CLEVELAND — Finding good airfares can be time consuming and frustrating. Then you have all the experts weighing in on things like the best time of day to book or how many days in advance you should buy a ticket to get the lowest price. But many of those strategies are outdated or wrong.
Here are some examples:
Tuesdays are best day to buy.
That’s no longer true. Airlines change their fares all day long. And they hold flash sales to get travelers with flexible dates. So, you should sign up for their fare alert to stay updated on price changes.
A round-trip ticket is cheaper than 2 one way fares.
That’s not always the case. In fact, travel site Kayak plays airfare matcher by finding the best price on each leg of a trip. You might have to switch airlines, but it may be worth it for the cheaper price.
The lowest prices require a Saturday overnight stay.
Again, that’s not always true. A big reason is because corporations were tired of paying so much more, they stopped booking trips around that schedule. Now, Saturdays often have more seats available that airlines want to unload.
Bottom line, the best way to get the lowest fare is to check online as often as you can. And if you travel light or don't need bells and whistles, major airlines offer economy fares that are just as good as the budget airlines. But make sure you read fine print regarding all of their add-on costs.
To mosquito repellents now…and this will gross you out.
The C-D-C says the number of reported tick and mosquito-borne diseases more than tripled between 2004 and 2016.
So, it’s really important to get the right repellent.
Consumer Reports tested a number of products rating them on how well they kept away bugs and how long they lasted, with the best brands lasting 6 and a half hours.
Overall, they found that those which contain Deet work the best. Their top picks:
-Total Home Woodland Scent by CVS, which at $7 dollars for 6 ounces is very good buy.
-Off Deep Woods VIII Dry also topped the list, although it’s a lot more expensive at a little more than $6 dollars for only 2 and a half ounces.
And for a Deet-free product:
-Repel Lemon Eucalyptus. It's $5 dollars for a 4 ounce spray.
But other than the Repel product, testing shows repellents with anything less than 25% Deet are not as effective. In fact, all of the “natural” brands they tested actually earned a “poor” rating.
To see Consumer Reports ratings for the top online grocery delivery services, head to my Twitter page @Danielle_Serino.