Family Trip

EVERY WEEK. CHIEF NATIONAL CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT JEFF ROSSEN GIVES HIS BEST TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE MONEY AND TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR VACATION. AND GUESS WHOS HERE? THATS RIGHT. GUESS WHOS BACK? BACK AGAIN? THATS RIGHT. HEY, JEFF, YOU KNOW, FIRST, WELCOME TO BIRMINGHAM. WE LOVE HAVING YOU HERE. GREAT TO BE HERE. AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SENDING QUESTIONS. SO THE FIRST ONE HAS I CHANGED THE WAY WE LOOK AT THE INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY FROM A CONSUMER STANDPOINT. YEAH. AND I SLICES BOTH WAYS. RIGHT. WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT I LETS START WITH THE GOOD. ITS GOING TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR YOU IN SOME WAYS RIGHT. PLANNING VACATIONS, AUTOMATING SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF YOUR LIFE, MAYBE EVEN YOUR JOB THAT YOU FIND ANNOYING. IT COULD TAKE JOBS AWAY. THEYRE GOING TO BE NEW JOBS THAT COME COULD HELP YOUR KIDS WITH HOMEWORK. EXPLAIN THINGS YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND, WHICH IS A LOT IN MY CASE, BUT IT WILL ALSO BE DANGEROUS, RIGHT? SCAMMERS CAN USE AI ALREADY TO CON YOU OUT OF YOUR OWN MONEY. NOT TOO LONG AGO I DID A STORY SHOWING HOW AI CAN BE USED TO CLONE YOUR VOICE. AS YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY CAN CALL YOU UP AND SOUND JUST LIKE YOU OR YOUR KID. THERES STILL A LOT OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED. WERE GOING TO EVEN BE LEARNING MORE AS THE TECHNOLOGY BECOMES MORE ADVANCED. SO ITS GOING TO BE A WHOLE NEW WORLD WHERE ONE OF THE THINGS IVE HEARD FROM AN EXPERT IS FAMILIES ARE GOING TO NEED A CODE WORD RIGHT? SO IF MY KID CALLS ME, IT MAY NOT BE MY KID. WOW, WOW. SO YOURE GOING TO NEED SOME KIND OF FAMILY SECRET CODE WORD THAT ONLY YOUR FAMILY KNOWS TO MAKE SURE THAT ITS THEM. SO THERE ARE SOME SCARY THINGS OUT THERE, BUT ALSO SOME GOOD THINGS TOO. THATS PRETTY SCARY. ALL RIGHT. QUESTION NUMBER TWO. IF A CONTRACTOR DOES A LOUSY JOB ON YOUR HOME, WHAT IS YOUR RECOURSE? WELL, THAT NEVER HAPPENS, RIGHT? NO, OF COURSE NOT. YEAH OKAY. LETS START WITH YOU. IT ALL STARTS WHEN YOURE HIRING THE ACTUAL CONTRACTOR HERE. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THEYRE LICENSED, RIGHT? WITH WITH THE STATE. THAT WAY IF SOMETHING DOES GO WRONG YOU HAVE RECOURSE DURING THE PROCESS. I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER TO DO THREE THINGS. WEVE LAID THEM OUT FOR YOU HERE ONE, MAKE COPIES OF ALL THE SIGNED PAPERWORK AND ANYTHING ELSE RELATED TO THE PROJECT. EVEN IF SOMETHING IS AGREED UPON IN THE MOMENT. WRITE IT DOWN ON THE CONTRACT. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CONTRACT OR SIGN IT. YEAH, BUT JIMS MY BUDDY. HED NEVER GET IT SIGNED. OKAY, TWO TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING. THREE WRITE ABOUT EVERY CONVERSATION YOU HAVE WITH YOUR CONTRACTOR, OR SPECIFIC QUOTES OR NUMBERS THAT STAND OUT TO YOU AS WELL. THEN IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG AND TALKING WITH YOUR CONTRACTOR ISNT WORKING, YOU CAN FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE ALABAMA LICENSING BOARD OR THE ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL. YOU CAN ALSO FILE AN ACTION WITH THE SMALL CLAIMS COURT. BUT REMEMBER, IF THEY ARENT LICENSED, IF YOU SCREWED UP, THE FIRST THING I TOLD YOU, ITS ALL MOOT BECAUSE YOU DONT HAVE A WRITTEN CONTRACT. THERES NOTHING THE COURTS CAN DO. AND ALSO CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY TO IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS. SOMETIMES YOU CAN BE COVERED FOR THAT GREAT INFORMATION. YEAH GOOD ADVICE. ALL RIGHT. LAST VIEWER QUESTION. JUST GOT MY VACATION TIME FROM WORK. WELL NOT ME. THIS IS A VIEWER. UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE TIME WAS APPROVED. TRIANA TRYING TO PLAN A TRIP. DO I GO HOME AND JUMP ON IT NOW? TALKING ABOUT THE FLIGHT, THE CAR, THE HOTEL OR WHAT DO I DO TO GET THE BEST PRICE? ITS A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS ASKING, WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO WHATS THAT SWEET SPOT TO BOOK THE TRIP AND GET THE BEST PRICE SO IT DEPENDS ON WHEN YOURE TRAVELING. IF YOUR VACATION IS FOR THIS SUMMER, ABSOLUTELY BOOKED RIGHT NOW, YOURE PROBABLY A LITTLE LATE, BUT YOURE STILL OKAY. FOR DOMESTIC FLIGHTS, THE SWEET SPOT IS ABOUT 2 TO 3 MONTHS AHEAD FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, ITS MORE LIKE 3 TO 5 MONTHS AHEAD IS WHEN YOURE GOING TO FIND THE BEST PRICES. THERE ARE ALSO SOME TOOLS THAT CAN HELP YOU SAVE. ONE OF THEM IS HOPPER. I LOVE THIS APP. ITS A FREE, FREE, FREE, FREE TRAVEL APP THAT LETS YOU TYPE IN YOUR TRIP DETAILS. ITLL MONITOR THE PRICES FOR FLIGHTS, HOTELS AND CAR RENTALS, AND ITLL EVEN ALERT YOU WHEN THE PRICES GET AS LOW AS THE APP THINKS THEYRE GOING TO GO. RIGHT. IT HAS SOME ALGORITHM. HEY, I THINK YOU SHOULD BOOK NOW, AND YOU CAN ALSO BOOK RIGHT THEN. THE OTHER IS GOOGLE FLIGHTS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SEARCH MULTIPLE AIRPORTS AT THE SAME TIME TO FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT. ITLL EVEN TELL YOU IF YOU SHIFT TRAVEL DAYS BY JUST A DAY OR TWO HERE A DAY OR TWO ON THE BACKSIDE. HOW MUCH ITS GOING TO SAVE YOU AND HOW IT CHANGES THE PRICE OF THE TICKET. AND AND BY THE WAY, IT CAN EVEN MONITOR THE PRICES AND BY THE TIME YOU LEAVE, IT CAN REFUND YOU THE MONEY. ANY OF THE DIFFERENCE, HUH? UH, BASED ON THE TICKET PRICE AND WHEN YOU PURCHASED IT. SO ITS PRETTY COOL. THATS GREAT INFORMATION. YEAH, YOU GOT IT. ALL RIGHT. TO HEAR MORE FROM JEFF, VISIT ROSSEN REPORTS.COM. OR YOU C