Saving on Vacation

Laura at Five Cent Nickel has written a great piece called How to Save Money on Vacations.  While military families often spend their vacations "going home" or PCSing, many of these tips still apply.  As usual, the comments are also helpful.  I haven't found a way to make traveling as inexpensive as staying at home, but there are certainly lots of ways to lower the costs.

Military Travel On A Budget

I've just learned about a new website devoted to military travel discounts:  GuideToMilitaryTravel.com.  Run by a military spouse, the site includes all sorts of information about discounts at regular hotels, military lodging and travel tips for families.  These offers are different from the offers that you can get at your bases ITT office and often are a much better deal.

You can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter, so that you can keep up-to-date on all the new promotions as they become available.

Free Chick-fil-A and Other Restaurant Goodies

Thank you, Bargain Briana, for pointing out TWO ways to get free Chick-fil-A!  It is nice to have a little restaurant treat once in a while, and even better when you can get a bargain as well.

Speaking of bargains, don't forget to check your favorite restaurant websites to sign up for their birthday clubs and other clubs.  Just tonight, the four kids and I ate dinner at Bob Evans for only $13, courtesy of a couple of birthday club coupons.  (Don't forget to calculate your tip based upon the full amount of the bill before discounts.)  I noticed that the kids hadn't received their Friendly's birthday emails so I clicked on over to discover their new Best Friend of Friendly's club.  I'm a little confused about whether the old Friendly's registrations are gone but I did sign up for the new club.

I'm in the mid-Atlantic, so I'm also signed up with Boston Market's VIP club, the Cheeburger Cheeburger Fan Mail Club, and Denny's Birthday Club.  Check websites for restaurants in your area to see what deals you can find.  I keep my coupons in the glove box for surprise treats or to keep the costs down while traveling.

Alert: Credit Cards Abroad

There's always a new concern when it comes to using your credit cards overseas.  Now there is another thing to worry about - the rest of the world has, since 2004, been going to a different type of credit card identification system, called "chip and pin."  In theory, chip and pin readers should be able to read magnetic cards and retailers should still be able to process transactions on US credit cards.  However, customers are reporting problems with merchants who state that they are unable to process transactions using magnetic cards, and some self-service machines, such as gas stations and self-purchase transit tickets, are not equipped to accept the pin-less cards.

How can customers prevent problems when traveling in overseas?

1. Before you leave, notify your credit card issuer that you are going overseas (a good idea anyway) and ask them to issue you a PIN number.  Some retailers are willing to use a magnetic card as long as you have a PIN.

2. Carry adequate cash and/or traveler's check to take care of smaller purchases where a credit card may not be accepted.  Make sure you are able to use your debit card at ATM machines abroad in case you run low on cash funds.

3. As the retailer to try to use the card in their machines, and ask for a manager if necessary.  Sometimes it is a problem with the staff not understanding the new system, not a problem with the system itself.

 

It doesn't seem that US credit cards are going to change to the new chip and pin system anytime in the near future, although it is possible that issuers may begin offering special cards for use overseas.  It is also possible that countries will stop accepting the magnetic stripe cards in the future.  In the meantime, be prepared when you travel, and keep your ears open for additional changes over time.

For further reading, see US Credit Cards Becoming Outdated, Less Usable Abroad, at CreditCards.com, and US Credit Cards Lost Their Cachet in Europe at Frommers.com.

 

Click here to find The Paycheck Chronicles main page.

Fast Food from the Grocery Store

I rarely enjoy fast food.  Sure, it is fast, but it doesn't usually taste that good and it is often super-expensive.  Just the other day, I picked up some breakfast at McDonalds while traveling.  Even without buying drinks, and only having one adult and three children, I still spent nearly $20.  And people were still hungry afterwards.

Later in the day, we were able to stop and make a quick run through a grocery store to pick up lunch.  What a difference!  We were able to choose fresh fruits and veggies, healthy drinks, and better snacks for just about the same price.  We all ate a lot and had leftovers for later in the day.

I still struggle with ideas for road food, but we've found the following things work well.  Granted, they aren't always the cheapest choices in the grocery store, but they are so much better than the drive-thru.

• apple slices (add caramel dip if you want to splurge)
• carrot sticks and dip or even get a small veggie tray
• drinkable yogurt (less messy than regular yogurt)
• deli meats and cheeses on rolls or bread
• small cheese (string cheese, BabyBel or individual squares
• granola bars, cereal bars and oatmeal bars
• clementines or oranges
• nuts, especially in the little packages

 

Sure, this is going to cost more than the Dollar Menu, but it is tastier, healthier, and you won't be hungry again in an hour.  What foods do you like to eat on the road?

Car Rental Tips from USAA

June Walbert of USAA offers advice on saving money and having the right insurance when you rent a car.

Tips for Free Wi-Fi at Airports with Pay Service

Over at Wisebread, the Frugal Duchess has done a great post on getting free Boingo (and other) Wi-Fi at airports that only offer pay-for-use service.   I'm so glad to hear about these great tips!

It Pays to Ask

I hate wasting money, but it happens sometimes.  There are three places where I tend to lose money in large chunks:  not sending in rebates, not getting reimbursed for stuff, and making reservations or registrations that I don't use or forget to cancel.  Ack!  Just in the last week, I have a receipt for a taxi that I need to submit for reimbursement, a rebate for a computer purchase that needs to be sent, two hotel reservations to cancel, and a child that decided that that she absolutely, positively would not participate in the track program that she absolutely, positively wanted to do the week before.

I'd love to say that I took care of all four items, but I only did two.  Cancelling the reservations was quick and easy, but I am so proud of myself for how I handled the sports registration.  I've never asked for a refund for a kid's sport because I have always felt like it was my child's choice not to participate and it wasn't the program's fault that she changed her mind.  However, this was $125 and I told myself that it wouldn't hurt me to ask.  I emailed the head of the track program and explained that we'd tried it one time and that my daughter was overwhelmed by all the kids, and would it be possible to get a refund?  I only wrote to him last night, and I was delighted to discover that I already had a refund this morning!  Amazing!

The lesson I've learned today is that it doesn't cost anything to ask, and it might save you some money.  I'm going to remember this in the future and make a little more effort to save myself some money where I can.  And I'm going to hit those other two items on my to do list!

Williamsburg Memorial Day Discounts

Colonial Williamsburg is offering free admission for active duty military, reservists, retirees, veterans and their families.  The offer is available today, May 22, through Monday, May 25.  Honorably discharged veterans will have to bring a copy of their DD214.  The passes are only available at the on-site ticket windows.  For more information, you can call 1-800-HISTORY.

While you are in Williamsburg, you may also want to take advantage of Anheuser-Busch's Hero's Salute program.  Once again, Anheuser-Busch is offering free single-day admission for the service member and up to three direct dependents to any Anheuser-Busch theme park, including Sea World, Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, Sesame Place and Adventure Island.  My family has taken advantage of this fantastic promotion the last several years, going to Water Country USA in Williamsburg.  It has been so much fun for many reasons - we get to spend an enjoyable day playing together, and Mom isn't stressed out by the cost of the food because we didn't have to pay the admission fees.  I would say that our times at Water Country USA have been some of our best family memories and I truly appreciate the generosity of Anheuser-Busch.

If you can pull together a last minute trip to Williamburg, or you live in the area, these are fabulous discounts on great experiences that might otherwise be unaffordable for many families.  I hope to hear that some of you are able to enjoy them!

$1 Active Duty Airfare: Virginia Only

Oh my goodness - Jet Blue is offering $1 airfareto and from Washington - Dulles and Richmond International airports.  Book by May 7th (tomorrow) for travel in May only.  There are taxes and booking fees but still a good bargain!

I've heard some griping that this is such a limited offer, but I hope that some people are able to take advantage of it.  Maybe they'll be so praised that it will be extended to other parts of the country, as well.

Using USAA Discounts

A fellow military spouse just reminded me about the great car rental discounts that can be found at USAA, and it made me think that I should probably highlight the variety of discounts that USAA offers.

If you go to the USAA homepage, then click on Products & Services, there is a button for Shopping & Discounts.  If you go to that page, you will find USAA's discounts on diamonds and other jewelry, travel savings, bargain Avis, Budget & Hertz car rentals, 20% off all Teleflora orders, huge discounts on FedEx services, and ADT home securitysystems and monitoring.   You will have to log into your USAA online account to access the discounts, but it is surely worth your time.

June Walbert Talks about Emergency Funds

More than ever, an emergency fund is an important part of your financial plan.  In this video, USAA's June Walbert talks about creating and keeping emergency funds.

Free and Inexpensive Things to Do In Hampton Roads

I'm in Virginia Beach, Virginia, today, for SpouseBUZZ Live Hampton Roads.  At the Fleet & Family Support Center table, I picked up this great little brochure called "Free and Inexpensive Things to Do in Hampton Roads."  I thought that I would include the list here, but it is a lot longer than I expected when I picked up the brochure.  There are sections for Museums, MWR, Virginia Beach City Recreation Centers, City Parks & Recreations Departments, Parks, Historic Houses, Beaches, Miscellaneous, and other places of interest.  If you are in the Hampton Roads area, either living, visiting, or TDY, I suggest you stop by the FFSC and pick up this jam-packed brochure.  You'll keep your free time full of neat activities, and your wallet will stay full, too.

50 Way to Save on Travel

As I've said before, we military folks tend to spend a lot of time traveling.  Whether we're PCSing, going to visit family, or just taking a proper vacation, any time spent outside of your own home is going to be more expensive than staying home.

David at Money Ning offers 50 Ways to Budget Travel and Save Money on Vacations.  I found several useful tips that I'd never considered, like checking the local website instead of the international one.  I also appreciate all the suggestions that apply to internation travel.  I've not done a lot of it, but I am hoping to!

I'm sure that you all have picked up a few travel tips along the way.  I'd love it if you could share your best ones!

Operation Purple Family Retreats

The National Military Family Association (NMFA) is piloting a new program this year.  An offshoot of their popular Operation Purple Camps, Operation Purple Family Retreats are designed for families whose service member has returned from deployment within the last twelve months.  From the website: 

It is difficult on the entire family when a loved one is deployed, but the time after that father, mother, husband, or wife returns  home is often the most challenging of all. Recognizing this, the National Military Family Association is piloting two Operation Purple® Family Retreats. These free, four-day retreats are set in a National Park using nature’s classroom, where families will have opportunities to strengthen and renew relationships, explore their natural surroundings, and participate in fun family-focused activities.

If you have a recently returned family member, and you live anywhere near these locations (one is in California and one is in Washington State), you might want to see if these would work for your family.  What a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a little affordable R&R and get some quality family time.  Thanks, NMFA!

photo by:  mateoutah