vacations

Houston tax attorney David Shoemaker doesn't want to wait around for retirement. Instead, he has opted for a job that gives him three months off each year so he can enjoy life now. Here's how he traded his future retirement for quality of life today.

Summer music festivals offer a fun way to hear the country's best bands, but between tickets, travel, food and accommodations, they aren't cheap. So we asked directors and promoters of some of the summer's top events for their favorite penny-pinching tips for festival-goers.

Admit it: A staycation is just not going to cut it this year. After three years of pinching pennies, if you're getting frustrated staying home instead of hitting the road, you're not alone: Almost half of all consumers surveyed for a recently released report from Deloitte said they plan to take a...

The Japanese are the world's most voracious consumers of luxury goods, from Louis Vuitton handbags to Cartier jewelry to Hermes high fashion. So purveyors of those luxury goods are justifiably worried about the effect of the Japanese quake and tsunami on their bottom lines.

Given the prospect of $4-plus gasoline this summer, what's an American to do? Beyond switching to a higher-MPG vehicle, you can consider buying some oil stocks with plenty of upside potential. Here are five candidates, if your risk appetite is hardy enough.

The price of a plane ticket is heading sharply higher. That's because airlines face steeper fuel costs and continue to cut capacity to keep profits from falling. You can still find some relative bargains, but it's going to take a lot more planning ahead.

Walt Disney World is marking down its rooms. For the first time ever, the resort has grudgingly agreed to offer its Disney-owned hotel room on the discount site Priceline.com. Starting in mid-November, Mickey Mouse can be had at a deeper discount than before. While Disney has sold its theme park...

Anyone who took a vacation this summer knows that airfares are rising, even as carriers stubbornly refuse to add any flights to their schedules to ease congestion on board. But travelers can typically get the most bang for their buck during shoulder season -- that period between Labor Day and...

More than 60% of us feel less stressed out after a vacation, yet more than half of all workers don't take their allotted vacation days, according to a Westin Hotels & Resorts study. Why? Because they are too worried about their job security and the economy. Many companies have adopted a "use...

Zoos and aquariums are knee deep in visitors this summer, forcing some facilities to accept early reservations and others to close their doors to additional patrons after selling out of tickets. Several aquariums, including Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Georgia Aquarium, have been so...