Don't Get Ripped Off! 5 Helpful Travel Tips From Our Recent Trip to Tahoe

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During Spring Break we decided to take a 3 day excursion to Lake Tahoe to play and ski in the snow.  We stayed and played at Northstar in North Lake Tahoe and had a blast!

There were four of us; 2 adults, 2 kids. We decided to fly from LAX to Reno as a test to see how our 4 year old would behave on his first flight.  Overall, it went o.k. (though don't ask the guy who sat in front of him). We learned a lot on this very first trip involving more than just driving our car somewhere.  Let me summarize what we learned:

Don't Stuff Too Much Into a Big Suitcase

We have two BIG suitcases and the rest are small enough to be carry-ons. My wife refused to use the 2nd big suitcase because it was "dirty." I said no problem, I'll take MY stuff out of the big suitcase and repack it into the allegedly dirty bag. She refused and instead made me stuff everyone's ski clothes into the one big bag...I had sit on the suitcase to zip it up.

Sure enough...the bag weighed 56 lbs and Southwest charged us an extra $50 EACH WAY for the bag because it weighed more than 50 lbs. It made no difference that the 4 other bags weighed 10 to 20 lbs.  They don't take an average as I so begged them to do. I was pissed. But...cha ching...had no choice but to fork over the $$.

Don't Buy Auto Rental Insurance if You Don't Need It

I did not make the mistake of purchasing the $10/day Loss Damage Waiver from Hertz as I'm covered by my own personal auto insurance AND my American Express card offers this coverage for free. So don't waste money on this insurance if you don't need it.  Do your homework and don't throw away $$.

Don't Wait to Fill Up the Gas Tank on Your Rental Car

So we checked out of our hotel and drove back to Reno. I thought it would be fun to stop by the Circus Circus so the kids could play some games in

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Education Tax Credits are Hard to Figure Out, But Worth Taking a Look At!

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What prompted me to write this article is that I helped an employee save $1,900 on her 2009 taxes. Why? Because she wasn't aware of the American Opportunity Credit for the money she spent on college education last year.

There are 3 Federal education credits in 2009, the new American Opportunity Credit, the Hope Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.  Of course, you can also claim a tax deduction for education costs (in lieu of credit), but most people will benefit more from a tax credit (particularly a refundable tax credit) than a tax deduction.

American Opportunity Credit ("AOC")

  • AOC is a new tax credit applicable to years 2009 and 2010 that modifies the Hope Credit (we'll touch on later).  However, at this point it is temporary....will be gone in 2011.
  • The AOC is a tax credit of up to $2,500 per eligible student. Up to 40% of the credit can be REFUNDABLE and the remainder is limited to taxes due (nonrefundable).
  • The credit is based on 100% of the first $2,000 and 25% of the next $2,500 spent on qualified education expenses.
  • "Qualified" expenses include tuition, enrollment fees and course-related books, supplies and
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Swine Flu Outbreak Information and Updates

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We have been reporting daily H1N1 (Swine) Flu tallies and updates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization since 4/27/09 and will continue to do so until they stop reporting the stats.  On 7/24/09, the CDC announced it will no longer report individual H1N1 flu cases by state but will continue reporting hospitalizations and deaths. But we will continue reporting tidbits of information as we obtain it.

The Ventura County Health Care Agency H1N1 Hotline is 805.981.5390 and operates Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm. Visit the VC Public Health website at www.vchca.org/ph/swineflu for more information.  H1N1 and seasonal flu shots are now widely available to all individuals in Ventura County.

Update 4/30/10: WHO H1N1 update 98 on 4/30/10 reports at least 17,919 deaths as of 4/25/10 (66 in latest week).

Update 4/23/10: CDC finally realized last week no one cares anymore about H1N1 flu stats. But the WHO is still reporting. Its H1N1 update 97 on 4/23/10 reports at least 17,853 deat

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Preparing for the Summer: Tips on Purchasing Patio Furniture!

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We are blessed with beautiful weather almost year-round here in Ventura County. Our daily lives seamlessly blend from the indoors to the outdoors...which brings us to the topic of the day…Purchasing Patio Furniture!  More than just form and function need to be taken into account when purchasing outdoor furniture.  Don’t trip over pennies today if these decisions could cost you $$$ in the future! Here are a few tips to consider:

1) Needs vs. Wants:  How are you going to be living in your outdoor space?  You may like the look and want a “living room” outside with a sofa and chairs or is outdoor dining more on your agenda? What about sun bathing or lounging?  Consider what you NEED to fit your lifestyle outdoors before spending the money just on what you “want”.

2) Matchy-Matchy: If you are blessed to have enough yard or patio space and need all of the above then consider buying everything to match versus having a bunch of mismatched sets.  Keeping everything cohesive in style and color lends to the feeling of a vacation destination instead of mismatched sets in chunks all over the yard.

3) Woods, Metals and Wicker, Oh My!: Style, function and personal taste need to be taken into consideration in choosing what will work best for YOU. 

Wood patio furniture is beautiful and usually comes in teak or (more expensive) Mango Wood...but keep in mimnd wood furniture will require some maintenance.  Even pressure treated wood needs to be sealed and/or stained at least once a year just like a natural wood deck would need to be taken care of.  It will fade and/or splinter after 2-3 years if not properly taken care of. 

Metal furniture can come in either heavy wrought iron (more expensive) or simple aluminum (which is what you get at the big-box stores).  Both are virtually maintenance free. Look for collections that are powder coated to protect it from rust.  Do take into account Santa Ana or coastal winds when buying

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BOGOPOD: Buy One, Get One Free, Plus Other Discounts in the Conejo Valley!

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UPDATE: BOGOPOD apparently is no longer in operation.

Happens all the time.  I get some coupons in the mail, tear a few out and place them on the desk or behind a magnet on the fridge.  But when I want to use the coupons, I can't find them, they have expired or I'm somewhere else.  Frustrating!

But there's BOGOPOD! www.BOGOPOD.com  provides online "Buy One, Get One Free, Plus Other Discounts" coupons for local Conejo Valley area businesses! 

Visit BOGOPOD.com for an extensive list of discount coupons for restaurants, shopping, kids, activities, home improvement, services and much more.  All you do it find the coupon, click it, print it and start saving money!  No signup, no cost!  I love the fact that you don't have to download special software to print the coupon.  There's also a search function on the BOGOPOD website that shortcuts the process of finding what you're looking for.

Now on a separate but related topic of saving money, check out "Places Where Kids Can Eat Free in Ventura County"  here on Conejo Valley Guide to find places where you can dine out and not pay for your kids' meals!

What Got You Here Won't Get You There; Marshall Goldsmith's 20 Behaviors That Get in the Way

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">Marshall Goldsmith's 2007 book, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" has a list of 20 behaviors and habits that prevent people from moving forward in their careers.  In fact, when I read and review this list, I realize that these apply to all aspects of life, not just work.  So review these, print them out, live them and read the book if you want to be more successful at work and life!

As I read these, I cringe a bit at how often many of these apply to me, both at work and at home. On the other hand, reviewing this list also reminds me that we are all human and most all friends, family and co-workers also display many of these behaviors.  It helps to review and internalize these for both personal improvement and dealing with others.

  1. Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations.
  2. Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our 2 cents to every discussion.
  3. Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
  4. Making destructive comments: The needless sarcasm and cutting remarks that we think make us witty.
  5. Starting with "No," "But," or "However": The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone that I'm right and you're wrong.
  6. Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we're smarter than they think we are.
  7. Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
  8. Negativity, or "Let me explain why that won't work": The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren't asked.
  9. Withholding information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
  10. Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to give praise and reward.
  11. Claiming credit that we don't deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contributions to any success.
  12. Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
  13. Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
  14. Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
  15. Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we're wrong or recognize how our actions affect others.
  16. Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
  17. Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
  18. Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent who are usually only trying to help us.
  19. Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
  20. An excessive need to be "me": Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they're who we are.

OUCH, now that I've typed this list I realize even more how I need to work on some things.  Hope this helps you too!

Looking for a local Ventura County job? Look here.

A New Year's Resolution: 7 Tips to Help Your House Lose Weight!

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A New Year's Resolution for 2010

7 Tips to Help Your HOUSE Lose Weight!

1:  Give it a face lift. Start at the curb and give your home a “face lift”. Nip those bushes and trees back a bit; Tuck some colorful spring bulbs into the edgings of bare soil;  Pull out all the weeds and dead (or dying) foliage around the outside of your house and Enhance those dirt filled plant pots with nary a stick growing out of them with greenery or succulents.

2:  Get Rid of the Junk in the Trunk… or rather your garage.  Can you fit A car into your garage? Do you keep your garage door closed because you’re embarrassed at what the neighbors might say? Can you even open your garage?  Get rid of the JUNK!  If you haven’t used it in the past year, it’s most likely that you probably never will.  What’s worse; you’ve probably bought a NEW thingamajig because you forgot you already own one (or simply can’t find it or get to it).

3:  Take Care of Your Heart  by cleaning out the pantry, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets and drawers in your kitchen: often referred to as “the Heart of the Home.”  Reorganize, consolidate, throw-away and give away!

4:  Exercise More If you’re not going to use that treadmill that was plopped in the middle of the living room as “Last Year’s Resolution” then you might as well gift it to a friend that WILL use it or add it to the donation pile.  DON’T go throw it into the guest bedroom or the garage, even if it does make for a good temporary coathanger...try the closet!

5:  Get Rid of the Skeletons in Your Closets.  Really, clean them out!  Clothing you have not worn in the past 12 months: donate. Shoes that have seen better days: donate. Towels, sheets and blankets that are dingy, stained or torn can be donated to a local animal shelter.

6:  Cosmetic Surgery:  Lifting the eyes with a new trim color on the exterior, enhancing the homes “features” with accents of paint on the interior, softening fine lines with new draperies.  All are minor items that can be considered as “outpatient” (done in a day) procedures.

7:  Spend More Time with Family and Friends:  Isn’t that why you originally bought a house?  Close friends may even be willing to come over and help you tackle some of these more “daunting” (but simple) tasks.  It may even inspire them to do the same, then have a neighborhood garage sale and even make some money off of your home shedding a few pounds.

Note from Conejo Joe: Connie Tebyani is a Professional Home Stager, Interior Design Consultant and Owner of Platinum Home Staging, Inc. She is also the Preferred Interior Designer for Pottery Barn and a member of the Real Estate Staging Association.  Connie has lived in the Conejo Valley for 20 years with her husband and 2 boys.  Visit her website at www.PlatinumHomeStaging.com or 805.553.9952. Click here to see Connie's previous tips.