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I’ll be making a quick trip to Orlando, Florida this week. T. Rowe Price and Disney are unveiling a financial literacy project, The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, and I’ve been invited to take a first-hand look. I’ve been assured that I’m under no obligation to write about it. But if it’s something that I think will be of interest to GRS readers, I’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, here are a few recent financial articles I’ve liked from around the web:
- Shannon Perry writes the “Let’s Get Fiscal” blog at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. She interviewed me last week and has posted the first part of our conversation.
- The Bargain Babe recently took a long road-trip. To kill time, she conducted a little experiment to discover the cost of driving fast. Her conclusion? It costs 40% more to drive 85mph than to go the speed limit (65mph) on the freeway.
- The best way to save on vehicle costs is not to own one! The New York Times has an article about a “car-free” German suburb. This is a fascinating idea, but I’m skeptical that it could work in the United States.
- At the Wesabe blog, Marc Hedlund writes that you should focus on needs, not products. When we fixate on products, we ignore other cheaper solutions that might be available.
- Kris at Cheap Healthy Good has drafted a list of the five most important things you can do to spend less while eating healthier.
- Finally, here’s a story about a woman from the Seattle area who found an extra $270,000 in her bank account. She returned the money and now is back to being broke. But she says: “Are you going to sell your soul for $271,366.01?”
If you have any suggestions for what I should do while I’m in Orlando (and at Epcot, in particular), I’m eager to hear. This will be my first visit.
This article is about Spare Change Sunday, 17th May 2009 (by J.D. Roth)
May 17th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Thanks for the link, JD! Has my conclusion made you slow down???
Julia
May 17th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
At Epcot, be sure to ride Soarin’ over California, it is an experience you will never forget.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
There are a multitude of things to do there, and luckily they are mostly included with admission, and easy to find. The exception is dining. If you want a sit-down diner at a place that is decent, it can be a little pricey and sometimes hard to get into. You may want to consider eating early or late to try and beat the crowds. The restaurant in the Moroccan pavilion in World Showcase frequently has lighter crowds, and is good, plus there is entertainment. Lots of nooks and crannies to visit in the World Showcase part of Epcot, so take a turn of the main path. Try and catch the fireworks at the end of the evening (Illuminations), as they are stunning. If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to tell you what I know (which is an embarrassing amount).
Enjoy the heat, and have fun.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
There are plenty of things to do here in Orlando. You might want to venture out of the Disney area if you are looking to spend less money. Downtown Orlando has a great Vietnamese district (East Colonial Blvd.). Excellent food with great prices, try the Pho, a restaurant called Lac Viet. You can look it up on Yelp.com. Downtown Disney is also an excellent choice to walk around and see some interesting things, lots of shops and restaurants. There is no admission and parking is free. Cirque del Soliel is also there. Also, the Premium Outlets which are right by Disney and the Lake Buena Vista area is a great place to shop with excellent prices. My wife and I are always looking to do and see interesting things that are at a low cost or are free with our 2 children. If you would like to know more, feel free to contact me.
Brent
May 17th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
there’s a place called the cool club in epcot. you can sample sodas from around the world for free. i jokingly call it my favorite ride at epcot. if you get to explore the parks-try to make it to the fantasmic show at hollywood studios, it really is an amazing light, water, fire work show. bring a pancho or a small unbrella- it’s rainy in orlando. bring a washcloth and a ziplock to store it in. when you get hot just find a water fountain and soak the cloth and it’ll keep you nice and cool at the parks. wear sandles- if you don’t then bring an extra pair of socks just in case the rain soaks the first pair. Have fun!
May 17th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
J.D.,
If you have your own transportation here is a frugal tip for vactioning in Orlando. You will see “free Disney tickets” booths along the main drag where most of the hotels are. Visit one of the booths and they will want to set you up with a time share tour, in return they will offer a ticket to one of the Disney theme parks or other local attractions such as Universal or Bush Gardens. You can take their offer, or just go to the next booth down the road (there are a lot of them) and let them know what the last offer was and see if they will beat it.
The last time we were in Orlando we did this on two different mornings. It took a few hours of our time and we had to listen to some high pressure time share pitches, but we saved over $300 in ticket prices and hey that may be some good blogging material.
Just a thought.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Oh I just saw some comments about Epcot. I had a buddy from the military go there and drink a beer from each country as he walked around Epcot, by the time he made it around and the fireworks were going off he was feeling great! Apparently Asian beer doesn’t taste so great.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
J.D. — I work for SeaWorld and we just opened a new ride called Manta. I’m being too frugal to donate to your site but I wouldn’t mind getting you a free ticket to come enjoy the park. E-Mail me back.
May 17th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
I dunno. If I found an extra $270K in my account, I’d probably keep it. Or maybe I’d return part of it and keep a substantial finder’s fee.
May 17th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Considering all your gardening, do not miss taking the “Living with the Land” ride in The Land at Epcot. It’s a slow moving boat ride that takes you through their greenhouses and shows you the horticulutural experiments that they do there. Giant melons, hydroponics. Cool, cool, stuff.
Here’s the wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_with_the_Land
May 17th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
when your road trip is about 1200 miles, saving 13 sec/mile adds up to over 4 hours of drive time saved. considering i still get 40 mpg driving that way on road trips, that’s fine by me.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
If you head out to the beach near Cocoa - I recommend going to the Canaveral National Seashore instead of Cocoa Beach. Much more natural and pretty without having to worry about to many crowds and garbage everywhere.
It costs $6 to get in the park - but you can park right on the other side of the dune, there are close, clean bathrooms, and if you go to Cocoa you have to park blocks away and push through crowds.
Have fun! The weather is great this time of year!
May 17th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Lots of us from Orlando it seems, But if it looks like you’ll be at the airport awhile give me a call. I’m off a lot of odd hours and only a few minutes away
May 17th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
How exciting! I live a couple hours north and my husband often works in Orlando. In fact, he’s headed there tomorrow.
I wish I knew more places to go, though I was somewhat impressed by tapas place downtown called Ceviche.
Have fun!
May 17th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
P.S. Be sure to plan for afternoon storms. It’s a fact of life in Florida when it gets warm like it has.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Daytona Beach resident here… You’ve gotten a lot of good advice already, so I’ll second those and add my own. (Epcot is my favorite park because the people are actually from those countries.) If you’re renting a car, it might also be worth it to visit Daytona Beach, home of NASCAR. On the way, you’ll pass Cassadaga, a town full of psychics. Whatever your beliefs, it’s an interesting place to at least say you’ve been to. Cassadaga is on the same exit as Blue Spring, where you can see manatees and clear water. Along with the race track and, obviously, the beach, Daytona’s not too far from the Ponce Inlet lighthouse (coupons on their Web site) plus all that St. Augustine offers. I’d be more than happy to show you around or buy you lunch at the Dancing Avocado Kitchen, an organic but super cheap restaurant on Beach Street. Just hit me up at the e-mail above.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Keeping the money/Giving it back is a false choice. One way or another, when the error gets discovered, that money will be followed and someone will get their pound of flesh if it’s missing. That said, I’m glad she did the right thing and just came forward, saved everyone alot of hassle, and taught her kids a good lesson in doing so.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:58 am
I second Soarin over California in the Land section of Epcot. We recently to Epcot for the first time. We got there when the park opened and followed the crowd who was headed to Soarin. We didn’t really know what it was but it was so cool! Even my timid 5 year old liked it! Do that first or grab a fast pass early.
May 18th, 2009 at 6:54 am
Thanks for the Orlando tips, everyone. You rock. The more I hear about Epcot, the better it sounds. I guess I had no real understanding of what it was. I love the idea of the Living off the Land thing. Some friends last night told us that was fun to “eat around the world” or something like that — trying the different food from different regions. I’ll see how much we can cram in to one day.
May 18th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Epcot really does rock.
My husband and I love Medieval Times in Kissimmee, FL (just outside Orlando). One of our goals is to visit all their locations at least once!
May 18th, 2009 at 8:16 am
“Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community.”
Not enough information in the article, but I imagine this will change when the new families get old and/or become handicapped and unable to ride their bikes. Or will they then have to move to the handicapped section of town, where cars are allowed?
May 18th, 2009 at 8:51 am
@bentley–elderly people were certainly riding the streetcars and buses in Freiburg when I was there. It is tough getting around with a wheelchair, but that’s pretty much the norm everywhere but the US, I think. Whereas here, whenever my parents can no longer drive, they’ll have to sell their house, which they love and which will almost certainly be torn down, and move into a retirement home so there will be someone to take them on occasional outings in a van.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Get out of Kissimmee and head to Orlando for food. There’s tons of great Thai, BBQ, and Cuban food downtown. I’d also recommend finding a near by Tijuana Flats and get a burrito.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I must agree with those that mentioned Soarin and also Living with the Land. they are in the same building and are both wonderful rides. Living with the land is incredibly informative as well. I always enjoy the food in the world showcase as well. You can try things from all over the world. Unfortunately they can be a little expensive. I have to suggest a stop by the Animal kingdom though. It’s an excellent park and has an exceptional attention to detail in the design. The ambiance is fantastic. Have fun down there, my wife and I thoroughly enjoy or trips there.
May 18th, 2009 at 10:59 am
do report on that project in orlando - I’m always looking for things to help my kids understand how to handle money! They did consult ‘the money book’ to see how much they had on hand to spend at the plant sale last week at school - gifts for grannies come from their dough, not mine [I bought our mothers gifts from us LOL]
As for epcot - a lovely evening may be spent cost free if you take an after dinner stroll OUT of epcot through the international gateway just next to france towards the beach club etc - on the boardwalk there are often street entertainers and by the beach club there’s a free movie shown nightly on the beach - fun all around and cost free -
cheap snacks can be had in the beach club shop [awesome gelato!] or at the broadway bakery on the other side
Of course if you’re on an expense account I’d head for the flying fish for dinner - delightful!
Enjoy your trip!
May 18th, 2009 at 11:46 am
There is one other place that you might want to check out if you are into wine:
The Wine Room in Winter Park (neighborhood basically right next to Orlando). They have “A state-of-the-art Enomatic dispensing system allows you to sample up to 150 wines in 1, 2.5 or 5 ounce portions.” So basically you go in and put as much money as you want to spend on wine on a little card and then you can go around tasting whatever you want. I’ve seen the place on the travel channel too I believe.
Here’s the website:
http://www.thewineroomonline.com/index.php
May 18th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
You may want to visit Sci-Fi City… Lots of comics.