Internet: America Online reports high usage near election

Turnout at the polls may have been low, but turnout online set records at America Online.

In a three-day period that ended Election Day, members spent a collective 42 million hours online each day.

On Sunday alone, AOL served 14.5 billion Web pages to subscribers using AOL’s browser. AOL instant-messaging users also exchanged a record 1.5 billion messages on Tuesday.

AOL came close to besting another record: Some 2.75 million users simultaneously logged on at one point on Election Night, just short of the 2.8 million record set earlier this fall.

Survey: Gym memberships first to go in tight economy

When it’s time to tighten our financial belts, the gym membership tends to go bye-bye first.

Century 21 real estate wondered what people might do without if they’re saving for a home purchase. In a survey of 1,000 adults, nearly 70 percent said the gym was expendable, followed by new cars (63 percent), vacations (59 percent) and new clothes (57 percent).

The survey was conducted by KRC Research last month.

Budget: Tips to save on travel

With the holidays approaching, your budgetary planning will soon turn to expenditures such as cards, presents and turkey. But don’t forget the part where you drive or fly to Grandma’s – travel expenses add up too.

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., a national credit counseling agency, released some tips this month for holiday travelers:

• Add all transport costs to the regular holiday budget, even down to interstate tolls.
• Avoid impulsive trips, even if an airline dangles a snazzy “Internet-only” fare for a romantic New Year’s Eve getaway.
• Work fiendishly to find bargain fares and train tickets. Airline tickets are a volatile commodity, with prices bouncing around hourly in many cases.
• Scout for senior citizen discounts.