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Travel Reward Cards

BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Wise Bread had an article on Travel Rewards Cards, and it got me thinking. I don't have ANY reward cards. I always hear about people getting their trips for free, which is definitely appealing to me.

I just realized that all of my posts today are about traveling.  I did not plan it like this.  Obviously my brain is trying to tell me that I need a vacation.  Here are some tips on how this lady scores free trips:

  1. Find credit card offer sign-up bonuses. Lots of credit card companies offer different types of bonuses, such as more miles or cash back. Compare and save!
  2. Utilize credit card spending.  There are different ways to earn more points.  I've heard of people (just like it says in the article as well) buying certain coins and so on in order to earn more points.
  3. Get bumped. Getting bumped on your flight can also lead to more rewards or cash. I have friends who have gotten bumped before and if you wait out long enough when your flights about to depart, usually they'll bump up the amount that they are giving out. Sometimes they will give a couple hundred dollars and reimburse you for your plane ticket.

Do you have any travel rewards cards? Recommend some! What are your tips?

Getting a Passport

BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

rp_Screen-Shot-2013-11-09-at-8.52.31-PM-300x225.pngLearnVest recently had an article about how to get a passport. I've been traveling a lot lately, but not out of the country because I don't have a passport.  The BF doesn't have one either, and we are always talking about getting one, but the costs of obtaining one have been pushing us to push the date of when we get to get them back further and further.

Here are the steps if you're thinking about getting one:

Processing Times

  • Processing times can be found at the link above, but generally it is within 4-6 weeks and 2-3 weeks for expedited service
  • For expedited service, I know someone who got it within 1 week, so sometimes it CAN be sooner, but not always

Fees can be found here.

Do you have a passport? Do you have any tips for speeding up the process for a person who needs one at the last second?

Would you Couch Surf?

BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

People will do many things to save money while on vacation.  Not eating out, getting an inexpensive hotel, not flying too far away and so on.  Vacations can be expensive and something I heard of a couple of months ago was called couch surfing.  I heard about it on the radio and the morning talk show host was trying to convince his intern not to do this and then many people called in and called her crazy also.

The website for this is CouchSurfing.

The website touts that this is very safe, and just like with Ebay, couch surfing hosts are verified and rated by others who have used their couches.  This can be a very easy way to save money.  Also, it's not always a couch that you get, most people have extra rooms or beds for you to use.

I on the other hand have a hard time trusting someone.   I don't like the thought of leaving my stuff at someone's house while I am sightseeing.

What do you think?  What would you do to save money? Would you sleep on someone else's couch/floor/room without knowing them?  Would it be more about the experience of meeting new people who are locals or about saving money?

Bucket List

BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Over at No More Spending, a Bucket List was posted.  The Happy Homeowner also has a GREAT one! I've been wanting to finish creating my bucket list for awhile.  Hopefully I can cross some things off my list also.  I've done some of these things, but some were so long ago, that I don't think they should count anymore.  Here it goes.

Travel

  1. Travel to another country and work odd jobs for my money.  I had friends who went to Europe for 2 years and they worked odd jobs here and there to support themselves.  Sounded like so much fun.
  2. U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. British Virgin Islands
  4. Hawaii
  5. New York
  6. California
  7. DisneyWorld
  8. Miami
  9. Panama City, FL
  10. Portland
  11. Dallas
  12. Houston
  13. Chicago 
  14. Los Angeles
  15. Las Vegas
  16. Boston
  17. Washington DC
  18. Puerto Rico
  19. Bahamas
  20. Jamaica
  21. Australia
  22. Italy
  23. Spain
  24. UK
  25. Ireland
  26. Denmark
  27. Germany
  28. Brazil
  29. Chile
  30. Argentina
  31. Thailand
  32. China
  33. South Korea
  34. Japan
  35. India
  36. Yosemite
  37. Big Sur
  38. Yellowstone

Activities/Adventure/Fun

  1. Go skydiving (I'm going in a September 2011!)
  2. Get my piloting license (I have my first class soon!)
  3. Go parasailing in the ocean
  4. Jetski
  5. Go on a month long hike
  6. Jump off a cliff
  7. Go cliff diving
  8. Parachute into a deep cave
  9. Horseback riding in the mountains
  10. Live in a cabin on a beautiful lake
  11. Drive 200 miles per hour
  12. Surf well
  13. Snowboard
  14. Go on a month long sailing excursion
  15. Live on a boat

Financial

  1. Have my mortgage paid off
  2. Have a second condo/house paid off in a place that I love
  3. Make at least six figures a year
  4. Have no debt
  5. Be able to pay for everything with cash upfront

Personal

  1. Have a successful financial website
  2. Speak a foreign language
  3. Write a financial or self-help book
  4. Live in a foreign country or Hawaii
  5. Be extremely fit
  6. Have a full garden full of tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers and much more!
  7. Form some kind of talent. I have feel like I have no talent.  I wish I could sing, dance, ballet, SOMETHING!
  8. Attend a royal affair and wear a massive hat
  9. Run a marathon (or a half-marathon)
  10. Enter an eating contest and WIN
  11. Have wonderful children
  12. Have my MBA
  13. Get my PhD

Do you have a bucket list?  Share your link or comment!

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