Home Exchange 101 Lesson 5 – Getting to Yes

February 3, 2010
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A fascinating way to get to know someone is learn how they proposed, or plan to propose,  marriage.  A persons’ proposal strategy reveals their personality.
Some of us love to show off, so we proposed in large groups.  Others of us are low-key and measured, so a small, private, intimate proposal is exactly what we are [...]

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Yours Truly Podcasts on www.KnowYourTrade.com

January 27, 2010
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The experts at www.KnowYourTrade.com recently interviewed Home Exchange University founder John Mensinger.
In the interview John discusses:

The origin of Home Exchange University
How he became interested in home exchange
Preparing your home for exchange when children are involved
How to land a fantastic home exchange even if you don’t reside in a premiere local

Click here to listen to the [...]

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5 Keys To Maintaining Sanity While Traveling With Kids Part 3 – Ending the Trip

January 18, 2010
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Have you ever seen old Scooby Doo cartoons?
Right before Scooby Doo and his team from the Mystery Machine Van discover who the villain really is, they are often chased by said villain.  And when they are chased, they don’t just run in a straight line.  Oh no.  They run in and out of bedrooms down [...]

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Home Exchange 101 Lesson 4 – First Contact

January 11, 2010
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If you ever wonder if the world is coming to an end, then just look at your Christmas cards once the holiday season ends.  It leaves no doubt we are in the end of days.
Why?  Because the evil Walgreen’s/Rite Aid/CVS  trifecta has us believing a Christmas card is a picture collage of our family in [...]

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Home Exchange 101 Lesson 3 – Finding Your Ideal Home Exchange

January 5, 2010
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Our last lesson focused on the mechanics of searching for home swaps using www.Homelink.org as an example.  Now we turn our attention to finding what you want by using your newly acquired knowledge.
The Basic Method
If you are searching for an exchange in a particular country or region, you could choose browse listings and then click [...]

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Special Events and Why I Roll with the Queen

December 23, 2009
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A favorite aspects of home exchange is access to special events.  Sure, international travel, often leads to attending unique cultural events.  But home exchange reveals a completely different perspective.  Your not just attending the typical tourist traps.  Your exchange partners, their friends and their family will certainly help you identify and gain attendance to some [...]

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Home Exchange 101 Lesson 2 – The Mechanics of Searching

December 16, 2009
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I’m a big fan of the TV show Cops. I have been since I was a boy. There is something magical about watching someone being tased (when they deserve it), and the Cops HoHoHo Christmas Special is on par with It’s a Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Among the many entertaining aspects of Cops, [...]

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5 Keys To Maintaining Sanity While Traveling With Kids Part 2 – During the Trip

December 10, 2009
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Last week we looked at sanity-preserving pre-departure tips for traveling with kids. This week we highlight 5 recommendations to consider during your house exchange.
Appease Jet Lag Like Neville Chamberlain
Depending on the distance traveled for your exchange, jet lag may be one of your first major challenges. Your family’s internal clock, and especially that of your [...]

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Try Cool Stuff You Will (Almost) Never Buy

December 6, 2009
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In the United States we have huge warehouse stores called Costco. Costco sells mass quantities of everything, including socks, ground beef, kahki pants and cheaply produced hardback books. Most of the time you can find these things on the same isle.
One Costco feature is their incessant offering of food samples. You can’t turn a corner [...]

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Home Exchange 101 Lesson 1 – Creating Your Home Exchange Listing

December 3, 2009
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Have you ever shopped online?  I know you have, I just wanted to ask an easy question…
But seriously, when you’ve shopped online, have you ever come across a site that described a product so well, showed such glorious pictures, was written so clearly and cleverly that it took all your effort not to click the [...]

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