100 Different Countries

A good article over at about.com about 10 things you should be on the lookout for that could indicate the travel "deal" you're considering is actually a scam:

Advance payment is required without a written contract
Transactions by courier service rather than post office
Transaction can only be carried out by telephone
Offer is for a "limited time only"
Different names for travel provider and seller
Hotel names, airlines or other vendors not disclosed in writing
A price far below market value
Offers to make you a "travel agent"
Hints of "Split Pricing"
Frequent use of words such

There are a lot of good travel deals out there, but you also need to be wary of those trying to separate you from your hard earned money.

It's always a challenge to find a good airfare when traveling, especially when traveling overseas. I don't think there is any tired and true method to get the best deal every time. Even with the Internet (although it does make it a lot easier), it takes time and some searching to get a good deal when it comes to airline tickets.

I did come across an article today that listed some of the little secrets that you should know about getting the best airline deal. While I knew most of them, the issue that cookie settings on your computer could make you miss the best fare was one I hadn't considered, but makes sense. Here was the list:

Low cost carriers don't always have the lowest fares
You may pay more in taxes and fees than you do for your airfare
You can mix and match fares to get better deals
Your computer may be preventing you from getting the best deals
The most popular travel Web sites don't have the same information -- or the best deals

You can see the entire article at money.com

One of the comments wanted to know the countries I've been to - so far I've ben to 30 different countries meaning I till have 70 to go. There are the countries I've bee to so far:

Australia, Belgium, Belize, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vatican City

I'm currious to know how many countries other people have traveled to and where?

This is Jeffrey - Nate won't be happy that I'm starting another blog, but there is a specific reason why I wanted to separate this from the personal finance blog. Mainly because this will be focusing on a single goal I have had for a long time.

I want to travel to 100 different countries. In fact, one of the motivating factors to quit my previous job and start working on websites is that I can do that anywhere in the world as long as I have an Internet connection.

It isn't likely that I will be doing any traveling soon - I am plenty busy with all the work that needs to be done on the current sites. I do hope, however, that in the next few years I will be able to do a lot of the work while I'm traveling.

I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this. I will be posting ideas I find on ways to save money while traveling and plans that I'm making to do the traveling as they appear.

If you have any interest in travel and/or want to share your own travel stories, I hope you'll join me for the journey...