Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Getting the best deal on a cruise

Last week we were looking at a destination that we have wanted to travel to.  This is how we got the best deal for us.

First we started at the cruise line’s website to come up with the cruise information.  If you are first time cruiser, I wouldn’t suggest your try this.  We determined the specific cruise / itinerary we wanted.  Next, we look at sailing dates – which ones worked with our schedule and had the lowest pricing.  Now, we have a base price.

We checked with our airline’s cruise vacation planner.  Yes, they offered the cruise.  But, they had a processing fee and were a little more than booking with the cruise line directly.  We had an email that was saying they were having a great sale, so we called them.  There price was higher than the cruise website.

Next, we set up a post to get bids on this specific cruise – cruise line, itinerary, sailing date, cabin category and waited.  Several offers came in.  We contacted one.  They were able to match the cruise website price to the penny and offered us an on-board credit of $250.

In our experience, pricing is very similar among many options.  The perks are what is different and they can be a great reason to use one vacation planner versus another.

How do you plan your cruise vacation?

Do apps and emails make you spend more?

Are you often tempted to make purchases you hadn’t planned to?  Are you tempted by a sale that you were unaware of until you received an email?  Was there an offer you couldn’t refuse?

Email is a part of our lives.  But overspending doesn’t have to be.  Take action to protect yourself from spend money that you didn’t need to.  Unsubscribe from emails, deleted apps, don’t read sales flyers etc.  Take the temptation away from your daily life and save your money for what you really want to spend it on.

Did you spend money you weren’t planning to because of an email or app?

What To Pack To Save Money

Summer is coming and that makes me think of vacations. You might be saying, here they go again! You may be right, but not yet. There are a couple planned for later this year.

I wanted to offer you some packing tips that will save you money. When we head to a beach or resorts with pools, we pack our pool toys. Yes, you read this correctly. First, by using an airline credit card, we get our checked bags for FREE – only that makes this work. One suitcase is for us and one is a suitcase for toys. So this is in the beach toy suitcase:

•    Noodles / Rafts / Tubes / Snorkel Gear
•    Soft-sided cooler – we have one that the freeze pack is a part of the cooler
(one less thing to carry along)
•    Entertainment – playing cards, games, etc.

When we travel to a destination, we try to reserve a unit with a kitchen or at least a fridge. This saves us so much money by being able to make and bring our own meals. You might be thinking cooking on vacation – ugh! This can be as simple as having breakfast, beverages and snacks from a grocery store versus paying restaurant or resort prices. Picking up a bottle of water at the store is much more cost effective than buying a bottle at pool side.

Here’s an example of what we do. We bring as much as possible, especially things you won’t finish,  like steel wool, paper plates, herbs and more. Next, we place an online order (if that is possible) from the grocery store before we leave. Then we either pick up the order at the store or have it delivered to where we are staying. Having some or most of your meals at grocery store prices saves money.  Yes, we still do go out for some meals – just not all.

Remember that you typically cannot bring meat, fruit or vegetables out of the US and into another country. Usually, you can bring sealed items in their original packaging. Here’s one of our suitcases.

If you want a copy of my food packing list, email jill@jillrussofoster.com and I will share it with you.

Are you missing out on these rewards?

                                                                                                          We saved $1.50 per gallon with our grocery store’s gas rewards program.  Didn’t buy anything special, just our usual groceries.         Paid $105.9 / gallon!

Worried about your accounts being hijacked?

We personally view our bank and credit cards accounts weekly – we check for unrecognized transactions.  We use two step authentication. We don’t do this from our phones, only home computers.  You may think we are overly cautious, but here’s what CNBC has so say.

Saving Money Growing Our Own Vegetables

We save money with our own organic garden in the yard. We grow tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, spinach, kale, broccoli, peppers, peas, string beans and more.  This saves us money each and every week as we buy less at the store.

More on got too much stuff

Yes, we have too much stuff – both our own and inherited items.  We have greatly reduced the items in our home by scanning and tossing/shredding paper / photos, giving away, trashing and selling, tag sale, but there is a long way to go.  We’re in a Craig’s List phase now of posting items and selling one by one.  Our goal is to make significant progress before Labor Day. What have you done? What suggestions do you have for us?