In Honor of St. Patrick's Day--17 Lessons Learned for European Travel

Our family was very lucky last year and enjoyed our first European trip. Our daughter was studying abroad in Spain and the rest of us joined her for the holidays-travelling to Valencia, Spain; Paris, France; Venice, Italy and Barcelona, Spain. Here are 17 lessons I learned from that wonderful trip:

1. Start planning your trip as far out as possible--we had 2 months which allowed for searching for flights and accommodations but not as much time as I would have liked to research the history/culture of each city.
2. Be realistic about your travel plans getting to your destination--we flew to Paris, then to Barcelona and then had a 3 hour train ride to Valencia. Between missed connections and the exhaustion of being up all night, I plan to scale down our travel time for the next trip.
3. Renting apartments was without a doubt, the best option for us. Having the additional space for everyone to sleep and relax without being in close quarters was invaluable. Adding a kitchen and usually a washer/dryer made for a smaller suitcase to lug around and the option of everyone being able to have breakfast whenever they wanted to. We used Trip Advisor and VRBO to research and find our apartments.
4. Pack light. The size restrictions for carry on luggage on European flights are smaller than the US restrictions so unless you want to check your luggage--and wait for often an hour upon arrival to retrieve you luggage, learn to mix and match.
5. Bring a filtered, refillable water bottle--it's essential.
6. Pick your seat on the plane carefully. On the flight over, we were one row behind the bulkhead--which is where the airlines have cleverly figured out how to attach basinets--5 of them in fact--I pitied the parents of those babies all night long as they struggled to soothe their children--along with the rest of us who did not sleep a wink.
7. Grocery stores in Europe are surprisingly cool--it was amazing how they packed in such a selection of items in such tight quarters. It's helpful to stand a minute and watch the regulars so you can figure out the "proper" way of navigating the store--just getting the carts in some stores were tricky--you had to get a special token to release the cart. Bring your own bag or realize that you will have to pay for each bag--if the store even has them. Some stores require you to weigh your produce in the produce section and it prints out a bar code for the cashier to scan.
8. Learn some of the common grocery names for items you want to buy before going. Even though we knew we were buying shrimp-we didn't realize that it was cooked shrimp vs raw shrimp--which made for a very different meal.
9. If you enjoy wine, look for these great shops that allow you to bring in a plastic liter bottle ans fill it up with wines from these huge wooden casks--that's what the locals do and I wish I had realized that earlier on.
10. Know some of the language for the country you are visiting--while most people do know some English, it's polite to at least be able to order something, thank someone or be able to ask for directions in their language. We found that if we attempted to speak the language, the locals were very responsive and helpful.
11. Valencia, Spain is amazing--beautiful beaches, modern urban area and very reasonably priced. Lots of people biking everywhere and very friendly locals.
12. Osteria Al Pozzo Roverso was our favorite restaurant in Venice.
13. Always bring some OTC meds with you--even though the pharmacies in Europe are plentiful, and easy to find--each one had a sign outside the door with a "+" over it--many shut down during the afternoon for a few hours and on Sundays, especially in Spain--which is exactly when someone will be sick. 
14. Ask a restaurant if they charge when they ask if you want water--unlike restaurants in USA where its common to bring water to the table, most European restaurants charge a fee for the water.
15. Bathrooms are unisex in restaurants--it's ok, you'll adjust.
16. Don't pack 4 cities into 2 weeks--next time, we'll spend more time in one location to get to know it and the people more.
17. Enjoy the lifestyle in Europe--we found it to be very relaxed, social and friendly to visitors.

Watch Out For "Check Out Fees"

Consumers have to work hard to get the best price for the best quality item they can get--doing their research before buying; comparison shopping; checking out the company to buy from and keeping all necessary paperwork--here's another example of how consumers could lose money if they don't watch out: Stores can now charge consumer a "Check Out Fee" for paying for their purchase with a credit card. Stores have to pay the credit card companies, VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and others, a percentage of the purchase (the percentage rate varies which is why some stores don't accept American Express, who charges a higher percentage rate) and they can now pass that fee on to the consumer. Some states have made these check out fees illegal: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. Lucky you if you live in one of those states. The rest of us need to contact our state elected officials. In the meantime, here's what you need to know about these fees:

• The store can only charge what fee they actually pay to the credit card issuing company, usually 1.5% to 4%.
• The store must disclose if they are going to charge the fee, by a sign in the store or before you check out online. However, ask every time before you buy if they charge this fee--it's always easier to not pay, than to deal with a dispute.

You do not have to pay this fee--you can ask the store to discount the purchase price of the item or use your undeniable right as a consumer--walk out and don't buy from a store who charges those fees.

Check out Consumer Action, a national non-profit consumer advocacy organization for more information on these fees.

"Run My Numbers"

I received our homeowner's insurance bill and a voice went off in my head--the one that says "That seems expensive"so I decided to pull out last years bill and sure enough, it was a few hundred dollars more. The "I don't have enough time to deal with this" part of me said let it go--everything is costing more these days. Luckily the "If I saw a few hundred dollars on the street, I'd pick it up" part of me decided to call the insurance company. The customer service representative politely offered to "run my numbers". I had no idea what that meant but hoped it meant review my bill to see why it increased. Much to my surprise, she came back, apologized for putting me on hold and said that she could lower my deductible and decrease my rate by $700 a year! I almost couldn't respond, I was so stunned. the words "run my numbers" are forever stuck in my head. Try calling your insurance company and ask them to "run your numbers"--hopefully, you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was!

While you're at it--be sure to check your policies to make sure you have enough, and not too much, coverage. Here's a previous blog posting to help.

Back to School Shopping-Ways to Save

It seems like stores start Back to School Shopping earlier and earlier--as if they don't realize that kids do not want to think about going back to school in July--summer isn't even half way over yet! As annoying as it is, the reality is that you have to get school supplies by early August or it's all gone. But you don't have to break the bank to do so. Here are some ideas to spend less:

• Know the prices and shop the sales that really are a good deal
• Go in with another family and shop in bulk
• Reuse last year's stuff--you don't have to buy a new backpack every year
• Don't buy everything on the suggested school supply list--your child is probably not going to use 2 packs of graph paper anyway
• Buy during your state's "Tax Free" week if they have one
• Consider buying online--more than likely if you go into a store, you'll buy more items
• When your child is old enough, give them a budget amount for supplies--they can be very creative on where to cut back
• Use paper bags from the grocery store to cover books vs buying the cloth book covers--your child can decorate the book cover too
• Wait until late October or November to buy the fall clothes--they'll  be on sale then

You Never Told Me That!

If you have a student in your house heading off to college in the next month, you've probably figured out how to pay for college (or at least the first semester) and are in the midst of getting dorm supplies. Unless you've been through this before, you might think that you're done--all the boxes are checked. However, there are some conversations you still need to have with your student--that involve finances and might be difficult conversations:


Who pays child’s spending money? If you are giving the student their spending money, be clear on how much, how often and what happens if they want more. If you are requiring the student to supply their own spending money, help them decide how much they need--are they earning it over the summer or are they working during school? Either way, help them create a budget.
What happens if child fails a class? Be clear on expectations--is there a certain grade point that is expected if the parent is paying for college? How will the parent know what the grades are (only the student will have access to their record)?
How many years can child attend college? If the parent is paying for school, is a 5 year plan ok--or 6...7?
Who pays for Study Abroad, Summer Classes/Internships? Most study abroad programs will cost additional money beyond the normal tuition costs--into the thousands more. Summer classes can cost $1000 for one class. Some internships which offer college credit can cost thousands of dollars. Be clear on who is responsible for paying for these.
What happens if child gets into trouble—Speeding tickets, DWI, Citations etc? Be clear on who pays for lawyer's fees and what if any action will result, i.e. car being taken away, student has to return home.
What about Spring Break? Who pays for Spring Break?

Dealing with your child leaving for college can be an emotional time, full of exciting times getting ready for their new life. Having conversations on the above topics will help to ensure that all financial expectations are clear and will avoid having to deal with discussing it while they are at school in the midst of one of the situations.