Your Family Vacation Survival Tip

I read this in the Boston Globe yesterday and thought you’d find it helpful.

Family’s aborted vacation serves as a heads-up for travelers

Roslindale resident Michelle Novelle and her five sons ran afoul of a travel rule at Logan International Airport on Monday that anyone planning a summer trip should know about: A passport can become invalid before it has expired. Novelle and her sons were not allowed to board a British Airways flight for a weeklong trip to Finland because some of their passports expire in June and July. The denial wasn’t the result of an airline policy or even a US government regulation. Other countries’ governments set the standards for acceptable documentation from US citizens. In most of Europe, you can be denied entry into a country if your passport is set to expire within three months of a planned departure date. Many nations in Asia and South America are even more stringent, requiring that a passport be valid for six months beyond the travel date. Novelle criticized British Airways and the online travel booking site Orbitz — from which she brought the tickets — for not warning her the upcoming expirations could be a problem. “I was completely blindsided by the whole thing,’’ she said. “They should tell you in advance.’’ Novelle is trying to reschedule the trip for the summer. — ADAM VACCARO

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.