Work + Money

By Anne Roderique-Jones

A travel agent can be a great resource. But some may pressure you into booking less-than-stellar vacations or get you to spend more than necessary to up their take-home pay. We got the inside scoop on travel agents' secrets and found ways to help you save on vacations, book more easily and enrich your trip experience. Read on so you can go into a travel agency with eyes wide open. Photo by Getty Images

1. They're making major commission…

…and maybe even a bonus for booking your travel. This means they're trying to influence your vacation decisions based on perks on offer at that particular time. "If the agent seems to be pushing a particular cruise line, resort or destination, there's usually a reason: a higher commission, a contest for a cash bonus or even a prize if she sells that product," says Donna Cambridge, co-owner of Chesterfield Cruise & Travel in Springfield, MO. "I once won a fur coat by selling an Alaskan cruise!" Wendy Stone,

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I've been shopping the baby aisle for 15 years now. My "baby" is six, but it's a hard habit to break. Especially when baby products can double as beauty products, at a fraction of the cost. I've also found a few other grocery items with multiple uses. It's so much smarter to find an off-label use for a less expensive product.

Here are a few of my favorite double-duty groceries:

Instead of: Eye Makeup Remover Buy: Baby Oil Gel: Baby oil is gentle enough to use around the eye but costs way less than expensive makeup removers. I've also been known to use a baby wipe, J&J washcloths for my face!

Related: Top 25 drugstore beauty essentials under $10

Instead of: Woolite for Delicates
Buy: Baby Shampoo: Hand wash delicates with baby shampoo - it's gentle, smells great, and may already be on hand.

Instead of: Shaving Cream
Buy: Conditioner: I haven't bought shaving cream in years, at least for myself. Conditioner protects against nicks and razor burn, a

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Imagine being left without food, water and even clothing, and suddenly having to find shelter for weeks or months. But you have insurance, right? That, you're thinking, should solve all your problems. But does it?

As parts of the United States ignite with wildfires and other states brace for floods, disasters are a way of life. If you aren't prepared for them, and a catastrophe flares, you might not just lose all of your belongings. You could be wiped out financially.

One ever-present disaster is the drought. Drought conditions are making tinderboxes out of states: Fires have scorched Washington state, Oregon, California and cut thousand-acre swaths of flaming destruction through the West.

For example, insurers expect to pay out nearly $450 million to victims of the June wildfires in Waldo Canyon and High Park, Colo., according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. That figure makes it the most expensive fire in Colorado's history. The fire devoured about 350 h

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Aries (March 21 - April 19) You need to blow off steam in a financially healthy way. Spending to feel better is out of the question! But spending on something that could turn out to be an emotional outlet is totally legit -- a membership at a gym, a piece of exercise equipment or an electronic device to use up negative energy all qualify as legitimate expenses. Today's Aries Reading: Free Sample Extreme Makeover Tarot Reading

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) You long for happiness and contentment, and the only way you can think to get them is to work, work, work! That makes your progress inevitable, but not your happiness and contentment! There are other ways to move your chips around, Taurus. Today's Taurus Reading: Free Sample Priority Shuffle Tarot Reading

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There are various reasons why people work from home. There are students who want to earn during the day time and study at night colleges, so they get work experience early, besides there are homemakers who wish to utilize their education through working from home. Similarly, there are people who run their own businesses, so they consider establishing an office in their homes rather than investing to renting out spaces. This helps them save money on rent, electricity, hiring employees and most importantly save travelling time.

Read Also - Painless Saving: 10 Ways to Help You Out to Save Extra Money

Here are some ways to save money on your home office:

1. Keep It Simple
When you are working from home, you can save a lot of money by keeping it simple. Do not invest in giving it a strict corporate look; instead save on furniture, fixtures and fittings and other items of use. You can also rent furniture at easy installments if you are unable to purchase it in full amount.

2. Do Not

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