Using Your Smartphone To Find Smart Travel Deals

With my former truck driving days behind me, I don't get to travel anywhere near as much as I once did. And it's too bad that I don't because a recent feature on NBC's The Today Show spotlighted new apps for our smart phones that makes me want to get back into travelling...just for the sake of trying them out.
According to Travel and Leisure Magazine International Editor Mark Orwoll, with more and more Americans looking to save money--especially on discretionary expenditures like travel--the traditional bargain-based websites like Trevelocity and Expedia can't always meet our growing demands in regards to urge to cut costs. As a result, more smart phone apps have sprung up to help us engage in smarter comparison shopping for the best hotel and travel packages. The best thing about these apps/sites is that the information they provide tends to be the most up-to-the-hour information on hotel and hotel package offerings.  Among these apps and websites are:

BackBid - Combines the bidding process of ebay with hotel's competing for your business. How it works is that would-be travelers first create a free account at Backbid.com, then a book reservations at a hotel through your favorite website.  The customer must then forward the email with your confirmed hotel reservation to the site, and it will shoot your reservation details — minus your credit card information — to dozens of hotels at your destination. BackBid then shares with you any counter-offers rival hotels may make, such as a comparable room at a lower rate.

HotelSweep - A service site focusing on travelers who prefer staying at independently-owned properties. HotelSweep.com lists more than 50,000 known U.S. hotels, motels, and Bed & Breakfasts. One of the perks of the site is that it lists mom-and-pop properties — places that generally aim to attract budget-conscious travelers, but are too small to afford the costs of being listed with multinational travel agencies. Users inpute their destination information into the site's "direct hotel search" tool, and it will produce a list of properties, which you can sort by nightly rate or distance from a particular location.

DealBase - An online source of objective information regarding advertised hotels, hotel packages, and prices.  What DealBase.com does is that it sifts through each package for its true value. What you would do is log onto the site, and input your the hotel package information at your destination, then click on the listing for a breakdown of the estimated costs of the package's components. (The site even publishes a list of the "worst" hotel deals.).

Room Key - For those wanting the most practical, most simple lodging information.  Room Key.com limits its selection to the more well-known hotel and motel chains, eliminating most of the uncertainty about untried and relative known lodgings.  They focuses on seven hotel chains: Best Western, Choice Hotels (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn), Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo), Marriott and Wyndham (Howard Johnson, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8), listing them in its search engine and displaying most of the pertinent information related to the amenities each particular facility offers.  And speaking of amenities...

Room 77 - For travelers whose priority is a room with the most amenities. Room 77.com offers a search engine which researches room-by-room amenities and floor plans for hundreds of 3- to 5-star hotels in about 30 North American, European and Asian cities. Searchers can find, for instance, what window view a particular room offers, as well as detailed information on any suites within the hotel. It also offers the ability for the searcher to book a particular type of room.  Travelers who book through this site have the advantage of using the site's free "room concierge" feature, in which it contacts hotel managers on a guest's behalf to request a room matching his or her preferences.

These are just a few of the most recent apps and websites dedicated to helping the consumer take better control of their vacation and lodging-related spending, without a minimal amount of additional strain to their budgets.  For other travel sites, watch the embedded video spotlighting these and other apps.  Or, as I always stress, perform your own due diligence when it comes to looking for the best offers--shop around!

IRS Opens Tax Refund Inquiry Resources

A few weeks ago, I posted the projected Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax refund schedule ("IRS Delays The Start Of Tax Season") for the millions of electronic tax filers (e-filers) due to the late start of the income tax season this year (and yes, April 15th is still the due date).  Well, for the rest of us who are not in such a hurry to (pay others to) prepare and receive our tax refunds, the IRS has officially begun to make available it's Tax Refund Status inquiry center.
Filer can now log onto the IRS "Get Refund Status" website, and retrieve information on when they can expect to receive their tax refunds.  However, in order to retrieve this information, you will need to remember your filing status, your social security number, and the exact amount you expect to be receiving.
Additionally, the IRS cautions that there are guidelines filers should follow in making these inquiries:

• Refund information for the most current tax year that you filed will generally be available 72 hours after we acknowledge receipt of your e-filed return, or three to four weeks after you mail your paper return
• Get Refund Status does not track refunds that are claimed on amended tax returns. Amended/corrected returns may take 8 to 12 weeks, or longer, to process.
• If it's been more than 8 weeks since you filed your amended return and you haven't received your refund, please contact a customer service representative by calling 800-829-1040. From outside the U.S., call 267-941-1000. TTY/TDD: 800-829-4059

Get Refund Status is available almost all of the time. However, our system is not available every Monday, early, from 12:00 am (Midnight) to 3:00 am Eastern Time.  The IRS's Change of Address and Refund Trace features are not available during the following times (Eastern Time):

Sunday           12:00 am (Midnight) to 7:00 pm
Monday          12:00 am (Midnight) to 6:00 am
Tuesday          3:30 am to 6:00 am
Wednesday     3:30 am to 6:00 am
Thursday         3:30 am to 6:00 am
Friday             3:30 am to 6:00 am
Saturday         3:30 am to 6:00 am and 9:00 pm to Midnight


Finally, the IRS's online and telephone information retrieval systems do not operate on a 24 hours, 7 days a week level of availability.  The window of opportunity to get this information is as follows:


Also, occasionally the system may be unavailable on Sundays between 1:00 am and 7:00 am, Eastern Time.

Product Review: The Seagate FreeAgent Portable Hard Drive

As a writer and blogger of information, sometimes I find myself thrust into the role of informer, based on my personal experiences. Unfortunately, one of my experiences as a writer was rather costly recently of my attempt to exercise good sense, but having to rely on questionable resources. To be a bit more specific, I am speaking of my attempt to back up my files, including valued my manuscripts on external hard drive.
Because I had among other things, valuable writings and manuscripts for many projects I was working on at the time, I thought backing up my files would be a good idea. So, about a year and a half ago, I purchased what I thought was competently-functional external hard drive for my computer. I chose and purchased the Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive. Before doing so, I’d thought that I had performed my due diligence in comparing what I thought would be among the most popular market brands.

                                                   Seagate's FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
However, soon after I bought the FreeAgent—less than a year—the hard drive, along with all of my manuscripts and files crashed for no discernible reason. I never dropped or jostled the hard drive. I never stored it in extreme temperatures of otherwise extreme environments. It stayed in the same computer bas that I had kept my primary laptop, various flash drives, and other computer paraphernalia.
I frantically searched online to see if there was some kind of product recall which would explain this problem; there was none. What I did find however, was that other people who had purchased this device had similar problems. Not everyone, but enough to give me pause in regretting my purchasing decision.
Yes, this storage unit is light, compact, and ready to use. But many of the other online complaints I’d read concerning this device were eerily similar to mine; it either crashed or its performance degraded sharply in under a year in many cases. Although I had no problems initially with using the FreeAgent, it simply is not a reliable enough product for primary or even backup storage due to its short functional lifespan.
And customer service was not very helpful. Upon calling the company to complain and explore my options for saving my files, I quickly found that my options were limited to virtually declaring bankruptcy in paying for Seagate to try to retrieve my data, of buying a new hard drive (you’re correct if you guessed “one of similar or equal value”). And navigating the company’s maze-like website in order to secure assistance is as equally problematic at best.
I have two other hard drives—neither from this company—that work perfectly well. One, having a comparatively limited capacity of only 300 gigabytes has been going for the last 4 years. The other I purchased last year (750 gigs) and has continued to work, despite a bump or two.
While many of the customer reviews I'd read about this product revealed that other purchasers have had no particular issues with this product, I will say that most of those positive reviews tended to be recent postings, many within the past 7-8 months. I can only guess that as those users’ individual experiences with the FreeAgent Go becomes more jaded, their opinions will change more in line with my own. Based on my personal experiences (buttressed by the reviews and reports I have read), I can only caution you against purchasing the Seagate FreeAgent Go external hard drive.

Healthy Eating & Long Term Savings!

If you’re a regular reader to Beyond Dollars & Sense, then you know that this blog is about personal finance and money-saving tips. So as you read this posting, you might be asking yourself what does healthy eating have to do with saving money? Well, the answer’s rather obvious; eating better saves trips to the doctor’s office. It also limits the incidence of ailments we might attribute to “aging” instead of where many of the physical debilitations we experience come from as we get older…our diets. I got the idea for this peace, not from my own healthy-inspired diet, but from deleting old programs from my DVR. One of these programs was a piece from a PBS (Public Broadcasting Network) offering airing sometime last year called “The Blood Sugar Solution with Dr. Mark Hyman.” Something about the title made me decide to watch it before deleting it from my cable box.

 As I watched it, I realized that many of the health suggestions he had offered as an alternative to the high sugar diets we are accustomed to here in America—responsible for many of our obesity epidemic—I had already been enacting in my personal life. I find that I have much more energy for my workouts, as well as just feeling better knowing that I am not clogging my arteries up with MacBurgers and/or candy.
What I decided to do was to transcribe the words and thoughts of Dr. Hyman’s suggestions during this program as I re-watched the more relevant segments of his PBS special. The crux of Hyman's thesis is that the American addiction to sugar--the processed bran--is the source of many health issues we experiences. He puts forth a new ethos of thinking insomuch as personal health and eating practices.
My personal suggestion is that enacting these practices in your personal life can’t hurt; you will definitely feel better, healthier. And it’s a sure bet that you will indeed save money in potential visits to the doctor’s office.

Check your insulin, not just your blood sugar (insulin is the fat-storage hormone). Check your cholesterol (ask for the NMR test, a newer more accurate cholesterol testing available). Learn to eat your medicine.
Food is the best medicine, I don’t just preach it, I live it.

In addition, Dr. Hyman's "Blood Sugar Solution" serves up some absolute starters one needs in order to kick-start a healthy diet (and potential heath care savings).

Dr. Hyman's 10 rules for eating healthy for life.

1. Don’t eat foods with a label. Avoid foods in a box, package, or can.

2. If a food has a label, it should have fewer than 5 ingredients. Beware of food with health claims on the label. They are usually bad for you (usually, not always. Use clear judgment on this one; the label of ingredients should be the deciding factor).

3. Stay away from those deadly white powers (sugar, flour, etc. As any good nutritionist worth their title will tell you, bleached foods are not overly healthy for you). They function like sugar in the human body.

4. Throw out any food with “high fructose corn syrup” on the label. This is the main ingredient in what Dr. Hyman calls, “liquid calories” (the calories we ingest should not have their source in liquids because they are usually sugar-based. This is the number one cause of obesity in America). Don’t drink your calories. They will pour on the pounds.

5. Throw out any food with the word hydrogenated on the label (an indicator of trans-fats).

6. Throw out or do not use any highly-refined oils such as corn or soy oils. And avoid any fried foods. Instead, use olive oil (my personal favorite) and/or coconut oil.

7. An old standard…avoid any foods with ingredients that you either cannot pronounce or no not recognize. They are usually chocked full of chemicals.

8. Another old standard (that people seem to forget)…avoid foods with preservatives, additives, colorings, dyes, or “natural” flavorings such as “MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).

9. Avoid foods with artificial sweeteners of any kind (they make you hungrier, as well as slow down the metabolism). Not a great strategy for weight loss; even I knew this one (ever notice how people who drink “diet” sodas tend to purchase or drink more of them?).

10. Try to stick to plant-based foods. One tip to remember: shop around the perimeter of a supermarket. This is where most of the more natural (i.e., “real foods”) are located. The aisles tend to be the location of processed foods.

Dr. Hyman suggest that we have plenty of other healthy eating options (since, after reading the list you no-doubt think there is hardly anything else left to eat). He suggest that natural sources of carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts (where I also get sources of protein, along with tofu), while grains, or beans. He also suggest eating foods with more natural (a relative term to be sure with a non-meat-eater like myself) sources of proteins such as (again) beans, nuts, lean chicken, and fish (with the latter, do your research to make sure it’s not a species of fish prone to retaining man-made substances found in water such as mercury. My personal favorite is salmon, which as high in Omega 3’s “good fats”).
Finally, he says that that we are consider foods that contain “slow carbohydrates,” sources of natural energy that rise slowly in the human body, not cause metabolic “spikes” such as processed sugars. These include brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes.

 Watching this special again, I picked up something else that’s a potential money-saver; the timing of when we eat. When we eat in the mornings, we are less likely to eat heavy meals during the day (I myself am guilty of the opposite. I only just started eating in the mornings during the last 2 weeks…and I find myself more able to resists buying snacks, even healthy ones, later in the day…a known budget-buster). Eating later or at night forces our bodies to store calories instead of burning them—one of the reasons I sandwich my workouts both just as I wake up and just before I head to sleep.
Eating healthy in one of those areas in life where we don’t think to consider how it can save us money. But in pretty much the same way that something as simple as deleting old television programs can lead to inspired thinking, eating healthy can lead to bigger deals, and bigger long-term savings in a time where health care costs are rising…and where it becomes fiscally necessary to save a buck where we can, any way we can.

Target Looks To Win More Customers With Price-Matching

Over the last Christmas spending season, the Target store chain enacted a policy of matching the prices of its most noteworthy competitors (read: Wal-Mart) in an effort to attract more customers. And despite the fact that this policy didn’t attract the numbers it sought after all of the post-holiday tallies, the retail chain announced last Tuesday that it would begin matching competitor’s prices all year round. According to a recent news release,

“it has decided to keep the bargains coming on a steady basis by matching prices found on the websites of its most important competitors: Amazon.com, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us (See:  "Target to match prices year-round of rival retailers Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and Toys ‘R’ Us" ). 

This means that if you purchased a “qualifying item” at Target, the retail chain will match the price from Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or Toys “R” Us’s print ads, or from their online stores. Additionally, Target has said that it would “match its own prices if a consumer buys a product in a Target store and then sees it at a lower price in the following week’s Target circular.”
This policy is the latest in a rough-n-tumble fight among the major retailers to claim a share of consumer market where we are forced to save as much as possible when making a routine purchase of any kind. However—yes, there is always a “however” when looking for the best deals—Target tends to stock specialty and exclusive brands which are only sold at the chain’s 1,700 stores, such as its current Target + Neiman collection (a partnership with luxury apparel chain Neiman Marcus). This means that you as a savvy shopper are going to have to put in some work in order to find an item that you can actually buy at a lower price after the comparison shopping.
For example, if you are looking to purchase a Playstation 3 video gaming system, Best Buy’s online store has the basic system priced as $299 (Current Listing). However, the PS3 at Target's online store is listed at the same price, but comes in a “bundled” package that also includes a copy of the hit video game Assassin’s Creed as well as a 30-day trial membership in Playstation’s “Plus” online gaming network (Current Listing).
The upshot is that despite Target's attempt to beat out competitors by way of price-matching, this does in no way mean an automatic savings for shoppers.  It still means that in order to find the best deals, you will have to continue to do what the most savvy of shoppers have always done...comparison shop!

IRS Delays Start of the 2013 Tax Season

Earlier this month, Congress—in a rare display of intraparty cooperation—made changes in the tax law under the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), reflecting the changes of the late tax law enacted Jan. 2. Earlier this week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced plans to open the 2013 tax filing season, and begin processing individual income tax returns starting on January 30th. Late changes in the tax law required that the IRS update forms and instructions as well as make critical processing system adjustments before it can begin accepting tax returns.
So, starting on 30th, the IRS plans to begin accepting tax returns for processing (after updating current forms and its refund processing systems). This means that tax filers filing the relatively simple 1040 and 1040EZ forms—more than 120 million households—should be able to start filing tax returns starting on that date. Those filing more complex tax returns—individuals residential energy credits, depreciation of property or general business credits—should be able to begin filing in early February (and because of the extensive nature of these latter tax returns, individuals in this group tend to file closer to the April 15th deadline).
The IRS will not process paper tax returns before the anticipated January 30th starting filing date (and there is no advantage to filing on paper before the opening date). As to be expected, taxpayers using e-file with direct deposit will receive their refunds, if owed, much faster than paper filers.
As always, the best option for taxpayers is to file electronically.

Estimated 2013 E-File Schedule for 2012 Income Tax Filing:

IRS accepts your return (by 11:00 am) between…*					Projected Direct Deposit Sent*	Projected Paper Check Mailed*
				January 30, 2013	2/6/2013	2/8/2013
January 31		and		February 6, 2013	2/13/2013	2/15/2013
February 9		and		February 13, 2013	2/20/2013	2/22/2013
February 16		and		February 20, 2013	2/27/2013	3/1/2013
February 23		and		February 27, 2013	3/6/2013	3/8/2013
March 1		and		March 6, 2013	3/13/2013	3/15/2013
March 8		and		March 13, 2013	3/20/2013	3/22/2013
March 15		and		March 20, 2013	3/27/2013	3/29/2013
March 22		and		March 27, 2013	4/3/2013	4/5/2013
March 29		and		April 3, 2013	4/10/2013	4/12/2013
April 5		and		April 10, 2013	4/17/2013	4/19/2013
April 12		and		April 17, 2013	4/24/2013	4/26/2013
April 19		and		April 24, 2013	5/1/2013	5/3/2013
April 26		and		May 1, 2013	5/8/2013	5/10/2013
May 3		and		May 8, 2013	5/15/2013	5/17/2013
May 10		and		May 15, 2013	5/22/2013	5/24/2013
May 17		and		May 22, 2013	5/29/2013	5/31/2013
May 24		and		May 29, 2013	6/5/2013	6/7/2013
May 31		and		June 5, 2013	6/12/2013	6/14/2013
June 7		and		June 12, 2013	6/19/2013	6/21/2013
June 14		and		June 19, 2013	6/26/2013	6/28/2013
June 21		and		June 26, 2013	7/3/2013	7/5/2013
June 28		and		July 3, 2013	7/10/2013	7/12/2013
July 5		and		July 10, 2013	7/17/2013	7/19/2013
July 12		and		July 17, 2013	7/24/2013	7/26/2013
July 19		and		July 24, 2013	7/31/2013	8/2/2013
July 26		and		July 31, 2013	8/7/2013	8/9/2013
August 2		and		August 7, 2013	8/14/2013	8/16/2013
August 9		and		August 14, 2013	8/21/2013	8/23/2013
August 16		and		August 21, 2013	8/28/2013	8/30/2013
August 23		and		August 28, 2013	9/4/2013	9/6/2013
August 30		and		September 4, 2013	9/11/2013	9/13/2013
September 6		and		September 11, 2013	9/18/2013	9/20/2013
September 13		and		September 18, 2013	9/25/2013	9/27/2013
September 20		and		September 25, 2013	10/2/2013	10/4/2013
September 27		and		October 2, 2013	10/9/2013	10/11/2013
October 4		and		October 9, 2013	10/16/2013	10/18/2013
October 11		and		October 16, 2013	10/23/2013	10/25/2013
October 18		and		October 23, 2013	10/30/2013	11/1/2013
October 25		and		October 30, 2013	11/6/2013	11/8/2013
November 1		and		November 6, 2013	11/13/2013	11/15/2013
November 8		and		November 13, 2013	11/20/2013	11/22/2013
November 15		and		November 20, 2013	11/27/2013	11/29/2013
November 22		and		November 27, 2013	12/4/2013	12/6/2013
November 29		and		December 4, 2013	12/11/2013	12/13/2013
December 6		and		December 11, 2013	12/18/2013	12/20/2013
December 13		and		December 18, 2013	12/25/2013	12/27/2013
December 20		and		December 25, 2013	1/1/2014	1/3/2014

The 52 Week Savings Challenge!

I often recall as a child in elementary school the times some of my teachers would tell me that “if you took a penny, doubled it for the next 30 days, by the end of the month, you will be a millionaire.” From all indications, this seems to be a true statement. In fact, the math works out something like this:

Day 0 .01 

Day 1 .02 

Day 2 .04 

Day 3 .08 

Day 4 .16 

Day 5 .32 

Day 6 .64 

Day 7 1.28 

Day 8 2.56 

Day 9 5.12 

Day 10 10.24 

Day 11 20.48 

Day 12 40.96 

Day 13 81.92 

Day 14 163.84 

Day 15 327.68 

Day 16 655.36 

Day 17 1,310.72 

Day 18 2,621.44 

Day 19 5,242.88 

Day 20 10,485.76 

Day 21 20,971.52 

Day 22 41,943.04 

Day 23 83,886.08 

Day 24 167,772.16 

Day 25 335,544.32 

Day 26 671,088.64 

Day 27 1,342,177.28 

Day 28 2,684,354.56 

Day 29 5,368,709.12 

Day 30 10,737,418.24 

Sadly though, I don’t know of anyone who has successfully proven this in the real world (rather than the mathematical abstract world). And unless you are able to find a well-heeled sponsor, I wouldn’t make book on seeing it in action in the near future. However, I recently received a similar, much more possible proposition (via our Facebook page) that could go a long ways toward helping the daring save money, especially as this is the start of a new year. Let this proposition be your New Year’s budget resolution. You wont be a millionaire at the end of the year, but you will be a few pennies wiser, and on your way to developing the discipline to engage in an even more aggressive savings regiment.

 

Click on the chart to enlarge