Long Haul Traveling

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Sorr that it took me a bit longer to write than expected since Nicolas and I were preparing to travel to France to visit my in-laws.  When getting ready for our trip, I wanted to share some great money and time saving tips that I thought you’d appreciate:

• When packing, use those Space Bags (www.spacebag.com) to arrange your clothes.  It compresses them so that you can fit a lot more in your suitcase–this is particularly helpful if you are traveling in winter with a bunch of bulky, space-taking sweaters. But just be careful that you don’t go over your airline’s weight limitations if you are flying!
• If you are flying with a child that requires a car seat on the plane, check out Go-Go Kidz’s Car Seat Travel carrier.  It is basically a wheeled cart that you attach any car seat to and then pull your child through the airport with and check the stroller at the gate.  It takes the misery of dragging a car seat around the airport–which I’ve done and can attest that it is not fun at all.  This accessory doesn’t come cheap, (the best price I found was at www.happymothers.com for about $75 including shipping) but is worth every penny if you end up in this situation.
• Bring new toys your child has never seen on the plane with you.  The days of “getting your wings” and special treatment on airlines is long gone–heck, even the free drinks on many international flights are finished too!  Save as much space in your carry-on bag for said toys, because you will need them!  I started to panic when our flight was delayed for 1 1/2 hours–half of it after we were already on the plane!  We went through 2 books, crayons and a coloring book, a Thomas Color-Forms set and Aquadoodle before take-off.  Thankfully Nicolas fell asleep before we ran through all of his snacks as well.  (My discerning child did not like the airplane food and I’ve learned that kids’ meals aren’t an option.)
• If traveling overseas, use your credit or debit cards as infrequently as possible.  Yes, I know carrying cash for some folks is painful and makes them nervous about getting pickpocketed.  However, the lousy exchange rates coupled with the hefty transaction fees levied by your credit card company are nothing short of breathtaking–particularly if you make a bunch of small purchases. And if you are going to be in another country for an extended period of time (or have children doing a foreign exchange), find out if your bank or a bank in your area has branches or agreements with local banks in the host country.  Then open an account there while still in the U.S. and save yourself both fees and hassles.

If anyone has any other tips to add, please do share!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: credit cards, travel
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