Well Heeled Blog

8-Day China Tour for $49 – Great Deal, But There are Caveats

WellHeeled — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:43:42 +0000

If you found out about a deal that would only cost $49/person for an 8-day tour of China, you would jump on it, right? After all, who WOULDN’T want to visit the Middle Country for less than the cost of a tank of gas? I talked to my parents, researched online, and checked out a few Chinese travel agencies to get more details on this seemingly too-good-to-be-true deal.

Here’s the gist on the $49 China 8-Day Tour

The Chinese government is subsiziding these deals for overseas Chinese (living in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and I think Australia, and New Zealand) and their friends/families to promote consumer spending inside China. That is how tour groups are able to offer such an unbelievable price – $49 for 8-day/7 nights of hotel stays, internal transportation, meals, and entrance fees and guided tours to popular attractions. So, the good news is that this is a legitimate tour with several benefits, not least of which is money. But remember the “there is no free lunch” axiom? That caveat applies here as well.

Here are the benefits:

It’s a cheap trip and a fanstastic value! All of your hotel, dining, and attraction expenses will be covered under this program. So, if you are truly frugal and disciplined, all you have to spend for 8 days in China is $49 (if you are an overseas Chinese) or $199 (if you are not) plus the cost of your airfare. You will not find a deal like this anywhere else. If you are short on funds, this is a fun and cost-effective way to visit China.
You will stay in really nice 4-star or 5-star hotels that go for $100+ a night, although they will likely be outside the immediate city centers. Just on hotels alone, you would have more than “made back” the cost of the trip.
You won’t have to worry about your itinerary and you will be led to the most popular attractions. There is very little planning you would have to do on a trip such as this.
You will have the opportunity to meet with overseas Chinese folks and maybe even practice some Mandarin!

But beware the caveats…

These tours have mandatory “shopping visits,” which makes sense as the tours’ purpose is to promote more spending in China. Every day, you must spend a couple hours a day at stores and malls that the tour guides take you to. You don’t have to buy anything, but the sales pressure can be pretty heavy. Plus, your time is not your own during those hours. If you miss these tours, you will be fined. This means you can’t take off to do your own activities.
The tour guide may only speak Chinese Mandarin and/or Cantonese. You will have to pay a surcharge for an English guide. This website says the surcharges are $200 per person.
Airfare isn’t cheap! From Los Angeles to Beijing, tickets can easily cost $800 per person for economy class. The costs are even more expensive if you are flying from the Northeast or the Midwest. There is no point in spending this money if you won’t be enjoying yourself on the tour.
Your restaurants and hotels will be predetermined for you. This aspect isn’t different from that of any other set tour, but is something to keep in mind. The food, according to reviews I have read, is not that great with the exception of breakfast. Several ads have described lunches and dinners as “local flavor banquet” and while I love Chinese food, the food that I find the least appetizing are banquet food.
Your time at the attractions will be more limited than if you are traveling independently or if you are traveling with a “normal-fee” tour group. Your guide may be good or not, but his main incentive will be to pack you inside shopping malls or stores instead of providing good commentary on the attractions.

I talked to CB and my parents about whether this trip would be worth it, and ultimately we decide it wasn’t the right trip for us. The airfare is still a major hurdle as it will be over $1,500 for the pair of us to fly back. We don’t mind tours, but sitting in buses and getting shipped to stores where we have to stay for hours per day doesn’t sound appealing at all. There is also the question of time. My PTO schedule is getting mighty tight (having to fly across the country for school visits and interviews will do that to you!), so these 8 days cost something too. Between the flights and the vacation days we’d have to take, we decided to just save up the extra money and just do a trip in China where we are free to craft our own itinerary.

The bottom line: this is a great deal if you want to see China on the cheap and stay in nice places, as long as you don’t mind the less attractive aspects of the tour. If you are interested, here are some reviews and tour descriptions (here and here if you can read Chinese). Your local Chinese travle agency would also know more about these deals. As far as I can tell, they have been going on for the past couple of years, and is extended into Spring 2012.

Would you ever go on a tour like this?

Hat tip to Happy Homeowner, where I first read about this type of tours.

Copyright 2010 8-Day China Tour for $49 – Great Deal, But There are Caveats is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Do No Spend Challenges Work?

WellHeeled — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:25 +0000

Many personal finance bloggers participate in “no spend challenges” or count their “no spend days” as a way to rein in the budget and save more money. I once tried a version of a no-spend challenge / shopping hiatus (it was called C.A.S.H. and focused exclusively on clothes, shoes, and accessories) back in 2008, but gave up after 4 months. I have never tried a completely cold-turkey no-spend challenge. Lately, though, I’ve been feeling a little disillusioned and discouraged with the long road to financial freedom, and as I look around my apartment at the hundreds of dollars worth of items that are unused – or, gasp – never used, I’m wondering if I should give this no spend challenge a try.

Will it turn me into a better saver? A more thoughtful consumer? Or will is it a stop-gap measure that will just drive the shopper in me crazy and won’t lead to any lasting change?

So, of course, I made a pro / con list as I think about embarking on a NO SPEND CHALLENGE…

Pros:
It challenges you to, well, NOT spend.
It’s kind of a game – how many days can I go without using money?
It forces you to look at other, potentially less appetizing options, aside from just whipping out a credit card (for example, I may actually be forced to eat the wilted head of lettuce and old bread in my fridge instead of going out for Chipotle. Less appetizing, indeed!).
It makes you become more conscious of often you go without buying something.
It discourages thoughtless, throwaway purchases such as a pack of gum or popcorn.
It encourages planning-ahead-spending.

Cons:
It can encourage “binge buying” behavior. If I just rush out after a no-spend challenge and buy $500 worth of merchandise, that really is no better than spending $10 a day for two months.
It’s unsustainable.
It forces you to pass up really great deals that can save you money over what you would have normally spent.
It doesn’t necessarily help people become more conscientious consumers.

From what I can see, it doesn’t really hurt to try a no spend challenge. Maybe that’s what I need to kick my personal finance butt into gear.

What do you think of no spend challenges? Do they work for you?

Is Being a Grown-Up Everything You Thought It’d Be?

WellHeeled — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:00:09 +0000

When I was young, all I wanted to do was to grow up. I remember one of my fervent wishes were to be able to stay up past my bedtime, 9:30pm. I loved New Year’s Eve because it was one day of the year when my parents wouldn’t chide me to go to bed sooner. Then a few years passed – I’m not exactly sure when – and they stopped telling me to go to bed. And I missed that, not because I wanted to be told, but because it was a sign that time is passing, and that I am getting older, and once you get to a certain age, you lose the privilege, the expectation, that you should go to bed at 9:30pm.

Now I am a bonafid grown-up, an adult, I am getting married and heading off to graduate school and saving for retirement and all that. There are lots of things that I enjoy about being an adult. But there are other things that make me go, “gee, being a grown-up isn’t all that it’s cracked out to be!”

All the Administrative Life Tasks that you have to deal with. Picking up the dry-cleaning. Buying groceries. Setting smog check appointments. Renewing your driver’s license. Paying the electric bill. All these little annoying things that take up much more time that I had expected.
A mature, healthy relationship that takes work, and most of us did not grow up taking Relationship 101. I don’t know what I was thinking when I was young, but I had the impression that having a happy relationship would just kind of materialize, because that’s what happens When You Grow Up. But relationship, like all things, actually takes work. Who knew? For as important as healthy romantic relationships are in a person’s happiness, there is suprisingly little education on it.
It’s hard to make, and maintain, friendships. Unlike in high school or college, where you see your friends every day and maybe even lived in the same building, being an adult means that your friends are miles away, or spread out across the country, or even the world. In a school environment, it’s relatively easy to make friends. But once you are out in the working world, and everyone is busy, and maybe have their own, primary, relationship, it becomes much harder to make friends.
The cooking. Oh… the cooking. Being an adult = if you want to eat you have to cook or pay someone else to cook it for you. Being a child = having someone provide your meals WITHOUT charging you money. How glorious that was. Now, CB and I descend upon a pot of Mom’s leftover fried rice like ravenous wolves.
Having to think about money & retirement. I never worried about retirement until I found the world of personal finance. But now I do!

Copyright 2010 Is Being a Grown-Up Everything You Thought It’d Be? is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

2012 Clothing Purchases, January & February

WellHeeled — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:55 +0000

We are barely into the second month of the year, but I have done, er, exceptionally well on my spend $2,000 on clothing goal. In fact, I have already spent $308.87 on five pieces, but they are all items that I love and should have for a long time.

I am trying to be much more conscientious about my purchases and buy things that I know I will enjoy for a long time. Given that I’ve spent 15% of my annual clothing budget in barely a month, I think it’s time to cool my jets a little. No more purchases for the rest of February.

Everything I’ve purchased has been on sale for at least 50% off the retail price… so the bargain hunter in me is pretty happy! The most expensive piece was the J.Crew Emmaleigh sheath dress, at $116.30 including shipping. The jacket and the velvet blazer clocked in at around $76-$80 each. The leopard shrug was $28 and the snakeskin belt was $20. None of the things were truly necessities (maybe except the suit – I could argue they would become necessities once I head back to school!), but they all fill a hole in my wardrobe.

What items are you looking to add to your wardrobe?

Copyright 2010 2012 Clothing Purchases, January & February is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

In Debt? Debt Management Plan Can Help

WellHeeled — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:00:40 +0000

In the last few years, many consumers have sunk into debt because of layoffs, loss of equity in their homes, or underemployment. If you are facing unsustainable levels of debt, see if a debt management specialist can help by setting up a debt management plan. Be sure to look for a reputable company with a positive history in the debt management and counseling industry.

A debt management plan is an agreement between yourself and your creditors that reset the terms of your debt: this plan may allow you to pay a lower amount of what you had originally owed and provide a longer timetable for you to repay the loan. The counselors at the debt management plan can help you negotiate and contact the creditors so you do not have to do it all by yourself. Once the plan is set up, the debt management specialist will implement and administer the agreement.

But a debt management plan, while it can provide relief, is not a panacea. To maintain a financially prudent lifestyle, consumers have to change the behaviors that led them into debt in the first place. Saving for an emergency fund, paying above the minimum on their credit cards every month, and keeping track of their income and expenses are all critical steps along the path to financial security. A debt management plan can help you get out of the hole faster, but the best thing in the future is to avoid getting into that hole in the first place!

Fess Up Friday

WellHeeled — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:08:59 +0000

I got a traffic ticket that has yet to be paid. It’s due next month.

Taxes. They are not going to get done until March.

Even though I know they are an interest-free loan to the government, I love receiving tax refunds.

If I can go back to middle school, I’d tell my younger self that life will get better.

I look around my apartment and I see at least $300 worth of purchases that I have never used before.

Now it’s your turn to fess up. What are your confessions for this Friday?

The Monthly Cost of Technology

WellHeeled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:20 +0000

Our lives are gadgety ones. Technology has become such a big part of our professional and personal identities that it’s hard to imagine what it was like before the advent of cell phones, cable, e-readers, and the like. But all that technology doesn’t come cheap. When I was in middle school, pagers and AOL Instant Messenger – anyone still remember that? - were the big thing on campus. In fact, CB and I even expressed our interest in each other via an Instant Messenger chat (ah, the joys of young love). My family had modem dial-up until 2004. Now everywhere I turn, there is this explosion of technology – new gadgets, faster downloads, bigger screens, higher resolutions. It’s exciting, but it’s expensive.

Even not counting the initial cost of purchasing the device, the monthly costs of using and enjoying all the technology out there can be a hefty sum. Think about it. A smartphone plan costs at least $60-$70. A family of four with iPhones can pay $200+ a month. Cable subscriptions cost $20-$50, more if you want premium channels such as HBO. Even readers aren’t immune from the costs – new books on Amazon’s Kindle cost around $10/download. Read 4 books a month and that’s $40. I can go through 4 books a week if they are good ones… so if I weren’t careful, I can spend $160 a month. JUST on books.

For now, CB and I have been pretty successful in keeping our technology/entertainment costs down. We don’t have a TV, we don’t have any premium subscriptions to Hulu.com or Netflix, and neither of us are big gamers (although CB hopes he can be!) so there are no costs for game consoles or money for multi-player-games. I have an iPhone, but my company covers that cost. We also both have personal cell phones. CB has a $35/month plan on his cell phone and my cell phone is covered as part of my parents’ family plan. We do have DSL internet (I would almost argue that is a necessity nowadays), and that costs $40/month. If we do count the costs for the iPhone and my cell phone, our total technology costs would be $160+ a month. I have free books on the Kindle, and CB once purchased a $0.99 book for me (it was a very bad romance novel. I really couldn’t finish it, but then I felt that I’d be wasting that dollar if I didn’t read it, so I just skimmed very quickly and confirmed how bad it was).

How much are you spending per month on technology (cell phone plans, cable, netflix, internet, e-books, data plans, etc.)?

Spending Money in Las Vegas – Eat, Play, Sleep?

WellHeeled — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:54:24 +0000

I’m heading to Las Vegas this month for a mini-weekend getaway (pulling kind of a #8). Las Vegas has so much to offer tourists - whatever you like, you can probably get it in Sin City. But if your budget is not unlimited, you’ll have to choose what’s on the top of your priority list. So what do you spend your money on? Do you like to eat (try out new restaurants and buffets), play (gambling & shows) or sleep (hotels)?

Eat

I had a few friends who went to Vegas to specifically have dinner at Bouchon at the Venetian. With entrees hovering around the $30-$40 range, it’s the place for folks who like to eat! There are great restaurants inside all the casinos – in fact, I’d say Las Vegas has highest concentration of high-end restaurants all along one street. Where else can you walk from Tau to Guy Savoy to Nobu in less than 10 minutes? But even for someone who loves food as much as I do, I can’t bring myself to shell out the big bucks. I love food, but I feel that I can get better food, for cheaper, in Southern California than I can in Las Vegas. When I travel, I like to try the local specialities of the place , but there’s nothing that particularly pulls my attention to Las Vegas. Or rather, because of my budgetary concerns I refuse to let myself be swayed! So perhaps I’m just a fox crying sour grapes!

Play

If you want to party it up, Las Vegas is the place to be. I was comparing notes with a friend who goes to Vegas quite often about what we like to do and how much we spend, etc. It turns out that she usually stays at Imperial Palace, whose location on the Strip and price outshine its amenities. But that’s OK, because she spend only a few hours in her hotel room while she’s in town. The rest of the time she is dancing up a storm at all the hottest clubs. Cover charges and drinks range from $20/entrance to $60/entrance. If you want bottle service, that can set you back $1,000-plus. If you are a group of girls, my friend has informed me, you can into clubs free or for a discounted rate.

Sleep

So if I don’t spend my money on food or entertainment, what DO I spend on? Apparently, I am an 80-year-old stuck in a twentysomething’s body, because more than anything else a nice hotel to rest in is my priority #1. Las Vegas hotels give you the biggest bang for your buck. Because they can count on gaming revenue, the 5-star and 4-star hotels are often cheaper than comparable hotels in any other area. As long as I don’t go during New Year’s Eve or Super Bowl Sunday, the prices are usually very reasonable.

Case in point: the Four Seasons in Las Vegas cost $234/night for a Superior Room on a weekend in April, but the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara cost $605/night for a Superior Room on the same weekend! (Now you understand why we are high-tailing it out of Santa Barbara right after the wedding reception).

So that’s what I spend most of my money on in Las Vegas – the hotel. The other things – eat and play, I try to do on the cheap. We walk around taking in the night lights. I’ve wanted to see a Cirque du Soleil number but never could pluck down the money for tickets. Instead, we watch the free pirate show at Treasure Island. We try to fill up on a buffet and then have dinner at mid-priced restaurants such as Noodles in Bellagio, where we can get a big steaming bowl of beef noodles for $10/person. When we lounge in the hotel room, it’s truly enjoyable. I watch HGTV, take naps, hang out in the casino for a little bit of slot machine action before we go back to the comfort of our room and lounge all over again.

When I compare notes with my friends, many times we spend about the same. I may sleep on expensive sheets, another friend will have seen Cirque du Soleil, and another have sampled the finest meals at all the restaurants. That’s what’s so great about personal finance – different strokes for different folks!

What you go to Las Vegas, what’s your spending priority? Eat, play, or sleep? (Or are you a high-roller that goes all out on all 3 elements?)

Copyright 2010 Spending Money in Las Vegas – Eat, Play, Sleep? is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Giveaway: Stiletto Hardware Memory Foam Cushion for High Heels

WellHeeled — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:34 +0000

It’s no secret that I love high heels (exhibit A: name of this blog). I stand in them, I walk in them, I even dance in them (exhibit B: tango)! What I don’t love, however, is the discomfort that comes with subjecting your feet to 3-inch – or even higher – heels. I’ve been a frequent user of foam inserts, so when Stiletto Hardware contacted me to try out their memory foam cushions, I said yes enthusiastically.

Stiletto Hardware makes ball-of-foot cushions for high heels and heel cushions for flats. What makes them so special is the top layer of memory foam. It diffuses pressure points and molds to your foot, making them so comfortable! Stiletto Hardware was nice enough to send me a sample pack to try out – and WOW. These cushions make a huge difference, especially in heels that have a very thin insole and when I am on my feet for a long time.

Other great features include:

Sophisticated and thin design
Antifungal and anti-microbial
Made with Poron
Strong adhesive backing but also easy to remove without ruining your expensive shoes
Made in USA

Stiletto Hardware has also agreed to sponsor a giveaway. One lucky reader will win a prize package of 3 pairs of insoles (one of each product that Stiletto Hardware currently offers). Please click on the permalink and enter via Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Copyright 2010 Giveaway: Stiletto Hardware Memory Foam Cushion for High Heels is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Dollar In, Dollar Out: What’s The Best Expense Tracking App?

WellHeeled — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:00:49 +0000

For the longest time, I thought I didn’t have to keep track of my spending, I told myself that I make a decent living, I save for retirement, I don’t spend wildly… and it just seems so restrictive to have to keep track of every penny that comes in and out of my wallet.

Incidentally, I’ve always felt that way about calorie counting – hated it, didn’t see the point of it, assumed my metabolism would just take care of everything. But as my dresses fit a little more snug and jeans hung a little tighter, the truth became clear. It’s all a matter of mathematics, and I’m not going to reverse the trend without some serious work. About two weeks ago, after I heard about the app MyFitnessPal through Newlyweds on a Budget, I decided to give it a try. I started counting every bite and every sip. Instead of finding the tracking restrictive, I love knowing exactly where my calories are “spent” on.

The very act of typing in numbers keeps me accountable and keeps me informed, and that’s what I need with my spending as well. After all, saving money is all about math as well – dollar in, dollar out. And it’s mightily hard to control or reduce dollar out when I don’t have any idea how much dollars are going out and what they are going out for. That’s why I am on the hunt for a good expense tracker app, something that does for dollars what MyFitnessPal does for calories, if you will.

I’d prefer the app not be linked to my checking or credit card account. I like Mint’s interface, but at this stage of my spending, I need something that forces me to manually enter the numbers.
I’d like the app to be able to separate my spending into different categories, and if it has preset categories, allow me to add my own. Little charts and graphs to display the data are always appreciated, but I don’t need anything too crazy.
I’d like the app to track income input as well – ideally also support the capacity to separate out taxes, pre-tax medical premiums, etc.
There are lots of great paid apps out there, but ideally the app is free. (I think my experience with my MyFitnessPal spoiled me).

Some apps, both paid and free, that I am considering are: ExpenseTracker, iXpenseIt, and Buxfer.

So, I’m asking for your help. Please share in the comments what you use and what you like (and what you don’t like)!

Copyright 2010 Dollar In, Dollar Out: What’s The Best Expense Tracking App? is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

10 Ways to Deal with Your Wanderlust When You’re Short on Time and/or Money

WellHeeled — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:22 +0000

I’ve been bitten by a serious case of wanderlust lately. Part of it is the fact that I have not flown since last October, and another part is that I just really cannot wait until our honeymoon to Buenos Aires. What to do, what to do, when you are itching to travel, but cannot (at least not yet) because of lack of resources, whether that be time or finances?

Here are 10 ways to deal with that wanderlust when you’re short on time or money.

Attend a travel convention. That’s what I’m doing this weekend – the Los Angeles Time Travel Show is here, and if I can’t head to London or Barcelona at least I can listen to Rick Steves TALK about the wonders of Europe. (If you want to go, use the code “LATR” or “LATO” for $2 off the $10 admission tickets).
Set up a dedicated travel fund. If one of the obstacles to a trip is money, there’s only one way to resolve that obstacle – with money! Putting dollars away in a specific fund help us prepare for a big vacation – our Galapagos Fund has grown from a twinkle in my eye in April 2010 to $10,000+ now.
Subscribe to well-written travel catalogs with lots of colorful photos and detailed itineraries. OK, this might only make your wanderlust that much more powerful, but it’s a fun way to torture the traveler in you! I especially enjoy Wilderness Travel’s paper catalog (it’s free, and they don’t spam). I have one from last year that I’ve read, cover-to-cover, more times than I can count on my fingers.
Read blogs of folks who have visited the destination of your desire. I am a frequent visitor of this Galapagos trip blog. I try to tell myself that my time will come.
Plan out an entire trip in your head. From airfare, to specific hotels and restaurants, to entertainment options, to local transportation. Maybe keep a few spreadsheets detailing the budget breakdown of what such a trip will cost. Go back to #2. Repeat as necessary for all the trips that you want to take. Thanks to my penchant for researching and planning trips, I now have the itineraries of Turkey, Paris, New Zealand, and a several other places floating around in my head. Hmmm.. Oops? (I can’t be the only one who does this!).
Host a foreign exchange student or foreign traveler. If you can’t go to Rome, you can bring someone from Rome to your home! If you are ready for a longer-term commitment, serving as a host for a foreign exchange student would be a great way to learn more about that person’s culture. Or sites like couchsurfing will let you play host for a few days.
Pretend to be a tourist in your own city. So many times we forget or overlook the tourist attractions in our own cities, attractions that real tourists pay good money to be able to visit! I’ve been guilty of this. So play tourist for a day – maybe even ask someone for directions.
Go on a day trip. Leave early, come back late means that you save on the hotel costs but can see visit someplace a little bit different from the day-to-day. If you are in Los Angeles, you can make it to Santa Barbara on a day trip. If you are in San Francisco, Monterey (and the famous aquarium) is doable. If you are in D.C., the wineries of Charlottesville are 2.5 hours away. If you are in San Diego, land of perfect 72 degrees, WHAT are you complaining about?!
Open a rewards credit card to pay for your hotel or flights. Done and done. Of course, only do this if you can pay off your balance in full every month.
Drink wine and pretend you are in Paris. Enough said.

Share in the comments! What effective, unusual, wacky ways do you try to deal with your wanderlust, when you just can’t get away?

Copyright 2010 10 Ways to Deal with Your Wanderlust When You’re Short on Time and/or Money is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Save vs. Splurge for Wedding Night Hotel

WellHeeled — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:09:07 +0000

What do you do when you realized that you picked a really popular area to get married during the start of the tourist high season? I find myself in that position, as I scour the interwebs for a hotel for our wedding night / mini-moon. It turns out that Santa Barbara - one of my favorite cities in the summer, while a lovely place to get married, is also extremely pricey if you want to stay in a nice hotel to celebrate the start of that marriage. All the hotels and bed-and-breakfasts that come highly-rated cost at least $250+ a night, plus taxes and fees. The places that are a little cheaper, at between $150-$200, have some fairly uncharitable reviews that give me pause. There are some lower-end motels or hotels that are around $150, but I am not THAT frugal.

Still, as much as I enjoy a luxury hotel stay (I do), and as much as I understand that weddings / honeymoons are probably not a time to skimp on accomodations (I do), it pains me to think about spending $300+ when I’ve stayed at gorgeous properties for half that price. On the one hand, I suppose it’s better to just spend a little extra to guarantee a good experience, but on the other hand, it’s so much money. Thus began an internal battle between the personal finance blogger and the bride-to-be.

But then, inspiration! I started looking outside Santa Barbara… and found that by staying in a seaside town a few hours north instead of the seaside town where we are getting married, we will save up to $100/night for a hotel of comparable quality. Instead of $250/night, we can pay $150/night. Three nights stay means a saving of $300, which will be enough to pay for some horseback riding, a nice dinner, and event a jaunt to the Hearst Castle. So here’s our plan: after our day-time wedding, we are going to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and check into our hotel for a 3-day mini-moon before our official honeymoon to Buenos Aires the week after.

What would you have done in my case? How much would you spend (or have spent) on your wedding/honeymoon hotels?

Copyright 2010 Save vs. Splurge for Wedding Night Hotel is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Win Free Book – When Life Strikes: Weathering Financial Storms

WellHeeled — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:58 +0000

Life – and finances – can get pretty tumultuous through the course of 10 or 20 years. What do you do when the inevitable problems crop up? To that end, I am giving away a free copy of Cal Brown’s When Life Strikes: Weather Financial Storms.

From the publisher…

About the book: There are certain life events that are as stressful as they are unavoidable. All of these events may not happen to every individual, but nonetheless they each cause emotional heartache — and financial headache, and Cal Brown has seen them all. Thanks to his years of experience as a financial planner, coupled with various tumultuous events in his own life, Cal is able to give general guidance and specific financial tips to help ease the stress of these inevitabilities. When Life Strikes is an excellent resource for coping with unexpected tragedies, learning how to prepare for them, and looking ahead for the sake of your spouse, children, and personal future.

Author bio:Cal Brown, CFP, MST, has over twenty-five years of experience in the financial services field. He received his master of science in taxation (MST) from American University in Washington, DC, and his undergraduate BSBA degree from the University of Arkansas. Cal is currently an adjunct professor in the MST program at American University, teaching estate planning. Cal is vice president of planning for The Monitor Group in Virginia, a wealth management firm working with over 250 clients and managing approximately $500 million in assets.And if all that isn’t enough, Cal also plays guitar in a classic rock cover band in northern Virginia.

If you’d like a chance to win the book, please click on the permalink to this post and enter via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

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Copyright 2010 Win Free Book – When Life Strikes: Weathering Financial Storms is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Zooey Deschanel: Responsible Celebrity Spender

WellHeeled — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

The news is full of stories of famous people behaving badly, especially in financial matters. How else would you have actors and former sports players filing for bankruptcy and putting their homes into foreclosure? Well, Zooey Deschanel can teach all those financially-free-wheeling stars a thing or two! The actress in “New Girl” and “500 Days of Summer” apparently revealed her earnings and spending patterns in a divorce filling – showing the world that she’s a responsible spender and saver.

According to information leaked to TMZ, Zooey makes $95,000 a month (or close to $1.2million a year). But her expenses only average $22,500 per month, less than 25% of her gross income. Some of the expenditures included in that figure are her clothing at $2,000 a month, eating out and groceries at $1,500 a month, and $600 in laundry and cleaning. Plus, Zooey also donates $1,500 a month to charity. Thanks to her earning prowess and living-below-her-means-habits, Zooey has accumulated $1.5 million in cash, plus another $2.3 million in stocks, bonds, real, and personal property. She is setting herself up very nicely for life, and it’s good to see a star preparing for the future. The divorce filings also show that Zooey only has 3 credit cards (quite a bit fewer than me and some of my readers), and is debt free.

I’ve liked Zooey Deschanel ever since I saw her movie the 500 Days of Summer, but this filling confirmed it for me. She’s a personal finance blogger’s new celebrity crush! Given that Americans have a pretty fervent love affair with celebrities, I wonder if famous people can ever make “saving” and “investing” cool, like the way that a bag that they carry or cars that they drive are cool. I’m not going to be holding my breath… but you know never know!

Copyright 2010 Zooey Deschanel: Responsible Celebrity Spender is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Hong Bao Na Lai

WellHeeled — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:24 +0000

Saturday was the Chinese New Year, according to the lunar calendar, so Happy Year of the Dragon to everyone! One of the best parts, aside from the food, the fun, and the family get-togethers of Chinese New Year is the cold, hard, cash. Traditionally, parents, or elders, would give red envelopes stuffed with money to their kids for the New Year. Thanks to some relatives who were visiting this year, we received a little bit extra in our red envelopes. So with the $400 (woo!) we got, we promptly increased our Galapagos Fund to $10,400.

By the way, the title of this post is a cute play on the New Year’s greeting in Chinese: “Gong Xi Fa Cai” means “Wishing you a prosperous New Year”, and “Hong Bao Na Lai” means “Red envelope, please!” The two sounds would rhyme in Mandarin. It’s kind of a tongue-in-cheek response.

I know that many Asian countries (Vietnam, Korea, and Japan come to mind) have money-giving traditions during the Lunar New Year. I’m wondering if there are any other holidays where a giving of money takes place. Share in the comments – I’d be really interested to know!

image source: 123newyear.com

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How to increase your chances of landing your dream job

WellHeeled — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:50:16 +0000

This post is sponsored by RBS Insurance, a leading British general insurer.

Despite the doom and gloom in the media about how jobs are increasingly hard to come by, the fact remains that if you maintain a positive outlook and take the necessary steps to stand out from the crowd, you’ll find the right opportunity sooner rather than later.

There are a number of simple, logical moves you can make to increase your employability — things that will help you rise from the mass of identical applicants and straight to the top of the pile.

Tailor your covering letter

Having one well-written ‘catch all’ covering letter will put you ahead of a lot of the field — but to really stand out you’ll need to tailor a new covering letter for each application. The effort won’t go unnoticed and it’s an easy way to score a few vital points before your prospective employer has even got to your CV.

Preen your CV

It’s good to talk yourself up and demonstrate any relevant experience but it’s also important to be concise. Recruiters have a lot on their plate on any given day, so if they come across a four-page CV you can bet they won’t make it through all of it. Try and get yours down to a single page if possible or a couple of pages at most — that’s still enough to entice potential employers with the pertinent information.

Get smart

It might sound like a no-brainer, but if you manage to land an interview dress smartly for the occasion. You may well feel like ‘smart casual’ will be good enough but unless you’ve been told that specifically by the recruiter themselves, don’t take any chances. Don’t turn down a great chance to make a good impression from the off.

Read up

If you’re heading to an interview, don’t expect to be able to just turn up and dazzle them with your natural wit and charm. It’s vitally important that you’re able to demonstrate knowledge of the company that you claim to want to work for. An early question is likely to be: ‘Why do you want to work here?’ If you can’t answer that well, then you may as well not turn up at all.

Get ahead

A sure fire way to stay two steps ahead of the majority of your competition is to gain relevant experience in your chosen field. For instance, if you’re having trouble landing insurance jobs, scour the internet for news of work placement opportunities or internships within insurance companies. Not only will it look fantastic on your CV, but you’ll also make valuable contacts or even put yourself in the frame for permanent work at the company that takes you under its wing.

Copyright 2010 How to increase your chances of landing your dream job is a post from Well Heeled Blog - Personal Finance + Savvy Living = Save for Tomorrow, Enjoy Today. This feed is for non-commercial purposes only.

Dream Room Library In My Dream Home

How Many Credit Cards Do You Have?

WellHeeled — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:44:19 +0000

Credit cards, some people love them, some people hate them. For some, even one is too many, and other apply for 6+ cards every year (see: credit card points bloggers). On Twitter there was a thread with Brad at Enemy of Debt about the number of credit cards that people have. That got me curious. Before 2011, I only had one credit card and in fact wrote about how happy I was that I only had one card. Then I started reading travel/credit card points blogs, and realized how with a little bit of effort, I can get some cool travel experiences for not so much money. Now I have 5 credit cards:

Citi Thank You Card, no annual fee
Chase Hyatt Visa, $75/year fee
Chase British Airways Visa, $95/year fee (looking to cancel this one soon)
American Express Starwood Preferred Guest, $65/year fee, first year waived
American Express Hilton Honors, no annual fee

I just applied for my sixth card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa for it’s 50,000 points bonus and the Ultimate Rewards network. Because I pay for almost everything on credit cards, I look for ones that will give me great sign-on bonuses and everyday rewards. To make them worth it, I practice SAFE credit use – I pay off my balance every month (OK, I’ve forgotten once or twice, but I call the credit card company to request a courtesy refund of the late fee, which I almost always get) and I keep a low credit utilization ratio. That’s not hard, because my total available credit tops $40,000, and the most I ever have on there is maybe $5,000 – and that’s with a few big purchases – before I pay off the monthly balance.

I wouldn’t keep signing up for cards if I expect to take on a loans in the next two years, but since I am still several years off from buying a home, and my credit is strong, I can take the credit inquiries that card applications “cost”. To keep track of my cards, I have an excel spreadsheet with the card’s name, the minimum spend requirement to hit sign-on bonuses, and the due dates. In addition, I try to use all of them at least once every few months so that I have some sort of activity on there.

How many credit cards do you have? How many do you think is too many?

Seeking: Words of Wisdom for Newlyweds

WellHeeled — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:39:46 +0000

Most of the folks in the personal finance blogosphere have probably heard about J.D.’s announcement on Get Rich Slowly. At last view, the post had over 350 comments. I don’t have anything of value to add, except to say that I wish the best for both J.D. and Kris, and also admit that I was caught off guard by how heavily this news hit me.

I am getting married in June. I said yes to the dress and CB got his ring and we are planning out our honeymoon. On our wedding website, I talked of us embarking on this “grand adventure called marriage” together. Then I realized, this institution / commitment / relationship called ”marriage” is an adventure… in a strange land that we have never been to. We talk about what we think it will be like, what the terrain may be, the hills and valleys. We have some maps, but we don’t know how accurate those maps are or whether new obstacles will sprout in the future, blocking off roads that we thought we can navigate. We have a compass, but that compass might break or be lost on the way. We’ve heard others’ stories about their journey to that strange land, but we know that while the same wind, streams, and animals may exist for us, but their presence or dissappearance will be one we have to experience on our own.

So, there is a lot of excitement about this adventure together. But there is trepeditation as well. Not of who we are now, or how we feel about each other now, or our commitment now, but of who we will be in 10 years, 25 years, 50 years. Who we will become. How we feel about each other then. Our commitment through trials that we have not yet experienced and indeed, probably have not even foreseen. There are many studies out there on the financial consequences of divorce. And as this is a personal finance blog that might be what I should talk about. But money is money – it’s just money – I have confidence in myself that I can make enough. Love, trust, a shared sense of history – that’s a whole another thing. That’s what I am afraid to lose to an unhealthy marriage or a divorce.

My fiance and I met ten years ago in high school, and we have certainly changed during those ten years. I have no doubt we will change during the decades to come. In fact, two months after we get married I will be starting my MBA program and CB will likely be in another graduate school program in another state. People change, goals change, health and finances change, distances change. What we want out of life might change. How do we grow together and not apart?

I’d like my readers, especially those of you who have been in long marriages or have reconciled from conflict or separation, to impart some words of wisdom for this pair of soon-to-be-newlyweds.