Five Things I Like

My weekly blog post is a little late, so in an effort to get something posted, in no particular order, and pretty much just as they pop into my head, I present to you...

Five Things I Like
1) The Television Show Castle - it is always entertaining, and I love the chemistry between the characters, plus I'm a big Nathan Fillion fan
2) Eating Out -  I like the opportunity to try new things without having to figure out a new recipe.  I like the way my food magically appears in front of me with a minimum of effort on my part.  I like the feeling of indulgence.
3) Random Smooches From My Husband - these are, as I mentioned, pretty much what is popping into my head at this moment, and having Josh just now wander into my study and smooch me on the top of my head reminded me how very much I appreciate those little spontaneous expressions of affection.  If you haven't smooched your loved one(s) today, I recommend that you stop reading immediately, and go do it.
4)Lovely Spring Days - sunshine, leaves coming out on trees, flowers blooming, birds chirping, soft breezes - what's not to like?
5)Checking Things Off My To-Do List - I have something of a love hate relationship with my To-Do list.  I love how it keeps me organized, and how it remembers all the little nagging tasks that I would other wise forget.  I hate it when it overwhelms me and makes me feel like life is nothing but a never-ending list of tasks.  However, even in "hate it" mode, checking something off the list gives me a sense of productivity and accomplishment.

I will now check "Blog" off my To-Do list. :)

Tapley's Travel Tips

Traveling is one of my great passions in life.  I do it as often as I can, and I post about it a lot on Facebook whenever I am on the road.  (I would love to blog on the road, but until I have a laptop, or at least a netbook, that ain't happening.)  Anyway, when I post about my travels on Facebook, I frequently get comments from people indicating that they wished they could do the same thing, but for whatever reason feel like they can't.

Now, I'm not here to tell you how to prioritize your time, energy, or finances, but I can give you some tips on how you can fit travel into your life while still holding down a job and paying a mortgage.

TIP #1
Get a credit card that gives you frequent flyer miles or hotel points.  Of course, the usual rules about credit cards apply - meaning pay it off every month!  Think about getting a frequent flyer mile for every dollar you spend on major purchases, or on gas, or groceries - or everything.  These can add up fast, and before you know it you are flying free every few years without spending any money you weren't going to spend anyway.  If the money you need for a purchase is sitting in your bank account, instead of using your debit card, why not put it on the miles card and then make an immediate online payment from your bank to the credit card?  You don't pay any interest, you only spend money you actually have, and you get the miles!

TIP #2
Set up a special savings account for travel and set up an automatic deposit for it.  If you have direct deposit for your paycheck, you could send a portion of that money into your travel account.  You could also set up a regular weekly or monthly transfer from another bank account.  If you are anything like me, make this an account that you can't access too easily to prevent you from dipping in whenever you are craving sushi or cute shoes.  If you are saving some amount of money, even a small one, on a regular basis, and you aren't touching your balance, before you know it you will have enough money for an adventure of some kind - even if it is just a weekend away.

TIP #3
Do your research and make use of travel guides, especially guides like Pauline Frommer's Spend Less, See More series and Frommer's Free & Dirt Cheap series.  These books are written with an eye towards getting you the best experience for your money, and have all sorts of tips and tricks to help you find affordable lodging, food, and entertainment on your travels.

Those are just a few of my favorite tips.  When Josh and I went to Europe for two weeks last year we got our tickets to London using frequent flyer miles from a credit card, we got very affordable lodging in London and Paris thanks to Pauline Frommer's guides on those cities, and we paid for the trip mostly by having money automatically saved out of every paycheck the whole time we were planning the trip.

I'll post more tips as the spirit moves me, so keep an eye out, and happy travels!

Is there such a thing as St. Patrick's Day resolutions?

Once again I am resolving to pay more attention to this blog.  My goal is to add something at least once a week.  The entries may only be a few sentences, or a list of movies I want to watch, or what I ate for dinner (I can feel your excitement and anticipation building), but at least there will be something posted.  Sure, it would be lovely if I were to regularly craft amusing and insightful commentaries for y'all.  It would also be nice if every night I cooked fresh, nutrious, gourmet meals.  As my very intelligent spouse just pointed out, sometimes you have to settle for pizza and beer - and that's good too.  My theory is that settling for the occasional (or frequent) quick and dirty blog entry will make my new resolution doable.  And thus, I hope, a habit is formed.

The best is the enemy of the good.
-Voltaire