How to take a great (and cheap!) vacation

Erin Hurson atop a Mayan pyramid in Tikal, Guatemala

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Being frugal did the trick for me, allowing me to travel for most of 2013. If it's a priority, you can make it happen. Here's how I did it.

Live cheaply and save: This is the obvious one. In America, it is normal to buy more than we need or use. It feels natural, or even compelling, but is far from necessary.

Recognize the things you can do without and stop buying them. I reduced my spending by downsizing my living space, eating more frugally, and purchasing less nice-to-have stuff.

Set up an automatic transfer to your savings account earmarked for your trip. My goal was 5-10% of my paycheck.

It won't substantially change your life to go without a few luxuries. The experience of travel will.

Travel in cheap countries: The American dollar goes far in many parts of the world. Where you choose to visit can impact your budget and how long you can stay.

It may be more rough and tumble in cheaper countries, but that's part of the fun! I had the time of my life backpacking through Central America for six months on a budget of roughly $50 per day all-inclusive. I encourage you to be open-minded and adventurous about where you choose to go!

When you can, make some money! With limits on vacation time, it is challenging to work a normal job and travel for long periods. Most employers don't offer sabbaticals, yet short-term work that pays well is scarce.

It shouldn't have to be this way. Some travelers I met from other countries had 1 or 2 years unpaid leave with jobs waiting back at home. Let's change our professional culture to honor travel!

Related: Unlimited vacation days and other perks you don't get

But if you don't have that luxury, how can you afford a long vacation?

Taking time off between jobs is one way. Contract, seasonal, or remote work in your field can also provide a paycheck while preserving freedom on a more on-going basis.

Identify your skills that have the highest income potential and industries or companies that might offer greater flexibility.

Every bit you can save matters. While traveling or in between work projects, here's how I supplement my income.

• Part-time casual jobs. These are easier to get and leave but generally don't pay well. Such jobs let me cover by daily cost of living but did not allow me to rebuild my savings.

• Research studies. One of my favorite ways of making extra pocket-money! They are generally interesting and pay well per hour. Check the "Craigslist etc" jobs pages that exist for most major cities.

• Money-making hobbies. I love travel writing and pub quizzes. More often than not my trivia team finishes in the money, paying for a night's worth of beer, food, and entertainment!

Be thankful for the generous support of family and friends: Since returning to the U.S., I have often been fed and housed by people I love. Their support leaves me grateful and inspired.

I pay this kindness back and forward as best I can. How can your support system help you? What broader communities, like couchsurfing, can you participate in?

Be conscious of your money: Once you have money, how do you spend and watch it responsibly? International travel makes money management a little more complex. I use a few financial tools to help.

• Two bank accounts: I have a domestic checking account for most deposits and paying bills. This account works in the U.S., but has high ATM withdrawal fees abroad. I also use Charles Schwab's Investor High Yield Checking Account for travel. This account is blissfully simple: managed online, no annual fee, no account minimums, and you can withdraw money from any ATM in the world for free!

• Two credit cards: I have the Chase Freedom, which offers 1% or 5% cash back. I also have a Capital One for 1.5% cash back. There are no international fees. (Useful!) And it lets you monitor your credit score. (Neat!)
• Keep saving for retirement: Contributing to a Roth IRA as part of your saving activities is a good idea. A Roth IRA can also serve as a last-resort emergency fund. Principal contributions can be withdrawn anytime -- tax and penalty free.

• Stay connected: I watch all of my accounts together using Mint.

In conclusion .. you can do it too! Live frugally at home and abroad, earn money when you can, be aware of your finances, and save save save. Then enjoy the trip of a lifetime. Best wishes to all your bank accounts and happy traveling!

Erin Hurson writes the travel blog, Lady as a Tramp. A version of this story first appeared there.

First Published: August 2, 2014: 8:43 AM ET

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Buffett's $2 billion bounce

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has a big bounce in second quarter profit.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

His company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), said Friday that its profit grew by nearly $2 billion in the second quarter.

The company, a broad-based investment conglomerate that includes diverse names like Geico Auto Insurance, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Dairy Queen, Benjamin Moore, Fruit of the Loom, Heinz, and See's Candies, earned a profit of nearly $6.4 billion, up from $4.5 billion during the same period last year.

In the first quarter, Berkshire's railroad operations took a hit from the extreme winter weather that hit much of the nation.

As the nation's housing market has shown signs of improvement, many of the related companies that fall under Berkshire Hathaway's umbrella saw good results.

"Clayton Homes, Shaw industries, Acme Brick Company, Benjamin Moore, Johns Manville all performed well. That's the real story as the recovery works its way through the economy," said Thomas Russo, Partner at investment firm Gardner Russo & Gardner. The firm has nearly $1 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares.

Class A Berkshire (BRKA) shares traded at $188,279 Friday. Shares are up 6.40% this year.

Class B Berkshire (BRKB) shares traded at $125.83, up 6.13% year to date.

First Published: August 1, 2014: 6:01 PM ET

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Is a correction near? Wall Street on edge

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points on Thursday, erasing its gains for the year. The S&P 500 fell 2.7% last week, the biggest weekly decline since Jan. 2012.

Now, investors are trying to determine if the sell-off was overdone, or just the beginning of a larger downturn.

It's been more than two years since the S&P 500 had a correction, typically defined as a drop of 10% or more from the most recent high. Despite last week's plunge, the S&P 500 is just 3.1% below its all-time high from last month.

With stocks still relatively expensive, many investors have been waiting for a pullback to buy shares at more attractive levels.

Related: Small stocks sink -- bad sign for economy?

Nick Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx Group, a global brokerage in New York, says "there is no way to right now if this is the beginning of a larger sell-off" or just a temporary blip.

The VIX (VIX), a gauge of market volatility, jumped more than 30% last week. CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index, which includes the VIX and six other gauges of sentiment, is at a level indicating "Extreme Fear."

Investors certainly have a plenty to worry about.

The conflict in Gaza is unsettling and the showdown between Russia and the West over Ukraine is intensifying. Argentina is another hot spot, though investors seem confident that last week's default won't cause major problems in other emerging markets.

In addition to geopolitical turmoil, investors are debating how the Federal Reserve may respond to the recent spate of strong economic data.

U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, increased 4% in the second quarter, bouncing back form a winter swoon in the first quarter.

The job market continued to improve in July, though the pace of hiring slowed a bit from June.

Related: Boring bonds beat sexy stocks. Here's why

The Fed is gradually winding down its stimulative policies, and investors have recently become obsessed with trying to gauge when the central bank will eventually hike interest rates. Most economists expect a rate hike will occur in the spring or summer of 2015.

"There is a lot of fear that the Fed's policies and world events will lead to a market crash in the near future," said Keith Springer, president of Springer Financial Advisors in Sacramento, Calif.

While he expects the Fed to remain on hold, Springer said stocks appear headed for a decline of between 7% and 10%.

"For the next few weeks, hunker down," he said.

A big week for media companies: The media sector will be in focus with quarterly reports due from some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.

Both Time Warner (TWX) and 21st Century Fox (FOX) will report results next week.

Time Warner, the parent company of CNNMoney, rejected an $80 billion buyout offer from Fox, the movie and television company run by Rupert Murdoch, in June. But it is widely believed that Fox will eventually make another bid.

Investors are eager to hear what executives of both companies say about the possibility of a merger when they take questions from analysts after their earnings reports.

Murdoch's other company, News Corp. (NWS), which owns the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers, will also report results next week.

Disney (DIS), which is releasing "Guardians of the Galaxy" this weekend, will report results on Tuesday. It's been a sluggish summer at the box office this year, and investors are hoping that Disney's latest film may get people back in theaters.

Viacom (VIA) and CBS (CBS) are also set to release earnings this week.

First Published: August 2, 2014: 4:52 PM ET

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Stop sharing USB Flash drives - right now

USB-connected devices have a fatal flaw. Say no to strangers' flash drives -- and smartphones too.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

German security researchers have discovered that USB-connected devices have a fatal flaw. Anything that connects via USB can be reprogrammed to pose as another device.

That means a stranger's USB stick could dupe your computer into thinking it's a keyboard, then type in certain commands and quietly take control of your laptop.

Or it could pose as a network card, rerouting your Internet traffic so everything you do can be spied on.

Identity theft, bank fraud, extortion -- you name it. Anything follows. And any talented computer engineer can tamper with a device's firmware to dupe a computer.

Related story: Dark Mail - email that hides from the NSA

Some cybersecurity experts, like Rapid7's Trey Ford, say the danger of sharing USB devices have been spotted before.

But SRLabs chief scientist Karsten Nohl, a member of the team that discovered the flaw, said the implications are now clear. Downloading the wrong app can infect your phone, then compromise your computer. And borrowing a stranger's USB stick could infect your computer permanently.

"Someone asking, 'Can I charge my Android on your computer?' will have a much different connotation in the future," Nohl said.

The problem is made worse, because modern day antivirus and protection software won't catch it. USB duping isn't technically a computer virus in action, just a device masquerading as another one. So, there's no solution for it right now except simply barring Flash drives.

That's the approach the U.S. military takes at sensitive locations. The Pentagon disabled its computers USB ports and banned the use of Flash drives in 2008 to prevent infection of government computers there.

Cybersecurity: How safe are you? A custom Flipboard magazine

The flaw was discovered by SRLabs researchers Nohl, Jakob Lell and Sascha Krissler, and will be explained in detail at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference next week in Las Vegas.

The team tested with several types of Flash drives, as well as Android smartphones, which connect to computers via USB ports. The team did not test iPhones or other smartphones.

But it's not about a specific kind of device. At its very core, the USB flaw exists because of the convenient nature of computer Universal Serial Bus ports -- they're universal. They accept all sorts of devices -- mouses, microphones, printers and more.

"That simplicity has a cost," Nohl said.

First Published: August 1, 2014: 2:46 PM ET

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Oops! Russian soldier Instagrams himself in Ukraine

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Alexander Sotkin posted two photos of himself to Instagram from within Ukraine -- one on June 30 and another on July 5. BuzzFeed first reported the story.

Although it's an open secret that Russian soldiers are assisting Ukrainian nationals who are rebelling against the Ukrainian government, the Russian army denies that its troops have crossed the border.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy said the government does not "make any decisions" or "come to conclusions" based on the social media posts. But the spokesman pointed to a news article in Russia's Life News that claimed the photos were forgeries and the locations of the selfies were falsified.

Sotkin's Facebook (FB, Tech30) profile describes his role as an instructor at the department of radio communications. He has been active on social networks for months while on duty. His colorful Instagram feed features pictures of himself eating a watermelon. posing with other soldiers and wearing a gas mask.

Related: Europe hits Russia's biggest banks

Another recent selfie caption: "sitting around, working on a buk, listening to music, basically a good sunday"

Sotkin may have been unaware that an Instagram feature called "Photo Map" was turned on when he took the photos. The feature tracks and visualizes when and where users post Instagram shots. Photo Map uses GPS to determine its users' locations, a tool that is generally accurate with 50 feet or so.

The location of his Instagram photos suggests he has been stationed on the Russia/Ukraine border since June 23. He posted 34 photos during that span -- 32 on the Russian side of the border and two on the Ukrainian side. The photos of Sotkin on the Ukrainian side were taken several miles across the border.

First Published: August 1, 2014: 5:11 PM ET

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Buffett's $2 billion bounce

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has a big bounce in second quarter profit.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

His company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), said Friday that its profit grew by nearly $2 billion in the second quarter.

The company, a broad-based investment conglomerate that includes diverse names like Geico Auto Insurance, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Dairy Queen, Benjamin Moore, Fruit of the Loom, Heinz, and See's Candies, earned a profit of nearly $6.4 billion, up from $4.5 billion during the same period last year.

In the first quarter, Berkshire's railroad operations took a hit from the extreme winter weather that hit much of the nation.

As the nation's housing market has shown signs of improvement, many of the related companies that fall under Berkshire Hathaway's umbrella saw good results.

"Clayton Homes, Shaw industries, Acme Brick Company, Benjamin Moore, Johns Manville all performed well. That's the real story as the recovery works its way through the economy," said Thomas Russo, Partner at investment firm Gardner Russo & Gardner. The firm has nearly $1 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares.

Class A Berkshire (BRKA) shares traded at $188,279 Friday. Shares are up 6.40% this year.

Class B Berkshire (BRKB) shares traded at $125.83, up 6.13% year to date.

First Published: August 1, 2014: 6:01 PM ET

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Unlimited vacation days and other perks you don't get

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Or how about this? Your company pays you cold hard cash to go on vacation and demands that you stay out of touch -- no calls, no emails, no texts, no kidding.

Whether it's to attract talent, prevent burnout, cut costs or just make work better, there are actually companies out there that offer these sweet, atypical time-off packages.

With very few exceptions, however, they tend to be offered by smaller, niche businesses, said Gregory Harris, president of Quantum Workplace, an employee engagement survey firm.

Image Market, an Omaha, Neb.-based custom t-shirt maker for high school clubs, offers a standard vacation policy -- two weeks paid plus holidays. But on top of that, it closes for two weeks over Christmas and employees get paid for that time as well.

Then during the summer months, workers are allowed to take as much time as they like -- with half of it paid by the company, and another quarter of it paid through their personal and sick days.

Why so much paid time off? Christmas and summertime are slow for business. But the policy has proven to be a big cost saver, said company owner Kelly Loneman.

Related: 10 vacation experiences of a lifetime

Loneman estimates the company saves about 25% of payroll costs in the summer. Plus, it saves in recruiting and training expenses because turnover is so low.

"It's rare to have someone quit," he said. With all the paid vacation time, "it's really hard to leave after you've had that."

Many tech start-ups have launched equally pioneering vacation policies. They're competing hard for talent, they work crazy hours in frenzied sprints to meet deadlines, and their cultures -- including their vacation philosophy -- are usually built around the ethos of the company's founder, said Kris Dunn, who blogs at HRcapitalist.com.

Take New York City-based consumer products manufacturer Quirky, founded in 2009.

Quirky shuts down for the first week of May, August and January, which are slower times for the company. That's down from the four weeks a year the company designated when the policy began in 2013.

But the idea for the policy is the same. "[It's] centered around the fact that this will lead to better work, more beautiful products, and an emotionally balanced team. Should we all feel it doesn't [do that], we reserve the right to go back to our old ways," Quirky founder Ben Kaufman wrote in a blog post.

In addition, the company doesn't limit or track the number of vacation, personal or sick days that workers take. So long as you're responsible at work, "you take time as you need it," said company spokesman Tiffany Markofsky.

To date, no one has abused the privilege, she said.

Related: What about a 3-day work week?

Other companies go even further.

Evernote, which makes apps for information sharing and memory jogging, pays employees $1,000 per year to take more than 5 days off in a row and to travel. The idea is to "encourage you to go away and take an actual vacation," company spokesman Ronda Scott said.

Contact management software maker FullContact doesn't care if employees watch paint peel on their vacation days. But it will pay them $7,500 once a year to take time off. And by "off" they mean having no contact with the office whatsoever.

The big idea: "If you don't disconnect you're going to break," said company spokesman Brad McCarty. "Better not call in. It's a lovely bit of tough love."

They also don't track employees' days off. The only commandment: "Don't screw your team."

Innovative start-ups can sometimes spur trends among bigger companies. But HR experts doubt that super-flexible (and frankly, utopian-sounding) "no-policy" vacation policies will catch on.

Small and nimble may allow for cool. But the bigger and older a company gets, Dunn said, "it becomes really hard to manage."

Plus, many start-ups are likely to be acquired by much bigger fish before they grow old.

And those big fish do things differently. On the generous side, the average number of paid days off (including vacation, holidays and sick days) ranges from 27 days after the first year of employment to 38 days after 10 years among Fortune's top 100 best companies, according to the Great Place To Work Institute.

And yes, those days will be tracked.

First Published: July 31, 2014: 6:43 PM ET

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Students and parents borrowing less to pay for college

Borrowing reached its lowest level in five years as students paid for more expenses out of pocket.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Borrowing reached its lowest level in five years as families paid for more expenses out of pocket and cut back on costs in a variety of ways, according to an annual survey of 1,600 college students and parents by Sallie Mae and market research firm Ipsos.

Related: Drowning in student loan debt

On average, college students and their parents borrowed 22% of total college costs in the 2013-2014 school year, compared to 27% two years ago.

Financial aid experts say that even a small reduction in borrowing can help students save thousands of dollars in future interest payments, and make it more likely that they will be able to afford those payments come graduation.

A key factor: a growing percentage of students are seeking to cut costs by attending two-year colleges instead of pricier four-year institutions.

Although the average cost of public two-year schools has nearly doubled in the last six years, these schools are still thousands of dollars cheaper than four-year colleges and universities.

Related: College savings gap widens between rich and poor

But that's not all. The vast majority of students and their families said they were adopting other cost-cutting measures, from choosing an in-state institution (60%) to living at home (54%) to working more hours while in school (48%).

"Families are committed to college and are making deliberate decisions to reduce how much they pay for it," Raymond Quinlan, Sallie Mae's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

First Published: July 31, 2014: 5:51 PM ET

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Elon Musk wants Tesla 'elves' to service cars

The Tesla service team will pick up your car and return it before you even know it's gone.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company has already shaken up the automobile industry. Musk has introduced well-reviewed cars that run only on electricity. He's changed the car shopping experience. Now Musk is aiming to transform how your car gets fixed.

Musk expects that Tesla cars won't have to receive frequent maintenance, but when they need to be serviced he wants it to be quick and with as little disruption to a Tesla owner's day as possible.

Related: Tesla's next 6 months will be busy

Eventually a Tesla service team will be able to pick up your car (maybe while you're at work), service it, and return it to you that same day. The plan is for an entire pit crew team to work on the car at the same time.

"In most cases, you won't even know it's gone," Musk said on a call with investors Thursday.

Tesla reported a jump in sales for the second quarter, but a drop in profits. Musk is spending a lot of money ramping up production on its Model S, developing a crossover vehicle set to hit the market next spring, and building a new lithium batter factory that's key in the development of the less expensive Model 3.

He expects to spend between $750 million and $950 million this year on these investments, but part of that also goes towards improving service.

This year, Tesla (TSLA) starting delivering vehicles in the U.K. and China -- where Musk said sales are off to a "very encouraging start." The company is on track to deliver 35,000 cars before the end of 2014.

First Published: July 31, 2014: 7:02 PM ET

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BofA hit with $1.3 billion mortgage penalty

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Bank of America (BAC) has been ordered to pay a nearly $1.3 billion penalty for mortgage fraud committed by Countrywide. The fraud happened years before BofA bought the struggling lender amid the financial crisis, saving it from collapsing under the weight of risky mortgages it had made.

The loans were made through a lending program it called the "High Speed Swim Lane." Some inside the company called it "The Hustle." It involved little, if any, income verification.

Countrywide then sold the mortgages to the government-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A lawsuit brought by the government claimed the program was "intentionally designed to process loans at high speed and without quality checkpoints, and generated thousands of fraudulent and otherwise defective residential mortgage loans."

A jury last fall found Countrywide and former executive Rebecca Mairone liable. Mairone has been ordered to pay a $1 million penalty. Her attorney, Marc Mukasey, said in response that she is innocent and will "will fight on to clear her name."

Related: I've achieved the American Dream

The program was "a brazen fraud by the defendants, driven by a hunger for profits and oblivious to the harms thereby visited, not just on the immediate victims but on the financial system as a whole," wrote Judge Jed. S. Rakoff.

The penalties aren't intended to compensate victims but rather serve as a deterrent for wrongdoing, the judge said. He noted the whistleblower who alerted the government to the program may be eligible to receive a portion of the penalty. The case was the first tried under the whistleblower law. The office of U.S. Attorney Preet Baharara, which prosecuted the case, could not say if a payout would be made.

Baharara said in a statement the case demonstrated "that mortgage fraud cannot be viewed as simply another cost of doing business in the financial world."

Bank of America objected to the size of the penalty. Spokesman Lawrence Grayson said the company was reviewing a possible appeal.

Related: What economic rebound? 'I got left behind'

CNNMoney's James O'Toole and Ben Rooney contributed to this report.

First Published: July 30, 2014: 5:36 PM ET

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