There is no doubt that the Internet has touched every area of business and our personal lives. The Internet now dominates everything from finance to retail, culture to education, and much more. It has also had a significant impact on the travel industry – in particular the way we plan our vacations and how we monitor costs and timings. We will now take a look at some very useful travel-related calculators which can help you achieve and enjoy that dream holiday.
Canadian Tax-Free Savings Account Calculator
If you are planning for that dream holiday, perhaps you have a road trip planned in retirement or a visit to see long lost relatives, the Wealth Simple tax-free savings account (TFSA) is a very useful tool. For those perhaps not fully aware of the TFSA, this is Canadian tax-free savings account in which you can hold cash, mutual funds, and investments which are all tax-free. They will not attract any income tax or capital gains tax when within the account or when you withdraw your funds. The perfect way to plan for that dream holiday!
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The TFSA calculator is extremely simple to use. All you need do is add your current TFSA savings, ongoing contributions, frequency, and how many years you plan to make contributions. For example, let’s assume that you are looking to put aside some money each month for a dream holiday when you retire – looking 20 years in advance. Using an average growth rate of 5.77% per annum the calculations are as follows: –
Initial TFSA savings: C$0
Ongoing contributions: C$200
Frequency: Monthly
Years to contribute: 20
Total contributions for the period: C$48,000
If we use the recent 5.77% average growth rate per annum then after 20 years you would have:-
TFSA balance: C$71,276.83
The increase over taxable account: C$2,846.98
When looking at mutual funds there is potential to significantly increase this return sometimes by more than C$10,000. The beauty of mutual funds is their relatively low charges and the skill with which they are managed on a long-term basis. Time to get saving!
Holiday Packing Calculator
We’ve all been there, that chilling moment when you step in front of the airport weighing machine to see the weight of your bags. You are now having second thoughts about putting in that second hairdryer, extra-pair of shoes, and even that heavy purse. You know your bags are going to be over the limit but by how much?
Well, fear no more with the Way Fairer Travel holiday packing calculator which does what it says on the tin. This is a very useful packing calculator created by a company that has weighed every type of clothing, product, or piece of equipment you are ever likely to pack into your travel suitcase. For example, did you know the typical women’s jeans weigh in at 247 g against a pair of men’s jeans at 273 g? What about a pair of denim shorts, who would have guessed a women’s pair weigh in on an average at 250 g while men’s denim shorts register at just 220 g? Trying to guess the weight of your suitcase is not easy!
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This is a comprehensive holiday packing calculator that allows you to switch between adult and child items. As you go through the various sections which include:-
- Adult/child clothes
- Adult/child shoes
- Adult/child accessories
- Toiletries
- Electronics
- Entertainment
- Toys
It is simply a case of clicking on each section and as you select different products and garments you will see the cumulative weight of your suitcase beginning to grow. What is interesting is the fact that the website is linked to the likes of British Airways, Emirates, Thomas Cook, and other well-known airlines/holiday companies with an option to add manual weight limits. So, as you fill your suitcase you can see how far you are from the weight limit of your airline. Simple, yes, effective, very!
Travel Budget Calculator
Have you ever wondered about the average cost of accommodation in a certain country, what you should put aside for food and how much you might expect to spend on entertainment? Sometimes you have to scour the Internet across dozens and dozens of websites to get an idea. Then you forget which one have you the prices for Albania, which one gave you the prices of Portugal, and which websites covered the UK. Well, step forward the Budget Your Trip calculator which will give you a snapshot of costs in literally dozens and dozens of countries.
This travel budget calculator will give you an array of costs from Russia to Rwanda, Panama to Malta, Austria to the Bahamas, the UK to Spain, and many other countries, some of which you might never have heard of! Where do we start with this gem?
Click on any country and you will get the following information:-
- Average daily cost per person
- Cost per person for one week
- Two weeks per person
- One month per person
- One week for a couple
- Two weeks for a couple
- One month for a couple
Then we can dig a little deeper for the following information:-
- Hostel/hotel accommodation for one person
- Double occupancy rooms
- Meals for one day
- Bottled water for one day
- Local transport costs
- Entertainment
- Tips/handouts
- Intercity transportation
- Scams, robberies, and mishaps
- Cost of alcohol
The beauty of this website is the fact that not only does it give you the average cost of individual elements but you can also focus on the average budget cost, mid-range cost, and luxury cost. The commitment to keeping this website up-to-date and relevant must be daunting. This is a must-have website/calculator for anybody thinking of a foreign holiday any time soon.
Travel Math Calculator
When looking to plan your next holiday, have you ever wondered how many miles it is to your destination? What about the drive time, flight time, and local amenities? Well, the Travel Maths calculator offers an intriguing glimpse at flight distance and driving distance. Simply type in the nearest major city to your current location then your destination and you will be hit with a raft of information which is extremely helpful.
The information includes:-
Flight information
- Flight distance
- Flight time
- Airports near destination
- Ability to book a flight online
- Sports stadiums nearby
- Ability to book a vacation
- View the map
Driving information
- Driving distance
- Driving time
- Cost of driving (fuel)
- Stopping points
- Hotels at destination
- Book a hotel
- Cities nearby
- Car rental
- View the map
While there is a commercial element to any travel calculator it is the raft of information about local facilities which makes this site particularly helpful. It will even pick up on your location and offer a one-touch search facility to find the best flight! The real attraction of this particular website is its simplicity and the fact what you see is what you get. What more can we say?
Gas Buddy for your journey fuel costs
The Gas Buddy website has been around for some time and it is fair to say it has paved the way for many similar websites. However, even after all of this time competitors have found it difficult if not impossible to get anywhere near the level of information given for trips across the US. So what exactly does it offer you?
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Well, if you enter your starting point and destination, with optional detours, the website is halfway there to calculate both one-way and round-trip costs. However, there is an added extra! By simply entering your vehicle details you will get a whole host of helpful information regarding fuel prices and journey costs. Information required includes any of the following:-
- Year of manufacture
- Make
- Model
- City MPG
- Highway MPG
- Tank size
- Fuel type
As with the previous useful travel calculator, the attractions of the Gas Buddy website revolve around its simplicity. The ability to offer a detailed and reliable route calculator, location of the cheapest fuel along the way, and the ability to lock in some significant savings is priceless. There is also an array of other information such as a basic gas price map, fuel demand, vehicle recalls, gas price charts, and much more. It is only when you begin to dig below the surface that you see how much it does have to offer.
Summary
It certainly has been an eye-opener looking at some of the five best online calculators to simplify your life while traveling. These websites take in everything from saving for that dream holiday on retirement to packing your suitcase, the average cost of services and products in dozens of countries to a simple trip calculator. We then have the U.S. based Gas Buddy website which has changed the way many people plan those dream jaunts across US states. Now, where is Amarillo?
Many online calculators are far too commercial, always pushing products and services. These websites offer the information you need and then allow you to dig deeper for other information including commercial products and services. There is no selling pressure, no pushing you down a particular pathway to boost sales, just very useful traveling info. So, when are you planning your next field trip?
Related article: 7 Amazing Tips to Make Traveling Comfortable for Your Pets
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NOTE
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About Are Morch
Hi, I am Are Morch. Your Hotel Marketing Coach and Customer Experience Expert that specializes in creating effective digital customer experience offer for hotels while growing and scale customer acquisition and revenue.
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