Author: Daniel Bortz

Vacation Budget Blunders: 8 Ways Travelers Throw Money Away

Posted in Budget TravelTagged , , ,

Your vacation budget—like any good financial plan—should reflect your priorities and your aspirations. That said, keeping a lid on your travel expenses can be more easily said than done.

The good news is: Planning an affordable trip on a budget doesn’t require financial wizardry. The first step is to understand the common pitfalls that can waste your hard-earned (and hard-saved) vacation dollars. Here, the eight biggest mistakes vtravelers make when planning a trip budget—and, most importantly, how not to make them ever again.

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13 things you should never write in a work email

Posted in Monster.comTagged , , ,

Email etiquette is a delicate art, and one that’s important to master, considering the average worker spends 28% of their day checking email, a McKinsey & Company study found. But, when you use poor judgment in an email to your boss, co-worker, or client, you’ve created a digital record of your mistake that could come back to bite you.

As Jacqueline Whitmore, etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach, puts it: “An email is a permanent document that can be held against you.”

Another reason why the stakes are high: “Emails can be forwarded to anyone; they can even be posted on the Internet for the public to see,” warns executive coach Anne Marie Segal.

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How to Capture the Perfect First Look

Posted in The New York TimesTagged , ,

The “first look” has become a special part of many weddings. This is when brides and grooms see each other just before the ceremony, typically in full, formal attire.

A recent survey by the Knot found that 44 percent of American couples who married in 2017 did a first look, with a majority of them choosing to have a private reveal, between just the two of them (and usually a photographer).

“It’s a very intimate experience,” said Rylee Hitchner, a destination wedding photographer based in Tuscaloosa, Ala., who has captured many of these moments. “Personally, the first look is one of my favorite moments of a wedding.”

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12 Best Apps for Solo Travelers

Posted in Budget TravelTagged , ,

From booking cheap flights and hotels to staying fit on the go and recovering from jet lag, today’s mobile apps can solve a wide range of problems for travelers. They can also make it easier to travel alone, which is good news for the roughly one-third of consumers who take a solo vacation every year, according to a recent Travel Leaders Group consumer travel trends survey.

Here are the 12 best mobile apps for solo travelers. (P.S. We assume you’ve already downloaded our parent company Lonely Planet’s indispensable inspiration and planning apps, Trips and Guides.)

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Why Renters Should Do a Background Check on a Potential Landlord

Posted in LearnvestTagged , , ,

As renters, we’re all used to getting our backgrounds investigated, whether through credit checks or letters of recommendation. They help protect landlords from taking on a tenant with a history of bad behavior.

But who’s protecting the renters? Most of us have never considered doing a background check on a prospective landlord before signing a lease, and that’s a mistake that can cause headaches and cost time and money.

Here’s how to quickly assess a landlord’s reputation.

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9 ways to be green without also being broke

Posted in The Washington PostTagged , ,

Kermit got it wrong: Being green can be easy — at least when it comes to owning a green home.

Though some eco-friendly improvements can be expensive — installing a home solar panel system, for example, costs an average of $23,113, according to HomeAdvisor — there are a number of budget-friendly changes you can execute to make your house better for the environment.

Here are nine expert-recommended moves that will make your home more sustainable without draining your bank account.

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9 Ways to Plan an Affordable (and Amazing) Honeymoon

Posted in Budget TravelTagged , ,

Honeymoons are romantic, but they can also be expensive. On average, couples are shelling out $5,342 on their honeymoon, according to a recent report from The Knot, an online registry and wedding planning site. That’s on top of what they’re spending on their wedding, which costs, on average, $33,931 nationally. But, there are ways to trim your honeymoon budget without taking away from the romance of this special trip.

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