Okay, so you’re on a budget. Who isn’t these days? If you are an avid traveler, this global economic crisis is surely putting a major crimp in your travel style. With prices soaring for hotels, flights, and everything in between, it’s hard not to get depressed trying to plan your next vacation.

Nowadays everyone is touting the staycation, a sad reminder of the economic crisis, where vacations are replaced by holidays at home, or close by. Forget strolling down the Champs-Élysées, unwinding on a beach in Bora Bora, or traversing the Sahara. How terribly depressing.

Yet with a little research, you’ll find that domestic vacations often cost a sum comparable to the cost of a carefully budgeted overseas trip. After all, prices are up for almost everything, and that includes domestic travel. A couple of domestic trips can often add up to one well-planned international jaunt. For budget travelers in the know, there are a handful of savvy tricks for maintaining your jet setting ways, contrary to popular belief.

up with travel-friendly hosts sporting extra couch-space, looking to show a fellow traveler around. Online you can read reviews of hosts and match up your travel preferences in order to narrow down the choices to someone you feel comfortable with. Staying with a local personalizes the journey, and provides great stories to tell later.

Look for a Favorable Exchange Rate, and Your Favorite Activities

Consider putting that trip to Japan on hold, or saving London for another year. There are hundreds of fantastic places to visit where you can still select the cultural highlights you crave, and save money at the same time, ultimately leading to a more enjoyable adventure when you don’t have to constantly stress about the price of everything.

Do your research and you’ll discover a plethora of interesting places to explore where the dollar still goes a long way. You’ll find that you can still live it up in Morocco or Bali for less than you would spend traveling to New York City.

Who says budget traveling has to be all restraint and sacrifices? It’s really more about flexibility. If you are open to catering your destination to the economic strength of a nation, you should be able to find a handful of places where you can live it up. Even if you don’t do this the entire trip, you can still conclude things in style by splurging on a five star hotel for the last few days of your vacation.

Vacation in Short Bursts

Shorter trips will save you headaches getting time off work, and save you money by avoiding unpaid vacation days if you haven’t accrued enough time to cover your trip. Plus a shorter trip will give you extra cash to indulge in more of the things you journeyed away from home to experience, instead of having to spread your money out over the duration of a longer trip.

Of course an extended around-the-world trip would be fantastic, but you won’t have to penny-pinch if you’re just away for a week or two. Going on a shorter trip is much better than not going anywhere at all

Be sure to choose a luxury hotel where extras are included: gourmet buffet breakfasts, free bottled water, newspapers, internet access, or complimentary food and beverages at happy hour. That way you can make a late breakfast your main meal, or take food to go, and skip lunch. Have free happy hour appetizers, and you’ll only need a light dinner. Or hit the supermarket for a picnic meal.

So next time someone tries to convince you that an international vacation is not affordable, remember that with, you can live it up on a budget. It may mean bypassing your first destination choice or going on vacation for just a week in the off-season, but that trip could still turn out to be the trip of a lifetime. When you’re caught up in the rush of a place, trying new foods and meeting new people, you’ll be glad you took a chance and didn’t surrender to the staycation mantra.

Subversive Jewelry’s designer Justin Giunta was recently named best accessories designer by the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation at the Spring/Summer 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. What’s Giunta showing for the upcoming season? High fashion it’s magnificent embroidered chest plates. For the rest of us, he has a fabulous line of jewelry marketed through both his website and Target Department Stores.

Elaborate pectoral plate style necklaces filling in the front of the outfit with which they are worn have been very popular this year to date. Those shown by Subversive Jewelry differ from other design styles both in the materials used and the wrap effect extending around the neck.

Runway with a Kick at 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Guinta’s presentation at Fashion Week was as unique as his jewelry. Instead of having his models do the tried and true stomp down the runway, Giunta showcased his jewelry using dancers in black. It was very 19th century Paris complete with Marcel Waved dancers performing the can-can in true chorus line style. It was quite spectacular to watch.

What are benefits of good metal weight? . This causes the jewelry to bend and twist at the smallest impact. The gemstones and diamonds will also be loosely mounted and could drop off at any time. A good silver weight on the other hand adds to the long term durability of the jewelry and the final consumer need not keep spending money for frequent repairs and modifications

Is the craftsmanship always bad? This need not necessarily be true but once again the market price point influences the decision. Wholesale 925 silver jewelry is produced by a mechanized process, however it is possible to provide good handfinishing in the final production phase and improve the quality of the jewelry. This adds to the price tag and is therefore avoided in most cases.

Is the craftsmanship always bad? This need not necessarily be true but once again the market price point influences the decision. Wholesale 925 silver jewelry is produced by a mechanized process, however it is possible to provide good handfinishing in the final production phase and improve the quality of the jewelry. This adds to the price tag and is therefore avoided in most cases.

Should silver jewelry be plated? Plating on silver can be done with rhodium, white gold, yellow gold and even platinum. Plated wholesale sterling silver jewelry will look awesome when new but the plating will wear off with time and the jewelry might look quite shabby. The plating wears off in patches and in many cases the jewelry becomes a piece of junk. All silver jewelry manufacturers will provide plating at a small additional charge.

Is the craftsmanship always bad? This need not necessarily be true but once again the market price point influences the decision. Wholesale 925 silver jewelry is produced by a mechanized process, however it is possible to provide good handfinishing in the final production phase and improve the quality of the jewelry. This adds to the price tag and is therefore avoided in most cases.

What are benefits of good metal weight? Wholesale silver jewelry is normally made with a low silver weight to save costs. This causes the jewelry to bend and twist at the smallest impact. The gemstones and diamonds will also be loosely mounted and could drop off at any time. A good silver weight on the other hand adds to the long term durability of the jewelry and the final consumer need not keep spending money for frequent repairs and modifications

What are benefits of good metal weight? . This causes the jewelry to bend and twist at the smallest impact. The gemstones and diamonds will also be loosely mounted and could drop off at any time. A good silver weight on the other hand adds to the long term durability of the jewelry and the final consumer need not keep spending money for frequent repairs and modifications.