When I was an exchange student in Europe more than a decade ago, I used Traveler’s Checks. Anytime I needed to replenish my supply of Austrian shillings (this was before the currency union in Europe), I needed to find someone to change money. And, of course, I had to pay a commission. The commission paid at the airport or train station, I found, was higher than that paid at a bank in town. Now, of course, few people use Traveler’s Checks, as credit cards and debit cards are much easier to use.
Using Credit or Debit for Foreign Purchases
If you have plastic branded with a major credit company logo, you can use it at a number of places. You can even use your card at an ATM to get cash in a local currency if needed. Doing so can actually save you money. This is because the interbank exchange rate is usually better than the rate used by the currency exchange services you see set up. Bringing your own cash or Traveler’s Checks and having them exchanged at a special service provider is likely to cost you.
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A report released last week gave the shocking news that half of all Americans are financially fragile and would not be able to come up with $2,000 in 30 days without having to resort to borrowing money or pawning/selling items that they own. It’s apparent that it’s not just the poorest families that are financially vulnerable, many middle class families are also in the same boat.
Ask yourself how easy would it be for you to come up with $2,000 to pay for a necessary car repair, vet bill or home repair. Would you be able to take it from a savings account or would you have to put it on a credit card or borrow it from family? If it’s the latter, it’s time to take action. Here’s how:
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When my husband and I relocated to Indiana last summer, we went through the grueling process of selling our house in Ohio and buying a new one in our new town. In addition to the stress of packing, moving and preparing our beloved old house for sale, we were incredibly surprised by the number of hoops our mortgage lender made us jump through in order to purchase our new house—which was a great deal less expensive than our former abode. Considering the fact that my husband purchased our Ohio house in 2005, when banks were basically giving money away, some of the stricter standards we saw in 2010 seemed reasonable. (The pint of blood needed at closing did not). But what exactly can you expect if you are applying for a mortgage in the post-housing crisis market? Here are a few of the more stringent standards:
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I baked my first homemade bread out of desperation. I had just arrived in the US. I was pregnant, far away from family and friends, and homesick. I missed home terribly – especially home cooking.
I scoured the supermarket shelves for familiar items. One of them was pita bread. Great! I thought. This will be good for sandwiches or for humus. But when I arrived home and opened the package, I was bitterly disappointed. The pita rounds looked like cardboard, felt like cardboard, and – SURPRISE! – tasted like cardboard too.
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Summer time means warm weather. For many of us, it also means big air conditioning bills as we try to stay cool. Taking some easy actions to prepare can help keep those bills to a manageable level and possibly stay cool in the process.
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We tend to forget that it wasn’t all that long ago when people had their kids’ portraits taken several times a year. When I was growing up, the school arranged for a picture once a year and that was pretty much it. Today, we expect to have our children photographed every few months, and it can become a very expensive project.
If you insist on having the kids photographed regularly, you have several options when it comes to cutting costs.
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