. "A select few morons are even running out of fuel on purpose -- just to get that free gallon of gas their automotive club or roadside-assistance program provides to get them going again," writes Nick at Punny Money. He's right.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jul 17 2008, 01:58 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from James R. Hood at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com.  Almost exactly two years ago, with gas well under $3, we had the opportunity to test drive a Toyota Prius and a Camry. Toyota turned aside our request for a Corolla, insisting that the Camry was the car most comparable to the Prius.
Well, maybe so. But we've always thought that many families who need to save big bucks on their transportation costs -- as opposed to those who just want to be the first on their block to drive around on top of a battery -- should take a close look at the Corolla and similar cars before plopping down big bucks on the Prius.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jul 10 2008, 03:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
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.
Read More...
More Posts Next page »
|
