Allegiant Air Tip of the Day

You may or may not have heard of Allegiant Air, the bare bones/dirt cheep/nickle-and-dime-you airline. They can be a great inexpensive way to fly, but you'll end up paying a bit more then the $29 advertised. There are many fees and optional add-ons, but these tips can help you keep what you pay, still dirt cheap.

Avoid Fees

There are tons of hidden fees, some of them you can't get around but many of them you can.

Don't choose a seat When buying online, it almost looks like you have to pay a seating charge, but look closely, there is a little skip button that will save you some money. Don't worry they won't make you stand in the aisle.

Book at the airport: Allegiant is charging at $13.50 "convenience fee" for buying your ticket online (tack on another $10 for buying over the phone). Regulators said there has to be a way around the fee so you can buy a ticket at the ticket counter at the airport aka. "the old fashioned way". The trick is, their ticket counter is only open for 1 hour after a flight takes off, and for most airports Allegiant only flies a couple times a week. Here are the details. Luckily, most airports allow you to park your car free for 30 minutes.

Avoid checking a bag: You can carry on one piece of luggage that is no bigger than 22"x14"x9" aka. standard carry on size. Pack light or be ready to lighten you wallet. But with most carriers already charging for checked bags, its not that big of a surprise.

Some taxes and fees are unavoidable: On a recent purchase, there were around $10 in taxes and fees for each leg of the flight, also remember they're prices are one way, so you'll also need to fly back. $29+$10×2=still a good deal

What you won't get:

Snack No peanuts, not pretzels, no drinks, no nothing, oh that is unless you're willing to pay for it.
Tray Tables no need to worry about putting your seat backs and tray tables in their upright and locked position. There are not tray tables and your seat doesn't move.
SkyMall They don't have the iconic mail order catalog, but you can buy a Disney beach towel and other souvenirs on board. And don't even think you're getting a magazine to read.
Jetway While everyone else at the neighboring gates it walking to the airplane in air conditioned comfort, you'll be walking across the tarmac up to a ramp (at the Lexington Bluegrass Airport at least).
Frequent Flyer Miles Hah. Not that big of a deal, the programs only really benefit business and international travelers.

How to Make Sweet Tea

A visual guide to make a gallon of sweet tea:

Step 1: Buy Big tea bags:


Step 2: Put 2 tea bags in water:


Step 3: Boil water to make tea:


Step 4: Pour hot tea into pitcher:


Repeat steps 2 through 4 with the same 2 tea bags. Or if you only want to do these steps once, use 3 tea bags.

Step 5: Add lots of sugar:
1 cup is equivalent to Kentucky. For more northern sweet tea add less, for more southern sweet tea add more. Lots more. Be sure to visit your dentist often.


Step 6: Add ice (get it? Iced tea):


Step 7: Stir sugar, ice and tea together:


Step 8: (Not pictured) add enough cold water to top it off.

Step 9: Invite me over

Record Tip of the Day

Want to be the best at something? Now here is your chance. The Universal Recorded Database has every word record imaginable. If it's not on there, you've been the first to imagine it. Congrat's, you can probably make that in to a world record

Lexington Tip of the Day

In these "economic times" even if you're financially sound you have to be frugal just to keep up appearances. So here is a list of 70 Free things to do in Lexington, Kentucky.

Lexington Breakfast Tip of the Day

Chick-Fil-A's in Lexington, KY are giving away free Chick-n-Minis every Thursday morning through March.



Again this is only for the four Lexington, Kentucky locations.

Refi Tip of the Day

If you bought your home during the housing bubble you may have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) that is getting ready to adjust soon. Now is a great time to refinance, but you already knew that. A cheaper alternative to refinancing is called an "ARM to Fixed Rate Conversion". Not all lending institutions offer it, but check with yours. It is a great way to lock in a low rate, and will only cost you a couple hundred dollars in fees compared to a couple thousand that you'll have to suffer through with full fledged refinancing.

Excel Tip of the Day

For non-advanced Excel users like myself, I always find the need to merge the text from two columns into one. For example, the first and last names are in separate columns but I want them to be in one. While there is no "Merge Columns" command, it is actually pretty easy to do with a simple formula.

Step 1: Create a new column where you wanted your merged data to be
Step 2: Enter a formula like this: =B1&" "&C1

B1 is where the first name is. C1 is where the last name is, and " " means you want a space between them. The & does the merging.