green living, smart spending
If your US Passport is expiring in 2017, renew it now to save time and money. Ditto if you are getting a new US Passport. The busy season for applications starts soon, and the longer you wait, the longer it will take to get your new travel document. That delay could prevent you from entering
Read more
Now that your home is getting smarter, with internet-connected heating and cooling, webcams to check on the baby and babysitter, lock or unlock your door remotely, it’s more important than ever to keep hackers out. These tips will help keep the digital version of breaking-and-entering from creating mayhem, even endangering the health and safety of
Read more
Travelers can fight sex trafficking during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month (January) by taking a photo of your hotel or motel room and uploading it to a free anti-trafficking app. According to UNICEF, 5.5 million children worldwide are trafficked each year. Here’s how you can help lower that number: Photos uploaded with the
Read more
Money matters. Nearly half of us give or get gift cards for the holidays, birthdays and other anniversaries. If you don’t like the store, restaurant or movie theater, you can sell that gift card for cash, and get anywhere from 65 to 95 cents on the dollar. Even losing up to 20 percent or more
Read more
Vacation bound? An empty home or apartment is an invitation to burglars. Protect your home from burglars while you are away on vacation, or just away for the weekend, to avoid being one of the two million plus annual household burglary victims. According to the FBI, more than 65 percent of burglaries are residential break-ins.
Read more
Here are some top tips from a road warrior (me) of what to do before you travel abroad, to save time, stress and money while you are on the road. It’s good advice for a first-time traveler, and a refresher for veteran travelers. Medical and Health Check the State Dept. Traveler Alert health page. Get
Read more
We’ve all been hearing about airport security lines as long as three hours, causing people to miss their flights. But you can zip through airport security like a VIP with a “known traveler” card that gets you onto the expedited TSA PreCheck line. If you fly more than twice a year, you are a fool
Read more
The peak summer driving season getting underway is a good time to be reminded about the danger and cost of speeding. Speeding costs lives and billions in medical costs and property damage: Some 13,500 Americans die each year in speeding related accidents, about the same number who die in alcohol-related accidents. Also according to the
Read more
If your US Passport is expiring in 2016 or early 2017, or if you are applying for a first passport for yourself or a child, get your new US Passport now to save time, money and stress. More passports expire this year than in history, and the US State Dept. warns of a major backlog.
Read more
The person next to you on the airplane, commuter train or movie theater sneezes, and you catch a cold, or worse, the flu. Whether you are traveling or close to home, here’s how to avoid the flu. First and most important, get a flu shot. It does not guarantee you’ll avoid the flu, but it
Read more