Angel S.'s blog

04/07/2014

Tips for the Novice Traveler

I decided to create this blog because of two reasons. The first being that everyone who knows me personally or virtually knows that I am passionate about travel, I do travel, and when I travel, I travel frugally. The 2nd being that I noticed that people make more work for themselves when traveling than they have to.

A situation came up recently with somone I know that prompted this particular tip.

Select a pre-paid credit card on which to deposit money and use this when you travel. Put the toll free number to that card in your phone and/or written and on your person.

This avoids a few issues. One, having to notify every financial institution to which you subscribe that you are leaving the country. Two, potential theives having access to every financial institution to which you subscribe if they steal your belongings. Three, potential identity theives stealing your information offline when you connect to random wi-fi's over seas. Four, if you transfer money and leave the other cards in a secure place back home you are less likely to overspend.

Like I said I travel frugally so I typically will decide on a budget for my trips and stay within that budget. I decide on an amount in advance and then transfer that amount to a prepaid credit card. You may choose Visa or Mastercard but I like American Express because it is free. The advantage of the others is that they are more widely accepted but there may be a fee to add money to those cards. American Express again is free, you can set up text or email alerts with your balance, and they are very secure. Anywho, you decide. Give yourself about a week for the funds to show up on the American Express card, almost immediately with the other types of cards. So you may need to plan ahead.

Easy right? Now if you do anything online theives only have access to that card and there's only one number you need to call. If a theif steals your belongings you only have one number to call. If you shop online there's only one number to call. If you want to do something stupid with your money a limit has been set.

So go ahead and order your pre-paid card and go see the world.

Angel S.

Stay tuned for a video blog on how to pack efficiently. Avoid overweight costs or checked bag fees.

Apr 7, 2014 2:40:48 PM | Travel

Visiting places that make an effort to conserve our natural resources interests me.

Apr 7, 2014 1:52:48 PM

11/02/2011

Puerto Vallarta in May

Puerto Vallarta in May is gorgeous. Here is how I got there.

Back in November 2009 I bought a vacation package for $199 that requires you to do a time share presentation at www.buganviliasclub.com. The package was good for a year but they are very generous if you need to extend it beyond that 1 year time frame, which I did.

I chose to go in May for my birthday. The representative that I had was very attentive and communicative when I had questions on what do to once I arrived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I checked the Department of State website for many months before my trip. Everything there was fine even with the termoil in other parts of the country.

I bought my plane tickets through Priceline.com's name your own price feature. That saved me about $100 on two tickets. Once we got to the airport we were bombarded with people trying to get us to sign up for their time share presentations. Some were so desparate that they lied and told us they were from the resort we were already booked with. Luckily our representative had warned us about this in the beginning. We politely declined everyone until we finally reached a real rep from the booking company that had a sign with our name on it. They provided a free shuttle to the resort.

We got comfortable and took this shot from our balcony. This place looks just like the website. It's absolutely beautiful. Also, they keep the entire resort very clean. They scrub down the pool deck, vaccum the pool, scrub the pool side chairs, and hose everything down every night!

The resort has several restaurants that are all delicious and the champaigne buffet on Sunday is wonderful. We loved every minute of this vacation. Even though the resort has great food we had to venture out so we asked for suggestions and everyone said Pipi's. TOTALLY WORTH IT!

The resort can arrange excursions for you. I strongly encourage you to do Ritmos De La Noche. It's the best thing we did the whole time we were there. There are also jungle tours and ziplining plus good shopping. We walked to the vendors and bought souvenirs (they all will haggle with you) and ate breakfast in the downtown area. It's a pretty good walk so we took a cab back.

All in all this was one of the best trips we took. The airport was the only unpleasant part.

I Heart Puerto Vallarta. I've got pictures on facebook.

Nov 2, 2011 3:13:43 PM

05/18/2010

622 Quincy Street Listing Featured on Fox 5 News

Fox 5

May 18, 2010 10:08:25 AM

04/23/2010

313 M STREET LISTING

313 M Street

Apr 23, 2010 9:35:15 AM

03/31/2010

Maryland Mortgage Program (CDA)

Get Assistance

The costs of downpayment and settlement can overwhelm first-time homebuyers and is listed as the #1 barrier to homeownership. That's why CDA has added more assistance programs for downpayment and closing costs.

Community Development Administration (CDA) offers a standard downpayment and closing cost assistance products for any borrower who is eligible for a Maryland Mortgage Program loan. Also, borrowers may choose to receive a zero-percent deferred loan through the Downpayment and Settlement Expense Loan Program (DSELP).

Read the FAQs:

DSELP

Additional Assistance through our Partner Match Programs

In addition to the standard downpayment and closing cost assistance programs listed above, you may be able to get more assistance through our creative Partner Match initiatives. These initiatives involve partnerships with participating employers, builders and developers, and community partners. CDA will provide a dollar-for-dollar match (up to $5,000) to a participating partner’s financial contribution for downpayment and closing cost assistance. DHCD will double the amount (up to $10,000) of the normal HK4E match for borrowers that meet the criteria for Smart Keys 4 Employees.

Read the FAQs:

Please note: If a borrower is requesting a Downpayment and Settlement Expense Loan Program (DSELP) and/or assistance through a Partner Match Program loan on a property located in the City of Baltimore or in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, or Harford County, the borrower must meet the applicable requirements (see information found at the end of the “Counseling” page).