Saint Augustine, theologian and philosopher once said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” In the common world road trips create an escape from the daily routine.

In order to have a successful trip you need to be fully prepared, and financially able to handle any unforeseen circumstances while on your trip. However, the first thing you need to figure out is how to start saving.

There are several tricks that can be utilized to help save money gradually over a period of time, most of them take an extremely minimal amount of effort and actually make saving easy.

Keep a jar of change

This is one of the oldest methods to holding on to money; in day-to-day life change often just gets thrown in a cup holder and forgotten. That change does build up, and it will build up faster than you realize.

Consider putting the jar in your laundry room, every time you find money in the laundry put it in the jar as well.

Pick a number

Every bill, of any value has a serial number, with 2 letters followed by a series of numbers.

Pick a number from 1 to 10, every time you get a bill that has that number at the end of its serial code put it away and save it.

Make a budget

Figure out all your expenses every month, and find out how much extra spending money you have after your bills are covered.

Once you have determined the amount extra you have, decide on a percentage and then take that amount out of your account each month and place it in a savings account.

Say no

Be aware of what you are spending money on, this is something to keep in mind while you are on your trip as well. Choose not to spend money on unnecessary purchases, if you buy a cup of coffee every morning of the week, go at least one day a week without buying your coffee.

So now you know how to save for a trip, but how can you prepare and plan out your expenses for the actual trip. Creating a budget specifically for your trip can allow you to maintain your spending and stay within your budget.

If you are able to plan your budget in a way that overestimates your spending, then you will end up with extra money to help cover for accidents or unforeseen issues.

Figure out your gas cost, and make an allowance for the fluctuations in gas price. Be aware that the cost of gas is different depending on what state you are in, find out which states you will be driving through and their gas prices.

Always be familiar with the distance in miles, and then make sure you have enough in cash to cover the cost of gas home with a little bit extra to help cover food. You do not want to get stuck at your location because you lost your debit or credit card. It is ideal for the cash to be kept in the car or in your suitcase, out of your wallet.

Being aware of your potential cost and budget will help you know how much to save, and extending that awareness throughout your trip will help you have a successful and enjoyable trip.

Photo: Richard PJ Lambert / CC 2.0

A positive first impression is worth more than a forever diamond. According to a Princeton University study, you get 100 milliseconds (1/10 of a second) to win someone over—that’s faster than you can text, “Like me.” Let’s look at 10 can’t miss practices for making a good first impression.

1. Pay attention to your appearance. Everything about your appearance should broadcast “neat and meticulous.” Show, don’t tell—a neat appearance proves your attention to detail. There’s no need to mention it if you can show it. Arrive on time and mind your manners. We shouldn’t have to mention not to chew gum, but when elected officials meet foreign dignitaries while chomping on gum, it needs to be repeated. Nails should be trimmed and neat with neutral polish, if any—no “Long Island Medium” nails. As your mother probably repeated in an endless loop, “Don’t slouch.” Hold your body erect and look at the other person. Finally, turn off your phone. If someone died, the body will be just as dead in a half-hour. If a loved one is at death’s door, reschedule.
2. Dress for success. In a job interview or a first meeting with a client, dress one step up the position you are seeking or up a step from the client will wear (do your homework), according to CBS Money Watch. “If your prospect is in denim, you wear khaki. They wear sport coats without ties; you are in suits without ties. The point is that you always dress one step further up the clothing ladder than your prospect, but not two.”
3. Be yourself. People can see through phonies a mile away.
4. Trustworthiness vs. confidence. We’ve all been led to believe that we must show confidence 24/7/365—or at least “fake it ’til you make it.” Wired magazine reports that social psychologist Amy Cuddy of Harvard Business School says that in a first impression, trustworthiness and confidence levels comprise 80–90 percent of the overall impression we give. Studies have shown that people place more importance on trustworthiness than confidence because if a person senses that you’re competent, he or she will be interested in your intention (trustworthiness) toward them. If you’re a highly confident person, you might want to dial back the confidence a bit and show more of your trustworthy side.
5. Victims are not winners. According to Psychology Today, “Feeling victimized is not adaptive.” You need to feel empowered to be nimble and to act proactively. If you are a bona fide “victim,” you’re also a survivor. Accentuate the positive and show your strength.
6. Show integrity. Demonstrate that your actions are in line with your values. If you were the star salesperson, demonstrate it with metrics. When you’re asked to talk about a weakness, answer honestly.
7. Prepare an elevator speech. You never know when you might have a chance meeting that could change the course of your life. An elevator speech takes 30 seconds. Address three things in the first 20 seconds: who you are, what you do, and what you want to do. That leaves 10 seconds to quiz the listener and show “what’s in it for them” and why you’re just the person to fill the need. Rehearse your elevator speech with a mentor who will tell you the truth and offer constructive criticism. Practice until you can give your speech in a natural, sincere manner, not as if you’re reading a teleprompter. End your speech with a call to action.
8. Don’t let social media kill your chances at success. It’s simple to search someone online, and the Internet is forever. If you wouldn’t want it broadcast on the 6 o’clock news, don’t put it out there on the Internet. If you’re social media image is less than sterling, clean it up. Delete your accounts and start new ones that give a better impression. You can remove yourself from Google but start building better online profiles—people without a past are no longer mysterious, they’re questionable. Even if you take all these steps, there are other ways people can discover your past.
9. Perfect your email netiquette. When you give your first impression via email, start with a succinct message header, an appropriate salutation and stick to business, according to Inc. Leave out off-colored jokes, private information, LOLs, OMGs and emoticons. Keep it short and write in complete sentences with proper capitalization and grammar. This isn’t Twitter. Before hitting “Send,” check your email for tone.
10. Pay close attention to the other person. The University of Kentucky suggests that you listen twice as much as you speak. Only through listening can you pick up clues about what needs you can fill.

Bottom line: You are not going to make a good first impression every time. Everyone has a bad day, and someone could take an immediate visceral dislike to you. It happens. But if you think that first impressions don’t count, ask yourself if you would let a surgeon to whom you took an immediate dislike cut you open on the operating table? There’s your answer. People want to trust and like those with whom they do business.

It was the go-go 90s and the stock market was on fire. In those days it was easy to make money in the market. It was a great time for momentum stocks and if you could get your hands on some shares of an IPO you had a chance to make a big score. From amateur investors to the most sophisticated traders on Wall Street, everyone was caught up in the exciting world of IPOs and short-term trading. I wanted to be part of that world!

TIP: Short-term trading carries higher risk than long-term investing. Traders can make a lot of money and also lose a lot of money.

Before I go any further let me just say that I have gone through different investment phases over the different stages of my life. Out of college, I preferred mutual funds and had my money invested with Fidelity, T.Rowe Price and Vanguard. In my early 30s I built my own portfolio of stocks. I invested some money in gold and silver bullion and I kept my retirement money in mutual funds. For a few short years, roughly from 1995-2000, I became a more aggressive investor. These were the years I got into day trading. They were also the years when I made the best investment of my life.

TIP: Base your investment strategy on your stage of life, tolerance for risk, and investment goals.

Online discount brokerage firms were in their infancy during the last decade of the twentieth century. Stock trading software was not nearly as sophisticated as it is today. However, it made it possible for people to trade frequently because you could buy or sell a stock for less than $10 per trade (a full service broker might charge $100 for the same trade). I opened a discount brokerage account and learned how to place market and limit orders. I eventually opened a margin account and it was nothing to buy or sell $10,000 worth of stock three or four times per week.

TIP: Open an online discount brokerage account and make your own trades. You’ll save on transaction costs, have a universe of stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds, be able to view live quotes, do research, and track performance.. 

I am not going to lie and say I always made money on my trades, but I did make more good trades than bad ones. Most of the time I would make $200 – $300 on a stock I bought on one day and sold several days later. Sometimes the stock would go down and result in a loss. One thing I quickly learned was that you have to recognize when you made a wrong pick. I swallowed my pride, sold the loser, and went on to another stock.

TIP: Don’t ride a bad stock all the way down. Even Warren Buffet makes an occasional bad stock pick. When he does, he accepts a small loss (relatively speaking) and moves on. Limit your losses!

My best day ever in the stock market was the day I decided to buy into the IPO of a new stock called Books-a-Million (BAMM). The new issue was in great demand and I knew that it would immediately surge when the day’s trading session began. I got to my computer, proceeded to my online discount brokerage account, and placed an order for 2,000 shares at the market price (I wanted to make sure I was not shut out by a limit order).

TIP: Be ready when a great opportunity comes up. An IPO or a promising quarterly report can result in a rapidly rising stock price. Don’t be 100 percent invested. Have some cash on hand to take advantage of “special” situations.

For some reason, I thought that the market order had not been transmitted so I re-entered it. As you know, once you place a market order it is almost impossible to cancel it. A few minutes later I checked my account to see if my 2,000 share order had been executed. It had, and a second 2,000 share order also was executed. The IPO was priced at $12 and my two orders were filled at $17 and $20 as millions of shares traded in the first five minutes after trading began. It was not long before BAMM got very close to $30 and I was ecstatic. Then, reality set in and the stock sold off. I sold 2,000 shares at $27 and the remaining 2,000 shares at $25, netting me a one-day gain of $30,000. Although I did not sell at the very top I was still thrilled about being 30,000 richer!

TIP: Sometimes lucky is better than smart. If you buy a stock and it takes off, don’t be too greedy. Take some profits while it is going up and maybe hold on to some shares in case the stock continues to rise.

I would hardly call myself a brilliant investor, but I have been fairly successful over the last 30 years. Getting lucky is not an investment strategy. Sticking with some proven investment principles has helped me profit over the years.  

• Define your investment goals.
• Know your investment time horizon.
• Never buy on impulse.
• Always do your research before investing.
• Create a risk-adjusted portfolio
• Periodically review, adjust, and rebalance your portfolio.
• Be diversified. 
• Don’t invest under pressure. 

Getting your first car is an exciting experience. It gives you a great sense of independence, maturity, and self sufficiency.

What’s not so great, however, is the inevitable auto loan that comes with that experience. It can often seem that understanding and comparing car loans is nearly impossible.

Here are three great tips you can put into use to help you get the best terms on your automotive loan.

Get a Newer Car

When banks and credit agencies consider your application for a loan, they are considering not just you and your credit history, but the vehicle you are purchasing as well.

As a general rule, banks will be much more willing to make a loan on a newer car than on an older one. This is largely because, in the event of repossession, a newer car will be much easier for that bank to get its money back out of.

To make borrowers more likely to consider this, it is common practice for financial institutions to offer high incentives for loans taken out toward the purchase of a car made within the last few model years.

One of the most common incentives is a longer term loan offered for newer cars. Newer cars are often given four, five, or even six year loan terms, whereas older cars are usually restricted at two or three.

These policies vary by institution, but a general rule of thumb is that the longer term loans will be offered on vehicles five years old or newer.

Compare Many Different Lending Agencies

Not all lending agencies will offer you the same terms and interest rates.

As such, it is often beneficial to apply for loans from several different institutions, and then compare the offer each one makes to you. You may very well find that one particular bank is willing to offer you an interest rate that is significantly lower that their competitors.

On a car loan that is likely to range well into the thousands of dollars, even the slightest break on interest rates can represent a substantial savings.

If you have a local credit union, you will want to pay especially close attention to the loan offer you receive from it, as credit unions often have slightly lower rates than traditional banks.

Get a Cosigner, Even if You Don’t Need One

If you have limited credit history, getting a cosigner is one of the best ways to lower your interest rate on your first auto loan.

Even if you have the ability to take the loan out yourself, it very likely that your interest rates will be higher on your own than they would be with a cosigner who has a well established credit history. Finding a friend or family member willing to cosign your loan will help you save a great deal of money on interest payments down the road.

Keep in mind, this is not a one sided proposition. If you do opt to get a cosigner, you are all the more responsible for ensuring that your payments are timely and complete, as another person’s credit is now on the line with yours.

Following these three tips will help you to secure the best possible terms on your first auto loan. To get more information on the exact details of a possible loan, you can contact the credit manager at the financial institution you intend to take your loan out from.

You can also try online peer to peer lending platforms as an alternative to traditional banks and credit unions, as these platforms often offer lower rates.