Now is the Time to Fly

When it comes to flying, now is definitely the time to buy. We here at Five Point Capital know you have probably heard this many times in recent weeks, but we just wanted to drive the point in a bit more. Often when we hear that expensive items are on sale, our reaction is “that’s nice, but I still can’t afford it.” However, with these ticket prices, you actually can afford it. And it may be just what you need.

The economy is putting stress on all aspects of life. Money is tight, jobs are wavering, all of which puts an added bit of stress into every day tasks, such as grocery shopping, buying gas for the car, or being called into a meeting with your boss. So while a getaway may seem like a luxury from a far-off time, a little de-stressor (at a de-stressed price) may do wonders for your mental and physical health.

The first thing to do is stay flexible. If you start looking for flight prices with exact days and times in your mind, you may not find the most reasonable flight out there. So plan your vacation time around the flight availability, not the other way around. Try looking through websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Priceline, and find a few cheap flights. Then, try adjusting the flight details to see the effect on the price. Maybe leaving on a Tuesday instead of a Sunday will drop the price; maybe leaving in the afternoon instead of early morning will do the same.

Next, make sure to check prices for airlines that aren’t commonly found on those ticket search engine sites. JetBlue, Virgin Airlines, and Southwest Airlines often have travel deals that are detailed only on their own websites. Also, JetBlue has a nifty feature that allows you to see the prices of your tickets individually, as well as the prices for tickets three days before and three days after your selected flight, so you can see how each flight leg is affecting the price. This might help you in picking the perfect day to leave. Shop around and take advantage of travel deals.

As we said before, flight tickets are at an all-time low, so do yourself a favor and start to shop around. You might be surprised at what you find.

A Time for Charity

The economy is not doing so well. We all know this. It would be near impossible for someone to have been living in America for the past year, month, or even day and not realize that all is not well. A few years ago our main concerns as a nation were national security and education, scientific advancement and endangered species, terrorists and fighting disease. Now all of those incredibly important things have taken a back seat to one thing and one thing only: money.

All sense of the greater good and of achievement is thrown out the window when our very livelihood is at stake. When the economy came crashing down, charities and non-profits and goodwill went crashing down as well. Instead of spending time promoting Parkinson’s disease awareness, time must be spent looking for a job or supplemental income. Instead of spending money to feed and clothe a needy child, money must be scrimped and saved. As a result, all of our efforts for the needy, the hungry, the planet, and the unsafe that were at the forefront of our minds for so long are now folded up neatly in a box and stored in the attic for another day and time.

So what can we do? Do we simply shake our heads and get back to the job hunt? No matter how down and out we feel right now, we must remember that there are still those less fortunate than ourselves. Maybe we do not have enough time to spend a whole weekend volunteering, but we can spend an hour. Maybe we do not have enough money to adopt an acre of the rainforest, but we can still throw some change in the collection boxes. We here at Five Point Capital know that times are tough and that times are scary, but we also have the utmost faith in our fellow mankind to do the right thing. We know that as a nation we can help one another through this and not neglect the greater good that we had once worked so hard for.