You might love to travel because of the opportunities for new experiences and adventures. The following year-round travel tips may prove helpful to get more mileage out of your travel dollars when you’re ready to get away.

Check Out Travel Consolidators

A consolidator is the “bargain basement” of the travel industry. It is a company that buys unsold airline tickets at low prices and sells them to travelers at a lower cost than the airline, often up to 20-50% off standard fares. Some consolidators sell directly to travelers but most work through a network of sub-agents who garner business through classified ads in the travel section of newspapers or on the Internet.

Because a ticket purchased from a consolidator is usually nonrefundable—or subject to substantial penalties if you make a change—you need to use great care in using a consolidator. Before you do business with a consolidator, check it out with the local Better Business Bureau or American Society of Travel Agents.

Familiarize yourself with airline fares to your destination so you’ll know a good deal when you see one. Some tickets may not be much cheaper than what you might pay to an airline if you buy your tickets 21 days in advance and stay over on a Saturday night.

Compare the total cost against the airline’s cost. A consolidator’s price may not include charges for overnight delivery or taxes, and some may impose a fee if you use a credit card.

Pay attention to which airline the consolidator is offering. It may not be offering an airline that is well-known or one on which you feel comfortable traveling. Three final tips are: 1)charge it—if there’s trouble your credit card company may provide further assistance; 2) after you buy the ticket, confirm your seat with the airline itself—it should have your reservation on record; 3) the “safest” way to buy from a consolidator may be through your travel agent.

Choose Your Schedule Wisely

If you are able to travel between mid-September and December 15^th, you may find some really good deals such as a cruise to almost anywhere and, if you’re flexible, you could save or even receive an upgrade. Traveling to gulf coast Florida in the off-season could also save you money—many people flock to Florida in the winter, but the fall season also offers sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, and cheaper hotel rates. Off-season (mid-April to mid-December) rates for the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida are often significantly lower than in-season rates.

Be Flexible

By keeping an open mind on places to visit and checking with your travel agent, you may get a great deal. Also consider night flights, package tours, and bed-and-breakfasts as other possible cost-saving options.

Search For Savings

Travel on Tuesday or Wednesday and stay over Saturday night. When renting a car, rent by the week and get the cheapest daily rate (be sure you get unlimited mileage, particularly for long trips). For a good hotel price, call the hotel chain’s toll-free number (or go online) and ask about their discounts, then double check directly with the hotel itself.

As with any purchase you make, take time to do some comparison shopping and learn what money-saving options are available to you. Being an educated consumer means you may get more mileage out of your travel dollars.

Why do so many of us not use our vacation days?  Salespeople talk about “leaving money on the table.”  Well, employees often leave vacation on the table.

When we discuss investing, we talk about putting money aside in order to make a profit.  We discuss putting money into stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and so forth.  People also discuss investing in your career, like investing in an education or in a certification.  Maybe we should talk about another investment that could pay dividends in your career, which is, of course, the place where you make your money.  Is investing in vacation a good idea or just hokey, happy idea?

Reasons People Skip Vacations

Why do employees avoid vacation?  There are several reasons people give for missing out on vacation days:

• The idea that your boss expects constant work and looks down on those “snivelers” who dare to take a break.
• Allegiance to the idea that hard work is the key, over-arching purpose of life.
• People worry about not getting that promotion if they take time away from the office.

These reasons are largely self-imposed.  Most managers understand the benefits of vacation to their employees, not only for employee morale but also for his or her performance on the job.  They recognize the benefits of taking time off from work because their employees will be more productive, have better workplace morale, and are more likely to stay. 

Benefits

What are the benefits of taking a vacation?  There are, of course, personal benefits to going on vacation or taking a “staycation,” where you stay at home during your time off.  You can enjoy your life more and become closer to your partner, your kids, and your friends.  You may become physically healthier, too.

However, taking time off can provide substantial benefits for you in your job or career.  To summarize, taking vacations can:

• Reduce stress, which helps in so many ways.
• Increase productivity at work, after you return.  Taking a break from work and doing what some have called a “digital detox” refreshes you.
• Increase creativity, for those times when a better approach or new idea is needed.
• Improve your relationships with other workers, so that you’re more positive about projects and less likely to be irritable or say things that you regret later.

Of course, things that help you at work also help your company.  Many employers know this, from their experience with other workers and managers who take vacations and then perform better.  So, vacations are not only beneficial to you, but they also benefit your company.

Conclusion

Using your vacation time, and using it wisely, helps you to become a better employee, which can only help your company.  And most managers understand this.  Being a better employee will result, naturally, in a higher salary or a better job. 

Investing in vacation, therefore, is both an investment in your own well-being and in your career and salary.  Remember to invest in your vacation, just as you invest in your retirement, your education, or your house.

Retirement planning is a primary reason for long-term saving, and when people think about retirement, finances are often the focus. However, it is important to also look at the nonfinancial aspects of transitioning from the world of work to the world of leisure.

Specifically, lifestyle changes and self-esteem issues associated with the loss of your professional identity may create difficulties. As you’re preparing strategies for your future well-being, give some thought to the kind of retirement you envision for yourself.

Get Personal

Consider the following questions:

• What do you find fulfilling?
• What gets you out of bed in the morning?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Do you work well as part of a team, or do you thrive on solitude?
• Do you have a lot of physical energy, or do you prefer a more sedentary pace?
• Do you have a hobby you always wanted more time to pursue?

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. This informal self-inventory may hold the key to your vision for retirement.

Challenging Conventions

The concept of retirement in America is changing. Traditionally, retirement has been idealized as a leisurely phase of life, a reward for the many years of working and raising children. This concept is based on the assumptions that people will enjoy themselves in retirement, and that work, as we commonly know it, is the province of younger generations.

However, is this concept realistic for those still years away from retirement, and if it is, is it what you really want?

Rethinking retirement means reexamining conventional ideals to determine whether they apply to today’s reality and what you envision for yourself.

Intrinsic to the conventional notion of retirement are significant assumptions about work, money, and retirement standards of living. For previous generations, work was thought to be something you did for about 45 years (until roughly age 65), and then, suddenly, you never had to (or wanted to) work again. A company pension, Social Security, and some savings generally provided enough income for funding a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, including leisure, travel, and recreation.

If that’s what you want for your retirement, there is nothing wrong with pursuing that goal. However, for some, work is too much a part of their sense of “self” to be suddenly cast aside. Moreover, with so much of their daily lives centered around work, some people have difficulty imagining their life without that structure.

Furthermore, changes in employer-sponsored retirement plans (i.e., the decline of defined benefit plans and the rise of defined contribution plans) have altered our expectations about retirement funding. The responsibility has shifted from employer to employee, which means that an individual’s long-term saving for retirement must now be factored in with other savings objectives, like purchasing a house or funding a college education for children, and ongoing financial responsibilities.

Finally, the traditional concept of retirement is based on the belief that one’s standard of living will be sustainable in retirement, and it may be for some. For others, however, it may be more practical to ask what standard of living can be maintained based on projected resources. This type of approach might help you see what is realistic (and what may be unrealistic) in your situation, and it may help you set more realistic retirement priorities. For some people, downsizing their standard of living in retirement may be acceptable. For others, however, maintaining the same standard of living during retirement as during their working years may be the goal.

Consider Phased Retirement

As you consider the traditional concept of retirement, you may discover that it doesn’t meet your needs. Phased retirement is a term coined to describe a range of employment arrangements that allow an employee who is approaching retirement to continue working, usually with a reduced workload, in transition from full-time work to full-time retirement.

Many individuals may want to continue some form of work, such as consulting, job-sharing, mentoring, or providing back-up management. Mentoring, in particular, enables an individual to transfer a lifetime of learning and experience to a friend, relative, or younger colleague. Aside from money earned from continued work, phased retirement may help you maintain a feeling of involvement in the world and may provide a sense of purpose.

For some, phased retirement may be an option. For others, it may be a necessity. For still others, phased retirement may provide structure to daily life and the opportunity to explore other activities while maintaining a meaningful role within an organization, the community, or society in general.

What’s most important, however, is to define your vision of retirement in a way that makes sense to you and is realistic considering your goals and resources.