How to Stretch Your Travel Budget When Costs Rise in 2019
*By Carlo Versano*
If you're eyeing the coming year for that big vacation you've been meaning to take, gird yourself for higher prices.
Flight and hotel prices are edging up around three percent on average, according to Mark Ellwood of Condé Nast Traveler, due in part to higher fuel and labor costs, more long-haul trips, and good old-fashioned supply and demand.
"When you're booking that big bucket-list trip, you gotta plan ahead," Ellwood told Cheddar.
To save money on flights, Ellwood stands by his favorite booking sites: Airfarewatchdog.comand Scottscheapflights.com, which allow users to plug in routes and timeframes and sit back and wait for alerts about sales. This year, he's also adding nextvacay.com to his recommendations, a relatively new member-only site that allows users to put in their home airport and gets deals to far-flung places.
Those big-ticket vacations are becoming more popular among millennials, who tend to spend money on experiences over products.
When booking hotels, Ellwood said the industry is paying more attention to personalized service ー remembering that you like a room far from the elevator, for instance. That's why he always recommends guests sign up for hotel loyalty programs, even if they don't know if they will ever stay at that hotel again. "It indicates to them that you might be a long-term loyalist, and they'll start learning what you like."
The dreaded Netflix crackdown on profile sharing translated into a major boost in subscribers while the promised rate cuts seem to be a far off fantasy.
After the 2021 boom, IPO activity slowed down significantly, in part due to monetary policy – but things are getting moving again with tech-friendly companies like Iboutta and Rubrik making a public debut.
With an increasing demand for mental health services, one person wanted to change the therapy game. In 2017, CEO Alex Katz founded Two Chairs, a company that uses technology to match patients with the right therapist.
Not only is April Financial Literacy Month, it’s also the kickoff of the spring homebuying season. So now is the time to make sure you have a financial plan in place – and why it might not be wise for that to include buying your first home.
While the U.S. may slowly be on the path to lowering inflation (and therefore interest rates), Europe has thoroughly trounced America, putting it on the path to lower rates by this summer.
April's release of the monthly Housing Starts and Building Permits reports by the Census Bureau provides crucial insights into the construction activity in the housing market. These reports are an economic indicator, shedding light on the current state of the housing market and its broader economic impact.
Caitlin Clark is heading to the Indiana Fever, the number one draft pick and the highest-scoring college basketball player of all time. And while she may not be getting millions from the WNBA, there's a few ways she'll net compensation for her generational talents.
