I’ve become accustomed to flying a couple of times per year (at least) to visit family or go on vacation.

This year, we flew to LA for a wedding and Mexico on vacation, both for well under $500 per person. And I remember after college grabbing tickets to San Francisco for $150 round trip. For Labor Day 2006 our family of four flew to Chicago for about $300 (the little guy didn’t pay for a seat, though).

But I worry that cross-country leisure travel for people with average-sized pocketbooks could be a thing of the past.

My price threshold for buying a domestic plane ticket is set at a somewhat random $350 per seat. That means no trip to see my cousin get married outside Harrisburg, PA (seats are around $470) or to see a family friend marry in Connecticut (seats were a whopping $509 to fly into Hartford). At those prices– and with airlines charging for bags, food, you name it– we’ll be grounded for some time.

Auto travel is no better with gas prices approaching $4.00. The AAA predicts that the number of Americans driving more than 50 miles away from home over the long weekend will decline by about 1 percent, a small number, but a big sign because it rarely declines.

We’re a contributor to that decline. We were planning to go to Kansas City to see a two-day kids music festival where They Might Be Giants and Justin Roberts are playing– two bands my kids as well as my husband and I really enjoy. There’s an elephant at their zoo too. But we decided loading up the car would be tiring and expensive. We’ll be digging up tree roots in our yard instead.

Day-to-day,I am driving shorter distances when I can. I haven’t set foot in my beloved Costco for months now because driving from St. Paul to St. Louis Park for cheap milk just doesn’t feel like a bargain (although I’ve yet to run the numbers). I’m also trying to bike to work more.

How about you? Have you made any changes– big or small– to cope with higher fuel prices? Skipped trips? Traded in the SUV for a Hybrid?

Good news for budget-haters. Turns out frequently tweaking your spending plan may be less effective than doing so once a year.

This NYT story takes a look at new research from a University of Southern California professor who found that people budgeting for the long term are less confident of their spending needs and more likely to pad their budgets than short-term budgeters who regularly spend more than they estimate.

I haven’t found a link to the study to post here, but if I do, I’ll be sure to share it.

Just the other day, Matt was clearing off our computer’s desktop and asked if he should uninstall Quicken. I said yes.

After trying for months to use the software, spending my precious time inputting data and approving transactions, we let it go.

Then we tried Mint, a free, web-based, stripped down version of financial tracker. But that had all sorts of glitches, frequently making laughable category errors– like the time it labeled the Town Hall Brewery “home,” as in housing-related expense. I like my beer, but I certainly don’t live at the bar.

So for months now, we’ve had no budget, proving my theory that if you save automatically for retirement, emergencies, and fun, keep your expenses fairly low, and don’t go hog wild every week, you can live within your means and meet your goals without spending hours categorizing expenditures and poring over spreadsheets.

I wrote a story months ago about new online web sites that allow you to aggregate all of your bank account and card account information in one place. Many of the sites offer helpful tools such as mobile banking and alerts for low balances. The FREE sites– Geezeo, Wesabe, and Mint, also make it easy to see whether you are indeed spending all of your money at Target or the bar down the street, whether you like it or not. Much easier than Quicken.

At the time, Quicken had said a pared-down, online program was in the works.Behold– Quicken Online. It certainly doesn’t have the clever name of the sites clearly going after the Google generation, but it does have name recognition and may be the answer for people who want a low calorie version of the venerable program.

It also charges a $3 monthly fee. I guess that’s no different than upgrading the software yearly, but it will have to deliver something more than is offered from the free sites.

Who wants to sign up for the 30 day free trial with me?

I’ve made a few money mistakes along the way, but I think my financial upbringing has a lot to do with not getting in too deep and socking away some money, no matter how little, each and every month.

I don’t remember the exact words, but I remember my dad’s sentiment about credit card interest. Something like: “credit cards should be used for convenience but don’t pay those credit card companies interest.” That’s now a cardinal rule for me and I’ve performed backbreaking financial stunts to pay my bill off in full without exception all but once in the 10+ years I’ve had a card.

What financial advice did you inherit from your parents?

And if the answer is nada, tell us what terrible habits you picked up from the folks and what you’ve done to shed them (the habits, not the parents).

A new poll by Consumer Reports found that nearly a quarter of holiday shoppers plan to spend less money on gifts this year and will shop later. No wonder retailers like Target are concerned about their sales.

About a quarter of respondents also admitted to regifting…..a quarter spending less, a quarter regifting….I see a connection there.

As for me, I plan to spend a little more on each of my kids but everyone else will probably get donations to charity to causes they care about. Yes, this is somewhat selfish since it will lower my tax bill, but I think they will appreciate the gesture more than another scarf or coffee table book or picture frame.

I will also be paying close attention to sales, although I never get into that Black Friday business. If you do, Jackie Crosby wrote about deals being leaked online before we even smash our pumpkins. I will also do more comparison shopping online and in the local stores this year to see how far I can stretch my cash.

How do you plan your holiday giving? Do you come up with a total dollar amount or amount per person? Do you charge gifts or set money aside all year?

I’m sure other Ka-Blog readers would like to know what works for you as we enter a season where it’s easy to get carried away with impulse purchases and overspending.