More Uses for Zip-close Plastic Bags - Gallon-size

Most people aren't too surprised by all the uses for zip-close plastic bags.  The array of uses are bound to include something someone hadn't thought of.  But gallon-size baggies?  Yes!  These are definitely worth taking along, especially for the Road Warrioress on business. 

1.   Collecting “bumpf” at a trade show?  Assembling material for a project or report?  Are you a writer who needs to sort materials by magazine article?  Headed for multiple cities, states, countries?  Put each set in a separate gallon-size bag and label it!  Bags weigh less than stacks of file folders.  Zipping prevents loss of business cards, notes, or paper scraps, as often happens with file folders.

2.   Taking a sweater, shawl, pashmina, or something special you want to keep clean, snag-free, and separate?  Bag it, squeeze it, pack it.

3.   Swimsuit or undies still damp when it’s time to depart?  Bag, squeeze, zip.  Take it out to complete drying upon arrival.

 

4.  Substitute these for the smaller sizes of travel space bags.  Saves a lot of money.  They're probably right in the kitchen drawer - no special trip to the store.  They're reusable, recyclable, disposable.  Partially zip, roll, squeeze, and seal up.  No, they don't squeeze out as much air as the "real thing."  But they're quick, handy, cheap, and work.  Nice for silk or other dress shirts and blouses - roll them up in the bag and pack rolls.

5.  Maps in the car!  There's never enough space in glove compartment or map pocket.  Organize a series of maps, say New York to Florida, state by state southward, and put the used one at the back of the stack as you head southward.  Organize by region, divide east and west of the Mississippi, whatever system works best for you.  Those AAA maps fit perfectly in a gallon-size bag, stack about eight or so per bag, fold over and zip.

Take spares for each size of your zip-bags!  Take them out of the box, roll them up, and tuck into your suitcase along the side or rear.  I keep finding more and more uses for them as I go.  You probably will, too.  And don't forget to share your findings with everyone here!

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann

L'Audace, L'Audace, Toujours L'Audace!

I was just talking with a fellow attendee at a workshop about business travel.  Yes, loads of women managers and execs at his large company travel.  "They only travel in packs," he says.  Not one of them travels solo - unlike us Road Warrioresses.  Company conferences, training, even sales calls on customers - everything is done as a team.  Same flight, same hotel, same car or shuttle.  And heaven help one if dinner is not scheduled en masse.  They'll order room service before they'll venture into a hotel coffee shop alone.

Lousy way to travel if you ask me.  Yes, I've done it for corporate quarterly sales meetings and such.  It's nice to have company at dinner, develop coworker relationships.  It can be rather comfy, or a severe trial of overload and no privacy.  Yes, I always managed to strike out on my own somewhere along the schedule of events.

But practically all of my travels from the moment I set off to college barely days after I turned 18 (not even a week after my birthday!) have been solo.  And while I have needed or wanted room service on occasion, it becomes very dreary very fast.  Waits can be long, food often arrives cold, the menu is very limited to start with.  And the costs are frightful - one dinner can consume an entire per diem allowance.  Neither riding with the herd some 16 hours a day nor hiding in my hotel room are much fun.

Remember George C. Scott as Patton?  "L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace," was General George's advice, as memorably quoted by Actor George.  Where's your audacity?  Guts, gumption, or simple - and elementary - modicum of confidence?  Criminy, you hardly need much brains, talent, hutzpah, experience, or anything else to walk into a restaurant, sit down, order something, and eat it.  You've been eating something or other since the day you were born.

Most larger hotels have more than one restaurant.  Pick the snack bar or coffee shop rather than the exclusive and formal restaurant.  Who knows?  You might strike up an interesting conversation with a fellow traveler, even make connections for a better job!  It's easy.  It's a lot more fun.  And you will get better food selected from a wider variety of options.

Surprise!  You'll probably find out you are not the only person dining alone.  You might even run into me.  Even though I really am quite shy, we'll strike up an interesting conversation.

Oh, by the way.  This guy clued me in on something, if you're ambitious.  Those women hit the glass ceiling because they can't - or won't - travel solo.  Top executives don't travel in packs.  They only have a peon trailing behind if anyone at all accompanies them.

May your road rise to meet you - and may you meet it with audacity!
Ann

IRS Tax Net Traps Non-US Citizens, Too

Taxes can be a big issue when living, working, traveling abroad.  US is probably the world's worst offender when it comes to tax traps.  US citizens are subject to US taxes on ALL income from EVERY source worldwide, whether they reside in the US or not.

US citizens are not the only ones trapped!  Tens of millions of foreigners - non-US citizens - get trapped every year.  Obviously, the legal permanent resident who holds a green card is trapped just as much as any US citizen, born or naturalized.  Green card holders often absent themselves from the US.  They're transferred to their employer's office in another country like any other expat, go home to tend to family matters, travel - whatever.  They still must file and pay exactly as any citizen must.

Some decide not to return to US, or get caught up in family issues and simply don't make it back to the US.  Too bad.  The green card is deemed abandoned and revoked one year from date of departure.  But if you want to avoid problems with IRS, when you depart the US, go to the US consulate, hand over your green card, and sign the form to revoke your legal permanent residency!  It's the only way out of the tax trap!

Work in the US?  Turn in that employment visa the minute you depart that job and return home.  Stop the tax clock from ticking as of last day of US employment.

Want to stay out of harm's way?  Never spend more than 180 days in the US within any one-year period.  E.g. if you are a Canadian Snow Bird in Florida for the winter, beware coming down "earlier" next year so you don't hit that 180-mark!  Beware coming for a month later in the year for a relative's wedding, road trip through the Rockies, or whatever.  Ditto if your boss frequently and/or lengthily ships you off to training, business meetings, sales conventions or what-have-you.

Some people can become subject to US taxes without ever setting foot in the US.  Remember Harry Potter and its author, JK Rowling?  The Second-Wealthiest Woman in the World earned tons of money in the US - royalties from her books, merchandising fees.  At her end of the income market, its pretty safe to assume she had experts to set things up properly, file her taxes, etc.  But recording artists, authors, stockholders, those who rent out their winter home or investment property - all kinds of people from around the world - can end up with US tax consequences.  They're trapped!

So when we talk here about taxes, especially US taxes, remember: You could be trapped in the IRS Tax Net!  Be careful.  Do not mess with the IRS.  They're broke, they know it, and they can get really, really mean trying to squeeze money out of you.

Keep it absolutely clear that you do not reside in the US, do not earn your income in the US, do not have investments or other US financial considerations.  Remain free!

May your road rise to meet you!
Ann

My Wheelies Died!

Phooey-ptui!  I need my little "office on wheels" - and the wheels died.  Just gave up the ghost, shredded to bits. 

It has not - to my mind, at least - seen excessively heavy or hazardous duty.  Neither TSA nor baggage handlers have gotten their mischievous mitts on it.  Yes, it gets used daily, but hardly any excessive duty or rough handling.  It goes from car to library, car to home, and has run over nothing rougher than carpet, flooring, concrete sidewalks and asphalt parking lots.  Not all that far for any trip, either.

So I'm very disappointed with this wheeled computer bag.  Granted, it was used when the previous owner gave it to me.  The zipper enclosing the retractable handle had broken, but that was no problem as far as I was concerned.  The bag itself showed little to no wear at all.  The wheels looked fine - and sturdy. 

I love all its little fitted pockets.  The front compartment holds all my "diddlies" - both phone rechargers, pens, recharger for AA batteries and a pack of 4 AA batteries, a small notebook for photo captions when I'm on a photo shoot, a deck of 3" x 5" index cards.  The center section is padded for my 'puter, and I keep a portable CD player, power supply for the laptop, and the computer security cable on the other side of the computer cushioning.  The back compartment holds a couple of slim file folders, a pair of legal pads, and odd papers. 

It just holds the essentials - your basic business equipment on the road or to the office.  It's not some big legal briefcase laden with massive legal briefs and petitions for a court.

But after only six months of daily use, the wheels have absolutely shredded.  I'm dragging it on the metal bearings inside the rubber (or whatever substance they use for wheels).

This is not a durable bag.  This is really unacceptable for any Road Warrioress who needs a traveling office.  It does not compute!  So I'm very unhappy with the makers, Western Pack, and sorely disinclined to choose any sort of bag from this maker.

The Road Warrioress needs bags which are durable and stand up to their heavy travel usage.  A bag which cannot make it to the office or library every day for a few months is not worthy of the long-haul traveler.

May your road rise to meet you - and long may your bags endure!
Ann

How Low Can You Go?

I’ve been a wallet-watcher most of my life.  Before I pull out the old wallet, it had better be something I really want and am willing to pay the price.  Most of the time, I’m not willing to part with the dough.

Traveling with a travel hot-pot to boil water for coffee or ramen noodles has been standard operating procedure for ages.  I hate waiting for room service more than I hate instant coffee!  (I always carry my favorite teas anyway.)  I also refuse to see anybody until I’ve had my coffee, and resume some state resembling human-ness.  If anybody has a source for a dual-voltage travel pot, please, pretty-pretty-please, POST it here!  The old one bit the dust – mourn, mourn.

Eat local?  Of course.  Find “cheap Chinese” – hawker stalls and little take-out places?  Yum-yum!  Swedish meatballs at IKEA?  They’re actually very good, and totally superb for the price.

There are oodles of ways to economize while traveling.  If you’re a business traveler on expense account, you probably have a limit per diem, or per meal, or per-something.  If it’s your business, you are absolutely on a budget or bust your biz.  There's hardly a Road Warrioress anywhere who does not need to watch some pennies, pence, rupiah, and yen somewhere.

So grazing some other travel blogs, I came across Nomadic Matt, a Perpetual Traveler – backpack variety – who lives & travels off income from his travel website and blog.  He survived 5 days in pricy Stockholm on US$100.  Of course, it can be done.  If you impose on the kindness of friends for an extended period.  If you do your work out of an internet café for as long as you can nurse a lemonade.  If you walk everywhere.  If you miss the best a city has to offer – the real reasons for exploring abroad.  Even Nomadic Matt admits it was a bummer.

Here’s his story, not a pretty one:  http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/the-myth-travel-is-expensive-how-5-days-in-stockholm-cost-me-100-dollars/

Skip the appetizer, but not the entrée.  Skip the liquor, and sample the local brew.  Yes, you can slash travel costs.  But why bother traveling if you are going to miss the best a place can offer?  You could have stayed home and seen it on TV!  It’s the experience which matters more than the money.

Got any budget-friendly tips you use?  Share – share – share!  We all care about our budgets, but still want to get our work done, see the real sights, and live a fruitful Road Warrioress life.

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann

Who's Got the Carryon Bag Fees?

Spirit Airlines announced that, starting 1 August, it will charge a $45 fee for carryon bags put into overhead bins.  They claim new fares will be reduced by more than the bag fee, and there are discounts for online payment and members.  However, flyers are still outraged by fees for carryons.


Of course, as we've been posting, the key to traveling efficiently and cheaply is to pack light and put the carryon under your feet.


Now Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York says he has commitments of "no carryon bag fee" from United, Delta, American, US Airways and JetBlue.  We'll see how long that commitment endures!


For anything other than a long-term move overseas or a formal Destination Wedding, you can get it down to a carryon. 


For my move overseas, I'm down to the allowed two checked bags plus carryon.  The carryon is my office and electronics.  A 26" pullman with a year's wardrobe and shoes.  And a 24" pullman for personal & household supplies.  I'm thinking of repacking once more to reduce the load by a bag.  And that's to live on (and live with) for at least a whole year, with an aim to make it suffice for two!


May your road rise to meet you,


Ann

Defend Your Bags Against the Totally Scurrilous Armada

There's no telling what might go missing from airline baggage.  Items reported stolen in recent years include golf balls, a fresh-caught halibut in a cooler full of ice, and an endless array of laptops and other electronic equipment. 

Your valuables are not covered by insurance for checked bags.  Jewelry, laptops, camera equipment, money and other monetary instruments, and other types of valuables are expressly denied any coverage when you fly.  Your homeowners insurance might cover some things, but you have to check your policy to be sure.

So your first line of defense is carry your valuables in your handbag or carryon bag.  Get a jewelry roll and pack it in your purse or carryon bag.  Be sure your wallet holds your Social Security card (if you need to bring it all - better to put it in your safe deposit box at the bank), ID's, whichever credit card you need, and a second currency when traveling internationally.  Keep your laptop, Kindle, camera and other electronics in your handbag or carryon, and hang onto both of them tightly!

Locks can be broken.  TSA routinely opens locked bags.  Get TSA approved locks anyway and use them.  They do not deter TSA, but don't make things too easy for anyone else.

List exactly what is in each bag: carryon and checked bag(s).  Ensure your detailed list is accessible to you wherever you might go, and have a back-up list.  Email your list to yourself, or save a list on your computer or flash drive.  Keep a copy at home.  Make sure you have serial numbers for valuables.  If something goes missing, you need to know immediately so you can act.

Inspect your checked bags carefully when you retrieve them at baggage claim.  Note any damage and/or missing items.  Put in a claim with the baggage agent immediately.

If a bag does not spew from the carousel, likewise put in a claim with the airlines baggage agent immediately.

Airlines are supposed to provide urgently needed change of clothing & toiletries.  Don't let them pawn you off with a 24-hour wait "to see if it arrives on the next flight."  They are also required to reimburse purchases of immediately needed items, so keep your receipt for things purchased within 24 hours of your flight.  Use your list to detail "black & white striped cotton knit jacket with 3/4 length sleeves," not just "jacket."

Reimbursement limits of $3300 for domestic US flights do not apply for international flights, even on a US carrier.  International limits go by the kilo of baggage weight, not the depreciated value of the items contained in the bag(s).  The international insurance reimbursement limit runs about US$650 per bag. 

It is not unusual for the airlines to blame TSA on any flight which goes through any US airport.  And TSA of course blames airline baggage handlers.  Insurance reimbursement for lost (or stolen) bags, and for items stolen from checked bags, is likely to be held up.  You need to document everything thoroughly, and follow up diligently. 

No idea what they did about that stolen halibut, however....

Dealing with Lost Luggage

According to the airlines, only about 2% of bags get lost.  For a Road Warrior-ess, that's quite a risk.  Check a bag 100 times a year, and you could lose two, if you're average.

Slash your risks!  Use only a carryon bag whenever possible.  Use our packing tips and others' to reduce your "stuff" enough to get it down to one bag.  Backpackers and some perpetual travelers can live out of one bag for months at a time.  I spent several months "riding the rails through China" with just one duffle.  Laptops were h-e-a-v-y then, wireless did not really exist, and I had to lug along a "small" (hah!) travel printer.  With the teeny-tiny sizes of so many items these days, and reduced weights, it is much easier to lug an entire office, a library, whatever.  So if your trip is less than a week, you can certainly get it down to one.

There are times when you simply need a lot of clothes, heavy winter clothes, or other stuff, and a single carryon simply won't cut it.  Reduce your risks of your bag failing to land when and where you do.

Luggage tags:  do not use your home address.  Use your office address, private mail facility address, P.O. Box, anything to keep nosy-parkers from discovering you are not at home.  Do not put your home phone number on there, either.  Use a free email addie which you could check in case of lost luggage, a message phone, office phone, pager number or similar contactable email or phone that does not reveal your home location and private numbers/addresses.

Help yourself spot your bag faster.  Decal, neon-colored strap, something!

Get your little butt-sky straight to the baggage claim.  Do not get delayed or sidetracked.  Be there when the belt starts rumbling and the bags roll.  The lonely bag is more likely to get lifted than the one you grab the second it spits out of the chute.

Next up: a post on protecting your possessions within.

Essential Business Traveler Card for APEC Region

Travel often on business to the APEC Region?  Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has a unique program to speed pre-approved business travelers through immigration formalities.  It's geared solely to boost trade and investment in the region.  With the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC), you speed through special lanes at immigration checkpoints if you are coming for a short-term stay.

The following countries participate:  Australia, Brunei, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Thailand, Vietnam.  See: www.apec.org/apec/business_resources/apec_business_travel0.html

Most of these countries allow preapproved business travelers 60 or 90 days entry for business purposes without further need for a visa.  It acts something like a multi-country multi-entry business visa.  And it's for citizens of APEC countries.

The US is supposedly a "transitional member."  This means those carrying the ABTC may use the express lanes at airports (same lanes used by airline crews) to enter the US, but still must have their passports plus any normally required visas.  US citizens are not yet eligible to obtain the card for their business trips to member countries.  No wonder US is uncompetitive in international markets and exports are not moving the way they could.  www.businessmobility.org/key/usa.htm

Great idea for Road Warrioresses!  If you are eligible, look into it, and save yourself some hassle at the airports.

Travel Bag Doesn't Quite Fit the Bill

Security is always a concern for the solo traveller, especially women.  So the security handbag I found on the TravelSmith website, which has steel cables through the shoulder strap and other security features held enough appeal to shell out $80 despite having received a fine leather Trussardi handbag for Christmas.  Or perhaps because of receiving that beautiful but vulnerable bag for Christmas!

The bag features an exterior pocket for your passport, plane tickets and things you need to grab "on the road."  There are numerous additional pockets inside and out which are supposed to hold all that parapheralia one lugs about on trips.  And it comes in three different sizes.

I bought the "large" size - it isn't.  I think the designers forgot that when traveling, you need not only your cell phone, but the recharger, too.  You need the "big wallet" with two compartments for different coins and currencies, or else carry separate wallets, coin purses, something, to keep your various currencies straight.  You not only need the passport, but the International Driving Permit, spare visa photos, and assorted other documents for obtaining additional visas, handling business matters, and more.

It just isn't big enough.  And I've abandoned any idea of carrying a cosmetic case.  It needs to be about two inches wider, an inch higher, and half an inch thicker to really be useful on most women's trips, especially anything more than a brief vacation or leisure trip.

Not as happy as expected...

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann