Smartlife

Just a few years ago, you probably would have called up your travel agent if you were thinking about taking a trip or vacation somewhere. These days, though, there are thousands of websites online that can help you with every step of the planning process — as well as offer some help beyond what a travel agent could do for you. With these online tools, you can make sure that your travels, whether for business or pleasure, are enjoyable.

Modern technology makes everything easier, but sometimes the pursuit of powerful hardware ignores the actual humans. How many times have you witnessed others struggling with an unwieldy laptop, forcing it edge-on into an unsuitable case? Or spilling their carrier’s contents as they extract their electronic assistant? A good choice of computer storage makes every single use that much easier — and making the right choice once to ease life forever is what this blog’s all about.

It would certainly be nice to have the same kind of expense account as high-ranking corporate executives, but not everyone is quite so lucky. This applies to people who are self-employed, as well as regular employees who need to fit their regular business travel expenses into the company’s budget. This is especially true given today’s economic climate.

According to the IRS, deductible travel expenses can include such costs as airplane tickets, in-town transportation, hotel stays, dry cleaning, business calls, and equipment rental. All of these can add up…

Forget the Groundhog and its sham prognostications and let’s look at the real indication of spring’s proximity: the NCAA Tournament, March Madness, The Big Dance.

Now most people recognize March Madness as the quintessential cairn of spring’s presence, and with the brackets so easy to understand and bet on — whom among us has never participated in an office pool?

With Google Maps you can organize a hiking tour around the world without even standing up (which may indicate you’re a little over-ambitious). Some people might say that plans and schedules totally ruin the relaxed vacation experience, but let’s be honest: most of those folks can’t manage their time. And likely can’t afford to go very far anyway. The rest of us can’t stand the thought of wasting time or money as a result of non-planning. We didn’t fly halfway across the world to stand around staring at street signs, after all.

Any time you take a trip, you have to put together a list of what you need to do to get ready, a list of what you need to pack, and even a list of things you have to do as you’re walking out the door. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that list-making process automated?

Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, a holiday checklist service, does just that. When you first log in to the site, you pick the type of trip you’ll be going on (business, beach, etc.). From there, the site helps you create your packing list and to-do list in just a few minutes.