BEST WAY TO GET AN AIR FAIR BARGAIN

Airfares are taking off. According to Travelocity, the average round-trip domestic airfare this Thanksgiving is $386, up 9 percent from last year. But if you’ve got the will, there’s always a way to land an airfare bargain. If your itinerary for travel savings begins and ends with a trip to an online travel agent like Expedia, Orbitz, or Travelocity, you could easily miss out on a lower fare. You could also miss out if you confine your search to sites that aggregate fares, like Cheapflights, Kayak, or Mobissimo. That’s because the best fares might be available from the place many travelers neglect to check: the airlines themselves. In the following video, Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson explains why. As Stacy mentioned, some airlines have been offering lower prices on their websites to keep fliers from online agencies and aggregator sites. The reason is simple: They want to avoid paying commissions of roughly $10 to $25 per ticket. Toronto-based Porter Airlines, for example, offers savings of up to 50 percent on its website. Southwest, the lowest-cost carrier in many markets, has never offered fares on sites other than its own. At least one other airline isn’t stopping with incentives – they’re also placing restrictions on passengers that don’t book from them directly. Frontier Airlines recently announced that failing to book from their site will result in half the frequent flier miles, higher fees, and no ability to get a seat assignment until check-in. Bottom line? If your goal is the best possible deal, you might not find it with one-stop shopping. Use an online agency or aggregator to see the options, but don’t book until you also check the airline’s site. More tips for extra savings… 1. Follow your favorite airlines on Twitter and Facebook Many airlines, including American Airlines, Southwest, and Delta, tweet hourly, offering info about deals and discounted fares. 2. Sign up for email alerts Sign up for deal alerts to be emailed or texted to you. I get weekly emails from Airfarewatchdog to stay informed about the lowest fares out of my local airport. You can also personalize your settings so you’ll be alerted when that flight to Aruba drops in price. Some other great options for alerts: Smartertravel.com and TripAdvisor.com/Flights. 3. Look for discount codes Don’t ever buy a plane ticket (or anything else) without searching for a coupon code. It only takes a few seconds: Simply go to your favorite search engine and type in “(Airline) Promo Code.” And if you need them, check for promo codes on rental cars and hotels while you’re at it. 4. Fly on less popular days and times As we said in last year’s 7 Steps to Cheaper Airfares, try to book an early morning Tuesday or Wednesday flight. Airlines also tend to charge less for the first flight out each day, and weekly price wars between airlines work in your favor on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. 5. Consider traveling in shoulder seasons Going to Europe? Consider flying in late August or September, when prices tend to drop. Early December or after mid-April are good times to find lower fares for the Caribbean. 6. Consider crowdsourcing Earlier this year, we told you about a site called Flightfox , run by experts (also known as “flight hackers”) who compete to find you the best flight. Finder’s fees start at $24, but if you aren’t satisfied, the service is 100 percent refundable. 7. Compare airports Being picky about airports can cost you. That’s why travel search engines like Kayak include that little box that says “add nearby airports” – check it and you might see lower rates. For example, testing a round-trip ticket from Miami to Los Angeles found a low price of $430 the week before Christmas, but when including nearby airports, Kayak found a $389 ticket flying out of Fort Lauderdale instead. 8. Use your frequent flier miles If you’re not already enrolled in a frequent flier program, you might want to sign up for one. When deciding which one to use, consider where you’ll be flying frequently and which airlines you’ll travel with. Also consider what type of tickets you’ll be buying and if the airline offers useful upgrades for you. 9. Avoid baggage fees Choose an airline that has a low-cost or no-cost baggage policy. Fly Southwest and you can check two bags for free. With JetBlue , you’ll get one bag in for free. United Airlines is a different story, charging $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, as we explained in 10 Tips to Save on Baggage Fees. 10. Beware of pricing glitches In June, we told you Delta Airlines was charging higher airfares to frequent fliers when they logged into their account, and lower fares when they were not logged in. These matters have since been addressed and resolved, but it taught us a lesson. Be sure to perform multiple airfare searches. 11. Book early Planning ahead can give you a good jump on savings. Rates start rising two weeks from the flight date, according to FareCompare.com. They recommend booking two to 12 weeks out. 12. Name your own price Sites like Priceline.com let you make the price offer, but require flexibility in exchange: You don’t know the airline, departure time, or layovers until you buy. You also can’t earn frequent flier miles. The price can be significantly lower than published fares, though – up to 50 percent in some cases.

FREE STUFF

Now, lets add more detail, and expand the list…

1. Free cars

Many people want their cars moved from place to place, but don’t want to do the driving. Sometimes these cars are delivered by truck, but often they’re driven – by people like you. If you have a clean driving record, a car delivery company like AutoDriveaway might hook you up.

I did car delivery a few times when I was in college – it’s a great way to get where you’re going. It’s best if you’re flexible about when you leave, return, and perhaps even where you go. You still have to pay for gas, and the trip home can be problematic. I used to hitchhike, but smarter choices today would be bus, plane, or waiting at the other end for another drive-away car.

For more, see How to Drive Across the Country Free.

2. Free lodging

Why stay in a hotel when the nonprofit Couchsurfing.org offers tourists a chance to stay at homes for free? Make friends with sponsoring families throughout the United States and countries ranging from Croatia to France. You have to set up a profile on the CouchSurfing website, which provides tips on how to find families willing to open their homes to you. Obviously, the digs won’t be fancy, but they’ll be free.

Another way to get free lodging is to home-swap. Check out Best Price for a Hotel Room? $0.

3. Free audio books

Now you can find out for free the fate of Pip in Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” or Elizabeth in “Pride and Prejudice” as you drive or jog. Download free audio books from the nonprofit LibriVox.org, which has volunteers recording classics in the public domain – including many Shakespeare plays. You can also volunteer to help by reading. LibriVox will even provide you with free recording software.

4. Free food

There’s at least one day every year when you shouldn’t think of paying for a meal. Frugal Living has a list of hundreds of businesses that offer birthday freebies, most of which are food. For a free libation at your favorite pub, do what I do: Loudly proclaim it’s your birthday and demand that everyone within earshot pick up the next round.

5. Free food for kids

Don’t go to another restaurant that doesn’t feed your kids for free. MyKidsEatFree.com offers a roadmap of where you can save on kids’ meals – just type in a state and city. You’ll pay but your kids won’t at more than 5,000 restaurants across the country.

6. Free samples

Before you go to the drugstore and shell out silly sums for travel sizes of your favorite toiletries, go toVolition.com or one of many other websites that offer free samples. In addition to soap, shampoo, etc., you might find all manner of interesting things. For example, we’ve spotted circus tickets, a free diet analysis, and free advance movie screenings. Other free mega-sites include TheFreeSite.com and freechannel.net.

7. Free TV

Despite that more than 100 million Americans shell out an average of $75 every month for satellite or cable TV, local channels are still free. And thanks to digital signals, reception is better than ever. Need more programming without the big cable bill? No problem. Check out You Don’t Have to Pay for Cable TV.

8. Free software

You can get free software for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and other uses by going to OpenOffice.org. And that’s the tip of the iceberg. No matter what kind of software you want, you can probably find it free. Check out 5 Best Free Software Programs.

9. Free anti-virus

This one could go under “free software,” but it’s important enough to warrant its own spot on the list. Check out Antivirus Software is a Waste of Money for more.

10. Free speech

Make your voice heard around the world with your own blog. Many companies will help you set up your own site at no charge, such as WordPress or Blogger. They’ll even give you free, easy instructions and a choice of blog templates.

11. Free foreign language lessons

The BBC is on the other side of the pond, but it offers a free 12-week class to learn French, Spanish, Italian, or German, gratis. You’ll even get a certificate at the completion of the course. BBC also offers other audio and video courses in the four languages – as well as help in learning more exotic languages such as Chinese, Russian, and Greek.

12. Free checking

According to The Wall Street Journal, the average minimum checking account balance required to avoid a monthly fee at U.S. banks is $723 – and the average monthly fee is $5.48.

But banks aren’t the only game in town. While not all offer free checking, the prospect of lower fees is one of7 Reasons You Should Join a Credit Union.

Another option is online-only banks. Without the overhead of brick-and-mortar branches, the terms are often much better. Consumerism Commentary ranks The Best Online Checking Accounts.

Too much hassle to leave your bank? Threaten to and see if you can have fees reduced or eliminated.

13. Free credit reports and scores

Don’t ever pay for a copy of your credit report. Instead, go to AnnualCreditReport.com for a free look at your credit history once a year.

When it comes to free credit scores, you can turn to sites like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame, although they won’t give you the most widely used score, the FICO score. For that, you could try enrolling in a FICO product that comes with a free score, then cancelling within the cancellation period. See Free FICO Score: How You Can Get One.

14. Free cash

Tired of paying a $2.50 “convenience fee” for using an ATM that’s not in your bank’s network? Use an app like ATM Hunter to find a branch ATM. If you can’t find an ATM near you for a free cash withdrawal, no worries: Plenty of stores will give you cash back with no fee when you make a purchase.

15. Free information

Use the search feature on your smartphone, or text a business name to G-O-O-G-L-E, and you’ll get the number texted back. You can also dial free 411 (1-800-Free411). The results are sponsored by companies (you’ll have to listen to a 10-second ad), but it’s free.

16. Free scholarship search

Plenty of websites offer free searches for scholarships, such as Fastweb. There’s even a company calledFree Scholarship Searches that offers links to 40 websites that offer free scholarship searches. For more tips to save on school, see 5 Steps to Dramatically Reduce the Cost of College.

17. Free baggage

My wife and I went to Europe for 10 days with just one carry-on each. If we can do it, so can you. But if you insist on checking a bag, try to fly with the only two airlines that allow one free checked bag: Southwest and JetBlue. And avoid the two that slap consumers in the face by charging for carry-ons: Spirit and Allegiant.

Need to check and need to fly an airline that charges? Delta, United, and American all offer credit cards that include checked-bag fee waivers for cardholders and, in some cases, their companions.

18. Free entertainment

As we point out in 19 Tips to Save on Entertainment, your local library, parks, and universities offer lots of free fun, from books to plays to concerts. Join email lists to see what’s up. And of course, there’s the Internet, offering free games as well as articles. Just go to the website of your favorite news source.

Volunteering doesn’t cost a dime and can pay off for both you and your community. Local animal shelters, home-building groups, shelters, and food banks are always looking for volunteers. And check out volunteer opportunities at local festivals and events. By volunteering, you get to go to the event free.

19. Free water

While technically not free, tap water is about as close as you can get. If you’re concerned about water quality, buy a filter. But don’t ever pay for water at a convenience store.

20. Free telephone calls

Always calling a loved one long-distance? If you both get something like Skype, you can talk all you want without paying a dime. And with a service like Google Voice, you can get all of your cell phone calls free too.

21. Free everything else

You have something you don’t want, but it’s too valuable to throw away. You might donate it to charity, but you also might give it away at sites like Craigslist or Freecycle, a nonprofit set up to help you find free stuff and keep it out of landfills. From used furniture to sport equipment, you’ll be amazed at what people give away.

Bottom line? While the best things in life are always free, so is lots of other stuff. If you want to find some extra money in your budget, stop paying for things you could have for nothing.

HOW TO GET FREE SHIPPING

HOW TO GET FREE SHIPPING Free Rush Shipping Some of the biggest online retailers are still offering free last minute shipping: Barnes & Noble – free shipping on Nook HD through Dec. 22 MacMall – free 2-day shipping on orders over $299 and under 25lbs – through 6 p.m. PST Dec. 22. Macy’s – free shipping on orders over $99. Place order 11:59 p.m. EST Dec. 20. The Northface – free 2-day shipping on everything through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 19. Walmart.com has extended free shipping through December 19th on some items (check product page for eligibility) Overstock.com – free shipping on select gifts. Place order by Dec. 22 to receive by Christmas. Newegg Free 2-Day shipping on over 200 items Target – free shipping on Daily Deals Victoria's Secret – free shipping on orders over $100 using code “SHIP12.” Order by 5 p.m. EST on Dec. 20. Zappos – free shipping for all items with guaranteed Christmas delivery if ordered by 11:59 p.m. PST Dec. 22. And the biggest of the big online retailers, Amazon, has a limited set of items available for free expedited shipping. These include jewelry, watches, clothing, video games, laptops, headphones, and kitchen items. [Related: Great Gifts for Under $25] But since many of the above deals are limited to select items, take a look at… How to Get Free 2-Day Shipping on Just About Everything Amazon Prime is a yearly subscription service. In exchange for a $79 fee, you get free 2 day shipping all year long. And yes, that also applies at Christmas (must order by 3 p.m. EST Dec. 22 to receive on time). Best deal is that you can get a free 6-month trial. And here’s the real sneaky surprise: Do you have a family member who already belongs to Prime? They can nominate up to four people for the same free shipping benefits. Prime members nominate someone by going to their account, clicking “Settings” and “Manage Prime Membership.” Also, Amazon Student is a free 6-month membership to Prime with all the benefits, providing you have an email address that ends in .edu. But you don’t have to limit yourself to Amazon. Shoprunner.com also offers free 2-day shipping, though the membership service costs $8.95 a month – so not entirely free, but if you have numerous items still to buy, you could save a bundle. And Shoprunner has tons of participating online retailers like Toys R Us, Sports Authority, Claire’s, PetSmart and EMS. Say you want to buy something from PetSmart.com, if you sign in with Shoprunner, many of the items on the site will be eligible for free 2-day shipping. One more thing to try: I was able to sign up for a free 1-year membership to Shoprunner using the promo code RUNNER. The site implied I had to be an American Express member, but it never asked for my details about the credit card, and now I have a membership. Good luck. Ship to Store Finally, the best last-minute option for many is to ship to store. You peruse all the options from home, pay online, and then pick up your selection at your local store. Tons of big retailers offer this service, and it guarantees your item will be in stock and waiting for you at customer service. Major retailers offering free Ship to Store include: Best Buy Target Toys R Us Walmart Sears