Several months ago, my wife and I started looking into getting a flat screen TV. We had essentially been paying for high definition service from our cable provider for years without enjoying it and we wanted that to stop.

We began looking online at the various sites that seemed to have low prices. We were trying to get the gist of what our budget would get us. We were looking to stay around $1000 but we would go higher if it made a difference. I had my eye on a few that seemed to be good deals. After printing a few of the prices out we decided that we had to see the performance in action. We drove to the local Sears and started staring into the screens, trying to clue into the difference between the styles. Plasma, LCD, 1080P, there were some really nice TVs. The problem was that I was holding a piece of paper that had a few of the same TVs at Sears, but for prices around half of what they were charging. It was a good learning experience.

Later that week we stopped by Wal-Mart to see what they had and the picture quality of even their top model was terrible. You could see images dragging all over the place. Nothing was crisp; all of the lines were blurred. These models were right in the $1000 – $1200 range which was where we wanted to be, but I couldn’t get myself to buy any of them. I would have been embarrassed to have them in my house.

We went to a high-end electronics boutique, and they had some really nice TVs, but again, their prices were way too high and the worst part was they were showing a Blu-Ray of fish swimming slowly around. The picture quality was amazing, but because we watch a lot of sports, I wanted to see the picture moving faster in a more realistic setting for my needs.

We wound up going with a TV from Amazon.com. It was the same TV that we had seen at Sears for $2800, but we paid under $1400 including “white glove” delivery. The TV was delivered 3 days later while my wife was home alone. She called me as soon as they arrived and when I got there 9 minutes later the delivery guys were gone, the TV was out of the box, and sitting on the living room floor waiting for me to setup.

She and I moved the old tube TV off of the stand and replaced it with the new Samsung 46″ 1080P LCD with 120 Hz. What a difference. I had called the cable company and had them turn on the high def service the day before, so I plugged in a few wires, I also bought the HDMI cables from Amazon for under $10.

What a picture! Everything looks so realistic. It really is an unbelievable difference. I know that there are a lot of bloggers saying that cable is a waste of money, but I’m sure they have never seen a baseball game in high def. Hockey is unbelievable and basketball is just ridiculous. You can see what type of beer that rowdy fan in the 15th row is drinking even when they are out of focus.

Since I bought the TV, the price had gone up by $200 or so for the same model, but if you are looking, I have included a link to the one we chose. I can’t give it enough praise.

If you’ve ever had to go without a vacation, I might have just found the tool for you. Travelmuse has a travel calculator that takes the money you could have spent on relatively arbitrary daily items and shows you vacations that you can take for your sacrifice.

Everyone needs time to unwind after months of living the daily grind. There are limitless vacations that you can go on for about $1000 per person. I believe that the key to defining a good vacation is if you can put away your watch and not miss a step. I have found that a good all-inclusive resort vacation fits his billing perfectly.

There are a few places that you can get an all inclusive for under $1000 per person, double occupancy. Cancun, Punta Cana, or Puerto Vallarta is a few choices depending on where you are flying from. Take a look at this site to see a few pictures from each of these places. They are all good options.

On an all inclusive vacation, you pay for everything up front. This one price includes flights, transfers, food, drink, non-motorized water sports, beach towels, taxes, tips, and gratuities.

Never entertain the idea of a timeshare unless you really like the idea. Almost all of these resorts try to sell you on timeshares with pushy salespeople and free gifts, but you will find that it wastes a lot of your time and is never worth it.

I recommend bringing a $100 in sequential bills and keeping it in your safe for tipping. I know that tipping is included, but if you want the best service, a dollar or two every once in a while really goes a long way. I recommend sequential bills so that you never have to count how many you have spent. Just look at the serial numbers and line then up so that you have a countdown.

Bring some other cash for gifts and souvenirs, and never buy them on the resort. Grab a cab into the local towns and haggle your way into a deal.

The best use of tip money is to throw a few at the reception clerk at check in. They have been known to give up an upgrade or two.

Another tip is to bring an insulated travel cup. Some resorts you don’t need it because the service is phenomenal, but for some others, it’s nice to have a cool beverage with you on the beach or near the pool and the longer it stays cold, the more relaxing you can do. 

Before you go, check out this packing list that I have compiled. It is obviously not a complete list, but it does have some things on it that you might regret forgetting.

Cancun has great nightlife, and so does Puerto Vallarta, but Punta Cana has the best beaches. There is less to do at night, but each of the resorts has late night bars and clubs to go to. I recommend going to www.tripadvisor.com to check out a few reviews to help you decide what resort to go to. Be wary of what kind of person the resort caters to. You don’t want to be single at Couples, You don’t want to bring your children to Hedonism and so on.