By Bob Meyer

If there’s an economic slowdown in your life (you’re just meeting the bills every month) don’t consider taking action that you might regret later on–like canceling your vacation. That practice should carry a Surgeon General’s warning: Canceling your vacation is dangerous to your health.

If you are considering canceling a vacation, and if you have a choice in the matter, don’t do it. A growing body of research links long-term vacation habits and health.

A 14-year study of 13,000 men, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, found annual vacations sharply reduced the risks of death among middle-aged men.

Similarly, a 20-year study of middle-aged women found a link between a lack of vacations and higher risk of heart attacks and death. Both studies conclude vacationing may be good for your health.

So if you’re questioning your own vacation plans because of your economic downturn, it’s time to turn to barter. Look into joining a barter exchange, also known as trade exchanges. There are some 800 of them around the globe in 43 different countries.

Refer to the BarterNews website, barternews.com that lists the exchanges around the world, no charge to get the name, phone number, website address, etc. See our “Top Resources” to the right.

You could sell your products or services through these barter exchanges and earn “trade dollars” which can then be spent for a vacation. Check and see what’s available locally and nationally through your barter exchange, then make those plans that suit your desires. Whatever you do, don’t cancel that vacation…it could be dangerous to your health.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 28th, 2007 at 9:41 am and is filed under Entrepreneurs & Small Business, Media & Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.