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Monday 22 May 2017 BUSINESS
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Ask Brianna: How can I take a vacation and not rack up debt?

BRIANNA McGURRAN tion now? You won’t have
NerdWallet
“Ask Brianna” is a Q&A col- much time, so if you put
some expenses on a credit
umn from NerdWallet for
20-somethings or anyone card, set a spending limit
and make a realistic plan
else starting out. I’m here
to help you manage your to pay off the balance.
Stay vigilant while you’re
money, find a job and pay
off student loans — all the away: Keep a running tally
of your expenses so you
real-world stuff no one
taught us how to do in col- can cut back on the sou-
venir shopping if neces-
lege. Send your questions
about postgrad life to ask- sary.
PICK LOCATIONS BASED
brianna@nerdwallet.com .
Q: I want to travel this sum- ON AIRFARE
Getting to your destina-
mer, but I don’t have a ton
of money. How can I go on tion will often be the big-
gest drag on your wallet.
an adventure without pil-
ing on credit card debt? According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, for do-
A: We all need time to re-
charge (while making our mestic trips of at least one
night, transportation ac-
friends jealous with artfully
filtered Instagram photos). counted for 39 percent
of the total cost in 2013,
But travel can be pricey:
An American Express sur- followed by food and al-
cohol (27 percent) and
vey found respondents This April 2017 file photo provided by NerdWallet shows Brianna McGurran, a columnist for per-
expected to spend, on av- sonal finance website NerdWallet.com. lodging (26 percent). For
international trips, transpor-
erage, $941 per person on Associated Press
summer trips in 2016. The best way to avoid debt Dodge. a travel “slush fund.” They tation was more than half
of the cost.
Booking travel on credit is by saving for adventures START A TRAVEL FUND didn’t set up online access
cards is convenient and in advance. However, for If you have the luxury of to the account, so they There’s always camping or
driving to your destination,
can help you rack up re- last-minute travel this sum- several months to plan, set must withdraw money from
wards for future flight and mer, you can still plan a up a savings account spe- it in person at their credit which is often cheaper
than flying. But for destina-
hotel savings. But if you thrifty trip by prioritizing cifically for travel. You can union. That discourages
won’t be able to pay off low-cost airfare, opting for schedule recurring trans- the couple from dipping tions farther afield, web-
sites like Airfarewatchdog,
the balance soon after nontraditional lodging and fers from your checking ac- into the fund to cover daily
you return home, a leisure- picking unexpected desti- count or set up direct de- expenses, Schneider says. Google Flights and Sky-
scanner will let you com-
ly vacation might lead to nations. Here’s how to save posit from your paycheck. Of course, make sure to
months of anxiety and big and spend wisely when John Schneider, who runs save at least $500 for home pare airfares to your pre-
ferred destination. They’ll
interest charges. you’re ready to get out of the blog Debt Free Guys emergencies before shift-
with his husband, David ing your resources to a also show you what loca-
Auten, says they each travel fund. Just starting tions fit your budget on the
save $50 per pay period in to save for summer vaca- dates you’re free. q
Analyst: Average gas price falls

slightly to $2.40 a gallon

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — rose in several Western and in the San Francisco Bay
An analyst says the aver- Midwestern cities. Area. The lowest, $2.02 a
age price of regular-grade A sharp decline in the rest gallon, was in Jackson, Mis-
gasoline fell half a cent na- of the country kept prices sissippi.
tionally over the past two down overall. Lundberg says crude oil
weeks to $2.40 a gallon. Lundberg says the average prices rose during the pre-
However, industry analyst price is 9 cents higher than vious two weeks, but re-
Trilby Lundberg of the Lun- it was a year ago. tailers have been slow to
dberg Survey said Sunday The highest average gas pass those increases on to
that gas prices actually price, $3.10 a gallon, was consumers.q