Liz Weston

Hacking Hawaii

August 29, 2013 By Liz Weston

“It’s beautiful, but so expensive!”

More than one friend has told me they were blown away by how much their Hawaiian idyll cost them. They were prepared for hefty airfares, but the daily costs of living are what got them.

Here’s what we did to keep the bills down during a recent trip to Maui:

Used points and miles. Home exchanges, AirBnB and even camping are options to minimize lodging expenses, but we like nice resort hotels with fancy pools. Fortunately, hotel rewards programs typically give you a much better bang for your buck than most airline frequent flyer plans. You typically have to pay a $25 to $30 daily resort fee and you may have to pay for parking, but that’s way less than the usual $350-and-up rack rate. Both resort hotel rooms had refrigerators, which made it easier to:

Eat like a local. There are some wonderful restaurants on Maui…and many that charge a lot for a mediocre meal. We stocked up on breakfast foods, healthy snacks and lunch fixings at a local Safeway, then pestered locals for recommendations to holes-in-the-wall with good food and low prices. The people who work at resorts or who guide adventures are often a wealth of information, since they’re trying to live on not-great salaries in an area with a high cost of living. (Just avoid the concierge desk, since those folks may have incentives to steer you to pricier places.) We booked a few dinners at some Frommers-recommended restaurants that we thoroughly enjoyed, knowing these pricier places were offset by our thriftiness elsewhere.

Eschew resort prices. One of our hotels charged $20 a day to rent a snorkel set. Steps away an independently-run kiosk charged $25 for a week. In Lahaina, a shop charged $9 a week. Activities offered through the resort (parasailing, kayaking, snorkel trips and so on) also had big markups. The convenience simply isn’t worth the cost, in most cases. Booking adventures and excursions directly with the provider online can save you a bunch of cash. A good guidebook can steer you to the best outlets.

Put everybody on an allowance. Our daughter was allowed to bring $100 of her savings to buy souvenirs. I set a daily allowance for our spending as a family, and we stuck pretty close to it (excluding what we spent for Christmas and other gifts). Knowing how much you’ve got to spend makes it easier to say “That’s it for today” when you’ve reached your daily limit, knowing you can schedule pricier excursions, meals or purchases for tomorrow.

Check out farmers markets. We didn’t get a chance to do it this visit, but on previous trips we’ve enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables at good prices as well as crafts and artwork produced by locals. Maui has farmers markets in several locations.

Enjoy the free stuff. I had a great time watching an evening hula show at an outdoor shopping mall. The performers may not have been as dazzling as the fire dancers at the hotel luau, but they were more authentic (fire dancing is a Samoan, not a Hawaiian, specialty) and lovely to see. In previous trips, we’ve enjoyed free open-air concerts and demonstrations of various crafts. Splashing in the pool, swimming in the ocean and talking long walks through beautiful scenery are always highlights of our trips. You can check the local newspaper and search for “free stuff to do in Hawaii” online for more ideas.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

August 28, 2013 By Liz Weston

How not to sabotage your finances, what to be on the lookout for when buying a new car, and finding the hidden costs of retirement.

10 Ways to Sabotage Your Finances
Consider this a To Not Do List.

Use Cash or Mortgage to Buy a Vacation Home?
The answer may surprise you.

6 ways to financially protect yourself in case of serious injury
Don’t let your injuries spread to your finances.

5 sneaky car dealer sales tricks
How to avoid falling for the good old bait-and-switch.

4 Hidden Costs of Retirement
What to be on the lookout for.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

August 27, 2013 By Liz Weston

Saving on back-to-school purchases, a new way to pay for holiday expenses, and how being bad tenant can cause an array of problems.

Financial caution pays off in stocking up for school
Don’t let the back-to-school rush drain your bank account.

Your Ticket to Extra Cash for the Holidays
The holidays (and their expenses) are right around the corner.

Are you a lousy tenant? 7 ways it can cost you
Being late with your rent can cost you in more ways than one.

4 Tips to Help 30-Somethings Make Ends Meet
How to survive the present while planning for the future.

Refinancing Your Mortgage? When to Lock In
Fluctuating mortgage rates make a strategy plan a necessity.

Will loan payoff help or hurt credit scores?

August 26, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Two years ago, my husband was denied a revolving $12,000 line of credit. The credit reporting agency indicated that denial was based on “little revolving usage, insufficient or no bank lines, and insufficient open accounts with zero balances.” Nine months ago, however, he was approved for a car loan and received a FICO Auto V2 Score of 808 from the same credit reporting agency. Another credit reporting agency gave him a FICO Auto 04 Score 836. We had wanted to pay cash for this car but thought it would be wise for my husband to improve his credit, so he got an interest-free loan. My husband was recently approved for and obtained a credit card with a $20,000 revolving credit limit. He previously had a card with a $2,000 limit. He will pay off the balances each month. Our question: How long should he wait to pay off the car loan so that the payoff helps his credit and doesn’t hurt it? We don’t like having outstanding debt and have no other loan obligations.

Answer: Occasionally there’s a conflict between doing what’s best for your finances and doing what’s best for your credit scores.

Paying off an installment loan early, for example, normally is good for your wallet since you’re saving money on interest. But this payoff may come with a cost. While the closed account can remain on your credit report for years, contributing positively to your scores, you’ll get somewhat more of a positive impact if you don’t rush to pay it off. The open account will do more good for your scores than a closed account.

In your case, however, there is no conflict. This is an interest-free loan, so you’re paying absolutely nothing for the option of keeping the account open as long as possible. If your primary concern is supporting your husband’s excellent credit scores, consider getting over your aversion to debt and enjoy the free use of the lender’s money.

(OK, it may not be totally free. Buyers who get zero-interest loans often pay more for their cars than those who get market interest rates, according to Edmunds.com. But we’ll assume you thrifty folks bargained hard and really did get free money.)

If your husband can’t tolerate having any debt, he can keep good scores simply by using those credit cards lightly but regularly. The less he uses of his credit limit on the cards each month, the better: 30% or less is good, 20% or less is better, 10% or less is best. Paying the balances in full will ensure he doesn’t have to pay a dime in interest to keep his scores in good standing.

Retiree burdened with unpayable student loan debt

August 26, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: In a recent column, you fielded a query from parents whose son took out student loans in the mother’s name. You wrote, “If your only income is from Social Security and you don’t have any other property a creditor can legally take, you may be ‘judgment proof,'” which means “a creditor wouldn’t be able to collect on a judgment against you.”

I understand this advice was meant for the mom. But could it equally apply to the borrower who benefited from the loan?

In my case, I will be 70 next year and my only income is Social Security. I owe about $80,000 in private student loans and about $80,000 in federal student loans. I can’t afford to pay either loan. Is there hope for me to get out from under this burden by being judgment-proof? Right now, I can’t afford to see a bankruptcy attorney. It is a struggle just to pay the rent and put some food on my table.

Answer: You can’t afford not to see a bankruptcy attorney. Federal student loan collectors have enormous powers to collect, including taking a portion of your Social Security check.

The concept of being “judgment proof” applies to collections of private student loans. Collectors for those loans may be held at bay if you are, indeed, judgment proof. But you really want an experienced bankruptcy attorney to review your situation to make sure that’s the case. Fortunately, many bankruptcy attorneys offer free or discounted initial sessions. You can get referrals from the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys at http://www.nacba.org.