Travel Tips - Shopping While Traveling

Shopping is an integral part of travel. When you go on travel, you are tempted to purchase a few goodies. Purchasing small items like purses or a small handicraft is ok. However, if you plan to purchase bulky items, you need a plan to transport them back to your home. Here are some travel tips for going on a shopping spree during vacations.
Shopping before proceeding on travel
Before you proceed on a travel, make a list of items you will need. It includes toiletries, clothes, bag and baggage, non-prescribed medicines, any maps and books. Make sure every thing is as light and small as possible.
Shopping at your vacation destination
1. While purchasing a handicraft or any other thing, ensure it is unique and you will not get the same in your city handicraft stores. If the item is available in a nearby store, there is no need to purchase it unless it is available in down to earth rates.
2. For bulky items, we suggest you to shop the items and ask the merchant to parcel them to you. While purchasing the items confirm if they have a facility to parcel it from the counter itself. Also, analyze if it will be cost effective to purchase an item and get it parceled to your home. Often the international freight charges are too high. So compare the price of your purchase and the shipping cost with the cost of item in local store.
3. Always purchase items through your credit card. The advantage of purchasing through a credit card is that you have a proof of purchase and if merchant does not deliver the goods in time or in perfect shape, you can dispute the charge. Consult your credit card customer service about the dispute procedure.
4. Make purchases in the last phase of your vacation. It has two benefits. One, you know the money left with you and can decide the budget for your purchase. Two, you need not carry this extra piece of luggage with you everywhere you go. Remember the important thing is to enjoy the vacation and not to purchase items. Most items are available in US at a reasonable price during off-season.
5. Travel tips for temporary shopping: Some items you may want to use and throw. There are many things, which are not in fashion in US. However, if you are fascinated with them, purchase, use and part away during vacations. Items like stone jewelry, straw hats, T-shirts, local dress fall in this category. They may be attractive for a while but do not have a long time use.

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Tips on Shopping While Traveling

Before Going on Travel

Shopping is an essential part of travel. Whenever you go for a trip to a particular place, purchasing a few goods is inevitable. The goodies tempt you to pick them up when you are traveling. If you are shopping for small stuff, it is fine but if you want to purchase something bulky, it is necessary that you plan about the way it will be transported to your home. Some tips on shopping while traveling are given in the piece of writing below. Use them when you start shopping on a travel.

Before Going on Travel

Before you start on a travel, prepare a list of items you will want. Such items include clothes, toiletries, bag and baggage, medicines, maps and books etc. Make sure that every thing is light and small. It increases your convenience.

Shopping at your Vacation Destination

• When you buy a commodity like a handicraft, make sure that it is unique and such things are not available easily, especially in your city. If it is available in your local stores, don’t go for it unless it costs much cheaper.
• Purchase big items and ask their merchant to transport them to you. While buying the items authenticate if they have a facility to parcel it from the counter itself. Also, evaluate if it will be cost effective to buy an item and get it parceled to your home. Often the international shipment charges are very high. So compare the cost of your purchase and the shipping cost with the cost of item in local store.
• Always pay for items through your credit card. Buying through credit cards is advantageous. The reason is that by shopping or making payments through credit cards, you have a
• The advantage of purchasing through a credit card is that you have a proof of your purchase. If the merchant does not transport the goods in time or in perfect condition, you can easily dispute the charge. Seek advice from your credit card customer service regarding the dispute procedure.
• Always do shopping in the last segment of your vacation. This way, you know how much money is left with you and you can decide the budget for your shopping. Also, you can enjoy your vacation completely without carrying additional piece of belongings wherever you go. Keep in mind, the essential thing is to enjoy the vacation and not to shop. During off-season nearly all items are available in US at an affordable cost.

Tips for Transient Shopping While travelling

You may use and throw some items. There are several things, which are not in fashion in US; but if you are enthralled with them, buy, use and fling away during vacations. Items like straw hats, stone jewelry, T-shirts, local dress etc. fall in this category. You may find them striking for sometime but don’t have a long time use.


Many people want to go through the shopping spree during vacations. Some tips on shopping while traveling that are mentioned in the above account are sure to be valuable for you.

10 Tips for a Financially Stress Free Christmas

When you are a kid, Christmas is probably the best day of the year, maybe even better than your birthday. The anticipation, the holiday traditions, and even time off from school make it a very enjoyable time of the year.
Fast forward 20 to 30 years, and, especially if you have children and other friends and relatives to buy presents for, it can end up being a lot less enjoyable. Even shopping for loved ones can be more of a chore than enjoyable, especially fighting the crowds at the mall or a retail store, or trying to figure out what to give that special someone who seems to have everything.
Even worse, all of the spending around the Christmas season can deplete your savings account and even cause you to go into debt if you are not paying attention. Certainly, when you don’t have a game plan for your holiday shopping, it is a lot easier to spend more than you need to or even should, depending on your budget.

Start planning carefully now

Do you know all of the people you need to buy presents for? What about holiday parties? Do you need to bring a gift for a person or gift exchange, or a bottle of wine to your neighbor’s party? This is one I am always forgetting, and it ends up costing me because I have to run to the store at the last minute and try to pick a bottle of wine or something that doesn’t look too cheap-and I usually spend more than I would really like.

Make a list

Brainstorm and think of everyone you are planning to spend money on this year, and every occasion that you will buy something to bring. OF COURSE, you won’t forget your kids, or your wife or girlfriend, but what about your administrative assistant at work? Does everyone chip in to buy something for the boss? Do you donate money to a charity every year at Christmas time? Write it all down so you don’t have any surprises as Christmas gets closer.
After you write the list, let it sit for a couple of days and re-examine it. Did you forget anyone? If so, put them on it. Leaving off just a few people or parties where you need to bring something can cost you money you don’t think you will be spending.

Check it twice- and eliminate what you can

Go through the list and think about who is on it. Did you forget anyone? Can you eliminate anyone? Will your second cousin Bill mind if you doesn’t exchange gifts this year? Give him a call and find out. He probably won’t because he didn’t really like the fruitcake you were sending him every Christmas, even though he said he did!

Set a budget or spending limit

Even if you don’t like the “B” word, you need a budget or an idea of how much you are going to spend on each person or occasion, and how much you are going to spend in total. If you’ve saved money in a Christmas fund all year long, you may already have an idea of your limit. If not, can you afford to spend as much as your list is adding up to? If not, you need to cut back on how much you will spend on each person, or eliminate some of the items on the list.

Be practical

Do you really need to buy a $40 bottle of wine to bring to your boss’s Christmas party when a $12 bottle will do just fine? Does your nephew have to have an Ipod or will another brand of MP3 player work just as well and cost a lot less?

Add a buffer

Whatever you come up with as a holiday spending budget, add at least 10%. So if you are at your budget limit, try to cut back to about 90% of that budget. Leave yourself a buffer to allow yourself a little wiggle room if the right gift comes along for that special person, or if you just can’t find something for the amount you planned for someone else.

Start comparison shopping now- and online too

Believe it or not , there are many good sales and great deals that can be found both before and after the shopping season really kicks off on Black Friday. I have been doing more and more online shopping over the last few years and I really like finding great deals on the Internet and getting them shipped to my house.

Jump on the good deals when you see them

When you see a gift idea for someone at a great price, go ahead and get it. The more gifts you buy now, especially at a good price, the less you will have to buy as Christmas grows near and the malls and retail stores become really crowded.

Be flexible

Don’t worry if you don’t spend as much as you planned on someone, or if you spent $20 extra on your younger child than your older one. Unless you got the younger child a whole lot more presents than the older too, they will never notice. If you have to spend a little more, and it doesn’t break your budget, do it without worrying- you goal is to make someone happy.

Relax!

The Christmas season is about giving freely of yourself, spending the holidays with those you love, and relaxing. Hopefully these tips help you enjoy the holiday shopping season a little more this year, with a little less stress and frustration when it comes to holiday shopping.

Buying electronics 10 money-saving secrets, plus Ratings of 36 retailers

 

 

1. Buying online can be better

The highest-rated electronics retailers in our annual reader survey are Web sites. Two of the chart toppers have been perennial standouts in our retailer Ratings (available to subscribers): Amazon.com and Crutchfield.com. One, B&H.com, is a newcomer.
On average, readers who bought online rated their overall satisfaction at 90 out of 100—higher than for those who bought in a store. Still, in our survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, only about one in five respondents bought online.
The reluctance to buy online might be due in part to concerns about the cost of shipping a large, heavy item or worry that delicate electronics might be damaged in transit. But many Web merchants offer free shipping, even on TVs, so you don’t have to struggle to fit a bulky carton in your car or pay a local store for delivery. And very few readers in our survey complained about shipping damage, even with big purchases.

 

2. Be wary of pricey add-ons

Illustrations by Headcase Design

Retailers may push high-priced accessories such as premium video cables for a TV or ultra-high-speed memory cards for a simple point-and-shoot camera. As a rule, choose regular alternatives. Those fancy versions can cost twice or more as much as standard items but aren’t likely to give you much performance benefit.

 

3. You don’t need an extended warranty

It looks like consumers will be buying fewer warranties this year to extend coverage on electronics items beyond the manufacturer’s standard term. That’s partly because of the growing awareness of just how reliable many electronics products are, said a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association, an industry trade group.
Our repair histories confirm that repair rates are low overall, though some brands have a worse reliability record than others. But even in the unlikely event that a repair is required after the manufacturer’s warranty expires, the bill for the repair is often comparable with the typical cost of an extended warranty, our survey respondents report.
Our advice applies equally to some new extended warranties with innovative twists, including Best Buy’s Premium Black Tie plans, which add extras such as  tech support and free online backup of your images with a digital-camera plan. We think you’d be better off buying those extras à la carte as you need them.
If you use certain credit cards, including American Express cards and some gold and platinum cards from other companies, you can double the manufacturer’s warranty at no cost. Some retailers might extend a warranty as well. Costco, for example, extends the manufacturer’s warranty on TVs and computers to two years from the purchase date, at no cost to you.

 

4. The best prices come early in the season

We’ve generally found that the lowest prices of the holiday season on flat-panel TVs and more have been offered on Black Friday and the other frantic shopping days after Thanksgiving.
But you might not want to brave the crowds to snag those bargains. Use our Ratings (available to subscribers) to help find stores that offer the best prices throughout the year.
If you do shop early for an item and the price drops later in the season, check to see whether the retailer offers a price guarantee that entitles you to a refund of the difference. Several major chains do.

 

5. Consider refurbished and open-box items

It can be worth buying a “pre-owned” item if you can save 30 percent or more over buying new. Refurbs are generally items that have been returned and supposedly restored to good-as-new condition by the manufacturer, then resold by the manufacturer or through a retailer. An open-box item is a return that a retailer supposedly inspects, confirms is in working order, and then resells.
To minimize the risks, buy from a manufacturer or retailer you trust. Some well-known Web sites, including several in our Ratings (available to subscribers), now offer refurbs and open-box items. Crutchfield.com,  WarehouseDeals.com, and Amazon’s “used and refurbished” Web site are among them. You might not get a warranty, especially on refurbs, but the return policy can be the same as for new items.

 

6. Asking for a lower price often works

Though dickering over price may be more often associated with buying a car, a recent Consumer Reports survey found that about a third of shoppers tried to negotiate the price of an electronics item within the past three years. Most succeeded at least once in their efforts, and savings from their most fruitful haggling was $50 or more in most instances.

 

7. Recognize what each retailer offers

Retailers often carve out a niche that emphasizes low price, broad selection, convenience, or ultimate hand-holding, but no single merchant has it all. Minimize your frustration by shopping at a store that plays to your priorities.
In our Ratings (available to subscribers), warehouse stores such as Costco and BJ’s Wholesale stood out solely for price, so don’t shop there if you want lots of service or a wide selection. Mass merchandisers, including Wal-Mart and Sears, were middling in price, and their shopping ease and service varied from average to well below. Independent electronics stores and the best chains, all regionals, plus a manufacturer’s outlet were standouts for service but tended to be below average in price satisfaction. Office-supply chains, though respectable performers in many ways, were among the worst for their selection of items.
So once you’ve decided on your shopping priorities—low price or best selection, for example—head to the nearest retailer of that type, whether down the street or online, rather than worrying about modest differences among similar retailers.

 

8. High specs might not ensure high quality

Ads and in-store sales pitches often imply a direct relationship between high resolution and high image quality. Some top-performing TVs boast 1080p resolution, the current gold standard among high-definition video formats, and many highly rated cameras have 10 or more megapixels of resolution.
But resolution isn’t everything. Our Ratings (available to subscribers) include some high-def TVs and high-megapixel cameras that fall short in other respects, such as contrast or color. Conversely, there are models with lower resolution that manage fine performance because they ace those other attributes. So don’t buy based solely on specs.

 

9. Performance often runs in the family

You won’t go wrong if you buy a model that scored well in our full tests. But what about a model that isn’t in our Ratings?
Our test results can give you some guidance. Products similar to high-rated models, such as those within the same brand line, often turn out to be fine performers. For that reason, our recommendations for TVs, digital cameras, and laptops include mention of some notable newcomers, especially when they’re successors to models we recommend.
We’ve analyzed years of data about TVs to identify brands that have consistently yielded fine performers. If you buy a set from one of the brands that have a good track record, history suggests it should be a good choice.

 

10. You might not need top performance

Some models in our Ratings set a new standard for a particular attribute or for overall performance. But you’ll often pay a premium for those standouts. Models that rank a few positions lower in our Ratings often offer fine performance at a lower price. Don’t choose by rank alone; check the overall score and scores for the attributes that matter most to you.
Our rigorous tests sometimes turn up fairly subtle performance distinctions—say, between very good and excellent performance on an attribute. While those differences are evident in our side-by-side comparisons, they can be less obvious in normal, isolated use. And their importance may vary depending on how you plan to use the product. For example, the nuances that make a TV image excellent rather than very good will be more apparent when you’re watching movies or sports on a large primary set than when watching talk and news shows on a smaller set in the bedroom.