Next Vacation Opportunity: Marrakesh, Morocco, Madrid

A great deal posted today on The Flight Deal to Marrakesh in Morocco from pretty much anywhere in the US (NYC/LA/Philadelphia/etc) for $606 - $771 on Iberia. The best thing about this is the fact that you can use a stopover for only about $100 more than the base price, so add $100 from anywhere and you can easily make this a vacation to both Madrid and Marrakesh all for the price of about $780 (if from NYC).  Or you could just tour all of Morocco for awhile and skip Madrid, the world is your oyster. The deal is mostly from September on although you can find some less ideal dates sooner for a little more. You can book via Iberia direct for the stopover or use the Google Flights multi-city tab, sample itinerary over Labor Day here via Google Flights. See below for more info.

How to Spend Your Money Wisely

Photo courtesy of 401kcalculator.org at Flickr

Spending money. The great American pastime. Who would have thought that you could be doing it wrong still?

Recently, credit cards have been getting a bad rap thanks to people that use them incorrectly. They don't pay off their balances, they pay tons of interest, they go into debt, and the next thing you know, it's all the credit card's fault (to be fair, their interest rates are out of control). Well, I'm here to tell you that credit cards aren't so bad! I personally think they're great because if you funnel all your costs through them appropriately and pay off your balance each month, you get free stuff! And who doesn't love free stuff?? Now, how much free stuff is completely dependent on how you redeem the monopoly money they give you in points but in this post we will only discuss how to get the most funny money for your lifestyle by going through a few of the best credit cards available below.

Flight Deals 3/27

Many of these deals have been aggregated from other sites and most will be live for maybe 24 hours (if that) but if they are of interest to you, it is worth checking to see if they still exist. These are all Round Trip.

$513 NYC -> Amsterdam via IcelandAir 1 stop KEF - Travel in June, select dates, sample date: 6/5 - 6/14. Long layover in Iceland but worth it for the price, and can do Fri - Sun in the summer. Stopover available if booked directly through IcelandAir site, select Stopover option.

$224 NYC -> Santo Domingo via JetBlue direct - Travel from May to June, sample date: 6/19 - 6/23

$599 Newark -> Honolulu via American 1 stop DFW - Travel from April to May, sample date: 4/16 - 4/20

$551 NYC JFK -> Oslo via Norwegian direct - Travel from April to June, sample date: 6/4 - 6/9. Must buy in NOK and may have to use Google Translate to help read Norsk. USD equivalent is $691 for that sample date. Cheaper fares earlier than June as it is colder but can use to connect.

$767 direct or $651 1 stop NYC -> Milan (MXP) via Alitalia or Lufthansa - Labor Day Travel, sample date: 8/27 - 9/7

$786 1 stop NYC -> Belgrade via KLM and Air Serbia - Summer Travel from June to July, sample date: 7/15 - 7/27

$90 Dallas -> Denver (and vice versa) via American (or Spirit or Frontier) direct - Travel from April to May, sample date: 4/16 - 4/20

Airline Tickets: Everyone's Worst Enemy

Photo by Michael Kelley, LAX Take Offs

I think the most common question I get asked is how to get cheaper airfare. There is no simple answer to this because honestly, the airlines are scumbags. They know the majority of us want the same travel plans. Hmm, a trip during the summer you say? And maybe Friday - Sunday? Direct? I don't think anyone else wants those days ever so sure, no big deal, have a discounted flight! I wish this happened (I'm sure you do too) but obviously it isn't the reality of the situation. This alone is the biggest barrier to many people even beginning to look into travel. Below are some rules that you should have a look through before you consider booking flights for your next vacation that I hope will help you get past that barrier and ultimately save money.

Travel While You're Young

I cannot count how many times I have heard the following phrase: "I wish I had the money (and/or time) to travel." This is so self defeating that it hurts me deep down every time I hear it. Stop wishing and start trying, it is incredibly feasible to do this when you are in your 20's and if you don't do it now, then when will you do it? People always ask me how I do it, and honestly, there are a few easy rules to follow but first, a bit of my background as this is the first post...