Saving for that Dream Vacation...

Everyday Tips to Save for that Dream Vacation!

Vacation packages are more affordable than ever! A great number of Americans are choosing to take a ‘staycation’ (a stay at home vacation) instead of a traditional vacation. But, more Americans are still enjoying their summer vacations to exotic destinations abroad and here at home. This summer’s popular vacation destinations include Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Hawaii and our favorite Miami! You are probably thinking “I can’t afford to go to the Dominican Republic!” Yes, you can!
We spoke with personal finance expert and credit repair specialist Ms. Harrine Freeman (of H.E. Freeman Enterprises), to get a few tips on saving for that dream vacation.

Ms. Harrine Freeman created a Vacation Savings Guide, to help us get started.

1. Create a budget for your vacation. Don’t charge it! You will spend months even years paying off that high interest rate credit card.
2. Create a special travel/vacation fund. Deposit all extra money from a part-time job, bonus from your full-time job, any salary increases into your vacation fund.
3. Comparison shop online for your vacation package. You will save more money by buying everything (airfare, hotel & rental car) together versus purchasing individually. Also consider all-inclusive vacation packages (airfare, hotel, all meals & drinks) and save even more money!
4. Reduce/eliminate a few weekly expenses! For example if you and your sweetheart dine out every Friday and Saturday on average meal of $40 (just as an example friends!). Eliminating one night of dining out a week saves you $1,920 a year! ($40 x 4 weeks = $160 x 12months = $1,920).
5. Bring you lunch from home a few days instead of eating out everyday! The average cost of lunch is around $8. Bringing your lunch from home 3 days a week saves you $24 a week, $96 a month, which equals $1,152 a year!
6. Let’s not talk about our coffee or Starbucks addition! I wouldn’t dare take that from you friends! Seriously consider brewing your own coffee before leaving for work in the morning, it will save you money in the long run.
7. Luxuries are not necessities! Consider reducing household expenses such as the premium channels on your cable/satellite television bill. By eliminating one premium channel from your satellite television package can save you an estimated $168 a year ($14/month for one premium channel x 12 = $168). Other ways to reduce household expenses include using energy efficient appliances and cutting back on unused home and cell phone options.

If we followed tips 4, 5 & 7 alone, we would have $3,240 in our dream vacation fund! That’s enough for a lavish vacation and shopping money ladies. Are you with me? (LOL) These are just a few ways to add money to the dream vacation fund. For more great money saving tips, please visit www.hefreemanenterprises.com or call Ms. Harrine Freeman today for a personal consultation 301-280-5923.

Ms. Harrine Freeman is a Personal Finance Expert, Speaker and Author of the successful financial guide “How to Get Out of Debt: Get an “A” Credit Rating for Free.”

The Travelin’ Diva --

Please visit Reservations Travel Guide website: www.reservationsmagazine.com

Girlfriend Spa Getaways!

Blissful Girlfriend Getaways @ The Relache Spa!
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

You and your girlfriend trade daily text messages about how you desperately need to getaway. The kids’ first day of school was just as stressful for you as it was for them. Your micro-manager of a boss causes gray hair to sprout by the hour. You need a girlfriends’ getaway at a great spa!
I have the perfect spa for you Ladies! The Relache Spa at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center is an excellent choice for a spa day with your favorite girlfriends.
The design philosophy behind Relache is ‘everything in one place.’ Friends they have accomplished this and then some. The 20,000 sq. ft luxuriously designed black & white facility hosts 12 treatment rooms, full service beauty salon, spa boutique, steam room and a signature Relaxation Room for meditation and peaceful thinking.
Relache Spa also hosts a state of the art, 24 hour - 4,000 sq. ft. fitness center connected to an indoor pool. The fitness center also houses cardio equipment (treadmills, bikes, rowing machines & cross trainers) equipped with televisions and radios. Friends you can further reduce stress levels with a personal fitness training session or personal yoga session!
You are probably thinking by now, “what about the spa treatments?” Friends, the spa treatments do not disappoint. Gaylord Hotel Spas are known for their signature spa treatments and services. Relache Spa does not disappoint! Signature treatments include: the exquisite Soothing Stone Massage (this 50/80 minute massage {my friend Marshelle’s favorite} featuring warm smooth basalt river stones rhythmically glided over your sore muscles, melts away all of your tension and worries. Reserve one now friends!). My personal favorite is the ‘Relache Spa Premier Facial.’ This 80 minute facial literally transforms your tired skin into beautiful glowing skin using perfectly PH balanced nutrients and the beauty industry’s best products. The tranquility and calmness of this facial is just what a girl (or guy) needs to restore your skins youthful, healthy glow. It is so relaxing that you will actually fall asleep during the facial (like I did…LOL). Friends it is one of the best facials that I have had outside of Miami!
Other signature services include: the Relache Signature massage, Sports Massage (for the guys), the Illuminating Radiance Body Scrub, the Skin Quencher Body Wrap and the La Vie En Roses Signature Facial (perfect for the Bride-to-Be).
Once you have recovered from your exhilarating spa treatment/service, you can relax in the luxuriously appointed lounge complete with a plasma television, comfortable chaise lounges, current magazines and your choice of refreshments. Or you can relax in the Signature Relaxation Room that reveals a breathtaking view of the National Harbor! Friends trust me when I say that you will not want to leave.
For an extraordinary facial please request Jean and for an out of this world massage please request Theresa. So grab a few girlfriends, a convertible and your husband’s credit card and head on over to Relache Spa for your own Girlfriend Getaway! Tell them that Reservations Travel Guide Sent You!

Look for me in the lounge Ladies!

Relache Spa is open 7 days a week (9a-9p)
Fitness Center: Open 24 Hours A day
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Ctr.
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD. 20745
301-965-4400
www.gaylordnational.com


The Travelin Diva –
Visit Reservations Magazine’s Updated Website
www.reservationsmagazine.com

Great Travel Websites...

Great Online Travel Websites!

If you are like me and like to manage your travel dollars all by your lonesome, I have a few ‘unknown’ discount travel websites that can help you save a lot of money on your next vacation.
The old favorites are still good for great online discounts for quick getaways, honeymoons or family vacations. Expedia, Hotwire, Travelocity and Orbitz are some of the major discount websites for online travel booking. In the past few years, new players in the online travel booking game have also made a name for themselves. I think that SideStep.com, TravelbyJen and Cheap Caribbean are well worth visiting each and every time you are ready to book a vacation.
SideStep.com (www.sidestep.com) is known as the travelers worldwide search engine. SideStep.com specializes in the best deals on airfare, hotels, car rentals, and cruises. What I love about this particular site is that is gives you your results from lowest to highest price range and nonstop, 1 stop and 2 stop options. SideStep.com even offers suggestions on hotels and activities in your selected city.
TravelbyJen (www.travelbyjen.com) has become the latest rage in online travel booking. Recently profiled on comedienne ‘Monique’s’ new radio show, TravelbyJen, guarantees the lowest prices on vacations in Mexico and the Caribbean. This family owned and operated travel agency’s motto is to ‘treat everyone like family.’ My favorite part of the website is the ‘search by destination’ tab that allows you to define your search quickly and efficiently.
Cheap Caribbean (www.cheapcaribbean.com) is another favorite that is known as a one stop shopping port for all vacations Caribbean. From the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Bermuda, St. Lucia to St. Maarten, CheapCaribbean.com specializes in “luxury vacations for less.” This websites motto is the lowest possible price, easy reservations and the highest level of customer service. My favorite feature of this website is the simple fact that they offer to “match any competitor’s price.” You can’t beat that!
When you are ready to book that next vacation, try an old favorite or one of the newer travel websites and save yourself some money!

For more information please visit the following websites and save on that next dream vacation!
www.sidestep.com
www.travelbyjen.com
www.cheapcaribbean.com

~ The Travelin Diva

www.reservationsmagazine.com

Travel's Newest Accessory!!!

New Way for Air Travelers to Reduce the Wait in Security Lines!


What is the most dreadful part of traveling by airplane? The wait in the security checkpoint line! You can’t avoid it! You have to do it! Most airlines require that passengers arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before their flight leaves. The dreadful process begins! You have to take your shoes off and take your laptop out of its bag (and in some airports open and turn it on). Friends this is the sole reason I want my own private jet service. LOL
Well, there is a special card for air travelers that cuts the security checkpoint wait to a half an hour. Yes, with this card you will only have to wait in line for approximately 30 minutes. The Clear Card (which has been in existence since June 21, 2005), is the travel worlds’ first official pass for airport security. Upon arrival at the airport, Clear Card members use a special kiosk in the security fast lanes, where they insert their card, verify their identity and are escorted to the front of the security checkpoint line by a Clear (Card) Concierge. So, instead of arriving at the airport 2 hours before your flight, you could arrive one hour to 30 minutes before and still make your flight.

Now you’re thinking, ‘how do I get this card’ and ‘is it going to cost an arm, leg and a contact lens.’ The Clear Card costs $128 ($100 processing fee + $28 TSA vetting fee) per year (2 and 3 year rates are also available). The application process is started online (http://www.flyclear.com/) by entering your basic information and payment information (your credit card will not be charged until your application is approved by TSA).

Once your application is complete, applicants go to a Clear Enrollment Location (usually one of the 18 airports that participate in the program) where unique identity information is gathered. Your photograph along with fingerprints and iris images are taken (right now you are probably feeling like you are in the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report!) along with copies of two government issued identification (i.e. passport/driver’s license). Finally, everything is forwarded to TSA for a security threat assessment. Once approved, applicants receive their Clear Card in approximately 2-3 weeks.

Currently, eighteen US airports participate in the Clear Card program. Among the eighteen are: Dulles (IAD), Reagan National (DCA), LaGuardia (LGA) and JFK in New York. For a complete listing of participating airports visit http://www.flyclear.com/. More innovations are also on the way to further reduce the amount of time Clear Card members wait in the security checkpoint line. A shoe scanner is in the works that will allow you to keep your shoes on as you pass through. And a laptop scanner is also in the works that will allow your macbook air to stay in its case while being scanned.

If you are a frequent air traveler, the Clear Card is a great way to cut down the amount of time in the security checkpoint and spend more time sleeping, traveling, spending more time with the family, shopping or sleeping. LOL

To apply for your clear card, please visit: http://www.flyclear.com/

For more travel information please visit: http://www.reservationsmagazine.com/

The Travelin Diva