Save 50% on Rental Cars

There are some simple things that you can do to save 50% or more on your car rental fees. For instance, if you're renting your car for a week, did you know that by renting your car on Thursday as opposed to the other days such as Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, you'll usually be charged the weekend rate, which can be up to 50% cheaper. Also booking your car rental online can save you a good bit of money since most major car rental company's offer 'Internet Discounts'. A great place to find the best rates is Car Rentals .

Are you aware that car rental companies make much of their profit from the insurance they offer? You can usually avoid these charges and save 25% or more of the total costs by avoiding this insurance. If you have full coverage auto insurance on your car, your insurance company will usually pick up the tab for damages. Also by using a major credit card to rent your car, the credit card company usually covers for damages as well. Check with your insurance agent and credit card company to see what is covered, and any exceptions.

Some things to avoid to keep from being hit with additional charges;

1)Make sure the tank is full when you bring the car back. If the car rental company sees that the tank is not topped off, they might hit you with exorbitant gas charges.

2)Bring the car back on time! If you're scheduled to have the car back at 11:00 A.M. bringing it back at 12:00 could cost you another day's charges, so make sure you're not tardy in getting the car back. On the same note, be aware that if you bring your car back early, you can also be nailed with extra charges as well. For instance, if you rent the car for a week, and bring it back in five days, they may increase your charges by hitting you with a daily rate instead of the weekly rate.

3)You might want to consider renting your car from a location away from the airport. Although rates at airports can sometimes be cheaper, after they finish adding taxes, vehicle usage fees, and other Osami Bin Laden fees, you might wind up paying a lot more. It might be cheaper to take a shuttle or cab to an off terminal location, and rent your vehicle there.

Drive a Free Car?

I've heard about people getting paid to drive their own car, and others getting a free car to drive. What I found when I checked into it is that there are companies that will pay you to place advertising in the form of 'wraparounds' on your car or the car that they provide. Not everyone qualifies for these type of programs. Whether or not you qualify depends mainly on where you live, how many miles you drive, and also where you park the vehicle. Of course you'll also need to have an excellent driving record to drive a vehicle supplied by the advertising company. There are several companies that provide directories for a fee. A couple are listed here;

Drive a FREE Car
Free Car Index

The value of these directories is that it allows you to register with numerous companies which will increase your chances of getting a car. The pay for these types of arrangements vary a good bit, so you'll definitely want to check our several.

While driving around with a hot dog pasted on your car may not be for everyone, it beats making a car payment!

Vacationing on the Cheap

I have a friend who is really cheap. He's the kind of guy that always buys the round after the last call. He's so cheap that the last time I saw him pull a dollar out of his wallet, George Washington was wearing sunglasses. I hadn't seen Cheap Charlie in a few years, and when I ran into him I was surprised when he told me that he and his wife had just come back from a vacation out on the West Coast. I thought maybe he had changed his miserly ways until his wife told me that they had swapped houses with another family from Seattle and had stayed in the couple's house in Seattle for free in exchange for letting the other family stay in their house during the same period.


It seems as if this is a growing trend, and organizations like HouseSwappers.comand HomeExchange.com have stepped in to provide a service for prospective house swappers. These type of sites maintain a database of people interested in exchanging their home for your's usually to save lots of money on hotels and car rentals while on vacation. There are quite a few things to keep in mind when considering this type of arrangement, so it would pay to do some research to find out the details of how it all works. Many of the sites out there charge for access to the database but from what I hear, it's well worth the cost, not just for the contacts, but to get a lot of good information from people who have been doing this for a while.

An excellent source of information on Home Exchange Travel is Home Exchange Travel Blog

Blogging to the Bank

Free Airline Travel

I had my doubts about this until it happened to me recently. On a return trip from Seattle to Baltimore, I was told at check-in that the flight was overbooked and I might not be able to get a seat on that flight. After a few minutes of standing there talking to myself, I wandered to my gate and told the attendant who I was and that I was supposely on standby. The attendant told me that yes, the flight was overbooked and if I was willing to come back the next night that I would receive a free round-trip ticket for my troubles. Unfortunately, I really had to get back the next day or I would have gladly taken advantage of the offer. Afterwards, he made an announcement of the offer, and a young lady quickly stepped up to take advantage of it.



If you're flexible with your flight plans and would like to take advantage of these type of deals, let the customer rep. at the terminal know that you are willing to be 'bumped', and you may be able to take your next flight on the airline.

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