The winter is a popular time to travel. Many people have paid vacation time for during the holiday season, and families fly across the country to be together at this time of year. If you will be traveling in the winter, here are some tips to make your vacation a little smoother.

When to Travel

Avoid peak travel days. These usually include weekends surrounding holidays. If you can manage to travel a day or two earlier than the crowds, traffic to the airport will be reduced, lines at the security checkpoint will be shorter and flights will be less full. Without the crowds and complications, your trip will feel much more relaxed.

 

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What to Pack

If you’re traveling to a cold climate, you’ll want to pack warm clothes, long-sleeved shirts and other winter essentials. If you plan on being indoors most of the time, you might get away with leaving the bulky winter coat at home, but you may still want a jacket. Even quick trips to the store in the winter can leave you chilled if you don’t wear a sweater.

If you’re traveling to a warm climate, pack your swimsuit and shorts! However, don’t forget that the airplane may be cold, as well as the car ride to the airport, so dress in layers. Once you get to your tropical destination, you can forget about your jacket until the plane ride home.

What to Avoid

Avoid layovers in cities with a history of flight cancellations due to snowfall. Nothing ruins a vacation faster than being stuck on the ground in the Midwest while your family celebrates Christmas on the East Coast without you. Save yourself a night on the airport floor by selecting non-stop flights or flights that route through more temperate cities.

 

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What to Rent

Your family may have offered for you to stay in the guest bedroom, but if the house will be crowded, consider renting a hotel room for the duration of your stay. While this is more expensive than sleeping on the couch, the privacy and ability to relax with a little alone time will more than make up for the cost. You should also check into a car hire service. Renting a car will give you the freedom to come and go as you please. If you want a midnight snack, you can hop in your car and make a burger run. Don’t settle for being tied down on your vacation.

If you use these tips, your winter travel should be just an enjoyable as the holiday itself.

To go back, or not to go back; that is the question. Last night, yet again, I briefly considered: should I go back to school? Is it worth the time, the expense, and the mental and emotional stress?

My sister chimed in with some excellent advice: if you are even beginning to think about going back to school, you should immediately file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). She said that in Maryland, for instance, you have to have your FAFSA in by February in order to be considered for state funding of various kinds. Who knew?

The FAFSA asks for tax information, and who has that right off hand? But my sister suggested that anyone who cannot immediately lay their hands on last year’s tax information (people like me) can estimate it, and then fill in the exact amounts later.

Her other advice is to not spend a lot of money on school unless and until you have a particular plan for how you are going to ear money after you get out of school. I have to say that, while I respect my sister, I disagree with her on this. This is partly because of my own experience. I looked at my life when I was twenty-four and realized that everything I wanted to do would require me to have a Bachelor’s degree up front. At that point I went back to school just to get a Bachelor’s degree. In the end, I majored in Philosophy, and I have never, ever regretted it.

If you do know what you want to major in, you could try looking at onlineeducation.com and try to find a place where you can finish (or start) your degree. Actually, the site is so extensive that you could just look at it to find some ideas on what you might want to study.