Summer is just around the corner, which for many of us means family vacay time! So whether you’re planning on going to Disneyland for the first time or down to Galveston for the annual family reunion, you need to know how to get the most out of your hotel stay.

1)    But you said they had a pool! Before you make a pricey reservation, always make sure that the hotel you choose has all the amenities you want. If you really want to stay at a hotel that has a 4-star spa, pool, a restaurant, juggling dog act, and complimentary transportation, you better do your research.

2)    Uggg what are the people next door watching? If noise is a concern, book a room on the top floor to eliminate the sound of street traffic and other guests. If you want a spacious room, make sure to tell the concierge to book one on the corner. In general, corner rooms are the largest on each floor, giving your family a wee bit more space.  Still not sure which room would be best for you and the fam? Ask the front desk!

3)    Hmmmm I smell upgrade! You’re already paying an arm and a leg for a couple nights in a hotel, so why settle for a “meh” room? Through a little magic and a good attitude, you can land yourself in the high rollers suite for the price of a regular room. So what tips can help you score a free upgrade? First, remember the rule of three: ask for an upgrade three times, once when you make the reservation, again when you call to confirm your room, and a third time when you check in. Persistence usually pays off. Second, always ALWAYS always be nice to the staff. Even if your flight was delayed and you had to sit next to 16 crying babies, don’t take it out on the hotel staff. By being nice, you’re setting up the groundwork for some freebies! If none of the above is working for you, try my personal favorite: let the hotel know that it’s a special occasion for you. The free upgrade might not pan out but coming back to the room after a day with the in-laws to find a complimentary fruit basket and wine will help ease the pain.

4)    Can I take the lamp? The trip is finally over and as you’re packing up the kids and souvenirs, you eye the bathrobe. You sigh as you remember how it felt against your skin, like puppies and angels and cotton candy dreams all wrapped into one plush gift from above. You suddenly find yourself shoving it into your overloaded suitcase. Well be prepared to find a huge charge on your bill later that month ‘cuz those robes were not meant for taking. When looking for things you can take from your hotel, stick mostly to the bathroom: shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and soap are all free game. Anything nailed down or electrical? Not so much. Stationary, pens, and notepads? Free, free, and free. Comforters, pillows, alarm clock? Yeah, better take those out of your luggage.

Have some tips on how to make the most of your hotel stay? Share them below!

Photo by Chris Breeze

Whether you’re saving up for that trip to Aruba or a mom who just wants to save a little green for the family, everyone needs to know how to create and stick with a budget. Creating an economic game plan can help you curb unnecessary spending, grow a nice emergency cushion in your savings account, and reduce your monthly stress around bill time.

To begin, you need to record your expenses for a month, which means you need to record every thing you buy. You need to know exact where each and every nickel goes so start hoarding receipts and carry a notebook to write down what you spend. Be as specific as possible. So if you spent $37 on Amazon, write down exactly what you bought. Towels? Books? A Beanie Baby collector case? Whatever it is, write it down. If you love creating Excel spreadsheets, go to town. When the month ends, you’ll be surprised at by all the weird and useless things your money is going to and also have a good idea of what your spending habits are.

After you collected your moolah data, you can move on to the next step: write down income and necessary expenses for the next year. If you need help with this step, check out this form to help you out. Now, subtract your expenses from your income.

How’s it look? Is your income greater than your expenses? If so, welcome to an elite minority of  budgeting gods. Take your leftovers and put it towards a rainy day, repay a student loan, place it in a retirement plan, or hide it under your mattress.

However, if you’re like the rest of us, your expenses outweigh your income by a fair margin. Don’t freak out, now that you know where your income is going, you can plug up the holes your money’s flowing through. Where you can realistically cut your budget (i.e. that Beanie Baby collectors case and the Batman vase you swore was a gift), do so. A great place to start is the grocery expenses. Once again be realistic, you can’t feed a family of 6 on a $77 a month budget.

If your budget cuts still can’t cover your basic expenses, you need to start thinking about ways to increase your income. Selling things on eBay, becoming a house-sitter/babysitter/pet-sitter, or getting another job are all good options.

While a budget is fluid and shouldn’t rule your life, you should follow it as closely as possible. Some months you may not be able to stick to your plan; cars need repairs, houses flood, or someone knocks over the Batman vase so you have to replace it. But by keeping a budget in mind when you spend, you will continually move closer to your economic goals. Remember, you’re in control of your budget, so if it’s not working for you, you have the power to adjust it.

Looking for a great on-line tool that connects to your bank account and does all the math for you? Try Mint and start budgeting like a boss.
Have any budgeting suggestions that have helped you in the past? Share below!

Photo by Paul Schadler

You really, really want to go someplace this weekend, but you almost need to rob a bank just to pay for a tank of gas. So here are a couple of my favorite day trip locations that cost less than an average spending spree at the mall:

1) Parks: Want to enjoy some fresh air and some scenery? Take the family on a picnic to the city park! Like a tiny oasis, the park has a ton of options for you and your family and it will only cost you the price of a picnic basket. If you’re looking for something a little bit farther, check out this great list of state parks to find one near you!

2) Museums: Some of my favorite memories as a kid were piling into our old Suburban and driving to the Museum of Natural Science and History in Denver. From your more traditional science and art museums, to museums dedicated to Spam and Trash, you’ll no doubt find one to satisfy your every whimsy. And the great thing is that most museums today are either free or offer a season pass that allows you to visit as much as you want for a flat price.

3) Lakes/Rivers: Grab your dad’s old fishing gear or just pack your bathing suit and a book, one of the cheapest day trips out there is a quick jaunt to a local pond or lake for an afternoon in the sun.

4) Festivals: Festivals are fantastic way to travel to a close city or town and experience something completely new. From festivals dedicated to food, music, dancing, crafts, sports, or culture, it’s impossible to leave one without learning something new.

I know many of you have three-day weekends this week. You could sleep in, maybe catch up on those episodes of Community you’ve missed or clean the fridge. Or you could grab the family, a camera, and some food supplies, and head out on an adventure.

Do you have any fun day trip idea? Share below!

 

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

Tornado season started a tad early for some of us today so with that in mind, here is a handy guide for some of your tornado related questions:

While touchdowns can occur anywhere in the U.S., Tornado Alley, an area that includes northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the eastern edge of Colorado, southwest tip of South Dakota, and the southern edge of Minnesota, gets the most action. The season fluctuates depending on the region, but for the most part, they occur in late spring.

The best way to prepare your family for the possibility of a tornado is to Plan Ahead! If you live in Tornado Alley or another area that is susceptible to the severe storms, keep an eye on the news, learn the warning signals in your community (usually sirens), create an emergency plan for your family, keep an emergency storm kit handy, and always look for signs of an upcoming storm. These storms can pop up at any moment so be on the lookout for dark/greenish skies; large hail; rain; high winds; dark, rotating, low-altitude clouds; and a loud roar (like the noise a train makes).

So you’re watching the news or listening to the radio and it says your city is under a tornado watch, but what exactly does that mean? A watch means that the conditions are perfect for a tornado to develop so you should be on the alert for a quick change in the weather. Make sure you talk to all family members, get your tornado emergency kit out, and have your battery-powered radio tuned to the weather channel. If you have the time and it’s safe, move your cars inside and bring in any lawn furniture or toys that may fly around if the wind picks up

If your local weather channel issues a tornado warning, that means that a tornado has been sighted in the area and that you need to seek shelter immediately. The safest place to be during a tornado is underground, but if your home doesn’t have a basement or cellar, go to the lowest level and put as many walls between you and the outside as you can. Never stay in rooms with windows. Preferably, go to interior rooms like a bathroom or closet that can give you the most protection possible. Many communities have special shelters open to the public, so once again, if you have time and IT’S SAFE, evacuate to this area.

Tornados have been known to reach wind speeds of 302 mph, so don’t try and outrun these storms in your truck. If however, you are on the road and you can’t find shelter, the safest thing you can do is get out of your car and lie down in the lowest area you can find, covering your neck and head with your hands.

While you can’t prevent a storm, you can certainly be prepared for one. Do you have any special tips for staying safe during unpredictable spring weather? Leave me a comment below!

Photo by Mike McCune

I’ve been on a bit of a cleaning kick lately which means my house is spotless…or so I thought. The floors are mopped, the sinks wiped down, the toilets gleaming, so imagine my surprise when I found out that I’ve been missing out on the most common (and germ invested!) areas. Most bacteria are harmless, in fact, they help you digest food, build immunity, and generally keep you healthier. But there are some that can make us more vulnerable to colds and food poisoning, so to minimize bacterial spread, here are some surprising places that are veritable HAZMAT zones of germs that you should watch out for:

Credit/debit cards. On average, how many times do you use your cards a day? Two, three, maybe even four times? Now, think about the sales people who handle those cards. Now think about what their hands come in contact with, the money they handle, the other cards they swipe, the shelves and bathrooms they may or may not clean regularly. Grossed out yet? I’m not done yet. Ever wonder what’s lurking in the crevices of card-swipe machines? Now you will. With every use, your debit or credit card comes into contact with more germs than some currently circulating money! Wipe them down with an antibacterial cloth every once in a while to cut down on the bacteria playground going on in your wallet.

Cell Phones. We use our smart phones constantly, to check our email, text our friends for dinner plans, and to play Draw Something with the cute guy in the cubicle two rows over. So it’s safe to assume that they carry more than their fair share of germs. According to a recent study, cell phones are covered with 18% MORE BACTERIA THAN TOILET HANDLES. And we willingly put that on our face.

Toilet roll holder. According to everyone’s favorite rerun of Myth Busters, when you flush the toilet, water and, uh, other things, are sprayed up to 50 feet in the surrounding area. While you may only touch the roll to slide on more toilet paper, just think about how much bacteria collects on that thing after every flush. By disinfecting the roll holder once a month, you can cut down on chances of catching something nasty.

Light switches. Just another reason why I stand by my purchase of the “Clap-On, Clap-Off” light system, a Simmons College bacteria study found that light switches carry as many germs as a trashcan. Light doesn’t seem so important now, does it?

Even though germs surround us, doesn’t mean we have to put up with them. Many of these places can be cleaned with a simple bacterial wipe or some bleach. But the most important thing you can do to counteract this bacteria blitzkrieg is to WASH YOUR HANDS. We touch our faces up to 30,000 times a day; so wash your hands to avoid transferring staph (from your iPad), e. coli (from your wet laundry), and MRSA (from that nice $20 dollar bill your grandma gave you for your birthday) to your face.
Looking for some more tips on how to keep your home clean? Check out this article!

Photo by Sara Deer