Continued from Part II (see earlier post)
When it comes to finances, I'm a relative conservative person by nature. I try not to waste it on frivolous things; I do my research before making a big purchase; I think things through and make smart, wise choices. I have never gotten myself into too much debt and kept myself financially in good shape at all times. Too many people, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s before the U.S. economy tanked, got themselves in over their head by spending money on things they really couldn't afford. And the biggest culprit was over-extending themselves with credit.
Prime example...credit cards. For the longest time I had seen these commercials on TV talking about "cash back" and "bonus miles" by signing up for credit cards. I had always dismissed these commercials as just a way for the banks and credit card companies to get you hooked into their little game. They would give you a big credit limit, offer you 0% on transfers from other credit cards, and dangle those huge "bonuses" just for signing up. They made it sound so good...like you could take trips around the world or get a ton of cash back for each purchase. The sarcastic, doubter in me was telling me "Yeah right!!!!" I always thought there was a "catch" to this and somehow, someway the banks and credit card companies would find a loophole or use something in their small print of the forms you signed to get out of giving you anything and sticking you with a huge interest rate and no bonuses. In short...like most things in life...I figured this was just like a lot of things out there in this world where if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Up to this point I had only had one general-use credit card my entire life (outside of a Best Buy credit card I got once just to help me string out the payments on my first big screen TV). But my bank-issued MasterCard offers no bonuses, no "miles", no cash back. It was really my one true credit card that I owned and I only used it when needed because most of my purchases to this point were paid for by cash or check. I never wanted to put too much on the credit card for fear I wouldn't be able to pay it off and then be stuck with huge interest and penalty payments. In fact, I never put anything on the card unless I could pay if off the next month. I never liked to pay interest. I just thought that was throwing money down the drain. Nope...for nearly 25 years I had my one card and I was was fine with that. I got it when I was in college and I still have it today. It has served me well but it was just there to help me out when cash or checks were either not an option or not convenient.
However, about three years ago I came across an article on the internet talking about these so-called "reward" credit cards and why everyone should have one. I was curious so I read the article. It was very well written and it pointed out a lot of the concerns I had always had about these credit cards. But the article also correctly mentioned that it is not the credit cards that get people in trouble...it is people that get themselves in trouble with credit cards through their own poor decisions and lack of responsibility.
The article emphasized that for those people out there who manage their money well, don't over-extend themselves, pay off your balances monthly, and are organized, these "reward" credit cards can be a very good thing as they really do "reward" you for using your credit responsibly. That got me thinking...I'm pretty good with my credit...I'm responsible...I pay off my balances every month. Why shouldn't I get a card that will allow me to use it just the way I have been all this time but instead of getting nothing in return (like with my old reliable MasterCard) have a card that will "reward" me for my responsibleness.
Now the article did not mention many of the "rewards" credit cards out there but it did specifically mention on one card that was geared towards travel "rewards". And since I had been trying to figure out a way to help pay for some of the enormous expenses that are associated with taking a vacation, I thought this card sounded promising.
MORE IN PART IV
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Getting Started, Part II
Continued from Part I (see earlier post)
For many people, going through a divorce is a tough thing. For me, that was certainly the case. I didn't really have the desire to do much for the next year as I tried to assess what had happened and figure out where I go from here. Luckily, a good support of friends can really help out during difficult times.
But life goes on and after a period of adjustment and soul searching, it was time to move on. It just so happened that a group of friends started talking about taking a vacation together and Las Vegas became their destination of choice. I wasn't sure if I could go there...given what I had been planning a year or so earlier. But, I REALLY did want to go to Vegas so, I decided to go.
It had been a long time since my first fight at 12 years old. I was now in my late 30s. So, I wasn't sure if I would get nervous again. But I didn't. As soon as that plane lifted off the ground, it brought back all the excitement of flying I felt the first time. Overall, I had a good time even though there were moments when I couldn't help but think back to my ex and how much fun we would have had here. But still, it was an enjoyable trip and it started me getting the fever to do more traveling.
Since that time, I have increased my frequency of travel that required flying from my home in Florida. I have been to New York City three times (my favorite city to go to by the way...just so much to do and I love the energy of the city even though it is a totally different from where I live...but that's what makes it good), Dallas four times (to see my Dallas Cowboys play), Chicago once, Toronto/Niagara Falls once, and Las Vegas once more since. In addition, I have taken probably four or five cruises from various ports here in Florida (a few while married and a few since with friends). mostly to the Bahamas and the western Caribbean. All of these trip I paid for out of pocket so I had to space them out and save money for each in order to pay for them.
This began to fuel my fire. I really wanted to travel more but it sure was expensive. It was during this time that I began to obtain a desire to get to Australia and New Zealand on a "trip of a lifetime". For me, it would be...half way around the world and true overseas travel for the first time. But I began to look into how much a trip like this would cost and it was staggering. Cha-ching...MEGA BUCKS. There just had to be a way....a LEGAL way mind you...to assist me with more frequent vacations and my ultimate trip "down under" without putting me in the poor house and taking out a second mortgage. And you know what...THERE IS.
MORE IN PART III
For many people, going through a divorce is a tough thing. For me, that was certainly the case. I didn't really have the desire to do much for the next year as I tried to assess what had happened and figure out where I go from here. Luckily, a good support of friends can really help out during difficult times.
But life goes on and after a period of adjustment and soul searching, it was time to move on. It just so happened that a group of friends started talking about taking a vacation together and Las Vegas became their destination of choice. I wasn't sure if I could go there...given what I had been planning a year or so earlier. But, I REALLY did want to go to Vegas so, I decided to go.
It had been a long time since my first fight at 12 years old. I was now in my late 30s. So, I wasn't sure if I would get nervous again. But I didn't. As soon as that plane lifted off the ground, it brought back all the excitement of flying I felt the first time. Overall, I had a good time even though there were moments when I couldn't help but think back to my ex and how much fun we would have had here. But still, it was an enjoyable trip and it started me getting the fever to do more traveling.
Since that time, I have increased my frequency of travel that required flying from my home in Florida. I have been to New York City three times (my favorite city to go to by the way...just so much to do and I love the energy of the city even though it is a totally different from where I live...but that's what makes it good), Dallas four times (to see my Dallas Cowboys play), Chicago once, Toronto/Niagara Falls once, and Las Vegas once more since. In addition, I have taken probably four or five cruises from various ports here in Florida (a few while married and a few since with friends). mostly to the Bahamas and the western Caribbean. All of these trip I paid for out of pocket so I had to space them out and save money for each in order to pay for them.
This began to fuel my fire. I really wanted to travel more but it sure was expensive. It was during this time that I began to obtain a desire to get to Australia and New Zealand on a "trip of a lifetime". For me, it would be...half way around the world and true overseas travel for the first time. But I began to look into how much a trip like this would cost and it was staggering. Cha-ching...MEGA BUCKS. There just had to be a way....a LEGAL way mind you...to assist me with more frequent vacations and my ultimate trip "down under" without putting me in the poor house and taking out a second mortgage. And you know what...THERE IS.
MORE IN PART III
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Getting Started, Part I
In order to start at the beginning, I will assume you are currently in the same place I was a few years ago. For the first 30 + years of my life I had not done much traveling. Most of my vacations had consisted of short, weekend trips that were within driving distance of my home. Luckily some of those trips included heading over to Cape Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami to board cruise ships, which by the way are a blast and highly recommended (I will comment on those trips and the advantages of cruising in a future post). But there was not much venturing too far away from home. In fact, I had only been on a plane once in my life, when I was 12, when my Dad and I flew to Arizona to visit my uncle and his family. But I always remembered that first flight. I was so nervous before the plane took off, not knowing what to expect. I was almost sick to my stomach with worry and excitement until the plane taxied down the runway and lifted off the ground. Instantly my nerves and uncomfortable feeling went away and from that moment on I LOVED being in the air. In fact, when the plane landed in Atlanta and we had to change planes for the next portion of the flight I could not wait to get back off the ground.
Fast forward to about nine years ago. I went through a divorce, which for me, was a personally tough thing to go through. In fact, one of things I was planning just prior to our divorce was a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We both loved going over to the casinos in Biloxi, Mississippi as out little weekend getaway. We made several trips to Biloxi during our time together. We could both sit at the slot machines for hours, playing the penny slots (we weren't big spenders) and loving it. So as I was thinking about where we could go for our milestone anniversary, it was obvious Las Vegas would be a perfect destination. I mean, Las Vegas IS the casino capital of the world.
Now neither of us were rich...we both had moderate level incomes, she had two teenage kids, and we had just built a fairly nice house roughly three years earlier that consumed a good portion of our paychecks. But still, I wanted to make this anniversary extra special, because for me, it was. I wanted it to be a surprise and I had several elabote things I was thinking of doing to keep it a surprise up until the day we left. She was not going to be told any of this...but she would have loved the spontinaiety of it. I was going to have a limo pick her up at work unexpecedly, already with her bags packed with the essentials through some help from her female cousin, prearranged time off from work with her boss, wisked off to the airport where I would have kept her guessing on the location of her trip up until the final boarding call on the last leg of the flight. I had not worked out all of the details yet, but that was the general plan.
Once in Vegas, I thought about arranging a special candlelit dinner on the rooftop of some casino (just the two of us) where I would propose to her all over again and renew our vows. I don't if I could have actually pulled the whole thing off, but I was going to try.
Unfortunately, things in our marriage took an unexpected turn and we wound up seperating just before our 10 year anniversary. Two months later, we were divorced and I never got the opportunity to carry out the Las Vegas plan.
MORE IN PART II
Fast forward to about nine years ago. I went through a divorce, which for me, was a personally tough thing to go through. In fact, one of things I was planning just prior to our divorce was a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We both loved going over to the casinos in Biloxi, Mississippi as out little weekend getaway. We made several trips to Biloxi during our time together. We could both sit at the slot machines for hours, playing the penny slots (we weren't big spenders) and loving it. So as I was thinking about where we could go for our milestone anniversary, it was obvious Las Vegas would be a perfect destination. I mean, Las Vegas IS the casino capital of the world.
Now neither of us were rich...we both had moderate level incomes, she had two teenage kids, and we had just built a fairly nice house roughly three years earlier that consumed a good portion of our paychecks. But still, I wanted to make this anniversary extra special, because for me, it was. I wanted it to be a surprise and I had several elabote things I was thinking of doing to keep it a surprise up until the day we left. She was not going to be told any of this...but she would have loved the spontinaiety of it. I was going to have a limo pick her up at work unexpecedly, already with her bags packed with the essentials through some help from her female cousin, prearranged time off from work with her boss, wisked off to the airport where I would have kept her guessing on the location of her trip up until the final boarding call on the last leg of the flight. I had not worked out all of the details yet, but that was the general plan.
Once in Vegas, I thought about arranging a special candlelit dinner on the rooftop of some casino (just the two of us) where I would propose to her all over again and renew our vows. I don't if I could have actually pulled the whole thing off, but I was going to try.
Unfortunately, things in our marriage took an unexpected turn and we wound up seperating just before our 10 year anniversary. Two months later, we were divorced and I never got the opportunity to carry out the Las Vegas plan.
MORE IN PART II
Monday, August 27, 2012
Are You Talking To Me?
So I realize by starting yet ANOTHER blog, many of you will be asking the question, "What's the real focus of your blog and why should I follow it?"
Good question. Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I have recently started venturing into ways to accumulate miles and points (primarily through credit card turnover...or "churning") as a means of being able to travel more frequently and little or no cost.
Now admittedly, there are plently of blogs and articles on this subject already. Stumbling upon some of the more popular of these blogs a few months ago is what actually got me started. But I also have realized that many of these blogs are written by extreme travel enthusiasts who have been doing this for awhile now and sometimes seem to take it for granted that many of their readers are also experienced at this to some degree. They also tend to take more exotic vacations and write about their experiences to far-off, obscure places that I personally wouldn't really have much interest in.
This can sometimes make it difficult for a newbie (like myself) to sort through all the information out there in order to zero in on the basics. Also, since my travel intentions still remain more on the "non-exotic" side (typically for now I still prefer domestic travel in North America., unless you consider my desire to go to Australia and New Zealand "exotic"), I wanted to write about the places I visit that are close to home. There are a LOT of great places to visit right here in the good, old U.S.A. and I thought I would share my experiences with those who who have similar desires.
I hope sharing my successes (and failures) as I go through this process will be enlightening, informing, and provide you with the tools and information you need to dive into this yourself. As we all know, the older you get time just seems to move faster and faster. I don't want to wait until I am too old or physically not able to do the things and visit the places I have always dreamed about. Now is the time before it's too late.
Good question. Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I have recently started venturing into ways to accumulate miles and points (primarily through credit card turnover...or "churning") as a means of being able to travel more frequently and little or no cost.
Now admittedly, there are plently of blogs and articles on this subject already. Stumbling upon some of the more popular of these blogs a few months ago is what actually got me started. But I also have realized that many of these blogs are written by extreme travel enthusiasts who have been doing this for awhile now and sometimes seem to take it for granted that many of their readers are also experienced at this to some degree. They also tend to take more exotic vacations and write about their experiences to far-off, obscure places that I personally wouldn't really have much interest in.
This can sometimes make it difficult for a newbie (like myself) to sort through all the information out there in order to zero in on the basics. Also, since my travel intentions still remain more on the "non-exotic" side (typically for now I still prefer domestic travel in North America., unless you consider my desire to go to Australia and New Zealand "exotic"), I wanted to write about the places I visit that are close to home. There are a LOT of great places to visit right here in the good, old U.S.A. and I thought I would share my experiences with those who who have similar desires.
I hope sharing my successes (and failures) as I go through this process will be enlightening, informing, and provide you with the tools and information you need to dive into this yourself. As we all know, the older you get time just seems to move faster and faster. I don't want to wait until I am too old or physically not able to do the things and visit the places I have always dreamed about. Now is the time before it's too late.
And So It Begins...
Hello All! My name is Mike, otherwise known as The Traveling Novice. I decided to begin this blog to discuss my ventures as I begin to dive head first into the world of miles and points collecting in order to travel more frequently at little to no cost.
Now, I'm not exactly a novice to traveling. I mean I HAVE traveled before. But it has been fairly infrequent and at considerable cost. I always wanted to travel more, but time and money have always been the biggest obstacles. Most all of my travel to date has been domestic (United States), with one trip to Canada, and a few cruises to the Carribean and Mexico. I'll give more details as to exactly where I've been in a future post.
Until my mid-30s, I had hardly traveled at all. I was still married at the time, helping raise two girls (step-daughters) and working constantly to build my career. Traveling was infrequent...just too costly for the four of us. Then I got divorced and found myself with more opportunities to start traveling. Not that it's been a lot...but certainly more in the last six or seven years than in all my previous 30+ years combined.
Now that I'm in my 40s, I have realized there is a LOT more I would like to do and places to see. One of my primary desires has been to visit Australia and New Zealand. No particular reason...just thought it would be a fun place to go. Also, their accents are really cool. But the cost of a first-class flight to Australia from where I live (which would almost be a necessity given the length of the flight) is outrageous.
A couple of years ago, I obtained my first credit card that would actually help me accumulate "miles" in order to offset the cost of traveling. I was tired of paying for things and getting nothing in return. This new card now allowed me to still pay the same amounts I was paying before, but instead get something back in return. This could go a long way to helping me board that plane some day with a destination of Sydney.
For three years I was putting every bill and expense I could on this one card, trying to rack up the "miles" that could get me to desired vacation destination. I was certainly racking up some free travel, to the tune of about $700 per year. Not bad and certainly better than nothing...which is where I was before this card. But in essence, $700 per year in "miles" may cover a nice, domestic weekend trip somewhere (one round-trip flight and a few nights at a moderately-priced hotel) but it won't be getting me to Australia in first class anytime soon. There had to be other options.
Then, about two months ago, I stumbled upon a few blogs on the internet devoted to miles and points accumulation and realized there were many more options with credit cards that may get me to my goal much faster. This totally caused me to re-focus my approach to obtaining awards travel.
So here I sit...just a few months into this new venture to obtain miles and points in order to pack my bags more frequently and see more of what this wonderful world has to offer. Since I am still relatively new to this, I thought it might be helpful and useful to document my journey for others who are also novices. Who knows...maybe even those more expereinced in this may learn a thing or two also.
It should be an interesting ride and I hope you will follow my exploits. Welcome to The Traveling Novice!
Now, I'm not exactly a novice to traveling. I mean I HAVE traveled before. But it has been fairly infrequent and at considerable cost. I always wanted to travel more, but time and money have always been the biggest obstacles. Most all of my travel to date has been domestic (United States), with one trip to Canada, and a few cruises to the Carribean and Mexico. I'll give more details as to exactly where I've been in a future post.
Until my mid-30s, I had hardly traveled at all. I was still married at the time, helping raise two girls (step-daughters) and working constantly to build my career. Traveling was infrequent...just too costly for the four of us. Then I got divorced and found myself with more opportunities to start traveling. Not that it's been a lot...but certainly more in the last six or seven years than in all my previous 30+ years combined.
Now that I'm in my 40s, I have realized there is a LOT more I would like to do and places to see. One of my primary desires has been to visit Australia and New Zealand. No particular reason...just thought it would be a fun place to go. Also, their accents are really cool. But the cost of a first-class flight to Australia from where I live (which would almost be a necessity given the length of the flight) is outrageous.
A couple of years ago, I obtained my first credit card that would actually help me accumulate "miles" in order to offset the cost of traveling. I was tired of paying for things and getting nothing in return. This new card now allowed me to still pay the same amounts I was paying before, but instead get something back in return. This could go a long way to helping me board that plane some day with a destination of Sydney.
For three years I was putting every bill and expense I could on this one card, trying to rack up the "miles" that could get me to desired vacation destination. I was certainly racking up some free travel, to the tune of about $700 per year. Not bad and certainly better than nothing...which is where I was before this card. But in essence, $700 per year in "miles" may cover a nice, domestic weekend trip somewhere (one round-trip flight and a few nights at a moderately-priced hotel) but it won't be getting me to Australia in first class anytime soon. There had to be other options.
Then, about two months ago, I stumbled upon a few blogs on the internet devoted to miles and points accumulation and realized there were many more options with credit cards that may get me to my goal much faster. This totally caused me to re-focus my approach to obtaining awards travel.
So here I sit...just a few months into this new venture to obtain miles and points in order to pack my bags more frequently and see more of what this wonderful world has to offer. Since I am still relatively new to this, I thought it might be helpful and useful to document my journey for others who are also novices. Who knows...maybe even those more expereinced in this may learn a thing or two also.
It should be an interesting ride and I hope you will follow my exploits. Welcome to The Traveling Novice!
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