On a Shoestring Archives - Girls Guide to The World

October 25, 2021 by admin

5 Tips For Sending Christmas Gifts Abroad

Christmas is around the corner meaning many of you will be sending gifts for your loved ones who are living or working outside of their home country.

While it seems easy to choose a gift from your favorite store and send it anywhere in the world, there are certain factors that you should take into consideration.

Below are 5 simple tips to consider when sending your gifts overseas.

Gather all the necessary information

When you plan to send a Christmas gift, the first thing you need to do is collect all the information required for the postal service.

If I’m sending a Christmas gift to my daughter in college, I need to find out if she’s living on campus or in an apartment, what room number she is in, the correct address, the weight of the package, and the cost, etc.

Remember that there are some countries that don’t allow the delivery of packages containing liqueur and perfume. It’s worth checking how strict customs are in the country where your loved one lives.

Use special services

If you need to send a gift as soon as possible, you can use a global courier like FedEx or DHL.

There are many companies you can choose from depending on how quickly you need to send your gift.

Gifts are usually expensive or fragile so it makes sense to consult with the shipping company on how to pack them correctly.

Companies can specialize in shipping certain items so do your research. You might want to take this opportunity to think about shipping insurance.

You just never know when something could go wrong when shipping gifts or products overseas.

In any case, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so pick up some affordable shipping insurance for peace of mind.

Pack your gift properly

When shipping Christmas gifts overseas they need to arrive in one piece. You don’t want to ruin Christmas with a broken gift.

Regardless of how delicate or expensive your item is, taking the time to properly package it before shipping will save you a lot of grief. There are many ways how you can pack different products so they arrive unharmed:

Bubble wrap + box with paper fillers + cardboard sheet. This is the best way to pack glass products
Cardboard sheet + paper fillers + foam. This is how to pack photo frames and mirrors
Paper fillers (newspapers work great) and some cushioning material like bubble wrap or peanuts. Perfect for packing fragile clothes like suits

Use double-boxing if needed

Consider double-boxing your Christmas gifts.

It’s a great way to prevent any damage caused by rain, snow, or sweat from postal workers’ hands when they are delivering them abroad.

Allow plenty of time for shipping over Christmas

When shipping your gifts overseas, allow for any potential delays if you want your presents delivered on time.

There are many days during the year when postal companies don’t work, especially over the holiday periods.

This is why allowing your package some extra days to arrive is crucial.

It’s not uncommon for post offices to get overwhelmed with huge quantities of packages resulting in longer shipping times.

October 18, 2017 by admin

What to Look for When Getting Text Translated to Spanish

Source

Getting a good translation is critical for getting the result you want, whether you would like to make a business deal go smoothly or are getting a translation for personal reasons. Having a good translation can ensure that you make the right impression and remain professional, a bad translation can often cause many problems and can offend those who you are working with. To effectively work between other countries, languages and cultures, you need a highly skilled translator. This article will explain what to look for when getting text translated into Spanish.

When you are next using spanish translation services make sure you are using a certified translator. These translators have been rigorously tested by their peers on their translation and language skills, this means they are able to give you the best quality translations and best results. A certified translator has passed many tests on their knowledge and has had to study hard to pass these tests, by using a certified translator you can be sure of the quality of their work.

Translators are not all generalists but you can find translators who are specialist in a certain area. If you are translating a document which is on a specialist topic, such as engineering you will get much better results if you use a specialist to get it translated. A specialist will understand the fundamentals of your text much better and will be able to translate it from its source to Spanish without trouble. The most common specialist translators are within the fields of medicine, engineering and law but you can find a skilled translator in almost any field.

When you are getting a translator, you get what you pay for. Quality doesn’t come cheap, if you want something translated for very little, you should expect bad results. Think about what you want your end result to be before thinking with your wallet, a cheap translation could potentially cause many problems for your later on.

A good translator will help you with whatever you are doing and will ensure that it is a success. Having a good translation will help you navigate the complications of working across cultures and languages, making things easy for you. Certified translators will provide the best translations for you and have been examined by their peers to prove their skills. A specialist translator is a good choice if you have a niche text that your are translating for example in medicine, engineering or law but don’t be too particular on price. If you want good results you should be ready to pay for them.

November 28, 2015 by admin

5 Way to Save Money Abroad

Bring a towel

Yes, that’s right, bring your own towel. If you’re a first time traveler this might seem silly to you, but frequent hostel and inexpensive hotel goers know that towels are not always included in your stay. It’s only a few dollars, euros, etc. extra, but that few extra adds up after a while! So bring a light towel with you for your travels!

Pre-game and set a Budget

You’ll probably be going out a lot while abroad, especially depending on where you’re going. If you’re trying not to put a hole in your wallet when it comes to a night on the town then make sure to buy some beer or wine to drink with a few friends at the hostel before going out. Beer and wine is pretty inexpensive in parts of Europe, sometimes costing as little as three Euros for a double bottle of red wine – and they don’t all taste terrible! Also make sure to only bring as much cash with you to the bar as you are willing to spend that night. You don’t want to accidentally go over budget because you drink a little too much and forget how you wanted to only spend twenty dollars that night.

Actually cook meals in the hostel

I know you’ll want to try every delicious meal that every place you visit has to offer, but you should try to at least cook one meal a day at your hostel. For instance, I always buy milk and cereal – it can be a quick and inexpensive breakfast or a great late night snack!

Try Local Eateries

After you’ve had your one meal a day at the hostel you won’t feel guilty getting out to try the local cuisine! However, if you’re still trying to eat on a budget, look for places where it seems a lot of locals eat – do not follow other tourists! Tourist restaurants will hike up their prices because they know you won’t know the difference. Eateries that locals frequent are probably not only the best and most authentic, but they are also probably inexpensive – otherwise the locals wouldn’t keep coming back! Ask the front desk at your hostel for suggestions.

Look for Deals

Look for deals for everything – from restaurants to walking tours! You should always do a little bit of research the night before your next day’s adventures and see where you can save a few dollars. Check out Groupon Discount Codes, they offer thousands of reviews and discounts on a myriad of businesses.

April 10, 2015 by admin

Money in your pocket

Image courtesy of Joann Jezequel

Cutting holiday costs is the aim of the game if you’re wanting to see more of the world, and whilst you might think this is all down to finding a cheap deal, you’ll be surprised to learn that there are plenty of small ways to save money, which add up to big savings.

Take how you get to the airport for example. Do you book expensive public transport? Do you book trains, coaches and taxis? This could be where your money is leaking away. I wised up to the fact that driving yourself to the airport could be the way to save cash, especially if you’re travelling as a family. I now book my airport parking as soon as I book my flight, and I know that my travel day will be laid-back as a result. Wherever you’re flying from you’ll find this is a service you can book, even regionally. I’ve booked Heathrow parking terminal 5 on several occasions and enjoyed the same level of service as I have when booking parking from a large airport in London.

This is just one way to cut costs, and there are countless others. Think about luggage for instance, do you need to book a suitcase, or could you make do with hand luggage if you used an airline that had a more generous hand luggage allowance? This is a possibility if you’re not going away for too long, and if you’re ruthless with what you take. The saving could be anything up to £40 on a return flight.

When you’re actually looking for your flight in the first instance, make sure you don’t jump for the first flight you see, and instead watch them for a while. Skyscanner is a great site to do just that, but try not to check them too much, as your interest will cause the costs to go up gradually. Every few days should be enough.

You could split book your flight, i.e. book two one ways flights, instead of booking a return, and see if that comes up cheaper, or you could try booking from different airports to see if you can find a cheaper flight by doing that. It’s about patience and trying different things, thinking outside the box, and sometimes this yields money saving results.

Woman with money (Creative Commons)

All inclusive hotels are a good way to save money for families, because the cost of food and drink is included; nobody has to worry about finding the money to eat out and you don’t have to put a limit on the number of soft drinks the kids can have. Alternatively, self-catering gives you the freedom to eat in or out, depending on how your money is or isn’t flowing.

It all comes down to perseverance and thinking a little cleverly when it comes to saving hard-earned money.

January 9, 2013 by admin

Girls’ World of Travel and Shopping Becomes All the More Affordable With Online Discount Coupons

Sydney Opera House

A woman’s world is different. A look at the innumerable websites dedicated to girls and their experiences show us the world from their perspective. Somehow we get the impression they have a lot more fun in each other’s company. Whether it is travel to far off places or shopping or enjoying beauty treatments, they create bonds of a different kind with other girls. It is one aspect of their lives where men take a back seat. A look at a few of these online websites dedicated solely to women and their lives can be enlightening.

For men travel often involves action, trekking through forests, exploring underwater life or climbing high mountains. Women are equally adventurous when it comes to these activities. More so, they delight in other activities like shopping locally for those little knick-knacks they can take back home, for spa and beauty treatments and other activities beyond the horizon of a man’s perspective. Little things like a head covering can make a lot of difference to a girl, especially when she is exploring the wilds, out in the open. Many men would not give second thought to travelling in the Middle East. Girls have to be careful about dress codes, alcohol and behavior. In comparison, Australia is an open, freer space with relatively few restrictions for women and a lot of other attractions. Sydney and Melbourne seem to be favorite destinations for women travelers.

That women love to shop is no secret. Given an opportunity they will not pass up a chance for a massage or a beauty treatment. Even when they are down under and busy surfing or relaxing at the beach or hiking mountain trails, they find time to shop and a session in a spa. Bargaining is another thing women love. However, online discount coupons make bargaining obsolete and give women the choice of buying an expensive product or service at bargain prices from a variety of sources in Sydney and Melbourne.

Surfer. by- Kanaka Menehune

Online deal aggregators partner with leading shopping establishments and offer unheard of discounts. For a small outlay on online discount coupons, women can receive huge discounts on groceries, gift articles, jewellery, fashion garments, books, pet supplies and just about anything that catches their fancy, without paying fancy prices. A girl can just as well go in for health, wellness and beauty treatments at top establishments in Sydney and Melbourne without having to spend a lot. Online discount coupons make life easier for them and give them access to the best massage parlour and spa treatments where they can expect discounts ranging up to 70% of the list price besides a lot of pampering. Naturally, a woman has other women friends to whom she can recommend the places she has visited and she receives $ 10 for each such recommendation. It is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when you are travelling and are on a budget. Not that the discount coupons are limited to women travellers; online grocery shopping Sydney, Australia, is available to local men and women too.

One never knows when these wonderful online discount offers may stop and a smart woman should take advantage while these last.