Get it for free!
Check out these secrets for scoring Wi-Fi, music, software and classes without paying a dime.
Take a vacation from paying for a vacation
Free flight: Sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and get 40,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. That's enough for a $400 travel credit. But don't redeem right away!
You earn two points per $1 spent on dining and travel and one point on everything else, plus, as of now, an additional 7% on the total points accumulated at the end of the year. So say you spend $10,000 more after the first three months, $3,000 of it on dining and travel. At year's end, if you booked via Chase's site, you'd have enough for a $710 flight credit -- which should buy you two tickets from Chicago to Miami.
Free accommodations: Arrange a vacation swap through HomeExchange.com, which lists almost 15,000 properties in North America alone. (For that trip to Miami, you could trade for a two-bedroom condo on the beach.) You can exchange homes simultaneously, or swap vacation properties at different times.
Get senior discounts
Think you're too spry to be a senior? Think again. Many perks are available to those as young as 50, says consumer expert Andrea Woroch.
A few benefits of aging you might not know about:
College courses. Check with your state's department of aging for a list of universities that have "lifelong learning programs" -- that is, those that offer seniors tuition-free courses when space is available. In Ohio, for example, 36 institutions offer no-fee courses to people over 60.
Tax assistance. You may qualify for help with tax filing or planning via the IRS' Tax Counseling for the Elderly program. Visit irs.gov for details.
Checking accounts. Maintenance fees on interest-bearing checking average $14 a month, reports Bankrate.com, and the hurdles to getting that waived are higher than ever. But many banks still offer no-fee accounts for seniors. Search for one at NerdWallet.com.
Rides around town. Many cities and states give seniors a pass on transportation fares. In Pennsylvania, for example, all local bus and rail services are free for those 65 and older. Check with your local transit authority to see if you're entitled to something similar.