This Week in Your Wallet: Summer Travel Survival Guide
With Memorial Day behind us, I can officially declare: summer is here! How did you ring in the season? I spent the weekend on Long Beach Island, NJ where Chris Christie popped in to shake some handsover breakfast at local favorite Scojos and each day was nicer than the one before.
Perhaps it was this getaway or my upcoming TODAY segment on last-minute travel tips, but I have summer travel on the brain. So do many media outlets, which is why I wanted to share a couple of travel-related articles with you today. First up, from the Wall Street Journal, a rundown of how air travel might prove frustrating this summer and a few ways you can avoid a headache.
The Journal reports that you might start seeing more fees in funny places — Frontier Airlines has said they’ll start charging $1.99 for soda, juice and coffee — as well as tardy planes. Last summer, only 76 percent of flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. United was the worst offender of the bunch, with just 67.9 percent of flights arriving on-time in summer months. (United says they have adopted a boarding method that is 20 percent faster, and other airlines are also looking at tweaking boarding procedures to expedite the process.) The Journal recommends checking your airline’s website before you travel to ensure you won’t be surprised by any sneaky fees, as well as giving themyour phone number: many airlines will call or text if there are problems with the flight.
Next up, from MarketWatch, a list of the best smartphone apps to help with all your summer needs. Among the best of their best: Jetsetter (think: Gilt meets Priceline), a site that can nab you up to 60 percent off on same-day blind bookings; Viber, an app that lets you text and call over Wifi so you don’t get hit with cell phone roaming charges; and Wi-Fi Finder, an app that — you guessed it — helps you find free wifi if you don’t have free internet access in your hotel or resort. Neat, right?
Have you made summer travel plans yet? Which sites and apps did you find most helpful?
And now, here are the other headlines for the week:
Grocery Spending, Multiplied in Bulk
For those who like their data visualized, here are some fun charts about what we spend on groceries,courtesy of TheBillfold.com. The averages might not surprise you — most single people reported spending $50 per week, and most couples reported spending $100 per week — but it’s interesting to see the range. Personally, I’d love to find out exactly what the single person is spending $140 per weekon.
While we’re on the subject of groceries, I also wanted to share this article from Dealnews.com about why shopping at warehouse/club stores can cost us more money than we think. We often go to places like Costco to save, but as Dealnews points out, buying in bulk can quickly eat into your budget. Among the reasons why: we don’t pay attention to unit prices (it may look like a good deal, but compared to a smaller container, the cost per ounce may be cheaper elsewhere), the process is like being on a treasure hunt (which makes the process fun), and getting in and out quickly is a hassle (which means that when we go, we want to “make the most of it” and buy a lot of stuff).
Student Loan Advice for New Grads
Last week, I talked about the inspirational advice we so often hear during graduation season. Thisweek, I want to talk about advice you’ll never hear in a graduation speech: how to deal with yourstudent loans. According to new data from Fidelity, the class of 2013 is graduating from college with an average student loan balance of $35,200. Yikes! Reuters has this great guide for indebted grads, and it offers tips like:
- Know what you owe, and who you owe it to. Your university’s financial aid office can help with this.
- Consider consolidating many smaller loans into one bigger one for the sake of payment simplicity. Interest rates are pretty low right now, too, which means it’s a better time than ever to consolidate.
- Start making payments. Yes, there is a six-month grace period, but on unsubsidized federal loans, interest is accruing even during this grace period. Stop the balance from going up by starting payments as soon as you can afford them.
Have a great week!
Jean
