5 Helpful Airport Tips for Seniors

Posted by Editor on Apr 17th, 2019 in Travel | 0 comments

Travel is one of the best gifts you can give your mom and dad. Perhaps, the trip is to visit a family member or a long-time family friend you haven’t seen in years. It may also be a cruise, an adventure trip or even to visit an old home. Whether you accompany your parents or they’re travelling on their own, here are seven airport tips to make travelling easier for the seniors.

1. Request for wheels
International airports are vast spaces that challenge the stamina of elderly travelers. Make it easy for your seniors by requesting wheelchairs from your airline. Reserve your wheels and roll your way from the security to your gate.

2. Invest in a chaperone
This is especially helpful for elderly solo travelers. There are times when a senior needs extra help in the airport. Airlines allow family members to secure escort passes for their elderly travelers, similar to a boarding pass. Some airlines issue escort passes to meet incoming passengers at the arrival gates. However, these passes are not allowed to incoming international flights due to immigration and customs regulations.

3. Ask the concierge for assistance
For senior travelers who want to be accompanied from the entrance of the airport to the boarding gate, there are concierge services that can help you with that. These services usually includes checking-in of luggage, providing access to expedited lines and lounge services, collecting of bags upon arrival and even getting a cab to send you to your destination.

4. Take advantage of discounted lounge pass
For a comfortable place while waiting for your flight, airport lounge is a worthy splurge to get. While it can be pricey, seniors get discounted rate to get comfortable seating, a fresh cup of coffee, free food, magazines, newspaper and—probably the most important—access to clean bathrooms.

5. Travel smart
There are lots of things that can possibly go wrong during a trip, so it is important to have the most important things with you for a worry-free flight:

• Get a non-stop flight. The faster you get to the destination, the lesser chances of drama.
• Carry the medications in your hand bag, not in the check-in baggage.
• Keep a list of emergency contact names and numbers.
• Wear comfortable footwear.
• Get a seat with plenty of leg room.
• Bring a bottle of water and some snacks.

Travelling with mom and dad is likely the most fulfilling experience you will ever experience in your life. You have the chance to give back for all their love and hard work. Yes, you may feel like a caregiver, but the travel destination will serve as an escape, not just for you but for your beloved elders as well.

3 Simple Ways to Plan Your Budget for Living Abroad

Posted by Editor on Nov 28th, 2018 in Travel | 0 comments

Living abroad is a big decision that needs a lot of time and planning. When you do it right, it may just be the biggest experience that could happen in your lifetime, which is why it’s something that’s worth building towards, and that includes budgeting.

When you’re planning to move to live abroad as an expat, here are five simple tips and tricks you should remember to have the budget to move to your country of choice:

1. Keep your burn rate in mind
What is “burn rate”? The answer is that it’s the amount that you will be spending each month in needed expenditures, such as your housing, groceries, rent, transportation, etc.

Food expenses is one that you should especially consider – your budget plan should include enough room to allow you a solid meal plan instead of relying on take-out or eating outside.

Convert your current expenditure amount to the currency of the country you will be moving to and compare the cost of living in the country. This will give you an estimate as to your monthly budget, as well as your initial spending.

Once you have a burn rate in mind, you can easily formulate a budget that will cover your expenses.

2. Spend according to your savings plan
Calculate a target number for how much you need to save after everything else has been deducted from your net income after taxes. This is quite similar to what you would otherwise do in planning an ordinary budget, but with two added factors.

The first factor is, of course, the currency rate. By knowing how much currency A is in terms of currency B, you not only have an initial budget that you can spend, but you can also know how much you can or want to convert, and how much you want to keep.

The second factor is the cost of living. If the cost of living in the country you’re moving to is lower, you will have more to spend, and you can adjust your savings accordingly.

3. Open international accounts
One advantage an international bank account, or an offshore bank account, can offer you is that it offers you added privacy, and is great for participating in investing opportunities all over the world.

It also gives you a greater amount of financial freedom – since you’re dealing with two currencies, you can utilize different exchange rates and international funds, and get better returns for each in the international market.

Be sure to talk to your bank when opening an offshore account, and what advantages this can offer you in different jurisdictions around the globe.

New Airplane Seat Design for Budget Flights  

Posted by Editor on Aug 28th, 2015 in Travel | 0 comments

 

Airlines do their best to entice more passengers because more passengers mean more money for them. This is the reason why they would go to such great lengths to offer seat sales. Somehow this is good for the frequent travellers out there. Travelling now is for everyone not just for the rich and overly rich.

Speaking of passengers, there is one airplane design that capitalizes on making more money by carrying more passengers. The new seat system will make us face each other and possibly stare at each other. The system is called “Economy Class Cabin Hexagon”.

Zodiac Aerospace thought about this and already filed a patent for this. The plan features hexagonal design and involve alternate backward and forward facing seats. What’s in it for us?

• End the armrests: Armrests are not really armrests because it is quite uncomfortable at times. The new design did not include the armrests. This is good news for many.

• Tray tables: It doesn’t mean that tray tables are no more. There is still tray tables installed in every seat so we should not worry about it.

• Televisions: When we found out that the seats will make us stare at each other and lead awkward conversations, we were discouraged. This is not for long. There is a television so we can just stare at that instead of our neighbours.

Travelling to and from Singapore with this new seating arrangement will either make or break the experience of every Singaporean on board – should this be pursued. The important thing here is we feel safe.

Tricks to Keep Your Skin Hydrated On the Plane

Posted by Editor on Aug 19th, 2015 in Beauty, Travel | 0 comments

We all wanted that fresh-from-vacation glow, but if you’ve ever been on a plane then you know that travelling takes a rather huge toll on your skin. Not only does the cabin air cause skin dryness and clogged pores, it can even trigger acne breakouts. So to help you maintain your skin’s hydration during a long haul flight, we’ve rounded up some tricks that’ll surely keep your skin under control and hydrated even when you’re hundred feet above the sky.

1. Prep Up. The night before your flight, make sure that you exfoliate your skin and put on some moisturizing mask. This will help in clearing out the dead skin cells and deeply hydrating your skin as the mask penetrates. Also remember that long flights can make your body skin suffer from dryness as well, so it would be good to perform some dry skin brushing to prep up your body too.

 

2. Pack the Right Products. If you’re having a long flight, then it’s crucial that you pack all the right skincare products with you. Make sure that you bring your face cream, hand cream, lip balm and hydrating mist with you – and that all of them are packed under 3.4 ounces so that you can get through the security. Once you’re on-board, apply these products more frequently than you normally would.

 

3. Wear Less Makeup. When travelling by plane, it’s best that you wear lighter makeup than you usually do. Sticking with your heavy powders and foundations will only make you look dry and patchy. Instead, use a nourishing moisturizer, a BB cream, and tinted lip balm. Going with these products will leave your facial skin free for some extra moisturizing on-the-go.

4. Use the Right Hydrating Mist. Most people use a hydrating mist to counteract dryness, but what they don’t know is spraying on the wrong water mist only makes things worse. Once the mist has evaporated, your skin dries out more. To avoid this, pack a rosemary, aloe or calendula mist instead. These hydrating mist options will provide with the right moisture that you need without completely drying out your skin.

 

5. Nourish Your Body. Remember that the foods that you eat also affects your skin’s appearance. Indulging on fatty, greasy meals and tanking up on caffeine or alcohol will only cause your skin to become dull and dry. Instead, bring along some healthy snacks for your flight such as fruits and nuts. Also, make it a habit to carry your own water bottle and drink from it regularly.

The fresh-from-vacation glow is actually quite easy to achieve. Just keep these travel skincare tricks in mind, and you’ll surely have a healthy and youthful-looking skin even after flying hundred feet above ground.

Making a Travel Affordable

Posted by Editor on Oct 15th, 2014 in Travel | 0 comments

All people can dream on everything that they want; it’s free. But in reality, it is very difficult to find the things that they say – free. In fact, when you visit different countries in the globe, you can only find cheap accommodation and travel. It’s a little bit weary but it is needed for you to save. Here are some ways to make your travel affordable:

• Find some eat-all-you-can food places: In almost all countries around the globe, there are some restaurants that offers unlimited foods. Some restaurants have scheduled time for this offer. It will be better if you ask some locals.
• Eat at sidewalk eateries: It’s fast and it is cheaper than eat-all-you-can restaurants. All in all it helps you save time and especially money.

• Use a tourist card advantage: This card offers a very huge amount of discount most especially when visiting tourist spots in a particular country. Moreover, there are other tourist cards that has discounts on transportation. There are also times that fares will be free.
• Be a house-sitter: If you are really dedicated to have an affordable travel, this might be for you. With house-sitting you can have free accommodation. In addition, you can be able to do everything when your boss is not around.
• Be friendly to locals: Many local villagers in a country will offer you accommodation. This is something that they do in return for your good deed. Take advantage on this as this will be a great way to save money and time especially when looking for hotels.