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3 Tips For Holiday Travel While Working Full Time

3 Tips For Holiday Travel While Working Full Time

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Summer has faded to fall&period; In most parts of the country&comma; this means people are packing away their camping gear&comma; returning from summer adventures&comma; and settling in for some fall fun closer to home&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Even as temperatures start to drop&comma; people are out and about trying to squeeze a memory out of every last ray of sun&period; It’s time for pumpkin patches&comma; tailgating&comma; fall festivals&comma; holiday markets&comma; and beer fests galore&period; With never-ending opportunities to socialize&comma; it can be hard to balance having a social life with being a productive person who works full time&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Luckily&comma; a lot of fall and winter activities are tailored to the weekend crowd — who’s ever heard of tailgating on a Tuesday&quest; With the holidays looming&comma; though&comma; and the pressure &lpar;or desire&rpar; to flock together with family&comma; travel can become a little trickier to plan&period; With a few simple considerations&comma; you can make holiday travel less of a headache for the whole family&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<h2>Use Your Financial Resources<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">One of the biggest obstacles to vacations is paying for said vacations&period; Between flights&comma; gas money&comma; lodgings&comma; and eating out&comma; travel expenses add up quickly&period; It can take a lot of planning to execute the perfect getaway without breaking the bank&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">First&comma; use your credit card&excl; And no&comma; I’m not talking about accruing debt that you’ll pay high interest on just so you can have an awesome vacation now&period; Use your rewards points&excl; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"text-decoration&colon; underline&semi;"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fiscaltiger&period;com&sol;negotiate-best-credit-card-rewards&sol;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Most credits cards offer a rewards program<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;"><span style&equals;"text-decoration&colon; underline&semi;">&comma;<&sol;span> even those through small credit unions&period; Check your statement for a points balance&comma; or call and find out what type of rewards you can get with your card and how they can be used&period; This may end up changing the whole face of your trip&excl;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">If you want to save even more&comma; consider cutting corners on eating or lodging&period; If you’re staying with friends or family&comma; it’s easy enough to ask to use their kitchen&period; If not&comma; though&comma; hotels with kitchenette options are becoming more popular&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">If you want to avoid paying for lodging but don’t have friends or family with room for you&comma; you can travel in an RV&period; RVs are available for rent in many places&comma; and the gas and rental fee are frequently cheaper than other travel options&period; Plus&comma; you can <&sol;span><span style&equals;"text-decoration&colon; underline&semi;"><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wilkinsrv&period;com&sol;blog&sol;spending-christmas-in-your-rv-tips-and-tricks-for-holiday-cheer&sol;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">decorate your travel home<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;"> to make it as festive as you want&excl;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">If all else fails&comma; it’s easier than you think to shift money from typical expenses into your travel fund&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Start by looking at your budget and seeing if there’s anything you can or would be willing to sacrifice to help with travel&period; From there&comma; use best shopping practices for any necessities you still need — buy in-season produce&comma; watch sales&comma; and <&sol;span><span style&equals;"text-decoration&colon; underline&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">stack coupons for maximum savings<&sol;span><&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&period; Almost every store has a savings app now&comma; so it’s easy to download coupons to your phone&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<h2>Choose Your Travel Means Wisely<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Consider how you plan to travel&period; It can seem like there’s no good answer to travelling during the holidays — plane tickets prices climb and roads become congested — but planning ahead can help&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">If you live in a temperate climate and aren’t going far&comma; consider driving&period; You’ll avoid congested airports&comma; have more control over your schedule&comma; and have the added flexibility of a vehicle at your final destination&period; Driving is nearly always cheaper than flying unless you can score a ridiculously good flight deal&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">For convenience and efficiency reasons&comma; a lot of holiday travelers opt to fly&period; While <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;dittrichassociates&period;com">tickets can be expensive<&sol;a>&comma; having flexible arrival and departure days will help you avoid the busiest days&period; <&sol;span><span style&equals;"text-decoration&colon; underline&semi;"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;smartertravel&period;com&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;19&sol;10-tips-finding-cheap-airfare&sol;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Tickets will be cheaper on days with a lower demand<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&comma; so consider leaving a day earlier than you originally planned&period; You’ll avoid crowds and possibly save a lot of money&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">However&comma; if you have static travel days&comma; flying can mean congested airports full of people who may travel only once a year&comma; leading to inefficient security lines&period; This can be compounded by potential weather delays&period; Even if you are travelling in sunny regions&comma; you may be stuck with inbound flights subject to nastier weather messing up the schedule&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">With the possibility of flight delays&comma; combined with an increased number of travelers&comma; you will want to plan extra travel time&period; If you have a layover anywhere&comma; try to give yourself a comfortable amount of time to make the connection&period; Make sure that you aren’t rushing to the airport after work or battling traffic to get to your destination before dark&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<h2>Take Some Time Off<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Weekend trips can be the perfect way to relax without having to take time off work&comma; especially if you used a lot of vacation time during the summer&period; If you’re planning more than a weekend getaway to watch the fall foliage&comma; though&comma; you’re likely going to need to take some time off work&period; Besides&comma; who wants to spend their vacation fielding office phone calls and juggling spotty hotel internet&quest; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">The most convenient way to take days off work is by utilizing paid time off &lpar;PTO&rpar;&period; If you’re lucky enough to have some PTO stored up&comma; absolutely use it&comma; but check your company calendar first&period; You can maximize your time off by planning trips around long weekends or paid holidays&period; Your company’s policy may also give you more perks than you know&semi; some companies have <&sol;span><span style&equals;"text-decoration&colon; underline&semi;"><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;postalexamreview&period;com&sol;blog-detail&period;php&quest;id&equals;102&amp&semi;b&equals;Special-Benefits-for-USPS-Career-Employees"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">more paid holidays than the traditional seven<&sol;span><&sol;a><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&comma; and <&sol;span><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;money&period;cnn&period;com&sol;2016&sol;07&sol;26&sol;pf&sol;companies-that-pay-for-employee-vacations&sol;index&period;html"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">others offer travel reimbursement<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">If you don’t have PTO&comma; don’t despair&excl; There are still plenty of options&period; If you can afford it&comma; taking time off unpaid is usually available with most jobs&period; You can mitigate some of the loss of income by budgeting for your trip or saving up over several months&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">You also don’t have to take entire days off&period; It can be just as awesome to take a half day off —  you can leave a little earlier and get to your destination with enough time to settle in before your first full day of vacation starts&period; Remote working is great in this case&comma; or&comma; if you work a shift job&comma; trade with someone who will be staying local during the time you’re traveling&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Enjoy Yourself<&sol;span><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Once the planning and packing is done&comma; it’s time to get going&period; Whether you’re hitting a literal road or something closer to tarmac&comma; do your best to settle in and relax&period; Disconnect from your office email and vow not to return office phone calls&period; The planning and stressing should be over — it is supposed to be a vacation&comma; after all&excl;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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