So over the last few weeks we've been busy working on a short film project that has taken us to the low-country of South Carolina to the heart of Brooklyn, in the neighborhood of Bed-Stuy. The time away has kept us from blogging steadily, but we're back to share some lessons learned in business travel.

• ​Take advantage of hotel discounts via AAA, reward points, family and friend corporate discounts, and paid in advance rooms.
• If paying for a business associate's room, make sure you put room in their name and sign credit authorization for your responsible expenses (ie...room & tax) and all other matters (ie.. parking fee) on the business associate credit card.
• Note that its almost impossible to change flights that were utilized with rewards points without incurring a host of fees.
• When using Uber or any similar car-service, pay especial attention to the surge rate and to reduce costs, utilize pool service, if offered.
• Take advantage of business credit cards (ie...American Express) that offer 1% or more cash back. 
• And finally, bring petty cash with you for places that don't accept credit cards or if someone needs to run a business-related errand without you being present.

Have you visited a destination and thought "I wonder if I can afford to live here"? Numbeo allows you to plug in your current city and the new city of interest, and statistically compare various areas of costs of living. For example, the cost of living in my area of SC is $3700/mo and to have the same standard of living, it'll run you $7022/mo in NYC.  New York was higher in restaurant, transportation, and housing rental costs. Yet, on the flip side, they paid almost 160% more  in salary than South Carolina.  Another example is the cost of living at a level of $1855/mo in Cartagena, Columbia. All major categories are lower in Cartagena. However, you would earn 78% less, so you'll need to be prepared with US dollar savings. 

What destination have you visited and you would like to know it's costs of living?

Sharee & Rhonda