A Special Guest Blog by Paul A.C. Dominie – General Manager for Coyle Carpet One, LLC and President of MEEP Consulting and Design.
I was thinking as I observed hybrid taxies in New York City, “that’s a great idea”. Thinking with our common sense mind can help the world around us. With the thousands of taxies in New York and the gas issues of our day why not go for less with the hybrid? Then I looked around me to see the growth of this magical city. I observed the term “reuse” at every corner. The old buildings with great “bones” being remodeled into town homes or apartments too not only save money but save space. Watching the tourist taking rickshaw tours of the downtown with smiles on their faces. The explosion of green spaces in this massive concrete jungle. All of this made me think about common sense for the green world. Use less, reuse the best for another time, watch the little things for the good of bigger things and look long term for the greatest results. I never thought that New Yorkers would make me think in the term of common sense, but they did.
This trip to the “Big city” made this small town boy think that if they can “do it there then you can do it anywhere”. If we try to think in terms of the results for the long term for selections or services could we not reduce our pressure on the planets resources? I think we can. A true eye opener was our bus ride into New York from New Jersey. Hundreds of thousands of people riding the bus to and from work everyday to save on cost and maybe help the congestion of traffic. The little things will long term make the big things. Too many of these riders only see the effects for their day or pocket book or to just save time. The results for that area of the world are less cars and gas consumption. Think, if all those riders on the bus drove into the City. WOW! It’s bad enough on the time it takes to get anywhere! Then measure the gas savings. Forget abot’ it!
A true lesson on common sense in a progressive City.
Depending on what your destination is and how long you plan on making your trip for, the airfare may be the priciest expense. Because of this, finding a great deal on the airfare becomes extremely important. The more money you are able to save on the plane tickets, the more money you will be able to use toward your actual vacation.
When it comes to purchasing your airline tickets, the sooner the better. This goes for basically anywhere you plan on traveling. When you purchase a ticket sooner, lets say several months before the trip, there will be less of a demand, which will drive the price of the ticket down. However, on the flip side, as the day of the desired flight approaches, the flight’s seats will begin to fill up. As fewer and few seats become available, the higher the demand will be, which will drive the price up. Booking the flight in as far advance as you can may save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.
Flying during the middle of the week is generally the cheapest time to fly. Fewer people travel during mid week than on Friday through Sunday. If at all possible, fly out on a Tuesday or Wednesday. You may actually find prices significantly less expensive on the Wednesday than the Sunday of the same week.
Looking for airfare online will probably be your best be at securing the cheapest possible flight price. There are multiple booking agencies which specialize in finding the cheapest airfare. However, to save time, go to Bing.com, which offers a comprehensive flight search option. Bing will search other travel sites (Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire, etc.) and display the cheapest flight form each site. From here you will be able to decide which website offers the best deal.
Students can often find discounted airfare by visiting STA.com. This is the Student Travel Association, and it can sometimes find less expensive airfare for the traveling student. This isn’t always the case, but it doesn’t hurt to look.
Guide for cheap air tickets