Get the airlines to pay you to fly

Today I read that the airlines are reducing your legroom from 31 inches to 30 inches.  The other day I saw a guy who stood well over 6 feet tall on a flight.  I’m sure in high school he loved it.  Probably had a lot of girls on his arm.  Now, his 6 plus feet of hight means he cannot fit into an airline seat.  Those of us at 5’ 6” are still doing OK.

The airlines are doing this to either add another 6 seats in economy, or to add more premium seats.  The airlines are looking to make an additional $150 million dollars off of your discomfort each year.  Well then, if they are going to make me uncomfortable, let them pay for it.

I have a habit of trying to get my connecting flights through some of the busiest hubs in the US.  Some people think I am crazy.  As a matter of fact, I look for the most heavily booked flight that I can.  This is one that more than likely will be overbooked.  This is how you get the airlines to pay for your flight.

Before you do this, do not try it on the last flight of the night.  You still want to make it to your vacation destination. 

As the time for boarding approaches, stand close to the counter at the gate.  If the flight is overbooked, the airline will ask for volunteers to take a later flight and offer you a monetary reward for your troubles.  So, here is the deal.  If you can handle waiting one to three extra hours to take a latter flight, take the deal!  I’m getting $400 each time I give up a seat.  Also, if you are really patent and polite, they may even give you a $10 meal voucher so you can eat at the airport.  I saw a family of 4 each get $400 flight vouchers and $40 worth of meal vouchers.  If you can wait until the next day, you may even get a hotel for the night.

The important thing to remember is to be flexible in your travel.  If it looks like the airline is about to ask for volunteers, position yourself so you can quickly jump in on this opportunity.  When the call comes out an several people head for the counter in front of you, raise your hand and clear say, “I’ll do it!”  Most people tend to stay away from conflict and may stop to let you through.  Their loss.

Enjoy your flight and your extra $400.

Use that Military ID

As a member of the US Navy, my wife enjoy an extra benefit that is not provided by the Department of Defense.  Many businesses will provide a military discount upon request and presenting of your military ID. 

The freedoms that these companies enjoy are because of our form of government and those who are willing to protect and maintain the American way of life.  I once worked for an individual who grew up in Romania.  He was part of the popular uprising in that country that ended communist rule.  He then attempted to open a IT business in the free Romania.  He was not able to compete because he could not bribe the customs officials.  To get anything through customs, he had to pay the legally required fees, but then he also had to bribe the government workers to do their jobs of releasing the equipment.  His competitors had the funding to make the bribes.  He moved to America and now runs a successful business.  He has a successful business because of our strong military and form of government.

Many businesses will give a 10% discount.  All you need to do is ask for a “military discount” or “military pricing.”  Even if the business has not been asked this question before, the manager will often grant a discount.  Whether they do or not, always thank them.  These discounts are not required, should not be expected, and never should be abused. When given, they help military families who send loved ones into harms way, often for less pay then those of us who never serve our country.

Go Watch a Football Game

Seriously, It is football season.  I have the best seats in Lucas Oil Stadium.  Private bathroom, soft padded seats.  They even stop the game for me on demand.  My seats are in my living room.  I’m looking at Colts tickets for $25 a seat.  For a family of 4, that is $100.  You also need to add in the parking.  Around the Stadium you will pay $20.  You also have the food.   For a family of 4, expect at least $40 on food and drinks if you are lucky.  Grand total, approximately $160.  That is for the cheap seats with a coke and a pretzel for each member of the family.  Binoculars not included.

Some of you may have read about my awesome deal I got on my 60 inch plasma TV.  Well, guess what.  The view on my 60 inches of excited glowing gas in high definition gives me a better view of the game then my Dad’s 50 yard line tickets, even with the binoculars.  Let’s face it, an NFL game is a family game, but one that most families cannot afford.

For half that $140 you can have great seats, instant replays, fresh food, clean bathrooms, and not have to worry about crowds and traffic jams.  You can have friends over and enjoy the game in an environment where you are all not stretched in a line where you can only talk to the person next to you.

Watch the NFL, but do it from home.  Don’t worry, the quarterbacks will still make $200,000+ per game without you there.

Look for money saving perks at hotels

This week I set foot in Alabama for the first time in 21 years.  The last time I was here, I was in Space Camp.  I’m not quite in Huntsville, home of Space Camp, but in Montgomery.  I’m staying at a Homewood Suites by Hilton.  Neat thing about this place is the complimentary breakfast and dinner.  This saves me a lot of money. Now I only have to worry about lunch.

When you travel, look out of these neat little perks.  They can help you save some cash.

Want to Save Money? Lose the Weight

Last night I had a very long, drawn out tour of the taxi way at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.  Believe it or not, I actually like that airport.  This was an unexpectedly long wait once we left the gate.  As I sat there completely out of my own reading material, I picked up the Sky Mall magazine to see what the latest Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings “Made in China” scrap they are pedaling.  Mind you, I like all the movies in those franchises.

I came across a page for the Insta Slim Compression Shirt.  For $24.95 – $79.95 (3 pack), you can buy a tight t-shirt to help hide the flab. Of course the model wearing the sliming “wife beater” could have worn a normal t-shirt and looked the same.  Normally overweight people do not have muscular arms. So, let’s quantify this one out.  For a full work week, you would need 5 of these things.  That comes out to somewhere between $124.75 – $159.98 for just 5-6 t-shirts. I just checked out the membership rates for LA Fitness.  They are charging $40 a month.  That means you can pay for 3 – 4 months of a gym membership and get healthy, or keep buying sliming t-shirts.

Here is another observation that I made on my flight last night.  A gentleman who was vary overweight was going to be on the same plane as I was.  Traditionally, I am seated with individuals who, in there mind, fit in the real estate of their purchased seat.  Fortunately, this guy purchased a seat with extra leg room and an empty space for him to lean into where there would not be another seat passenger.  It looked like to me that if he lost the weight he could save in both air fare and embarrassment.  You can do it brother.  Just set a goal and go for it!

Coming of Age

Plastic Money!  Get your plastic money! Step right up.  Easy approval.  Buy now. Why wait for tomorrow.

This sounds like a sleazy used car salesman from the 70’s.  This is a message for you 20 something's out there and you 30 something’s who are still struggling.  It is time to start thinking about tomorrow.  I just hit 40 this year and I have a wealth of financial mistakes on my resume.  I’ve often told my Sailors in the military that it is easier to learn from someone else's mistakes than from your own.  Learning from someone else means you do not have consequences to pay.  Learning from your own mistakes, well get ready to pay.  Learn from mine and those I’ve learned from others.

• You will get old.  It will happen.  My aging moment happened at at 37 while training for a triathlon.  I am now only able to run about 2 miles.
• You will need to retire.  I know what you are thinking. ”I will never get old.”  I have a niece who says that.  She still cannot tell me how she plans on stopping from aging.  Start saving money early.  Many retirements plans allow you to contribute just $50 a month.  That first $50 in your 401K or IRA will be the money that does the most for you for the next 40 years.
• Pay now, not latter.  Credits cards should only be used for building good credit and emergencies.  I use mine, then on the same day I go to my online banking an pay it off.  If you cannot afford to pay for it in cash on the same day, wait until you can.
• Build a nest egg.  Nothing ruins a financial plan faster then an unexpected $1000 repair bill.  This nest egg is not for vacations, Justin Bieber tickets or a new pair of shoes.  Your goal is to never touch this money.  That way if something should happen, it will be there.  It is easier to rebuild the nest egg than to pay off debt.
• Save you a down payment.  Get out of your apartment and get a house.  Home ownership cost just a little bit more than rent.  Here is the difference…equity.  Equity is how much of your home you own.  With rent, you never own anything.  An apartment is like  a bad motel.  You pay to sleep there. There is no room service and you have to clean it.  Start saving with $10 a week.  Increase that by $1 a week until you get to at least $100 per week.  This will teach you to stay focused and to make good financial decisions.  At 5 years, you will have 20% down on a $100,000 home.
• Your education is your best insurance against financial hardship.  Educated people tend to make better decisions and enjoy a higher standard of living.  Many uneducated people want to live like they have a high standard of living, but drive themselves further in debt.  Focus on getting a new skill or certification to help you in your career.
• Once you hit retirement, if you do not have enough money to live on, you can go back to work.  Do not expect to be able to get a loan without placing a significant amount of your assets (like your home) as collateral.  The number of working years you have left will help lenders determine if you are a risky loan or a safe one.  It is best not to need a loan the closer to retirement you are.

Those are just a few lessons.  If you are struggling financially, take responsibility and get out.  The sooner you start, the sooner you will be free.

A little help with the credit card debt

Is you credit card debt a little high?  The government reported this past month the US credit card debt is down, but still high.  I can’t tell how to make that debt magically disappear.  Sorry, you are responsible for your own actions.   Here is a way to help.  Each day of the month, but $1 in a jar.  That is it.  $1 dollar.  Every month take those $1 bills to the bank in put them into your checking account.  As soon as you get home, send an extra payment to your credit card company.  believe me, they will hate you for it.  By reducing your spending by just $1 per day, you will pay off your credit card faster, and in the process keeping more of your money in your pocket.

Credit card companies rely on you paying interest and monthly fees.  The larger the amount you own on your credit card, the more money you will be paying the lender.  If you are currently paying the minimum amount on your credit card, take a close look at your statement.  It will tell you if you pay “This amount, your card will be paid off in 20 years".”  Who wants to pay for a new toaster for the next 20 years?  If you must, continue to send in your monthly minimum payment.  Also, send in the extra $30 you saved.  This extra $30 will go to pay off your principal (the amount of money that you actually borrowed).  This will reduce the interest portion of your monthly payments.  In other words, you are taking money away from the lender and keeping it for your self, in the long term. 

Oh course for this to work, you have to stop using your credit card.  If you do use it, make sure you can send in an online payment that same day to cover what you just purchased.

How convenient is it?

Did you know that gas stations actually make very little on gas?  That is right.  Their cash cow is not on the outside, it is on the inside.  The convenience store is convenient, but you are going to pay for it.  Need a drink, swing into the grocery store.  Need coffee on your drive in? brew it at home.  Need anything, go anywhere but the  convenience  store. 
Have you ever notice how hard it is to pay for anything in the convenience store?  You have to go around the maze of product displays that neatly lines you up into the aisles that have a lot of high fat, high sugar, high priced craving food. Once you get to the cashier, you have to look to find the attendant.  They are hiding behind large piles of impulse buy items.  The stuff from the counter on up is to tempt Mom and Dad.  The stuff from the counter on down is to try and get the kids to beg Mom and Dad to buy for them.
Do yourself a favor….Stay out of the convenience store.

Save on Gas

This is one pain that just will not go away.  Years ago, I fought the $2.00 barrier with everything that I had.  I would coast into the gas station on fumes when I saw $1.99.  Unfortunately, I had to give in.  Soon it was $3 and then $4.  Will it ever end?  Not as long as people are making money off of gas (Speculators).  Here are a few ways to help get more gas with the dollars that you have.

• Buy gas early:  By 10 AM, most gas stations have checked their competitors and raise prices accordingly.
• Buy on Wednesday.  The pick pocketing at the pumps starts on Thursday.  Buy early on Wednesday.
• If you must get gas on the weekend, only get a couple gallons to hold you over until Wednesday.
• Drive smart.  That means coast to a traffic light.  When you break, you dissipate the energy the gas has given your car.  There is no way to get that back.  If you have to accelerate, then you are burning more gas.  If the light ahead is already red or yellow, coast.  If it changes before you get there, you just saved money.
• Do not accelerate fast.  Hitting the interstate? Use that down hill on the entrance ramp to help speed you up.  Take a few extra seconds to get up to speed.  If you tack 5 seconds to get up to speed and stop 15 times on your way to work, it will take you only 1 minute and 15 seconds longer to get to work. 
• If you are about to go down a hill right after a stop, save the bulk of your acceleration for the hill.
• Group small trips around town into one. 
• Make right hand turns.  You wait less making a right hand turn then waiting on traffic for a left.  Plot your errands around right hand turns.  The big shipping companies do this when plotting the delivery routes for their drivers.
• Clean out your car.  You put 40 pounds of water softener salt in your trunk for extra traction in winter.  It is now July.  The more mass in your car, the more energy (gas) it takes to move it.
• Reduce drag.  When going fast, use your air conditioner and roll up the windows.  Remove roof racks also.
• Do you really need to use 93 octane fuel or will your car run on 87?
• If you bought a car that needs any octane above 87, you bought the wrong car.  Buy smarter next time.
• Don’t just jump out there and get a hybrid.  The cost of a hybrid may not outweigh its savings.  Get an idea of how long you will need to have that car to get some financial savings in gas money.  Do not forget to look at the maintenance schedule and the cost of that maintenance compared to non-hybrid vehicles.
• Pick one day a week to car pool with co-workers.  Don’t forget to pitch in a buck or two for gas.  We all have errands to run.  Car pooling once a week saves gas but also forces you to do more errands at once which also saves gas.
• Consider public transportation.  Here in America, we are lacking public transportation.  This week I’m taking the Philadelphia subway to work and walking back to my hotel in the evening.  We need more monorails! (Sorry, off topic).  My other alternative would be a rental car.  I’m only a mile from work. Exercise is free.