Because A La Cart Airline Fees Suck

With all the fees imposed on us by the airlines, it’s more important than ever to save money wherever you can. Once you buy your plane tickets, you may assume you are done paying for your flight, but no. Now you can be charged for everything from your baggage to a snack. How can you avoid paying more and still have a great journey?

Pack light. You can save up to $35 each way by not checking bags. Make sure you can mix and match your clothing to be able to take less and still maximize your looks. If all tops coordinate with all bottoms, it makes putting outfits together a cinch. Pare down to two pairs of shoes – one casual, one a bit dressy – and stash a few key accessories into your carry-on to dress up something boring or wear it another way.

Headphones are easy to pack and can save you a few bucks. Want to watch that in-flight movie or listen to some music? You can’t do it without a set of headphones, but why pay $3 for the generic ones the airlines will grudgingly sell to you when you can grab a pair from home that will probably even last after your flight is over. Plus, if you plan to bring your iPod with you anyway, you’re already set.

Stock up on snacks. It can be fun to get treats and meals onboard the plane, but many routes don’t give you the option of an in-flight meal anymore. The ones that do may charge you up to $10 for a lukewarm TV dinner. Pack some veggies, trail mix, sandwiches or anything else you love to nosh on (that adheres to TSA security measures) and save money by not purchasing the “cheese plate” and also eat healthier.

Go offline. The Internet is fun and all, but you don’t need to be connected at all times. Use your flight time to relax and enjoy a movie, read a book or play a game with a travel companion, not catch up on e-mail. Cabin Wi-Fi can start at $4.95 and go up in price with the length of your flight. Your Facebook friends and blog will all still be there when you touch down. If you must post while you’re traveling, use a service like HootSuite to set up posts in advance and respond to anything once you reach your destination.

Say no to the upgrade. While you don’t often get offered an upgrade on most flights when you check in, avoid asking if there is one available, since often they will give you one if you are willing to pay extra for it (and seats are actually available). If you got a great deal on your plane ticket, adding an extra $49-99 each way can end up making it out of your original price range. That money can easily be used on your vacation instead of getting to it.

When you change the way you travel in small ways, it can make a big difference to your wallet, allowing you to travel more efficiently and do more at your destination. Once you incorporate some changes, you’ll see how easy it is to slowly change other things to save even more. Whether you do it to fit more into your budget, to spend less overall or to stay at a pricier hotel, saving a little bit here and there can add up quickly. How do you make flying cheaper?

This post originally appeared on FareCompare

Review: Chloe Hoodie from SCOTTeVEST

You guys! I have found the hoodie you'll want to live in. It's so cozy and warm and even carries everything you need in it, so you can leave your purse at home and stay organized and safe on vacation. SCOTTeVEST started with their many-pocketed travel vests for men and women, but have branched out into more outerwear that you can wear everywhere you go. This Chloe hoodie is both adorable and flattering, plus it keeps all the stuff you carry with you close at hand in hidden pockets. There's almost nothing this hoodie can't do. I mean, it's not very good at taxes, but there's a pocket that could hold all your tax papers.

The Chloe hoodie is your answer to traveling light and getting through airport security more easily. Just take it off and throw it in a bin with your shoes. Carry all your electronics in it and travel documents, so you don't have to dig around in your carry-on for any of it. If it gets cold on the plane or at your destination, fold down the fleece cuffs and use the thumb holes to keep your hands warm. Either way, the warming pockets won't leave your wrists exposed (I can't be the only one that hates that), because the sleeves are long enough to cover them. 

The hoodie is form-fitting and attractive. When it's packed with all your stuff, you may notice it is a little lumpy. Solution: order one size up. I didn't find that it was a problem in my normal size and enjoyed the snug fit. My belongings weren't stabbing me either, which is always a plus.

Most hoodies have drawstrings to personalize the fit to your head. I find they just get in the way and don't really help that much, unless you're caught in a rainstorm. The Chloe fixes this with a hood that isn't as deep (novel idea: You can see when you put it on!) and a wraparound zipper that zips all the way up to your head, so you can adjust it to cover as much of your face as needed. It's lined in plush fleece. Cold, windy days won't have you freezing your ears off. Who doesn't love that feature?

Check out all these awesome pockets in the Chloe Hoodie! In fact, it's got 14. One for everything you want to keep with you. Your front right pocket has an extendable, removable keychain. It also has a lipstick pocket (which was hard to photograph) that would also be great for cash and/or change. Your front left pocket has a small change pocket, which is perfect for a few coins or other small item you don't want to lose.

All the "stuff" pockets in your hoodie have cute little labels on them. There's this shallow one that will hold a normal sized smartphone. It's closest to your ear, so you can hear it ring, but also so you can plug in your headphones and run the cord through the loops in the bottom of the hood (as shown in the x-ray shot below). You know what else? You can use the touchscreen on your phone even while it's in your pocket. Awesome!

On each size of your zipper, you'll find a pen pocket and earbud "pockets", so you can keep them out of the way when not in use and keep them clean. They are also the perfect size for lip balm!

Got reading glasses or like to put away your sunglasses when you're inside? There's a pocket for those, too. And if that weren't fancy enough, that pocket has a chamois cleaning cloth, so you can always see out of your lenses. It has a nice little note on it from the founders of SCOTTeVEST on one side and has a sweet little blueprint of your hoodie pockets on the other. it lives on a little elastic cord, so you can't lose it. I think they've thought of everything!

Keep your camera and an extra memory card and/or battery on-hand with your camera pocket that also has a separate, smaller inside pocket, so you don't accidentally lose your memory card (or battery) when taking out your camera to snap pics. Love that, because mind always ends up lost in my bag somewhere.

On the other side of your hoodie, you have two pockets. One for larger items - specifically a Kindle or iPad mini can fit in there, but your passport and boarding passes go well in there too - and a smaller one for your wallet or other items. Stash your ID in there for your trip through airport security!

If your Chloe hoodie can't hold it, you probably don't need it. With Mother's Day coming up fast, you can wow your mom with one of these for her next trip. My own mom goes on trips with my dad on his motorcycle and has limited space to carry things. She thought this hoodie was the ideal piece to wear to hold things that don't fit in the tiny trunk and also keep her warm. In Portland, there are a lot of bike riders. If you're the same, this is a great layer for you too. You'll be seeing me wearing this anytime it's cool enough to need an extra layer!

More information:
What colors does it come in? Dare (purple with black lining) | Magic (black on black) | Kiss (shown - grey with pink lining)
How much is it? $90 
Where can I buy it? Online at SCOTTeVEST website
Other specs: 100% poly microfleece, machine washable

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Disclaimer: I was provided with the SeV Chloe Hoodie for the purposes of this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.

That Time I Ate at 20 Food Trucks

It's no secret that I seek out food trucks and carts wherever I go, but I usually only eat at one a day. This week I attended Portland's annual food truck festival, Eat Mobile. This has become a regular outing for me each April, because I don't often go across town to eat, and when I do, it's usually because I've got a specific restaurant in mind or I'm antique shopping. Portland is widely known as being a top destination for food trucks, and there's hardly anyplace in the city where you won't find one or two. We have food cart pods where many congregate and you can choose from a variety of yummy foods all in one place. It's fantastic.

Cute little Cuban sammie with homemade chip from Pyro's Wicked Wiches

So, like in years past Eat Mobile brings people to the trucks, though this year is the first time they've done so literally. Two large pods were involved and shuttles ran between them instead of moving them all to one big parking lot as before. Unfortunately, I feel like this caused them to raise the price to where it may not have been worth it, as there were half as many carts as well. Not all the carts in each pod were participating either, so you had to navigate around people who were there buying dinner and look for the sign on the carts that were actually giving away samples. The samples were larger this year, but that just made it harder to try everything, because we were stuffed by the time we were 2/3 of the way through tasting, as everything came with a carb of some type.

Cream Ale from Baerlic Brewing and "sushi" from Second Son Kimbap

The good thing about the new structure this year is that there was a lot more variety (not all the same trucks from before), there was more seating and there were waaaaaaaaaaaay shorter lines. Your admission also included two drink tickets which it didn't in the past. You paid for beer and any other drink you wanted, unless it was Vitamin Water, which was a sponsor. I, eventually, purchased a water, but I did have beer from a local microbrewery.

There were fewer tickets sold and the event took place on a Wednesday evening instead of a Sunday afternoon, which made it feel a bit more intimate and less like a cattle herd. I didn't have to wait 30 minutes for a sample of ice cream or a slider, but there was also the absence of some of my favorite carts like La Creperie and Soup Cycle. Obviously, there wasn't room for many extra carts in the already packed pods if any chose to participate and move for the evening. 

chicken, rice, beans and plantain from La Arepa Venezuelan Food

Enough about that, let's talk about the food!  Though there were quite a few American food trucks, there were a lot of ethnic foods, which I felt were lacking from the event in the past. I enjoyed a tiny slider and hot dog with pulled pork on it, but I also tried kimbap, which is a Korean street food that seems a lot like sushi, but is full of cooked meats instead of raw fish. So good! 

PDX Carpet ice cream from Scoop Handmade Ice Cream

I had some fantastic vegetarian Thai curry which was super spicy, a huge dish of tiny beignets with raspberry syrup (basically a bowl of bread that I probably should have split with my friend and also not started the event with), some really yummy cod nuggets and even ice cream dubbed The PDX Carpet that debuted at the event to celebrate Portland International's signature carpet getting replaced. The ice cream had just about all the ingredients in it: cranberries, hazelnuts, peppermint and dark chocolate stracciatella.

Indian Fry Bread "toes" at Teepee's (tiny beignets)

Krumkaka (pizelle with lemon cream) and Lefse wrap (salmon from Ingrid's Scandinavian Food

Soda sampling from Pyro's Wicked Wiches (can I just say that balsamic fig soda is O.M.Good?!)

I encourage you to check out Eat Mobile if you're ever in Portland in the spring. You can find more details here. Quite a few people make plans to visit specially for the event. Many come down from Seattle and some from Vancouver, BC. 

Can we, just for a minute, discuss how great food trucks are why they can help you save money on your trips? Here's a short list:

• They offer restaurant quality food for a fraction of the price - You don't pay for the huge overhead they have at traditional sit-down restaurants. They don't have waiters, big energy bills, busboys, etc.
• Food truck food is now much more upscale than it used to be - You can just as easily get a steak as you can a hot dog nowadays.
• Everyone gets what they want - No need to search for a restaurant that will satisfy your whole group - sometimes my husband and I don't agree on food either. If you find one food truck, you're likely to find several, so not everyone has to eat the same thing.
• No reservations needed - Walk up, order, get your food, take it and eat it on your way to your next tourist site or sit in the nearest park to enjoy it. Time saver!
• Food is affordable, because it's made with local ingredients - 'Nuff said.

Obviously, there are many more reasons food trucks are awesome. I know a lot of folks who've never eaten at one, but they can be addicting. Eat at one and you'll be itching to find more to try. Where have you found the best food trucks or street food in your travels?