This is a guest post written as part of the Yakezie blog swap. This week, we are all writing about our best frugal travel tips. You can see other posts on this topic around the Yakezie member blogs.

When I got off the plane that took me back home from Costa Rica, I swore off Gallo Pinto. The delicious Costa Rican staple was my primary source of nutrition for my trip, but I was ready to get back to a normal diet when I got back home.

Why Eat Locally?

I have traveled to many places in the world. In my travels, I always make a point to try something local when a vegetarian option is available. In recent adventure when I travel hacked my way to Europe, I ate Fish and Chips in London. I had wine, cheese, baguettes, and crepes in Paris. I had Dutch pancakes and Vlaamse Frites in Amsterdam. And I ate Gallo Pinto, a fancy mix of rice and beans, three meals a day for most of my trip to Costa Rica.

Eating locally is a great way to connect to a new culture. I do not leave the United States to eat at McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, or Pizza Hut. When I leave, I want to experience the society the way locals do. I go to restaurants, parks, and bars that locals frequent. While I am there, I try to meet local people and get a feel for what it is like to live there.

How to Eat Locally

My best friend while abroad, particularly in a non-English speaking country, is Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet guide books are in depth guides that give you everything you need to know about a city, country, culture, cuisine, lodging, and other tidbits when traveling somewhere new. The only reason I survived a solo trip to Prague and Budapest was my Lonely Planet guide books.

The first thing to read about when it comes to meal time is what the locals eat. In London, it was just as easy to find Chinese and Thai food as Fish and Chips. On the East End I had amazing Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. I found that Londoners eat a wide variety of foods, but that didn’t mean the traditional option was not available.

Once you find out what the locals eat, you have to find a place to do it. Lonely Planet makes it easy, but sometimes it is fun to explore and pick a random café or street vendor to get your local food fix. They are often cheaper and better than the places that will try to take your coveted tourist dollars.

You could also try to find a local grocery store instead of a restaurant, but I would rather take the lazy route while on vacation.

Digestive Woes

Why did I say no to Gallo Pinto when I got home? I had a four day stomach ache at the end of my Costa Rican vacation. Why did I use extreme caution finding restaurants when I visited Playa Del Carmen in Mexico? I know about Montezuma’s Revenge.

While I am always up for an adventure, I have to protect my stomach as well. I know I have a weak digestive system, as opposed to some of my friends with stomachs of steel, so I have to eat locally the right way.

If you are eating something that you are not used to, don’t eat it for every meal. Alternate between local food and something you are used to. I did stop into Subway in London, I did have pizza in Paris, and I enjoyed Chinese stir fry in Amsterdam.

Have Fun

At the end of the day, it is all about enjoying your experience. If eating Balut (Google that one) in the Philippines or drinking Baby Mice Wine in Korea would ruin your day, skip it. I bet there is something local you would like instead.

What have you eaten abroad that you really enjoyed? What did you see that grossed you out? What is your strategy to eat locally? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Image by JMR_Photography

How I Eat Locally Everywhere is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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Every year, millions of Americans gather up their W2, 1099s, and other various forms to file their federal income tax forms. About 33% of all Americans itemize their deductions. It is important to understand how itemized deductions work to ensure you get the best tax rate possible.

Standard Deduction

If you are single, you automatically get a standard deduction of $5,800. Couples filing jointly get a standard deduction of $11,600 (2011 rates). The standard deduction acts as a minimum deduction amount if you do not qualify for higher deductions. 66% of taxpayers use the standard deduction.

Here is how it works in practice. If you earn $40,000 and file a standard deduction, your taxable income is $34,200. You deduct that amount from your income and calculate your taxes based on that lower rate, called your taxable income.

If you qualify for deductions higher than the standard deduction, you can itemize your tax deductions. The most common itemizations are listed below.

Principle Residence Mortgage Interest

If you own a home, you can deduct the interest paid on your mortgage. I bought my first home this year, and I have been paying interest on my mortgage payment every month. You will receive a tax form 1098 from your bank giving you the qualified interest amount for deduction.

Non-Profit Donations

When you give money to a 501(c)3 non-profit, save your receipts. If you donate anything to a non-profit, save all of the paperwork they give you. Every non-profit donation counts if you are going to itemize your taxes.

Be warned that disproportionately high donation deductions are considered suspicious by the IRS. Keep your receipts in case you are audited.

Education Expenses

If you are going to school, you can deduct tuition and related expenses such as books and fees. You cannot deduct room and board. Your school will give you a tax form listing your tuition and fees, but you are responsible for keeping receipts for your textbooks.

If you have a student loan, you can also deduct the interest expense for the life of the loan. While I am about two years out of school, I am still deducting about four hundred dollars from student loan interest in 2011.

Business Expenses

This is a tricky area, but very important for the entrepreneurs out there. If you own a small business, you can deduct the expenses directly related to operating it. I deduct the expenses from running my websites, for example, including web registration fees, hosting expenses, design expenses, and a portion of my internet costs.

Just beware that the IRS may consider your business a hobby if you are not profitable for five consecutive years. I lost money on my DJ business in 2011, but that is because of the expenses to start up, I should be profitable in 2012 and will have to pay taxes on that income.

Everything Else

There are tons of deductions, and I can’t write about all of them. Lucky for us, the IRS already did. You can get the details for every type of expense at the IRS website. When in doubt, you can call the IRS or ask your accountant for advice.

Your Experience

Do you take the standard deduction or itemize? What have you learned from trying to itemize? Did you find out about something you qualified for that surprised you? Please share in the comments.

Image by alancleaver_2000

Should I Itemize My Deductions? is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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2. How Tax Deductions Work and The Right Number to Take
3. Five Tax Forms You Need: Getting Ready for April

You all know that I am a big fan of aggregating everything into one, simple to use location. Whether I am watching my finances at Mint.com or Adaptu or tracking an upcoming trip with TripIt, looking up a recent purchase on Slice, or tracking insurance claims on Simplee, I am always trying to make my life simpler. If you are looking for a new job, I found a great tool for you. StartWire will pull in all of your job applications to one, simple platform.

What Is StartWire?

StartWire is both a job application portal and job application tracking platform. When you first head to the site, you are prompted to connect with either LinkedIn or Facebook, fill in a short profile, and upload a resume. From there, you can quickly blast your resume out to the big job boards and gives you suggested job openings.

Where the real power comes from, though, is the ability to forward a “your application has been received” email from over 5,600 employers and have StartWire take care of the heavy lifting. It will check your application status daily and send you an email letting you know of any status changes.

Having been in heavy job application mode in the past, I know this would have been an amazing resource to keep myself organized and know what is going on with each potential employer. This can save you hours checking on application status updates at each employer wondering if you are still in the running or have been rejected.

While this application will not remove the stress of job applications and unemployment, it can make the process a lot easier on you. That has to count for something. Oh, and also, it’s free.

Job Application Tips

While we are on the topic of job applications, many of us are going through career changes and are deep in the process of finding a new job. Please share your strategy to stay organized in the comments.

Track Your Job Application Status is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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When I worked in banking, customers would regularly come in asking about getting an unsecured loan. These loans, often called personal loans, were not something my bank offered. While many banks do not offer personal loans, there are many ways to find unsecured loans if you know where to look.

Credit Unions

Many credit unions offer their members personal loans. They will have a higher interest rate than a mortgage or auto loan because the credit union is risking that you will not pay them back on your honor. They have no collateral or recourse if you stop paying. A recent, unscientific survey of credit unions put the average interest rate around 12% for this type of loan.

Big Banks

Credit unions are not-for-profit institutions that have their member’s best interest in mind when they operate. Big banks are in it for the profit, and they may offer personal loans if you are a low risk borrower and they think they can make money. A quick search online will give you options for banks near you.

Social Lending

A newer option, but certainly one worth considering, is looking to a social lending site. Social Lending sites offer competitive rates for unsecured loans. They are crowd funded by investors who choose your profile on the site. If you are compelling and have a good risk profile, you can usually get a loan easily and pay a lower rate than banks or credit cards.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are the default personal loan, though most people don’t think of it that way. However, most credit cards charge extremely high interest rates compared to other forms of loans. You can easily pay over 20% annual interest on a credit card. I suggest avoiding this option unless you already have a great interest rate for your account.

Your Experiences

Have you ever needed cash in a hurry and didn’t have collateral for a secured loan? How did you get an unsecured loan? What did you learn from the process? Please share in the comments.

Finding an Unsecured Loan is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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January was a fun month and one that helped me build a little on my net worth. I had the rare family-funded vacation and spent hardly anything for the first two weeks of the month. Since returning, I have had a couple of expensive evenings out, but in general this month was fairly typical.

New Student Loan Strategy

I made a life list goal of paying off my student loans in 2012. This is going to take a lot of cash every paycheck. In fact, I am planning on $300 from each paycheck plus my automatic payment of $92. Automatic payments give me a .25% discount, so I will not be getting rid of that.

According to the goals feature on Mint.com, I should be paid off in December. Since I made this plan, however, I realized that I would be getting my annual bonus and (hopefully) tax refund both before December. If I put those toward the loan, I should be paid off this summer.

Side Business Income

I have told you to turn your hobbies into revenue before, but I have never shared much about my success in entrepreneurial adventures. In the spirit of trust and transparency, I am going to open that up to all of you in my monthly updates.

Narrow Bridge Media – All blogs and online activities

• Private Ad Placements – $720.06
• AdSense – $18.88
• Affiliate Income – $0 (only reported when I am paid)

Denver Flash Mob – Sponsorships and consulting

I have yet to take $1 from Denver Flash Mob for myself, but because Uncle Sam thinks I made money from it, I am going to share it with you as well. I have a contract pending for a future event, but did not make anything thing month.

DJ Yofi

My fledgling DJ business made me a whopping $105 in 2011, but that is $105 more than I made in 2010. However, I also spent quite a bit on the startup costs for equipment. I hope to get more paying gigs in 2012, but had none in January.

Net Worth Update

As you can see, things were slightly up this month, but I started making bigger progress on the student loan. I am excited to see it go to zero!

February 2012 Net Worth and Earnings Update is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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The following is a guest post by Wayne at Young Family Finance. He writes to educate young families on the financial challenges of life, like paying your bills on time or choosing between daycare or stay at home parenting.

If you are thinking about getting married soon, chances are that you are trying to save money on your wedding. Weddings can be an expensive event to host, especially if you are getting married at a young age. If the bride’s parents are not paying for the wedding (and even if they are), you probably want to try and save every penny that you can. But where should you compromise and where to splurge? You may want to save money, but I doubt very few people are comfortable with sacrificing quality.

My Wedding Experience

My wife and I got married 2 and a half years ago. We didn’t go all out, but looking back now, we did overspend in a couple of areas. We were intentional about saving money on some of the more expensive areas of a wedding while not sacrificing the quality. For example, instead of buying a wedding cake, we purchased cheesecake from Costco. My wife and I love cheesecake and we were able to get more dessert for our money by going this route.

We also utilized some of the resources in the family. My wife’s aunt and uncle had a very nice house and landscaped backyard. Instead of paying thousands of dollars for a venue, they agreed to let us get married in their backyard. We didn’t have to sacrifice quality because their house had actually been featured in Better Homes and Gardens. While we were pretty intentional about not spending too much money on our wedding, we did make one mistake that we would change if we could do it all over again.

The Easiest Way to Save Money that I Missed Out On

The easiest way that you can save money on your wedding is by strategically scheduling the time of the wedding. I know you are probably asking yourself, “why would the time of the wedding could make such a big difference?” While it may not seem like the time of day that the wedding is scheduled at makes a difference, I can assure you it does for this simple reason: food. If you schedule your wedding for a late afternoon to be followed by a reception, as I did, the expectation is that you will have a meal for your guests.

Having a meal for your guests can place a huge financial stress on you or the bride’s parents. This is never a good way to start out a marriage. Instead, think of scheduling your wedding at a time that would allow people to have lunch and then come to your wedding. Scheduling your wedding at 2pm, for example, would allow you to have a dessert reception following the ceremony.

Simply by being strategic with the time of day that you plan your wedding, you can save thousands of dollars. If you don’t want to switch to an unconventional time, you do have other options. For example, you could have a potluck of sorts. Yet, for me I would rather keep it classy. To me, potluck doesn’t scream classy, but the exact opposite. Ultimately, it’s all about your preferences and what you want to happen on that very special day, but don’t overlook this small change that could save you thousands of dollars (like I did).

[Note from Eric: Whenever I think of weddings, I think of this video. I just had to share.]

What are other ways you can save on a wedding?

Image by tinou bao

Easiest Way to Save Money on Your Wedding is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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I recently upgraded my wallet from a back pocket “Costanza” wallet to a front pocket, minimalist style wallet. Slimming down my wallet has been great for me, but it really made me think about what I needed to carry around and what was just taking up space.

How Wallets Get So Big

It is easy to carry a giant wallet in your back pocket if you are not careful. First you have your driver’s license, insurance cards, credit cards, and a little cash. Then you throw in some receipts that you will need later. Then you let those receipts start growing into a big pile.

While your receipt pile continues to develop, you go grab a burrito and take a frequent diner card to get your 10^th burrito free. Then the loyalty punch card from the taco place for the 12^th meal free joins the stack. All of a sudden, you have ten of those cards which you use, at most, once every few months.

Just like George Constanza, it is easy to let your wallet get out of control. If you are a man, bi-fold and tri-fold wallets can easily fit more than you need. I didn’t realize I had a problem until my butt started to get sore on long car rides. If you are a woman, you might not even notice your wallet growing inside your purse. It is a problem that we don’t all realize we have.

What to Take Out

When my butt got soar from sitting on my wallet while driving to work every day, I knew I had to change something. First, I took out every single receipt. I threw out most of them and kept the important ones in a manila folder in my file cabinet.

Next, I took out every single frequent dining card and put them in the storage spot under the radio in my car. I rarely go eat without my car, so I will always have the cards I need with me.

After that, I took out all but two credit cards. There is no reason you need more than a primary credit card and a backup at any given time, so there is no reason to carry six credit cards. If you like to use store credit cards when you go specific places, which may not be a good idea anyway, keep those in a safe place in your car.

Forced Downsize

I was able to cut down, but I knew I was not doing enough. I wanted something slim and easy to deal with. I decided to head over to the store and took a look at the wallets. I kept coming back to the slim, front pocket style wallets.

This wallet forced me to make the tough decisions. I am down to two credit cards, one debit card, one insurance card, one student ID, and one driver’s license. Honestly, I don’t miss carrying any of that stuff around. I have it in my car, which is rarely too far away, if I ever need it.

Minimalist Wallet

The nuclear option is to find a minimalist wallet and carry only the bare necessities. These wallets will force you to live on just a few cards and a little cash. Here is one of the best I have found:

What’s In Your Wallet?

What type of wallet do you carry? Do you have a Costanza or a minimalist? Do you feel like you need to slim down? What are you waiting for? Share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences in the comments.

Image by smays.

What’s In Your Wallet? is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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People nowadays are looking into investment opportunities that they can explore. Some go into business ventures on easy-to-sell basic products, while some buy shares of stocks from various companies that make them available to the public. However, among all these types of investment opportunities, real estate has been constantly profitable on the market.

Some are making renovations on their houses in an attempt to modernize and beautify it, making its value grow higher. Renovations may sometimes turn out to be costly, and if the funds get low, home owners turn to financial institutions for assistance. One question now arises, “How much can I borrow?”

The cost of the basic building materials have not gone up drastically during the past few years; however, it’s the add-ons for an improved interior design that increase expenditures. So how can you renovate your home at minimal cost? The answer is careful and decisive planning.

Making renovations in your house would definitely increase the property’s market value, not to mention having a better chance to attract prospect buyers. The physical structure of the house, the tone or shades of color that affects the ambiance, the proper arrangement of furniture and lighting, and the concept of space and landscaping, all of these things will contribute in making your house the perfect choice.

Before moving further, let’s get down to the basics. It would be best to consult someone who is knowledgeable In house construction and interior design so that you can be made aware of what to do, the materials to use, and how much you would actually need to fund the project.

The next step is to know where to get the funds. There are lots of financial institutions who offer mortgages or cash loans. You may search information about them, including the guidelines of their contract, interest rates, and repayment schemes. You can also make use of online tools like the home loan calculator, to give you an idea of how much you would need for such an investment. If you are going to start your retirement soon (probably at age 55), you may want to get information about equity release mortgage. This particular financial investment scheme was specially designed for retirees, to give them enough funds that they may use during their retirement years.

Big or small, every single cent that you pour into your investment should count. Always remember to make it a point that when you borrow and apply for cash loans, you must make sure to have extra funds for unforeseen expenditures that may pop-up along the way. So going back to your initial question, “How much can I borrow?” that would depend on how you plan and see things. Always be careful and consider minute details. You need patience and effort in planning the renovation and making it actually work. Remember, your actions for today can very well turn out to be your greatest asset in the near future. So plan ahead and make that sensible and practical decision.

[Sponsored Post]

Renovating for Profit is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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Despite the current real estate slump, many homeowners are putting their houses on the market and many people are out there willing to buy. If your house has been on the market and you haven’t had any nibbles, then take another look at your situation. There are five unusual factors that might be turning potential buyers away.

Your House Doesn’t Fit In

Although individuality can be a good thing, your home might turn off potential purchasers if it is significantly different from the neighboring houses. People seem to naturally congregate with folks similar to themselves and this grouping tendency spills over into home ownership. If you have a Victorian-style house in the middle of a neighborhood of stately Tudor homes, it will undoubtedly be harder to sell.

You also don’t want to have the largest home on the block. A 3,000 square foot house surrounded by 1,500 square foot homes probably won’t get a quick offer. Buyers looking for homes of that size will be looking in areas full of 3,000 square foot homes. Surprisingly, someone using a mortgage calculator to figure out how much home they can afford will be more likely to place an offer on the smallest home on the block.

Your House is Missing a Room

One of the joys of home ownership is that you can customize your space to fit your particular needs and taste. However, changing the property’s structure might make it harder to sell later on. Some homeowners tear down walls and join bedrooms to make one larger bedroom space. While large bedrooms are fine, merging rooms also reduces your overall room count. If your home boasts fewer rooms than the houses around you, a buyer using a mortgage calculator to figure out a home’s value will be less likely to purchase your house. In a similar vein, if the houses in your area all have a spacious room, your home will be more likely to sell if it also boasts a spacious room.

Your Home Is Showing Its Age

Although newer homes typically sell faster than older ones, an older house can sell as long as it’s in great shape. Remember that your home is competing against every other home in your price range. If your competition includes younger homes in great condition, buyers will probably purchase one of those. Make sure your house is clean and move-in ready to increase your chance of a sale.

Your Home Is Having an Identity Crisis

Buyers are attracted to houses with consistent finishes and styles throughout the space. Keep remodeling projects or additions in the same style as the rest of your home. Make sure all of your kitchen appliances match each other as well. Finish all updates and remodeling projects before putting your house on the market to increase your chances of a fast sale.

Your Neighbors Aren’t Neighborly

Potential buyers might shy away from your home if you live next door to someone who is a complete slob. Neighboring buildings can be troublesome as well. Living next to a power plant, dump, noisy club, hog farm or a cemetery can reduce your chances for a sale.

If you’ve been trying to sell your home with little luck, take a good look at your property. Unusual little factors can add up to make a big difference to potential homebuyers. Weird homes, bad neighbors and overly large houses can make a potential buyer and their mortgage calculator quickly turn away.

[This post was written by Louise on behalf of MoneySupermarket]

5 Reasons Why Your House Isn`t Selling is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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After the recent, highly publicized crash of the Costa Condordia, people around the world are looking hard at the cruise vacation industry. While everyone is focusing on the problems today, it might be a good place for you to invest for tomorrow.

Carnival Corporation

Costa, a cruise line that I have traveled on twice, is owned by Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL). Carnival is known for running cruises under the brands Carnival, Costa, Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, AIDA, Cunard, Ibero , and P&O Cruises. Carnival owns a tour company, 15 hotels, 395 motorcoaches, and 20 rail cars.

The brand owns dozens of ships around the world complete with casinos, bars, night clubs, excursions, and dozens of other ways to make money. Of course, running a cruise line is not cheap. The company is operating floating hotels that require fuel, staff, entertainment, maintenance, and regulatory adherence.

The company earned nearly $16 billion in revenue in fiscal 2011 and had earning per share of $2.42. The company issued a $1.00 dividend in 2011, which is about 3% of the investment value. Even better, if you are a regular cruiser, if you own 100 shares of CCL stock, you get a shipboard credit of $50, $100, or $250 depending on the length of your trip on all Carnival brands.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is another Florida based cruise operator best known for its flagship Royal Caribbean branded cruises. Royal Caribbean operates more than 40 ships under the brands Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises in North America. Pullmantur operates in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America and its CDF Croisieres de France serves the French market. It is also a 50% owner in a German based cruise operator.

Royal Caribbean pulls in an annualized $9.2 billion in annual revenue based on its most recent quarter. It pays a 1.4% dividend and offers a similar shipboard credit to Carnival.

While the company looks to be in a cash flow crunch on its most recent earnings release, I believe the long term prospects for this company are bright, just like Carnival, as the economy continues to improve.

A Sunny Future?

Having been on four cruises myself, I can tell you that good weather means everything for an enjoyable cruise. Likewise, a good economy means everything for a tourism company.

Recent economic reports show that consumer spending and confidence is growing. While unemployment slowly decreases, tourism will pick up steam. As long as we stay on track for economic recovery, I think you can expect these investment opportunities to perform very well.

If you are nervous about cruises but want to invest in other tourism companies, be sure to look into the hotel and casino industries. I believe they will have similar results as the economy expands and will all offer a good opportunity for solid investment gains.

Have you ever invested in cruise companies or tourism based stocks? Do you think I am right? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Image by Accidental Hedonist.

Investing in the Cruise Industry is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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