The Business Travler's Guide To Free Toddler Treats

I average about one trip a month for my job and explaining these "work trips" to my two toddlers is not fun. Three days of preparation is my standard protocol and since this has always been a way of life for them, it isn't too shocking for them every month. What is fun is searching out toddler treats within the comfort of business hotels and not paying for these small delights.

Yes, I take the hotel amenities and toiletries offered to guests on a regular basis. Cheap is probably what you are thinking, but I have two defenses for these actions. First, when I am on the road for work, I have less time to myself then most people think. If it is a convention there are several other co-works traveling where every meal is planned and attendance is mandatory. After working a trade show or convention all day long, you have about 30 minutes to check email and return phone calls before you are expected to meet for dinner. This does not allow much time for shopping and certainly no energy when you finally return to your hotel room at 9:30 pm and are expected to meet for breakfast early the next morning. Second, I don't want to spoil my children with expensive airport trinkets, which they will lose interest in very quickly. I am taking advantage of my children's toddler ages and know that simple hotel gifts will go just as far, if not farther then an overpriced souvenir.

The Gifts
My regular arsenal of work trip gifts include paper, and lots of it. The kids are very into projects that require tree loads of pulp. Drawing, folding, crumpling, pasting, taping - you get the idea. I grab the traditional pad of paper on the nightstand and desks but I also grab the stationery set which includes envelopes. My daughter loves envelopes and it is amazing the joy in her eyes when she is given a simple envelope. Hiltons provide a nice stack of square sheets of papers for notes that the kids turn into games handing them out like tickets and Westins provide post-it-notes with colorful graphics in each page. Pulling these post-it-notes off provides instant gratification for my son even though it does not last long. I also grab pens since I never have any at home when I need it and again, the kids love experimenting with pens.

The Jackpot of Gifts
The best trip for toddler treats was my trade show in Las Vegas, NV. I literally hit the jackpot for gifts since we stayed at the plush Wynn Resort and Casino. The best item was the loofah sponge I snagged for each child. This item has given them hours of fun in the bath and certainly something different than the traditional paper I usually bring home. Of course I did bring home paper from this trip which was a very high end card stock and much more colorful then the white stationery from other trips. Another fun item was the shoe polish container. It was a silver round tin where I took out the shoe polish components. The kids flipped over this since they love to put coins and small items in it, shake it around and then distribute the contents to all the family members.

Other Venues for Gifts
I don't always ransack my hotel room for freebies for my kids. Sometimes I pick up stuff from the airplane or even the airport parking shuttle. There was a great article in one of the airline magazines featuring a photographer with three spreads of his animal pictures. These pages delighted the kids to see fun animals and to be able to write on them and "enhance" the pictures. I also snagged some free airport booties on the Park N Fly shuttle bus. My kids love to put on my slippers and shoes at home, so they enjoyed getting their own adult sized slippers for fun.

The Presentation
When I get home from a trip simple hugs and kisses are what my kids get immediately. I do not go straight for my luggage and make a big deal about presenting treats to the kids. After they go to bed, I carefully place my work trip treasures throughout the house where they will find them in their every day activities. We have a designated craft table where I will lay out the paper, and pens. And for the unusual Las Vegas items, I placed the loofah sponges in the bath tub and the shoe polish tins on the kitchen table for a breakfast discovery. When the kids find their treats I reinforce that they were from my work trip and we discuss where I traveled. Sometimes we pull out a map or use their globe and pinpoint the location. The discussions that stem from these small "freebies" are so much fun and I feel good that I don't buy their love while I am gone.

My children certainly have caught on that I always have things for them from my trip, and if they ask I tell them it is a surprise and they will find them in the morning. I like my kids associating plenty of hugs and kisses immediately when I get home rather than objects. And when it is all said and done, I do have fun finding new ways to express that they are always on my mind when I travel.

Creation Of A $2,000.00 Bonus In 2008

Perhaps bonus is too strong of a word, but that is exactly how I am going to look at it when I receive my tax-free $1,000.00 check in June and another $1,000.00 check in December next year. It is the end of October which means it is benefits enrollment time in our household and I have done my homework to generate $2,000.00 of slush fund money.

My husband and I both work full time and I was inspired by the book, The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach, to delve into all the benefit options our employers have to offer for 2008. My outlook for next year is pure excitement since I calculated that we would be able to contribute $2,000.00 to a Child or Elder Dependent Care account. I am hoping to increase this for 2009. Under Federal law, the maximum you can contribute is $5,000.00 per household. You can also contribute an additional $5,000.00 per household to a Health Care account. Both of these accounts are defined as Flexible Spending Accounts or FSAs.

A Child or Elder Dependent Care account allows you to reduce your taxable income by setting aside pre-tax money from your paycheck to cover dependent care-related expenses. My company allows these contributions to be used for reimbursement of daycare expenses for your child (up to age 13) or a dependent adult, but cannot be used for health care expenses. And unlike a Health Care Flexible Spending account where you are able to access funds that are not yet contributed, the Child or Elder Dependent Care must have all the funds available before you can receive your reimbursement, or bonus as I refer to it. Therefore, with $2,000.00 set aside for the whole year, at the end of June I will have contributed $1,000 of pre-taxed money and I will be able to request my bonus check at that time. In addition, at the end of December I will do the same for the remainder of my balance. We pay for full time dependent care for both my children so getting the right documentation to submit a claim will not be an issue.

The knowledge of knowing I will have extra funds coming my way just puts a smile on my face. I keep a slush fund where extra money is deposited for pure fun. We might have a planned vacation for months or I might splurge and get a leather jacket. The options are endless and the timing for these two checks are just right. Summer will be in full swing at the end of June and we could plan a long weekend get away, or load up on swimsuits, goggles and water slides and pools for the backyard. And it seems the slush fund is always depleted come January with all the holiday cheer we like to spread.

If you want to participate in a Flexible Spending Account in 2008, I recommend that you research, calculate all the numbers several times and work with your HR manager closely. The time you spend maximizing your employers benefits will be well worth your while, and perhaps turn into a bonus.