Recently someone asked me if I had heard about cars running on HHO. I had no idea of what HHO might be, so they explained. This is supposed to be an inexpensive system where your car burns water along with gasoline and when added to your car improves your gas mileage by 40% or so. Now I'm thinking HHO sounds suspiciously like H2O. So I began Googling HHO.
This is all about running your car on Hydrogen and gas mixture to improve efficiency.
I saw one video from WYFF in Greenville, SC of someone who is supposed to be the Chief of Police of a small town Honea Path, SC. He was saying that it had improved the gas mileage by 6 to 8 miles per gallon on their vehicles!!
I saw another from a TV station in Miami that supposedly tried it on their truck and it went from 9 miles per gallon to 24 miles per gallon!!!
This is kind of how it works. You have a container with water inside your engine compartment that has wires running to is. The wires carry electricity from the battery (thru the switch, so it won't run your battery down). The wires, one positive and one negative, create "charged water" Also coming out of this container is a hose that supplies the resulting gas to your carburetor and manifold. I assume what is coming out is a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas. The claim is that your engine does not presently burn all of the gasoline, but by adding this gas, you burn all of it and gain more efficiency.
I saw where these kits range from $49 to $200 to install them yourself, or up to $1200 if you have a mechanic install it for you. You can either google to read some of this, or probably click on some of the ads on the right and you will get to see some of the videos and information I am talking about.
All of this brings up questions in my mind. If this is so good, why haven't we heard about this from the various environmentalist groups, or Congress, or especially GM, Ford, and Chrysler? Will it damage your car, causing your engine to rust inside, damage the catalytic converter, will the water freeze in the winter OR is this a scam to take your hard earned $ away from you?
So I pose this question to each of you, have you tried this and can say it improves gas mileage and can you say how much the improvement was? Or do you know someone that has tried this?
Some of the advertisements for this fix remind me of a used car salesman or the ginzu knife deal on late night TV. But there are some interesting things being reported by some TV stations, but the end result is they seem to go hmmm, then never say whether they absolutely believe it or not.
At this time of high gas prices, we definitely need solutions, but at the same time we need the media, the Federal Trade Commission, and others to protect us from a potential scam, or let us know that it really works.
What are your thoughts or experiences with this?
Have a wonderful day!!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Be Responsible With Your Credit Card Use
While reading some other blogs on credit card use, I wanted to agree with many of the comments that I read. Some said don't use credit cards, they are evil. While I won't go that far, you do need to be fiscally responsible. Others related stories of people in serious credit card debt.
Let me be clear about the use of credit cards. If you cannot pay off the balance in full each month, do not attempt to get credit cards that provide you a discount. The finance charges alone will eat up any savings you might get.
I would suggest that if you find you cannot pay the credit card in full each and every month, you need to cut that card up. Get rid of it. Start trying to pay off those balances with a vengeance.
20% or more interest a month is highway robbery. If someone said they were cutting your pay by 20%, you would be really upset. This is the same thing, they are just pulling the money out of your pocket in a different manner.
If you pay off your credit card bills each month, good for you!! You probably don't need to read the rest of this. However, if you do not pay off your credit card bills each month, you absolutely need to read this.
Let's talk about the checks that come with your credit card statement. Shred them. Don't even be tempted to use one. I was looking at some that I got today, and they advertise 0% interest (for 5 months), for the first check, and 3.99% interest for an additional check, all in big bold type. In the fine type is where they put all of the gotcha's. There is an immediate transaction fee of 3% when you use any one of the checks.
They use such advertising slogans as "Save by transferring balances from higher APR accounts", "Write a check to yourself", "Go on a well deserved vacation", ....
So let's say you are going to Florida for vacation, and need $2,000 for the hotel, gas and meals. But you don't have the money. Is it a good idea to use one of these checks. You write the check, immediately the credit card company assess you 3%, or $60. You and your family enjoy yourself, then come back. The bill shows up, you don't have $2060, so you pay $50, with the intention of paying off the card before the 5 months are up.
The 5th month rolls around, and you don't have the $1860 to pay the bill, because you didn't set aside money to pay it off. Now they start hitting you with interest. You continue to pay the $50 a month. Guess when the balance is paid off? Assuming 20% interest rate, it is 5 years later!!! And that is also assuming you don't get the silly urge to do the same thing again next year! Plus, during that time you paid in $1,047 in interest. That vacation cost you right at $3,050.
NO, NO, NO. These are not good ideas, nor are they financially responsible. If you need to borrow money (which I don't recommend), go to your local credit union for a loan. If they won't give you one at a decent rate, then most likely they are trying to tell you something.
Even though I have written about discounts on air travel and hotels, vacations are no excuse to borrow money. If you cannot afford a vacation, then plan a "staycation", where you search on the internet for fun things to do near your home.
Go to some public park and have a picnic. Or find a nearby lake. Sit back, relax, and you will be rewarded by avoiding that $2,060 or much worse bill at the end of the month.
Use your money wisely, don't give it to the credit card companies.
Let me be clear about the use of credit cards. If you cannot pay off the balance in full each month, do not attempt to get credit cards that provide you a discount. The finance charges alone will eat up any savings you might get.
I would suggest that if you find you cannot pay the credit card in full each and every month, you need to cut that card up. Get rid of it. Start trying to pay off those balances with a vengeance.
20% or more interest a month is highway robbery. If someone said they were cutting your pay by 20%, you would be really upset. This is the same thing, they are just pulling the money out of your pocket in a different manner.
If you pay off your credit card bills each month, good for you!! You probably don't need to read the rest of this. However, if you do not pay off your credit card bills each month, you absolutely need to read this.
Let's talk about the checks that come with your credit card statement. Shred them. Don't even be tempted to use one. I was looking at some that I got today, and they advertise 0% interest (for 5 months), for the first check, and 3.99% interest for an additional check, all in big bold type. In the fine type is where they put all of the gotcha's. There is an immediate transaction fee of 3% when you use any one of the checks.
They use such advertising slogans as "Save by transferring balances from higher APR accounts", "Write a check to yourself", "Go on a well deserved vacation", ....
So let's say you are going to Florida for vacation, and need $2,000 for the hotel, gas and meals. But you don't have the money. Is it a good idea to use one of these checks. You write the check, immediately the credit card company assess you 3%, or $60. You and your family enjoy yourself, then come back. The bill shows up, you don't have $2060, so you pay $50, with the intention of paying off the card before the 5 months are up.
The 5th month rolls around, and you don't have the $1860 to pay the bill, because you didn't set aside money to pay it off. Now they start hitting you with interest. You continue to pay the $50 a month. Guess when the balance is paid off? Assuming 20% interest rate, it is 5 years later!!! And that is also assuming you don't get the silly urge to do the same thing again next year! Plus, during that time you paid in $1,047 in interest. That vacation cost you right at $3,050.
NO, NO, NO. These are not good ideas, nor are they financially responsible. If you need to borrow money (which I don't recommend), go to your local credit union for a loan. If they won't give you one at a decent rate, then most likely they are trying to tell you something.
Even though I have written about discounts on air travel and hotels, vacations are no excuse to borrow money. If you cannot afford a vacation, then plan a "staycation", where you search on the internet for fun things to do near your home.
Go to some public park and have a picnic. Or find a nearby lake. Sit back, relax, and you will be rewarded by avoiding that $2,060 or much worse bill at the end of the month.
Use your money wisely, don't give it to the credit card companies.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
How we are saving more than 10% a month on gas for the car
OK, I have to confess. I don’t have an economical car. I drive a Ford Explorer, which is paid for, and I don’t really want to plunk down more money for a car, while this one is still in good running condition. Although, with gas prices being what they are, it is becoming more and more tempting. And no, that is not my Explorer in the picture. Wonder how many miles they get to a bale of hay?
| Action | Miles Per Gallon |
| Accelerating quickly from a stop | 5 |
| Accelerating moderately from Stop | 12 |
| Accelerating while going uphill | 12 |
| Holding my speed going uphill | 18 |
| Accelerating going down hill | 22 |
| Not accelerating going down hill | 28 – 35 depending how steep the hill |
| Driving at 75 MPH | 19 |
| Driving at 65 MPH | 21 |
| Driving at 60 MPH | 22 |
| Using Cruise at 60 MPH | 21.5 |
| Idling at the ATM or Fast-Food Drive thru | 0 |
| Turning off engine at ATM or Fast-Food drive thru | ---not burning gas, save it for later |
So these are the things that I learned.
1) Accelerating quickly anytime is not good, unless you are trying to get out of the way of a train. Using a more calm method of starting is much better.
2) Riding your brakes going down hill hurts your efficiency, unless you are speeding or about to rear end someone.
3) Driving along about 60 seemed to give me the best over all gas mileage. If you have a lead foot, try the cruise control if you have it.
4) Ever been in a slow drive thru? You know the person in front seems to have ordered food for all 18 of their relatives. If you have to wait more than a minute, turn off the engine (put it in park). When you are not moving, your MPG is 0. But with the engine off, you have that gas to use after you leave the drive thru.
Other lessons we have learned, is to group our trips. Instead of going out multiple times to the grocery store, or the post office, we try to combine a trip with any other errands that we have to do. For us, saving 2 trips a week, will save us 2 gallons of gas. That’s 104 gallons a year, or about $400 a year. However, I don't keep count of these and didn't include them in the $40 in the title of this blog.
Let me know if you have any favorite tips that will save gas dollars, just post your comment below.
There is some information at this site, Save Gas Articles, so check it out.
Happy Motoring!!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Discounts on Travel - Part 2 - Hotels
Finding the right hotel for your vacation or business travel can be tricky. Many times we want all of the features for the best price we can get.
Here is a tip from my "Lessons Learned". Don't call the 800 number if you have specific requests such as a beach front room. Look up their local number and call the hotel direct to see if they can meet your specific request. We had an experience where we called the 800 number, was promised a beach front room, but they didn't have any available when we checked in. Better to call direct and note the name of the person you spoke with.
Now for hotel bargains. There are many websites such as hotel.com and others that can give you room rates for about any hotel in any location. And that is a good place to start. Usually you can choose what amenities you want, price range, and even see some photos of the hotel. Also, tripadvisor.com will give you the opinions of others about particular hotels. I suggest you read those as well before you book.
Both AARP (if you are over 50) or AAA (if you are a member), can get you discounts at a hotel. When calling for a reservation, ask them " What is your best rate?" After they have given you this quote, you then ask about AARP or AAA rates to see if you can save a little be more. If you are a member of the Military or work for the government, those rates are usually even better.
If you travel a lot, such as on business, you should join the membership of the hotels you tend to stay. Marriott has a good program, as does Hilton, Holiday Inn, Best Western, etc. If you don't belong, ask them for a form to sign up. Unlike airline frequent flyer miles, hotel miles seem to work much better. The rewards are not as good as they used to be, but still they are worth it and can add up over time. You can use their points for free nights, or room upgrades.
You can also search the internet with the name of the hotel and the words "promotion" or "discount". Sometimes you will find they have a summer special that does not show up else where. Try this in the black Google Search box at the bottom of this blog, just above the video. The search results will at the bottom of the blog. For example try this one in the search box(include the quotes):
discount "Legacy By The Sea" Panama City Beach, Fl
Now if you don't have children and there are only one or two of you traveling, then PriceLine is one to try. Priceline will quote you a price, but you can bid on hotel rooms and get them even lower. You have to remember this is an auction, and once you bid, if it is accepted you have bought the room.
There are some drawbacks with PriceLine. They only work with hotels. All rooms are only for 1 or two people. The drawback is you don't choose the hotel, you choose the area, and the * ranking. So always ask for a 4 or 5 star hotel to be assured of a nice one.
If you want to try PriceLine, I strongly suggest that you go to Bidding For Travel first.
Bidding For Travel will let you see how much other people have gotten rooms for at various hotels. However, they have a technique that you need to follow, and are most helpful getting you started. But you must follow the rules in order to be successful.
I just looked on Bidding for Travel and saw where one bidder got a room at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City for $150. Or the Hyatt Regency in Boston for $100. For these hotels, those are great prices.
Similarly, Hotwire allows you to purchase rooms. But they show the prices, you don't bid. However you still don't know the name of the hotel until you agree to accept it. However, this site does use maps and shows smaller neighborhoods, so you can get right in the location you wish.
If you are not into bidding and taking your chances, then try Kayak. This site searches a ton of sites looking for your hotel room, including the hotel's own website, for any internet specials they may have.
For any of the sites, simply type the name listed below in the black Google Search box below just above the video. The search results will appear underneath that black box.
Hotels.com, TripAdvisor, Bidding For Travel, PriceLine, Hotwire, Kayak
Where ever you go, may you have a pleasant stay and get a great deal!!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Discounts on Travel - Part 1 - Air Travel
Ahhh!! Vacation, travel, time to get away. Exploring new places, enjoying time with your loved ones. Disney for the kids or grandkids; New York for shopping and Broadway shows; Washington DC for learning about our history; Colorado for skiing; Florida for some beach time. Do these stir memories for you, or inspire some wistful thinking?
I don't know about you, but we love to travel. Better yet, we love to travel when we can get a bargain.
There are usually two types of travelers. I call them the prince/princesses and the wolves. Those who want everything handled for them are the prince/princesses. Wolves are those who search and hunt for the best prices with the skill and passion of a wolf hunting for his next meal.
There is nothing wrong with being either type. And at times we all have a need to be treated like a prince or princess. For these moments, my advice is short and simple. Have a good trust worthy travel agent. One who has been places, and can not only get you a fair price for your travel, but at the same time can tell you things to do there that you absolutely do not want to miss. One who knows not only destinations, but passport rules, visa rules, latest baggage charges, etc. Also, if you have problems, the agent is willing to go to bat for you to get the situation rectified. To me, that is the real value of a good travel agent. My wife is a very good travel agent and does all of these things for her clients.
Now for the wolves, here are your tips. I can hear your lips smacking now.
There are a multitude of websites offering the best prices on air travel, hotels, cruises, and packages (includes air, hotel, transfers or rental cars). You also see advertisements in newspapers. You want to make sure that when you compare prices, you compare apples to apples. Most advertisements show only the base price. They don't include the taxes, passenger facility charges, fuel surcharges, baggage charges, etc. These fees can add 20% - 30% to the cost of your ticket. So be careful when you compare prices, and don't get lured in with the appearance of a low price in an ad, these are usually starting prices and without the fees.
If you truly just want to go somewhere, anywhere, and want the best deal you can get, then you have to be very flexible. Mainly, you see who has airfare sales going on, choose a place, then figure out what you will do when you get there. This is spur of the moment travel and can provide you with many travel experiences. However, it does require you to do your research on your chosen destination. Otherwise, you may come back with the opinion "That was just another boring, dirty, major city". You might miss that museum, or nearby national park, nice restaurant, or wonderful store with great bargains. So do your homework. www.tripadvisor.com is a great place to search for information opinions posted by fellow travelers.
Speaking of spur of the moment bargains, Clark Howard is a local radio celebrity (WSB 750) here in Atlanta. His show is syndicated and may be on one of your local stations or on the internet. On Friday afternoons at 3:00 PM, his show is spent entirely on travel bargains, great deals. We have made many spur of the moment purchases of airfare based on information on his show, then figured out what we would do when we got there. A friend of mine once got a $188 round trip airfare to Hawaii that he heard about on Clark's show!!! Now that is a bargain and a whale of a discount!!!
However, if you have specific plans involving particular dates, then you need to begin checking airfares early and check them often to understand what the price ranges are. You monitor the prices, or have websites monitor the prices for you and notify you by email when the price drops. Just remember that these prices won't reflect all of the additional fees, just expect the final price to be about 20% or so higher.
When buying airfare, it is always a guessing game, and you are not always sure when to pull the trigger and make the purchase. Next week the airfare could go lower, but it could also go higher. If for example, you are planning a trip to London in early spring, and you see airfares are currently running $1000 each, then you know it is a good deal if you see airfare for $300. Beware, some destinations have seasonal variances. Europe is usually cheaper in the winter than in the summer. Las Vegas is higher on the weekends than on weekdays.
For the best prices on airfares, I use a couple of sources. I check Travelocity.com just to see what the price range is going to be. I like this site, because I can choose a flight, then I can see which days have seats available. I will take it up to the point of booking, then cancel out. I do this so I can see which days that bargain airfares are available, and what it will actually cost me. Also, if you have favorite cities to go to, you can set up an alert to send you an email if the price fells below a certain $ amount.
There are some downsides to using Travelocity. We used them once, and had to make a change to a ticket. Travelocity made the change, but charged us more than if we had booked it through the airline. Plus we had to go to the airport to get the new ticket. Plus, I spent about 40 minutes on the phone with them, it was a hassle. Now I just use them for information.
For domestic travel, another site is www.kayak.com. This site will check 140 different sites for you, including internet only specials. It searches places that Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbis do not pull from. Best of all this site is free, and you can click to make your purchase directly from the airline or agency.
For international travel, a good site to use is www.mobissimo.com, which is similar to Kayak.
There are also sites such as Hotwire and PriceLine, however, I have only used them for hotel purchases and have not tried them out for airfare purchases. More about these two sites in my next blog on hotel discounts.
For my last tip, the best airfares are usually midweek, not on weekends. Everyone wants to travel on Friday and come home on Sunday to get a long weekend. However, they are competing with business travelers who want to get home of Fridays, and need to leave for work on Sundays. Tuesdays seems to be the best day to get the cheapest airfare. Around holidays, you need to book early. Although, you may find some bargains on the morning of the holiday such as the actual day of Thanksgiving or Christmas. However, most airfares are going to be at a peak at these times.
Beware of spring break, especially if you are going near a beach. Discount seats sell out early. So plan ahead, don't wait until the week or even the month before.
I hope you have found this helpful. Let me know what you think about what I have posted above, or share your suggestions. We all learn from each other.
My next blog will be about finding really good deals at hotels.
Also, if you enjoy this blog, feel free to share the link with your friends and family. Here is the link for you to copy and paste into your email: mrterrycreditcardhelp.blogspot.com
May you find the deal of the day and have a wonderful vacation!!
Mr Terry
I don't know about you, but we love to travel. Better yet, we love to travel when we can get a bargain.
There are usually two types of travelers. I call them the prince/princesses and the wolves. Those who want everything handled for them are the prince/princesses. Wolves are those who search and hunt for the best prices with the skill and passion of a wolf hunting for his next meal.
There is nothing wrong with being either type. And at times we all have a need to be treated like a prince or princess. For these moments, my advice is short and simple. Have a good trust worthy travel agent. One who has been places, and can not only get you a fair price for your travel, but at the same time can tell you things to do there that you absolutely do not want to miss. One who knows not only destinations, but passport rules, visa rules, latest baggage charges, etc. Also, if you have problems, the agent is willing to go to bat for you to get the situation rectified. To me, that is the real value of a good travel agent. My wife is a very good travel agent and does all of these things for her clients.
Now for the wolves, here are your tips. I can hear your lips smacking now.
There are a multitude of websites offering the best prices on air travel, hotels, cruises, and packages (includes air, hotel, transfers or rental cars). You also see advertisements in newspapers. You want to make sure that when you compare prices, you compare apples to apples. Most advertisements show only the base price. They don't include the taxes, passenger facility charges, fuel surcharges, baggage charges, etc. These fees can add 20% - 30% to the cost of your ticket. So be careful when you compare prices, and don't get lured in with the appearance of a low price in an ad, these are usually starting prices and without the fees.
If you truly just want to go somewhere, anywhere, and want the best deal you can get, then you have to be very flexible. Mainly, you see who has airfare sales going on, choose a place, then figure out what you will do when you get there. This is spur of the moment travel and can provide you with many travel experiences. However, it does require you to do your research on your chosen destination. Otherwise, you may come back with the opinion "That was just another boring, dirty, major city". You might miss that museum, or nearby national park, nice restaurant, or wonderful store with great bargains. So do your homework. www.tripadvisor.com is a great place to search for information opinions posted by fellow travelers.
Speaking of spur of the moment bargains, Clark Howard is a local radio celebrity (WSB 750) here in Atlanta. His show is syndicated and may be on one of your local stations or on the internet. On Friday afternoons at 3:00 PM, his show is spent entirely on travel bargains, great deals. We have made many spur of the moment purchases of airfare based on information on his show, then figured out what we would do when we got there. A friend of mine once got a $188 round trip airfare to Hawaii that he heard about on Clark's show!!! Now that is a bargain and a whale of a discount!!!
However, if you have specific plans involving particular dates, then you need to begin checking airfares early and check them often to understand what the price ranges are. You monitor the prices, or have websites monitor the prices for you and notify you by email when the price drops. Just remember that these prices won't reflect all of the additional fees, just expect the final price to be about 20% or so higher.
When buying airfare, it is always a guessing game, and you are not always sure when to pull the trigger and make the purchase. Next week the airfare could go lower, but it could also go higher. If for example, you are planning a trip to London in early spring, and you see airfares are currently running $1000 each, then you know it is a good deal if you see airfare for $300. Beware, some destinations have seasonal variances. Europe is usually cheaper in the winter than in the summer. Las Vegas is higher on the weekends than on weekdays.
For the best prices on airfares, I use a couple of sources. I check Travelocity.com just to see what the price range is going to be. I like this site, because I can choose a flight, then I can see which days have seats available. I will take it up to the point of booking, then cancel out. I do this so I can see which days that bargain airfares are available, and what it will actually cost me. Also, if you have favorite cities to go to, you can set up an alert to send you an email if the price fells below a certain $ amount.
There are some downsides to using Travelocity. We used them once, and had to make a change to a ticket. Travelocity made the change, but charged us more than if we had booked it through the airline. Plus we had to go to the airport to get the new ticket. Plus, I spent about 40 minutes on the phone with them, it was a hassle. Now I just use them for information.
For domestic travel, another site is www.kayak.com. This site will check 140 different sites for you, including internet only specials. It searches places that Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbis do not pull from. Best of all this site is free, and you can click to make your purchase directly from the airline or agency.
For international travel, a good site to use is www.mobissimo.com, which is similar to Kayak.
There are also sites such as Hotwire and PriceLine, however, I have only used them for hotel purchases and have not tried them out for airfare purchases. More about these two sites in my next blog on hotel discounts.
For my last tip, the best airfares are usually midweek, not on weekends. Everyone wants to travel on Friday and come home on Sunday to get a long weekend. However, they are competing with business travelers who want to get home of Fridays, and need to leave for work on Sundays. Tuesdays seems to be the best day to get the cheapest airfare. Around holidays, you need to book early. Although, you may find some bargains on the morning of the holiday such as the actual day of Thanksgiving or Christmas. However, most airfares are going to be at a peak at these times.
Beware of spring break, especially if you are going near a beach. Discount seats sell out early. So plan ahead, don't wait until the week or even the month before.
I hope you have found this helpful. Let me know what you think about what I have posted above, or share your suggestions. We all learn from each other.
My next blog will be about finding really good deals at hotels.
Also, if you enjoy this blog, feel free to share the link with your friends and family. Here is the link for you to copy and paste into your email: mrterrycreditcardhelp.blogspot.com
May you find the deal of the day and have a wonderful vacation!!
Mr Terry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
