How to Save Money On a Cruise

Saving money on a cruise may be easier than you think.  In the middle of a hot summer, nothing sounds better than keeping cool on a cruise but the big price tags can obviously be daunting to lots of families looking to save money on vacations.  The nice thing about a cruise is that it wraps your food, lodging, and entertainment all into one bill – so if you can find the right price then you get a lot for your money. Today we’ll look at ways you can find the best cruise deals for your money.

How To Squeeze Value Out Of a Cruise

Relaxation at sea can come at a hefty price if you let it. Finding the right cruise can be challenging. You have to consider cost, cruise length, number of stops or destinations, and what level of room you want.

Identify Important Trip Aspects

Identify what is most important – room with a view, or will smaller do Before you can look for the best cruise deal, you need to know what you are really targeting. There are so many options available: a week in Alaska, 3 days in the Caribbean, or 2 weeks in the Mediterranean. But the options don’t stop there. Consider these items first:

Cruise length: Do you want to be gone for more than a week? Or are you looking for a short trip for some quick rest and relaxation?

Cruise cost: How much are you willing to spend?

Destinations or stops: Do you just want to sit on the deck sipping a beverage and soaking up the rays, or are you looking for adventure at multiple destinations?

What type of room: Are you willing to be in the belly of the ship to save money? Or are you wanting an ocean view? You can take a longer trip if you take a lesser room, if you’re comfortable with it.

Finding the Best Cruise Deal

The web gives you lots of options for landing great travel deals. Although there isn’t really a “one stop shop” that can find the absolute best deal on everything you should stop by the best travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Kayak.

The major deal websites are a great place to set your baseline of what deals to expect. All four have dedicated cruise sections to their websites (although Kayak’s is hidden under “More” on the left). Be sure to check with a travel agency or with your credit card’s rewards or travel program after you have a baseline of what to expect from the major websites. You might get lucky and find a deal that fits your desired itinerary.

To really dig in and do your research it helps to find a group of cruising enthusiasts in an online forum. One of the largest is a place called Cruise Critic (http://boards.cruisecritic.com). The forum has nearly 1.3 million topics and over 27 million individual posts inside those topics. Surrounding yourself with experts with a strong passion for what you need advice on is a great place to be. You might also consider Cruise Addicts (http://www.cruise-addicts.com), with over 166,000 threads and almost 1.5 million posts about cruises.

Watch for Extra Charges

The price you see when you first look at a cruise itinerary isn’t the price you pay at the end of the day. Be sure to calculate the following costs into your calculations:

• Port fees and taxes: Be sure to read the fine print, as you can’t avoid these charges.
• Travel to and from where the cruise starts: If you live in the city where the cruise kicks off from, you can disregard this. For most, travel to the ship can be a huge addition to the total cost. Check out ways to save money on airline tickets.
• Excursions: All the fun everyone is having at that new destination? That parasailing or jungle tour? All cost additional money.
• Fuel surcharge: With high oil prices come fuel surcharges for almost every type of travel. Airlines do it, cruises do, too.
• Exclusive dining options: Be sure to read the fine print on your dining options. Your cruise price may come with only the baseline food options. Exclusive dining rooms with nicer menus will come at a cost.
• Popular drinks: Basics like water will be free, but if you want a soda or alcoholic beverage you will pay for it.
• Spa treatments: Want to get a couples massage looking out over the water? Prepare to pay for it.
• Tips: Gratuities are included in most cruises, but you should still have the option of lessening the tip if you have a bad experience.

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The Best Rental Car Deals for Road Trips

Rental car deals are in high demand with many travelers expecting higher air fare costs this summer. Some of those travelers will forge on, willing to pay the higher price to get to their dream destination. But with many Americans still unemployed or just recently having found new employment the high price of flying may cause them to consider vacations closer to home and send them in search of rental car discounts.

Taking a regional road trip in a rental car doesn’t have to break the bank, especially when compared with flying across the country. Instead of increasing your maintenance costs or worrying if your car can survive a road trip, you borrow the rental agency’s car for a known cost and call it a day. If the car has maintenance problems that weren’t caused by an accident, it’s not your problem. They’ll swap you out into a new car and get you going.

Tips for Saving on Rental Cars
Renting a car can also get pretty expensive, but not if you know how to look for the best deals. Use the following tips to maximize your savings on rental cars. I worked in the rental industry for about a year and this is how I would go about getting the best deal.

Finding the Best Deal
There is no one best way to find the best deal on rental cars, but knowledge is power. Things you need to know:

What’s the business model? Rental car agencies go after different types of business. Some focus on repair work while your car is in the shop. Others focus on business travelers and only have airport locations. Knowing the company’s business model will help you determine their down times. You can get a better deal during slow periods when they have a lot of extra cars on hand.

• For example, Enterprise has thousands of locations across the country. They focus on being in “your neighborhood” and deal with a lot of insurance and car repair rentals. That means their cars are in high demand Monday through Friday. On Friday the body shops finish up, and the agency has extra inventory over the weekend. You can get amazing deals on the weekend. More on this in a moment.

What’s in demand? During the summer months the most in demand vehicles are SUVs and minivans. This is especially true around holidays like Memorial Day or the 4th of July. You’ll need to book well in advance or risk missing out.

Know the car sizes. Check out the company’s website and be familiar with their car classes. Booking a smaller vehicle will save you money, but don’t be surprised if it is really small.

Check Online Specials First
The internet is one of the best places to find widely advertised deals on rental cars. Check all of the popular agency’s websites first. You know these deals are legitimate because it is coming straight from the source. Follow that up with a check of large travel aggregation websites like Kayak. They’ll be able to spot some of the secret or less advertised deals that you can’t find without a lot of extra work.

For example, say Enterprise has their $9.99 weekend special going. You can pay as little as $10 per day for three days, and get 300 total miles to use on your rental for a compact size car. That’s a 60% discount off the regular rental price of $24.99 in my area. A full size car can be had for $19.99 per day – that’s 43% off the regular price of $34.99.

Budget has a similar deal. They offer $5 off for every weekend day you have a rental. A 3 day rental (Friday to Monday) would have $15 knocked off the final price. How can they afford to do this? Again, they have a lot of inventory on the weekends. Having vehicles on the road for as little as $30 in revenue is better than having the cars sit on the lot for $0 in revenue.

One way to make the deal even sweeter is to use a rental car credit card that offers rewards or discounts when you reserve your car online.  Just be aware that not all deals can be combined so you might not be able to use the credit card discount along with an advertised special.

Pick Up the Phone
Pick up the phone and call your local branch. Have their website pulled up and know what discounts they are currently offering. Let them know of your plans, and have them walk you through the best deal they can offer. When they’re done telling you the price, tell them that’s not low enough or ask if there is anything they can do to get you to reserve the car today. They may be able to find a discount to put on your rental to drop the price down a bit. Talking to a live human being that works at your local branch gives you an advantage over computer systems.

Book with Travel Partners
You can also try booking with travel partners. If you’re booking a hotel room you may be able to get a package deal with one of their preferred car rental agencies.

Negotiate at the Counter
You have negotiating leverage. Unlike hotel reservations, many rental agencies do not charge you for not showing up for your reservation. Once you are there they want to make sure you leave happy. You can book a lower class vehicle and try to negotiate your way into a larger vehicle at a discounted price.

In fact, the representative behind the counter may try to do convince you first. Many companies will run “up-sell” competitions and rewards their reps for selling you from a smaller vehicle class into something bigger, even if it isn’t at full price. They’re getting more revenue for having your reservation out on the road. You can also try asking for discounts based on:

• The rate your insurance company gets (which is much, much cheaper than retail). You likely won’t get the full discount, but they may knock the price off a bit.
• Memberships you have (AAA, AARP, etc.)
• Your company’s corporate discount

Granted, this only works when the company has a lot of excess inventory sitting on the car lot. You won’t find much negotiating room if you’re renting their next to last car. If they don’t rent to you they’ll find another customer to put into that car.

Consider Gas Mileage
With gas nearing or over $4 per gallon in many parts of the country, be sure to check on gas mileage first. Taking 4 friends on a road trip to the beach? Riding in style in a massive SUV may seem great, but you’ll be guzzling gas the whole way (along with paying higher rental costs in the first place). Those 4 people would easily fit into a standard or full size car, saving you money on gas and rental charges.

Document the Car’s Condition
Make sure you document the car’s condition very well. Renting cars happens very fast. There is important paperwork you sign, including an agreed upon condition of the car. If you don’t mark any of the current damage (knicks, dings, dents) on the contract you may be held liable for them when you return the vehicle. Read the fine print on the rental car insurance and make sure you understand what’s covered and what’s not. In this technology covered age I would recommend taking photos or a video of the walk around on the car on your smartphone or camera. It will help defuse any situations that pop up when you return the car.

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Invasion of the Pests

While most of you have probably been fretting over the national debt, whether it will be paid, and what it will mean for our economy – I’ve been dealing with armies of pests.  Of course, I’m concerned about what will happen with our out-of-control debt but I’ve been pre-occupied with termites eating our house, moles destroying our yard, and wasps leaving big red welts on my arms and legs.

Termites

Obviously the nastiest of these are the termites.  They just showed up a few weeks ago and we’ve already had them taken care of.  As usual I started out with Angies List and built a short list of exterminators who all came out and gave us bids.  I know a lot more about termites now than I ever wanted to know and spent more than I wanted to get rid of them.  However, after a lot of research and some negotiating we decided on a plan that should keep the house termite-free for at least 15 years.  I’ll have to package everything I learned into a post for you homeowners, “Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Killing Termites”.

This time I actually ended up going with a provider I didn’t find on Angies List.  We picked a much bigger company that specializes in killing termites and provides service all over the country. They offered the best deal in terms of cost, treatment, and coverage so they made the most sense.  Something I already knew but was reminded of was to ask a lot of questions when you’re getting bids so it’s easier to compare estimates and to be sure of exactly what you’re getting. 

I also learned that there’s a definite difference between what the salesman promises and what the technician can deliver.  I know this is often the case in my own industry but now I’ve seen it in multiple areas other than software development.  We’re still in the process of having the termite company properly repair concrete drill holes that they couldn’t get seem to get right the first two times.  I’ve actually made a list of all the things the salesman told us that the technician came out and contradicted several days later.  I guess the lesson here is nothing new – buyer beware.

Other Pests

Although the wasp invasion was more painful than the termites, it was certainly cheaper to handle.  My son got a good laugh out of watching me battle angry wasps with my shovel but after losing that battle a cheap can of Raid brought the invasion to an end.  Our mole problem seems to have been solved by setting mole traps that my father-in-law let us borrow.  It’s amazing how much damage just one mole can do to your yard in such a short period of time.

Being a homeowner has it’s benefits but it can also get expensive and a bit stressful at times.  It makes a big difference if you have a backup savings account or emergency fund you can dip into when expensive things pop up.  I also have an interesting story about financing home projects and the quoted price of a project that I’ll share in the future.

Money Articles

Hopefully our pest invasion is over for the summer and Congress will get their act together and figure something out about our nation’s debts.  If you want something to take your mind off of the debt debacle, you can checkout some of these articles:

Real Estate

• Vacation Homes vs. Investment Properties @ Lazy Man & Money
• First-time Buyer: Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage @ Million Dollar Journey
• Real Estate Commission @ Consumerism Commentary

Career

• Location Independent Lifestyle & The Pros and Cons of Blogging @ The Digerati Life
• Three Keys to Career Success @ Bargaineering
• Corporate coffee cost cutting @ Brip Blap
• How Not to Get Promoted @ Free Money Finance
• The Point of a Summer Job @ Money Ning
• How Do You Feel About a 40-Hour Week? @ Fiscal Fizzle
• How to Ask for (and Get) a Raise in a Struggling Economy @ PT Money
• What Would You Do If You Were Self-Employed? @ Sweating The Big Stuff

Personal Finance

• Potential Savings via Product Placement @ Suns Financial Diary
• 7 Back To School Savings Tips @ My Dollar Plan
• The Secret to Building Wealth Most People Ignore @ Frugal Dad
• Why You Should be Paying Attention to Medigap Plans @ Generation X Finance
• Money Leak: Do You Check All Your Billing Statements for Mistakes? @ Moolanomy
• Using Cash [It's the Only Way to Go] @ Debt Free Adventure
• How to Save Money Buying Inexpensive Furniture for Your Home @ The Money Crashers
• Is Extreme Couponing for Everyone? @ Cool to be Frugal

Last but not least, thanks to the Canadian Finance Blog for including the post on investment costs in personal finance carnvial.

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Best Checking Accounts For College Students

The best checking accounts for college students are those with no fees, no minimum balance, online banking, and good interest rates. If you’re leaving for college soon and you don’t have a checking account opened up, you should start thinking about it now. You’ll definitely need a place to stash the little cash that you’ll have during your college career.

Be aware, not all checking accounts are free, and some of them have hidden fees; those are the ones you want to stay away from. Below are four reviews of checking accounts that are worth your time to consider opening up before you leave for school.

ING Electric Orange Checking Account

If you missed my article about the ING products, go checkout the electric orange checking and orange savings account review. This is a great checking account for college students. You can do all of your banking online, which is definitely a benefit for college students, and there are absolutely NO fees associated with it.

The main downside is that you have to mail in checks for deposit, or set up another checking account to transfer money. (Or you could sign up for direct deposit into your Electric Orange account.)

The Campus Edge Checking Account by Bank of America

Bank of America has some good financial products. This is the account that I had while I was in school at the University of Florida. There are no fees, and all you need is $25.00 for an initial deposit to open up the account. After that, there is no minimum balance. BOA will also enroll you for free into their “keep the change” program which rounds your purchase up to the nearest dollar and puts the change into a separate savings account for you.

They’ll also match give you a 100% contribution match for the first three months. This could make it easier for you to balance your check book, because all of your purchases will be rounded to the nearest dollar, making it easier to figure out your balance. Convenience is the biggest advantage to a Bank of America checking account. Bank of America has a ton of branches so an ATM isn’t usually hard to find.

USAA Free Checking

The free checking account from USAA is only available if you, your spouse, or your parents served in the military or are USAA members.  Since USAA is used to serving service members deployed around the globe it’s easy for them to provide the same great service to you while you’re away at school.  With features like USAA Deposit@Home and Deposit@Mobile it’s easy to deposit checks from school.  The account is very competitive, with free overdraft protection, free checks, free billpay, and no monthly fees.

Perkstreet Financial

An option for college students who want to earn rewards when they spend is the PerkStreet Financial cash back debit card. This checking account provides you with a debit card that allows you to earn cash back on your purchases. There are no fees and no minimums with this FDIC-insured account, and you can withdraw cash from a network of more than 37,000 ATMs. You can have money directly deposited into this online bank account, or mail deposit checks (or transfer from another account). A great way to earn rewards and get a little extra cash as a student.

College Student Checking Accounts

One of the most important things you can do as you establish your independent financial identity is to open your own checking account. If you are a college student, you want to be able to find the best checking account that meets your needs while at home and away. While many banks and credit unions offer “student” accounts, recent developments in banking make it possible for you to open a superior checking account that may not be labeled specifically as a student account.

You will want to consider what is most important to you in a bank as you shop around. If you prefer to be able to go into a bank, an online checking account may not be best for you. However, if you deal mostly electronically, and have no need to enter a brick and mortar bank, an online account can help you dodge the fees that seem to be cropping up everywhere these days. Look for a bank account that has no minimum balance or activity requirements, and try avoid those with monthly fees. If you plan to write checks, look for a bank with unlimited check-writing privileges. You should also consider the reputation the financial institution has for customer service.  Your bank can make a big difference in how you manage your money; choose carefully.

Opening a Student Checking Account
So, get on it. Go and check out these checking accounts. Believe me, sticking your money under your dorm bed won’t work. You never know when your roommate or their friends might need some extra cash and decide to help themselves. Watch out with your debit card, though – it’s so easy to swipe that thing. Make sure you set up a budget for the month, and take out cash for items like entertainment and food. Otherwise, you’ll debit card swipe yourself to oblivion, and non-sufficient fund charges are no fun.

If you’re getting ready to head off to school, check out this article on decorating your dorm room on a budget. We also review the best student credit cards as well as student health insurance options and how you can compare them with eHealthInsurance. If you’re looking for some cash to put into your new checking account, look through the list of ways you can make extra money in college.

This review of the best checking accounts for college students is part of the College Student Money Guide.

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The Best Resorts for Family Deals

Sometimes, when you go on vacation, it can be easiest to just head to a resort. You pay one price, and you have plenty of activities for the whole family, as well as a place to stay. Some resorts are all inclusive where all the food is included and some give you vouchers to use at restaurants, so some of your food costs are covered.

During off-peak times, you can usually find fantastic deals at different resorts. Many people in my state like to take advantage of off-season Disneyland deals, since you can state at a Disneyland resort for cheap. It never hurts to call the resort and find out what is available. Find out if there are some “kids free” deals for younger children, or if you can get a fourth night free when you pay for three nights. If you are looking for some ideas (other than something Disney, of course) here are some resorts that offer family deals:

Bahia Principe
This company actually owns a number of resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean and Spain. If you travel off-season, you can find great deals. Even if you go the hotel-only route, you still end up with access to the pool and other options. You can find plenty of activities to enjoy at the resort and nearby. Plenty of special offers, and even vacation packages. The Gran Bahia Principe Akumal, in Mexico, will make you feel as though you are in the jungle, with plenty of nature and activities nearby.

Kahala Mandarin Oriental, Hawaii
You can find a number of family options and deals at this resort. There are dolphin programs, history classes and more. A free shuttle will take family members into Waikiki as well. You can spend time at the beach — where the water is calm and shallow, or take little excursions.

Tortuga Lodge, Tortuguero, Costa Rica
If you are looking for eco-tourism, you might find some good deals at this resort, which is owned by Costa Rica Expeditions. You can see plenty of wildlife, and enjoy great deals starting at $99 for doubles. Look for other vacation packages and deals for Costa Rica.

Earthshine Mountain Lodge
Enjoy the great outdoors in Appalachia. This lodge is located in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, about 50 miles from Asheville. It’s an all-inclusive resort that includes three all you can eat meals each day. You can go hiking, visit a Cherokee campsite replica, go through the zip-line course and enjoy a climbing wall.

Amelia Island Plantation
Located in Florida, you can choose all-inclusive packages, or hotel stays. The all-inclusive packages can be great deals, offering three meals a day, as well as access to activities like tennis and golf. There are biking trails, fishing opportunities and family crafts.

Sunriver Resort
Another outdoor lover’s paradise, this resort near Oregon’s Cascade Mountains is not all-inclusive. But it has a lot to offer — especially if you go between Thanksgiving and New Year: Horse-drawn sleigh rides, bonfires and dogsled tours. There is hiking and fishing for other times of the year, and even an observatory for star-gazing. A nature center and fish hatchery are fun for the kids. You can ask about specials on horseback rides and other activities.

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6 Investing Decisions I’m Happy With

We’ve all made our share of investing mistakes, I wrote about mine not long ago and how I ended up losing 50-75% of the money I invested.  Today I’ll share the counterpart to that: six investing choices I’m glad I’ve made.  

Although the world of investing is always changing, and I am certainly not an investing expert (unfortunately I’m more of an expert on student loan debt), I feel that these six choices were the best I have ever personally made.

Investing Success #1: Not Investing Money I Couldn’t Afford to Lose 

I learned early on that investing money I couldn’t afford to lose was a big mistake.  I was constantly pulling money out of the market to pay routine things like groceries or car insurance.  This cost me a ton of money in transaction fees.  When I started to pay myself first, and yet simultaneously only invest with disposable money, I was able to really start investing intelligently.

I didn’t get too excited by the ups and downs in the market, because I knew I was in the market for the long term.  This led to the modicum of investing success that I have since enjoyed.

Investing Succes #2: Going With Vanguard 

Vanguard is a great company because they’re dependable, well-run, and also inexpensive.  I have a lot of faith in Vanguard and they have never done wrong by me.  My investing strategy is simple: I put my money into appropriate Vanguard funds, and then I sit back and let them take care of the rest.  My favorite move is funding my IRA’s largely with Vanguard’s target retirement 2050 fund.  

There are other no-load (i.e. no individual sales commissions per transaction) giants such as T Rowe Price and Fidelity.  The important thing is that cutting down on transaction costs makes it so your rate of return doesn’t have to be so large for you to make money from the market.  Vanguard has been great in this respect.

Investing Success #3: Focusing on Taxes 

When I first started investing, I often ignored the tax consequences of my investments.  Who could really blame me, as a college student, I generally didn’t earn enough money to be taxed on it anyway.  But with age and maturity (and a real job), I’ve learned to love IRA’s, 401(k)’s, and any other retirement financial vehicles that the government (at least up to this point) has allowed tax breaks on.

Investing Success #4: Reinvesting Dividends 

Dividends are one of the investors best friends, and perhaps the purest source of passive income.  Why?  Because they’re generally legitimate and can be almost fully automated.  With time, by reinvesting your dividends, your number of shares should increase. All without you even missing any extra money out of your wallet.  It’s really a beautiful thing, and the best part is that the benefits tends to increase as time goes on.

Investing Success #5: Investing in Businesses 

This isn’t really the same as using the stock market, but it’s the greatest form of diversification that I have undertaken in my own life during the past few years.  I didn’t go out and start a huge business or anything, I simply began blogging and running a freelance writing business.  These efforts have not only allowed me to meet or work with great people I otherwise never would have met, but have also provided me with extra income.  

When you build a business you are in a sense creating income in two ways: 1) any profits you generate; and 2) increased value in your business should you in the future decide to sell.  It’s a lot more work than sitting back and collecting dividends, but it’s another fun “investment” that more people should consider.

Investing Success #6: Being Fearless 

Perhaps this will lead me to financial ruin one day, but as soon as I started being fearless in my investments is when I started making money.

I research, diversify, make the calls that I think are right, and then pretty much sit back.  When the market hits rock bottom, I tend to keep buying.  When the market comes back up I have to this point enjoyed an even greater success.

Perhaps someday the market will hit rock bottom and never come back.  That’s the risk that I, as a buy and hold investor take.  But by being fearless, I allow paper losses to stay that way.  By being fearless I’ve seen a 28% return the past two years (lucky for me I mostly bought in at rock bottom).  But note, I don’t believe you can time the market.  The best you can do is try and pay yourself first.  And then keep investing.

Conclusion

My failures outnumber my successes, of that there is no doubt.  But hopefully some of the above will be helpful for when you plan your investing strategies.

What do you agree and disagree with?  What are the keys to your investing successes?

Best of luck in your investments.

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The Best Hotels for the Lowest Rates

Summer is here, and you might be itching to get on the road — at least for a little while. If you are looking to take a road trip this summer, you will probably need some place to stay. Many people prefer hotels to camping out (although camping out can be a fun and low-cost option), so that means you are automatically going to be spending some money. You can save, though. Here are some ideas for saving money on hotels as you travel.

Look for Good Value

Sometimes good value doesn’t always mean the cheapest. Years ago, I stayed in a cheap hotel in St. George, Utah. It cost $30 a night — as opposed to the $45 another hotel was charging. After spending the night there, I wished I had spent the extra $15. The front desk was unavailable after 6 p.m., which happened to be just after we checked in. So there was no one to ask about the dirty sheets (my husband and I turned up the heat and slept on top of the blankets), container of curdling milk in the ice bucket, and the broken alarm clock. (This was before the widespread use of cell phones, and we had to buy a cheap alarm clock at the store.) A very harsh lesson in true value vs. cheapness.

If you want good value, Consumer Reports recommends trying Microtel Inn & Suites. It’s a budget hotel chain that feature usually clean rooms, and a continental breakfast. All of the Microtel hotels I have stayed in have had indoor pools, as well. If you just want a basic place to sleep, you can get good value at this chain. Consumer Reports lists Drury Inn & Suites as a good value in the moderately priced category.

Consider Rewards Programs

My parents are involved in Marriott’s rewards program. It includes Marriott brands like Fairfield and Courtyard, in addition to the more upscale Renaissance and other brands. My parents use a Marriott Rewards card, and every year they end up with multiple nights free. You can consider programs offered by different hotels, including Choice Hotels, which includes a number of brands. However, you need to be careful, and understand what you want in a hotel, or a rewards program may not be worth the trouble.

Tips for Saving Money on Hotels

Of course, there are other ways to save money when staying in hotels. The biggest tip is to look online. Check with travel web sites like Hotwire.com, Priceline.com, Orbitz.com and Travelocity.com. Sites like Kayak.com can help you look through a number of travel web site prices and compare. You can also check online at the hotel to see if there are any specials. Sometimes, you can find a better rate by contacting the hotel directly. Other items to consider:

• If you are flying, including a hotel as part of a vacation package can result in a better price.
• Stay during the week, rather than on weekends. Rates are often lower when you stay Monday night through Thursday night.
• Look locally. In some cases, a local establishment can offer lower prices than a chain. Even if it is more expensive, some local chains have amenities that make them more attractive.

No matter your plans, it is possible to save on a hotel, getting the best value for your money as you travel.

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Index Fund Investing Overview

Investing in index funds is a pretty basic investing strategy but we wanted to cover it for two reason:

1) There are many people who are not expert investors and need this information.
2) Regardless of how experienced you are, this is a legitimate technique, especially for people who do not have the time or resources to monitor their own portfolios.

What Are Index Funds?

Index mutual funds are funds that mirror a specific “index.” For example, an S&P 500 Index Fund consists of the 500 individual stocks and their weightings in the index itself. If you invest in the fund and check the financials, whatever happens to the index in terms of performance, happens to your fund.

Index Fund Benefits

Index funds are “passively managed.” This means that compared to other mutual funds where portfolio managers make decisions on when to buy and sell holdings, a passively managed fund can only make investment changes when the index itself changes. Index funds have very low turnover rates because the indexes do not change all that often.

This makes this type of investment more tax efficient than actively managed funds. Index funds also have much lower expenses than actively managed funds. Index funds typically have 0.1%-0.35% in management expenses compared to 1%-2.5% for actively managed funds.

Index Fund Returns

Now some of you will say the goal is not to get index-like returns. The goal is to beat them. What most people don’t realize is that roughly two-thirds of all actively managed mutual funds fail to match the investment returns of index funds.

Index Fund Examples

So how do you use this information? What kind of funds should you use for a portfolio? Here are some examples of index funds you could use in your portfolio:

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX) – This fund is more than just the S&P 500 index. This fund encompasses the entire US stock market. This will give an investor exposure in both mid-cap & small-cap funds as well.

Vanguard Total International Stock Index (VGTSX) – Full international exposure in one fund.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (VBMFX) – Tracks the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index, gives exposure to the bond market.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax Exempt (VWITX) – This fund invests in high-quality municipal bonds, and is a good option for taxable accounts.

These funds could also be used as a starting point for people who want to combine index funds with other investments. Like any other investment though, these index funds should be treated as long-term investments.

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What Do You Need For Your Blog?

I don’t talk much about what goes on behind the scenes of this site because I know your main interest is personal finance, not all the reasons why I’m still up at 4 AM working on this blog post. However, today we’re going to take a break from personal finance and I’ll start with a short story.

Once upon a time there was a blogger named Ben who’s blog post sometimes took twice as long to write as they should because he was also writing code for his website. There was also a programmer named Ben who sometimes took twice as long writing code because he was working on new blog posts. If you haven’t already guessed, these are both the same guy – me.

Financial Bloggers Conference

This Fall, “programmer Ben” is going to lead a session at the Financial Blogger conference in Chicago about custom WordPress plugins. If that topic sounds foreign to you, just think of it as a way to make websites do cool and useful things that they weren’t originally designed for. There’s a wide range of topics that’ll be covered at the conference and I’m going to be speaking along with some people who have done some pretty cool things, you can check out the list of speakers here.

If Only I Had a …

Have you ever been working on a project and said to yourself, “If I only had a tool that did xyz”?  I found myself in that position several years ago when I was writing roundup articles for this site and wanted a faster way to collect good blog posts from the week into a summary article.

I wrote my first plugin to help out, it wasn’t pretty but got the job done.  Over the years I’ve created a variety of plugins for a wide range of purposes and each one has gotten a little better than the last.  I’ve written plugins to make me more efficient, to manage data, and recently have put out a few that show graphical representations of data.

For example, recently I wrote a Groupon Deals map that shows all the current deals that are going on in all the US and Canada. 

I like this one because your email inbox can get pretty crowded with all the daily Groupon deals.  Instead I can check the map for my city and get an overview of all the deals in one view.

Another example of a recent plugin is a tool that lets you compare data in charts and tables.  So far I’ve used it for these credit card bonus pie charts and a comparison table for credit card offers.

The pie chart you see here is a snaphot of the one comparing annual fees.   There are always bonus offers going on and frequently the main thing people focus on is the amount of cash or number of points that you earn.  I created some charts and tables that look at things like annual fees and the required amount of spending to earn the bonus.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of things you can do with a plugin and they can really add value to your site and articles.  There are also many “behind the scenes” types of things you can use a plugin to help with that aren’t as easy to show in a screen shot.

The reason I’m going on about the different things you can do with a plugin is that I want you to tell me what kind of thing you’d like to see a plugin for.

What Do You Need? 

If you don’t own or run a website then this won’t mean much to you.  However, if you have a site that runs on WordPress I’d like to hear from you.  I want to know what you need or want your website to do that you think a plugin could help with.

The reason I’m asking is that I’m going to build a plugin before the conference this fall and use it as the basis of my session on custom WordPress plugins.  In a way, it’s kind of like insurance for my presentation.  Even if I crash and burn, people will hopefully still like it because they get a plugin to take home with them!

Rather than build a plugin that exists purely for demonstration purposes, I want to create something that is practical and that attendees can put to use.  So leave a comment below about what kind of plugin you’d like to see, or you can let me know through my contact form.

I need to get started on the plugin relatively soon since the conference date is getting closer so I’ll put a deadline of this Wednesday on the ideas.

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Mutual Fund Investing Terms Defined

When it comes to mutual fund investing, all of the terms and acronyms can start to get a little confusing. Whenever you invest in anything, you should understand how it works, as well as know the terms associated with the investment. Mutual funds are fairly straightforward in their operation, but you should know the investment fees that are charged, and understand the terms you might come across. Here are some of the common investment terms associated with mutual fund investing:

12b-1: These are fees that come out of the fund assets to cover the cost of selling fund shares, and to cover expenses related to marketing. “Shareholder service fees” might also be included in 12b-1 fees. These are fees that cover the costs related to providing you with information about your investments. 12b-1 fees are also sometimes called “distribution fees.”

Back-end Load: You pay this sales charge when you sell mutual fund fees. Sometimes, a back-end load is called a “deferred sales charge.” You might also see a contingent deferred sales load. This type of back-end load decreases over time; the longer you are invested in the fund, the lower the load.

Class: A class of mutual fund shares similar investment objectives and policies. Each class (i.e. Class A, Class B, etc.) also has its own fees and distribution policies. Often, results vary according to class.

Closed-End Fund: Shares in this type of fund are not offered continuously to the public. Instead, a fixed number of shares are sold at once, and then the shares are sold on the secondary market. Also called a “closed-end company.”

Exchange Fee: If you transfer from one fund to another in the same group, you might be charged this fee.

Expense Ratio: A percentage that expresses the total operating expenses of the fund in relation to the fund’s average net assets.

Front-end Load: The fee you might pay up front to make a purchase. This fee is usually used to compensate brokers. It is taken out of the amount you are investing, reducing the amount of your principal investment.

Management Fee: A fee paid for the management of the fund. This is the fee paid to those managing the portfolio. It might also be an administrative fee that doesn’t fall under the category of “Other Expenses.”

NAV: This is the “net asset value.” Each day, the fund has to calculate the NAV at least once, per SEC rules. The NAV per share is the funds liabilities subtracted from the assets, with the result divided by the outstanding shares.

No-load Fund: Sales loads aren’t charged on these funds, often (but not always) reducing what you pay for investing. However, it is important to note that other fees are usually charged, so you aren’t investing for “free.”

Open-end Company: A mutual fund is legally referred to an “open-end” company. This type of investment company offers public shares continuously.

Operating Expenses: Costs associated with running a mutual fund. You usually pay a fee to help cover operatin expenses.

Prospectus: This is a publication that describes the mutual fund. It should include information on present and past performance, risks involved in investing, fees and costs, as well as the objectives of the fund.

Purchase Fee: A fee associated with the purchase of shares. This is not a load fee, and it might be charged on top of the load.

Redemption Fee: You pay this fee, sometimes, when you sell your shares. It is not the same as the back-end load, and might be charged in addition.

Sales Charge: Another term for “load.”

SAI: This is the “statement of additional information.” This is information about the fund that might be useful or interesting, but is usually not needed for investors to make an informed decision. You often have to request the SAI if you want to read it.

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses: A percentage is used to express the total expenses as a portion of the total fund assets.

Of course, this doesn’t cover all the different acronyms and terms regarding mutual funds but at least it’s a start.  Are there any investing terms or concepts that you’ve mentioned that you’d like to know more about?

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