green living, smart spending
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
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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
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You win some, you lose some. Customers, that is. Every year, some vehicle models shine, others go stale. Here are the winners and losers in 2016, from sub-compacts to family sedans and SUVs to hunky trucks. 2016 sales winners Let’s start with one model that wins every year. This year, as in every other year
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Where’s Santa? Since 1955, the team at North American Aerospace Defense Command (better known as NORAD) has kept track of a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. Curious kids can follow Santa’s route on Christmas Eve, as well as receive updates from the North Pole online at NORAD Tracks Santa. We are told Rudolph’s glowing red nose gives
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One of Santa’s most popular gifts is travel deals and contests to help you fill your bucket list in 2017. We like these deals, including waiving the dreaded solo surcharge and contests for free trips to somewhere special. Ski Utah – Win a trip for two to ski or snowboard in Park City, Utah, from
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Scam alert. I’ve been getting a barrage of fraudulent holiday emails from senders claiming to be Amazon, Paypal, Costco, Starbucks, Pandora. Protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft, or a computer virus like ransomware. Always identify a sender as legit before clicking on any link. Email security is important 24/7, and even more
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End-of-year car shopping? Get good buys on 2016 cars discontinued for 2017. It’s the end of the road for these sedans, coupes and SUVs, including hybrids, cancelled entirely, or being replaced by similar models. Buick Verano – Unlike the popular luxury Buick LaCrosse, the mid-size Verano sedan never caught on. Maybe it was the “eh”
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How will the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro affect travel to Cuba? We are republishing articles about recent visits to Cuba by ecoXplorer editor Evelyn Kanter. This is from May, 2016: I’m just back from a week aboard the Fathom Adonia, the first US-flag cruise ship to sail to Cuba in more than 50
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Got the travel itch to get away this holiday season, or next year? Then you are in luck, because hotels, airlines and tour operators are offering great discount deals if you book them on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Here are some of the best ones we’ve heard about, including deals that start booking even
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Take the train to and from the chairlift, and avoid being stuck in weekend traffic. The beloved Ski Train, with round-trip service between Denver and Winter Park, is back after seven years, with a new name, new trains and new management. It’s been especially popular already this season, thanks to winter storms that have made
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