Signs Of The Times

Posted on March 14, 2009
Filed Under Economy | Leave a Comment

No one can possibly be unaware we’re in a tough economic time, either through job loss, financial loss, or just from the news. What I find interesting are the more subtle indicators and things that don’t make the news.

Like my dentist office – where normally, appointments are stacked up through the day and missing one means waiting forever to get back in. But the other day I had a different experience going in for a regular visit – cleaning and a checkup.

Normally a technician does the cleaning, while the man himself pops in afterward to do the five minute check-up, then rushes on to the next person – fitting it all in while doing crowns, fillings, root canals, and so on. However much to my surprise my dentist did all the work himself. When I asked why, he said it made no sense to have a temp come in.

What he didn’t say, but I observed, was he just wasn’t all that busy. Obviously he’s had to cut back on permanent help. Also noted that the area wasn’t as sparkly as usual which told me there was also a cut-back on cleaning help – nothing serious, but noticeable.  

Another subtle change is traffic. In speaking with an associate recently, she observed how much her commute home had shortened. More than 10 minutes shorter, plus where there used to be a consistent bottleneck of bumper to bumper traffic, she doesn’t even have to hit the brakes these days.

And where there once was lots of waiting in line to be seated at restaurants, that’s mostly gone –even on Friday and Saturday nights. Plus the drive-through at Starbucks no longer goes around the block – I can actually get a coffee reasonably fast.

So look around – there are some bright spots. However, one that is not so bright, is that while there are a lot more unemployed folks these days, there are also more working from home, either remotely or on their own business. That has translated into stores being more crowded during the traditionally quieter times of day like mid-morning and afternoon when those of us trying to avoid busy times like to go. Oh well, can’t have everything.

Still Not Paying Bills Online?

Posted on March 8, 2009
Filed Under Saving Money | Leave a Comment

If you don’t have online bill payment set up, you should do so now. Doing so can save you significant time and money over the course of every year, plus it helps reduce your carbon footprint! Following are some incentives for getting started

1. It’s faster. You’ll save your valuable time. Instead of driving to the bank or utilities office where you’ll stand in line to drop off a payment, you can do right it from the convenience of your home office.

2. You’ll save gas. For your own wallet and the environment, this is a great reason to pay your utility bills online. Using the Internet instead of trekking down to the bank means the car remains in the garage and your money stays in your wallet.

3. It’s more secure. Despite what you hear about Internet security, it’s actually safer to deal with your bank’s secure web servers than to put a piece of paper in the mail with all your bank account numbers and financial details. You don’t have to worry about your payments making it to the right people or your personal information falling into the wrong hands.

4. No more stamps and envelopes. If you’re an online bill payer, you can often request to have your bills sent to you over the Internet as well. This means you can help save paper, which is great for the environment. You also save on the expense of ever-rising stamp costs.

5. You can often save on promotions. Because utility companies are still trying to market online payment, many are offering incentives for customers to sign up and get on board. Before you register for online utility bill payments, look for rebates and discounts for which you can cash in.

But, how exactly do you pay your bills online?

Typically, a bill payment will run through your bank account. Most banks offer online banking which allows you to log in and access all your account details. From there, you can register your account for bill payments, at which point you’ll be prompted to enter your utility company’s name along with your customer number.

If you’re having difficulty setting up online payments, don’t hesitate to visit or call your bank and ask for a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up an online payment program. Remember to always keep your passwords and account numbers safe and stored in a location off your computer.

Around The Globe In Pet Friendly Hotels

Posted on March 6, 2009
Filed Under Travel | Leave a Comment

People can be very attached to their animals, and want to bring them with wherever they may go. This isn’t hard to understand since many people consider their animals part of their family, and on a family vacation everyone goes along for the ride.

If this is something you’re interested in, you should do some research before confirming any decisions on where you want to go. You will need to make sure the accomodations you select are indeed pet friendly. This can be easily done through one of the many websites that list these lodgings. Many places you may want to visit have hotels like this, though you are more likely to find hotels listed for the more common travel destinations and the bigger cities. If you can’t find a listing for a hotel that will allow your pet on the internet, you can also phone the hotels in the area where you would like to stay in order to find out if they might allow your pet as they might just not have gotten added to the list yet.

You can find animal friendly lodgings around the world, but before making any reservations you should call to double check that they still allow pets, and that they will allow a pet of the type and size of you pet. Rules change from time to time, and websites are not constantlyupdated in a timely manner. Also, you want to find out whether there are additional costs for accomodating pets.

If you are going to be travelling overseas, even if you can find animal friendly lodgings you might want to carefully consider whether or not to bring along your pet as they could be subject to quarantine. Also, you want to make sure that there are safe and comfortable ways to transfer your pet from your house to your destination. Most animals will not enjoy the cargo hold of a plane for a very long plane ride. Some pets also do not like to travel, or are afraid of different places, and these pets also might be better off left at home.

Eco Friendly Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa In Malaysia Identified For Its Environmental Practices

Posted on March 5, 2009
Filed Under Travel | Leave a Comment

The Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa representing the best in Malaysia tourism, recently received a highly commended award in the Large Hotel Category at the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards.

Launched in 2004, the awards are run in association with partners World Travel Market, The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine and BBC World News Service. They are the most respected and competitive of their kind in the world. This year a record 1,976 nominations were received from travelers around the world voting for tourism ventures that provide outstanding holidays that also benefit local people and destinations.

At a ceremony hosted at World Travel Mart (WTM) held in Docklands, London, the Awards were handed out to the recipients. The judges commented on Frangipani Langkawi Resort that: “More than 80% of Frangipani’s workforce is from the local community and 40% of its food is produced on the island. The resort also has a large environmental management program designed for improvement, extensively planting native trees and maintaining a wetland in the resort.”

Justin Francis, founder of The Responsible Tourism Awards, said: “In this, the fifth year of the awards, the bar has been raised for responsible tourism yet again. What inspires me is the efforts that businesses and destinations are making in order to ensure that responsible tourism lies at the heart of their strategies and plans. Without a doubt, this is the only way for the future – responsible travel is not a passing fad or a niche travel trend for marketing purposes. It is an entire, holistic approach to tourism operations.”

The award also creates awareness among hotels, resorts and tourism operators that there are greener operational policies that ultimately reduce environmental impacts. Resort owner, Mr Anthony Wong, said after acknowledging the award: “The Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa has implemented various greening programs to streamline its daily operations and to minimize environmental impacts. Since the resort’s inception in 2006, we have set out to bring about various policies to reduce our impacts upon the environment. Some 100 initiatives are in place and listed on our website and we hope these will become a model for other resorts to follow.”

Mr Wong remarked that various methods have been introduced at the resort including reducing consumption especially wastage, effectively managing energy usage to reduce wastage, using environmentally-friendly detergents, filtering the resort’s ‘grey water’ through a wetland and working with the local authorities to reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to the island’s limited landfill.

“Everyone in the Frangipani Langkawi Resort community from the owners to management, staff and guests is encouraged to participate in our programs and we find that we have the full support of all. Being an island, Langkawi has many sensitive environmental variables that need to be carefully managed if tourism on the island is to be sustainable,” said Mr Wong.

The Frangipani Langkawi Resort is a secluded and eco-friendly resort established along 400-metres of beautiful golden sands at Pantai Tengah, in Langkawi, a popular island resort in Malaysia. The resort is a 15-minute drive from the Langkawi International Airport and just a short walk to the island’s top restaurants, cafés, bars and shops at Pantai Tengah.

The 118-room resort offers spacious rooms, villas and suites with modern amenities. The Mentari Grill restaurant serves Asian and international cuisine, while the Coco Beach Jam bar offers stunning views of the Langkawi sunset.

Popular among families with young children, the resort’s other facilities include two swimming pools, outdoor jacuzzi, reflexology path, meeting room, recreational activities, room service, babysitting laundry, tour desk, transport services, souvenir shop and internet facilities.

The Meaning Of Being Frugal

Posted on March 1, 2009
Filed Under Saving Money | 1 Comment

According to Wikipedia, the definition for “frugality” is: “The practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services to achieve a longer term goal.”

So that’s the definition. Now what? To understand “being frugal“, we have to understand the definition. So let’s break the definition down into two parts. We’ll talk about the first part in this post.

“The practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner…”

What does this mean? It simply means that before you buy something you are going to look at the purchase and decide whether or not you really need it and can afford it. This may mean taking several days to think about it. It may mean going back for a second look at the item.

Frugality should not be confused with being a miser.

There is a definite difference in being a miser and being frugal. A miser is someone who does not want to spend money. Misers often do this to the point of not even having the basic comforts. They do not want to spend one penny.

People who are frugal will spend money but they look at all the options first. They weigh the urgent desire for something against how is the best way to acquire it. They will save for something before incurring more debt.

People who live frugal lifestyles will value their purchases.

What do I mean by that? If a person saves and saves for an item and restrains from purchasing it on impulse, they will tend to take better care of it. They will value it more. Oftentimes in impulse buying, the items are used a lot until the “new” wears off. Then the items are set aside and put up when the newest impulse purchase is bought.

Is there a new resurgence of living “frugally correct”?

With the economy in the shape that it is today, the answer is definitely YES!!! For several years, people have been able to throw caution to the wind and not really pay attention to what it meant to “acquire goods and services in a restrained manner.” Credit was used without thinking about the end payoff. The “I NEED IT NOW, I’M GOING TO GET IT NOW” attitude was very popular.

This is seen in the housing market. So many people bought houses that they could not really afford without weighing the cost. Restraint was not used. Did people need houses as big as they purchased? Did they really have the income to make the payments or were they house-poor?

We are finding out now that lending companies would gladly lend and “dupe” people into feeling secure about their purchases. Time after time stories are being told of lenders that would tell people not to worry about it…we’ll just refi in a couple of years. 

Frugal lessons learned: Take your time. Ask yourself do you really need it and if you think you really need it, do you really need it now? Do you really want it because you don’t want to practice restraint in getting it?
If you determine that you think you really need it, take some more time. A couple of days to think some more about the purchase is not unreasonable. Distance yourself from the purchase and then go back to look at it again.

Do you really want to use credit to purchase something? Is it a possibility to save for the item? If it is a possibility, will you value the purchase more? How long will it take to save for it? Will you still want it if you wait and save for it?

Categories



Recently