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By Huan Frazier, CPA
We all deserve a good vacation at least once a year. Even with money strained to new limits, we can still enjoy that much deserved "R and R" with family and friends. So here are some great tips to save a few bucks:
Have a plan. Do your research on where you want to go. There is plenty of information on the Internet. For example. you can download a copy of free travel guides or request them from websites. Sometimes, you can even go to websites like wikitravel.org to get information.This will give you important details about places of interest you plan to visit and the best restaurants in different neighborhoods (If you are a foodie like me). Once you have identified certain places and restaurants you would like to visit, you can go on to the second step.
Coupon hunt. You will be surprised how many coupons are available online. I always like to get a copy of the entertainment book (entertainment.com) for the city I am visiting. You may have to pay $20 for this book, but the money you can save is well worth the initial investment You can find tons of coupons from fine dining restaurants to fast food, from shopping centers to attractions. Sometimes, you can get discounts if you purchase tickets online instead of paying at the door. If you want to go to Orlando, Fla. you will pay considerably less if you purchase tickets online for the majority of the theme parks. When it comes to dining, you can also buy coupons from restaurant.com. You can find a good selection in all ethnic categories. Don't worry about the price listed on their website.You can often get a promotion code online to get up to 80 percent off. For example, I only spent $2 for a $25 coupon. What a great deal!
Select wisely. Road trips are one of the cheapest methods of traveling and I truly enjoy them. If you really like traveling by air, do plenty of research before you book a flight Priceline.com is a good place to start Not only can you name your own price, they also will tell you what other options you have if you want to save more money. In my experience, Hotwire has always beaten out the other sites. Lase time I checked the price of a New York hotel, I found a 3.5 star hotel located in the Empire State Building area for $99 during Christmas. What a deal!
Other considerations:
- If you take a cruise, do not use your phone. They charge on average $5 a minute, which includes your phone ringing and not being answered.
- If you travel abroad, try to book your air ticket through a travel agent who is a native of the country you are planning to travel. I go back to China once a year to visit my parents. I have searched more than 20 different travel websites, but none of them give a better price than the website held by a Chinese travel agent located in San Francisco. My last round trip ticket to Beijing was less than $900. The same ticket sold for over $1,200 on major U.S. travel websites like Travelocity, Expedia and Priceline.
Click here to read the complete article on Blush Magazine's website.
The contents and opinions contained in this article are for informational purposes only. The information is not intended to be a substitute for professional accounting counsel. Always seek the advice of your accountant or other financial planner with any questions you may have regarding your financial goals.
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