Everyday Tips and Thoughts...

Thoughts For Thursday: Ten Questions I Have…

Kris — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:56:45 +0000

I was born in 1967. Television was always a part of my life, along with cars and many other modern conveniences.

I have often wondered though, if human life was obliterated today and started over from scratch, what would it be like? How would the new world look? (We are removing religion from this conversation, this is all theoretical and for conversational purposes only. Also, as part of the obliteration, all material things that are in the world now disappeared.)

Would automobiles be invented one day? Or, would some other form of transportation have been invented that was even more efficient than cars?
Would electronic communications exist as they do today? Cable TV?
Would sugar and processed foods dominate diets yet again?
Would gold still be the ‘standard’, or would some other commodity be of higher value?
Would body piercings and tattoos be popular?
Would clothes evolve again from conservative to more ‘revealing’? Or, would modesty be tossed out the window and clothes wouldn’t even be necessary? (Except in colder climates, of course.)
Would people get married? What would the family unit look like?
What sports would be played, if any? Or, would nobody even care about competition?
Would prejudice exist, or would everyone be treated equally from the very beginning?
Would there be more or less crime than there is today?

Obviously, I will never know the answers to my questions, but I often wonder about those issues. I even chuckle sometimes when I think about how much money people spend to watch sporting events, when really, it is all about a ball going through a small hoop (or some variation).

Do you think that even better things would exist if our thinking wasn’t somewhat confined by the way our world operates today? Have you often wondered what human kind would look like if we started all over again? Or, do I just have too much time on my hands?

A List Of My Health Care Expenses So Far This Year – Yikes!

Kris — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:56:49 +0000

Well, this year is turning out to be an expensive one, and we still have a long way to go.

Here is a list of some of my expenses for the year that I will be forced to pay soon, or have recently paid:

ACL surgery: $5,000 (that is our family’s health insurance deductible for the year)

Ice machine rental for knee recovery: $300

Physical Therapy co-pay: $480 (estimate)

Miscellaneous surgery related purchases: $200

Braces for my youngest son: $4200

College deposit for oldest son: $200

Grand Total: $10,380.

Ten grand is a lot of money to come up with all at once!

How I Plan To Pay For My Expenses

Well, the max we could save in our Health Savings Account (HSA) is around $6,000. However, that will not accumulate in time for me to pay my bills. The plan was to use that money for braces, but since I ended up having ACL surgery, we won’t have enough in our account to cover all the expenses. However, we did have $2700 in our Health Savings Account that rolled over from 2010. So, overall we will have $8700 to put toward our expenses this year. But, we will have to pay some up front and get reimbursed throughout the year as the balance in our HSA accumulates.

In addition, I have spoken with our orthodontist, who will give us a 7 percent discount on the my son’s braces if we pay with a check, but they are going to allow us to pay half this year and half next year, which is actually what brought our bill down to $4200.

So, in the next month, I estimate I will have to pay about $8200 in medical expenses, and I will have about $3200 total in the HSA to help cover the bills. So, I will have to pay $5000 from our ‘general fund’ to pay the balance. Ironically, that is about how much I will have accumulated in the HSA at the end of the year. That means that all the rest of our medical and dental expenses for the year will have to be paid outside the HSA.

The Lesson?

I have said this a million times, but this is yet another example of why it is so important to have an emergency fund in place. (Or savings, whatever you want to call it.) When medical expenses come up, the last thing you want to worry about is how you are going to pay for it. It is much better when the financial aspect is more of a nuisance than a stressor and you can just focus on recovery instead.

Also, if you are able to participate in a Health Savings Account, really think about how much money you want to put into it each year. When in doubt, err on the side of over ‘investing’, since the money can roll over each year. (This is NOT true for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), you must spend the balance during the same year it is saved.) I am so glad I had some money left over from the previous year that can be used for our expenses this year!

So readers, have you been happy with your Health Savings Accounts?

Stocks Are Not Risky For Those Willing to Tune Out the Wall Street Mumbo Jumbo

Kris — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:32 +0000

This post was written by Rob Bennett, who often writes about the pros and cons of index investing. His bio is here. I had the chance to meet with and talk with Rob during FINCON11, and his ideas are very interesting and thought-provoking. I am happy to host a post of Rob’s on this site!

Investing is a pain.

You have to invest in stocks. The returns provided by other asset classes are not big enough to finance a middle-class retirement.

But stocks are so risky! If you invest your money in stocks, you stand a good chance of losing half of it. Most of us cannot afford those sorts of losses. And most of us cannot bear the emotional pain associated with experiencing them.

We are stuck.

Right?

I don’t think so.

I don’t think stocks are risky. I think the idea that stocks are risky is a myth.

Your first reaction to that claim is probably disbelief. But I think that, if you hear me out, you may come to believe that the case is actually pretty darn strong.

The first thing I need to explain is why, if stocks are not risky, most people believe that they are.

The reason is that, for 90 percent of the history of stock investing, stocks really were risky. Index funds were not available until 1976. So, in earlier days, investing in stocks meant picking individual stocks in which to put your money. That really is risky. Make a bad choice and you lose your money. It’s that long history of riskiness that caused the belief that stocks are risky to become so widespread.

The second thing I need to explain is why the introduction of index funds pretty much eliminated the risk of stock investing.

When you buy an index fund, you are buying a share in all the companies that comprise the U.S. market. You will be participating in the fortunes of some companies that will perform poorly. There’s no question about it. But you will also be participating in the fortunes of other companies that will perform well. There’s no question about that one either. With index funds, it all balances out and you earn the return justified by the long-term productivity of the U.S. economy as a whole.

I can tell you what your long-term return is going to be if you purchase index funds at a fair price. 6.5 percent real. How do I know? That’s the long-term return that has applied for the overall U.S. stock market for 140 years now, as far back as we have records.

It’s possible that the number could be a little bit higher or a little bit lower on a going forward basis. But it’s highly unlikely that we are going to see that number change more than half a percentage point in either direction. So the reality today is that, if you buy index funds, you can know your long-term return in advance within a percentage point or so.

There’s not much risk in that, is there? Risk is uncertainty. If you know your return is advance, you are not placing your money at risk.

There is a third thing that I must explain before It can be said that you know all you need to know to make stock investing a virtually risk-free endeavor. The third one is the tough one.

If stock investing is virtually risk-free today, why doesn’t everyone know this? Why is the myth that stocks are risky remain so widely believed?

To explain this one, I need to point you to a column published by the Wall Street Journal a little ways back. The column observes that: “For years, the investment industry has tried to scare clients into staying fully invested in the stock market at all times, no matter how high stocks go…. It’s hooey…. They’re leaving out more than half the story…. Anyone who followed the numbers would have avoided the disaster of the 1929 crash, the 1970s or the past lost decade on Wall Street.”

Yikes! It doesn’t sound like those words are saying that stocks are not risky.

Look closer, though, and I think you will see that really they are.

The people who are cited in the media as investment “experts” are almost all employed by Wall Street. Wall Street makes lots of money when you invest in stocks and hardly anything when you invest in other asset classes. So 90 percent of the “experts” are compromised. They are not experts in how to invest effectively. They are experts in persuading people like you to invest in stocks when it is not in their best interests to do so.

What if you tuned them out? What if you invested in stocks in the way that your common sense tells you should work rather than in the way that the experts advise?

Please note that I say above that index funds provide a long-term return of 6.5 percent when they are purchased at fair prices. They don’t provide a long-term return of anything close to that when purchased at the sorts of prices (insanely high prices) that have applied since 1996.

That’s what the fellow at the Wall Street Journal is pointing out when he says that Wall Street is leaving out half the story. Stocks are great when priced well and horrible when priced poorly. Just like everything else offered for sale in this consumer wonderland of ours.

Stocks are not risky. They are just a bad deal when priced too high. The risk of stocks is concentrated and easily avoided. Don’t buy stocks when they are insanely overpriced and you will never have to worry about losing your money in a stock crash.

There’s never been a crash of any consequence starting from a time when stocks were priced fairly. There’s never been a time when stocks performed well starting from a time when they were insanely overpriced.

It is the advice we hear from the investment “experts” on Wall Street that makes stock investing risky. Tune out the marketing mumbo jumbo and stocks will never again be risky for you.

Fix For Motorola Droid 2 Keyboard Issues

Kris — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:11:43 +0000

I bought a Droid 2 in August, 2011. I loved the phone when I first got it. I really wanted a keyboard with real buttons as opposed to a touch screen, which is why I went with a Droid vs. an IPhone. Having easy access to email was great, and I will admit, I do enjoy the Scrabble-like game Words With Friends.

After about a month though, the texting started acting up. I was suddenly only allowed to text one word at a time per message. I spent a couple hours going through all the different options to try to figure out how to fix my texting problem, but to no avail. I went to the Verizon store and they just sent me a replacement phone (refurbished, of course).

I had that phone about 3 months, and the same texting issue happened. I was getting so frustrated because it takes forever to get assistance at the Verizon store by my house. Each visit is an hour long investment, and I thought it was pretty ridiculous considering I made my original purchase only four months prior.

This time when I went to get technical assistance at Verizon, the salesperson actually knew of a fix for the phone. He scrolled through a bunch of menus, handed my phone back to me, and all was good. That fix last about 2 months. Then, this past week, the same problem happened- I could only text one word at a time. Again, I went back to Verizon and they did the same thing and fixed my phone. I asked if Verizon had posted a fix to this problem on the internet and they told me that had not, but that they would write down the instructions for me so I wouldn’t have to go back to the store for it to be fixed when it broke down again. So, I have decided to take those instructions and post them on the internet myself.

How To Fix The One Word Per Message Texting Issue On the Motorola Droid 2 Phone

Go to Settings and select ‘Applications’
Select ‘Manage Applications’
Select ‘All’, which is located at the top of the screen
Scroll down the menu and select ‘Multi-Touch Keyboard’
In the ‘Storage’ section, select ‘Clear Data’
Back out to the main home screen
Go back in to Settings
Select ‘Language and Keyboard’
Select ‘Multi-Touch Keyboard’
Scroll to find ‘Next Word Prediction’ and UNSELECT that option

Those steps should fix the texting issue if you are only allowed to text one word or so per message, at least according to the technician at Verizon.

My ACL Reconstruction Recovery – And Some Tips For Dealing With Post-Surgery Life

Kris — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:46:39 +0000

It has been a week since I had my ACL surgery, and thought I would share some how recovery has been going, and some tips I learned along the way:

Now, for those that don’t know what takes place during ACL reconstruction, the surgery is mostly done arthroscopically. The first thing done is the surgeon creates an incision below the knee and goes through that incision to harvest a piece of the hamstring tendon. (Assuming the patient is using their own hamstring to create a new ACL. Otherwise, that step would just be cruel!) Then, holes are drilled in the tibia and femur, the new ACL is strung through the knee and screwed into place into each of the bones mentioned. Fun!

Since I had this done once before on my other leg, I somewhat knew what to expect. (Which is why I dreaded the surgery and really had to think about if I wanted it done or not.)

My First Week Post ACL Surgery:

I rock when it comes to anesthesia, which is a good thing because they plied me with tons of extra drugs after surgery because the anesthetist kind of forget to do a nerve block in the back of my leg. I woke up in excrutiating pain, so the answer apparently was to just try drugging me up more. A different anesthetist did finally showed up and gave me the block in the hamstring area. At that point, my whole leg went numb. A numb leg is a very strange thing. I kept challenging myself to try and move my toes, which I could not do no matter how hard I tried. I realized I much prefer a numb leg over an in-pain leg. It just made it super hard to get around on the crutches when one leg just kind of hung there. I heartily give femoral nerve blocks a thumbs up!

After surgery, I was sent home with enough prescription pain pills that could probably earn me a small fortune in street value. We filled the prescription on the way home at my least favorite pharmacy, Walgreens. (Tip number 1: NEVER get your prescription filled near a hospital. You will wait two times longer than what the pharmacist promises, and they will not apoligize for the delay either.)

At home, I ate a good dinner (anesthesia kind of makes me hungry) and dug into the Percocet, as I was told to do. Well, as I remembered, Percocet really doesn’t do much for me, so I only took it the first 24 hours or so after I got home. I found I was also running to the bathroom literally every 50 minutes or so, 24 hours a day. That is a royal pain when you have to put an ankle-to-upper thigh brace on every time you get up, and your leg is numb to boot. One thing I found is that I didn’t have to use the bathroom as much once I stopped the Percocet. Could be coincidence, or maybe the nerve block wore off, who knows, but I was glad to be done with the Percocet. After the first day, I just took Advil every 4-6 hours or so, and that managed the pain just fine.

On the second day home, my leg had most of its feeling back, and I was able to put quite a bit of weight on the bad leg. I walked constantly around the house using crutches for extra support. I did a lot of ankle pumps too just to keep the blood flowing and had my leg in an ice machine to get the swelling down. The pain really wasn’t that bad.

I was able to drive 5 days after surgery. I was lucky in that it was my left leg that I hurt this time, as that made driving much easier. However, do not drive if you are still on prescription pain meds!

By the end of the week following surgery, I was able to walk without crutches SOME, but still in the brace. I walk with the crutches just to be safe, but I am pleased with how much weight I can put on my leg and that I can walk some. I am not ready to abandon the crutches yet, but it is funny how happy it can make you to just be able to walk a few steps in the kitchen and such.

My Second Week Post ACL Surgery

My leg has been doing fantastic. By the end of the second week, I had full flexion (with the help of my therapist) at 135 degrees and almost full extension (was at -6 degrees). I was able to ride my home exercise bike to help build up the quad muscles and walked on the treadmill at physical therapy. (That started at about 11 days post surgery.) I still wear the full leg brace and walk around the house without crutches. I do use crutches outside for safety reasons though, as the weather has gotten snowy here. I would also say that by two weeks, 85 percent of my swelling was gone, and my surgery scar looks great so far. Overall, very happy with my progress, and just as a side note, I don’t think it is very common to have so much range of motion so early. Keep in mind that my leg is incredibly stiff most of the time and it takes work to get to the full flexion and extension.

The Worst Part So Far of My Recovery

The third night in, my leg started to itch. The doctor made me keep the entire leg wrapped in Ace bandages the first week after surgery, so scratching was not very rewarding. As each day passed, this mysterious rash spread on my leg, and I was up most of the night of days 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. I was exhausted. The rash was (is) limited to where the wrap was on my leg, so when I got my stitches out after a week, it was suspected I either reacted to something in the bandages, or I was having some strange heat rash. All I knew was that it needed to stop. The doctor prescripted me a steroid pack and some anti-itch pills. I am midway through the first day of treatment for that, and it is feeling slightly better. Update: I completed the entire steroid pack and the rash is completely gone and my leg feels great!

Physical Therapy

I started PT 6 days after surgery. My knee looked pretty darn good actually, the swelling had really gone down. My cankle was fading and my kneecap was reappearing again, just like how life should be. I was pretty surprised at how much extension and flexion I actually had. (Tip Number 2: Consider taking some pain meds either before or right after therapy.)

Am I Glad I Did the Surgery?

Most ACL surgery is considered elective, basically because a lack of ACL will not kill you. However, my knee was so lax that I was afraid that I would really screw up my knee if I did not get it fixed. Plus, I would have to give up most activities other than walking and swimming if I chose to not have the surgery. I did read the post-surgery report that described how truly loose my knee was when the doctor tested it while I was under anesthesia, so I would have been at risk of further damage over time.

At the moment, my biggest issue is this darn itching leg- the knee itself is doing quite good. So, once the rash fades, I think I will be thrilled that I went ahead and did the surgery. It is just a little harder to appreciate when you are tired and itchy. However, when I am free to play tennis again or do other activities that my leg was too lax for before, I will be very happy I did it.

Post Operative Tips:

I shared a couple tips already within this post, but here are a few more:

Remember that each person’s recovery is very individual, as is the injury. Do the best you can and don’t worry about what everyone else is able to do.
Take physical therapy seriously. Therapy is not only done at the PT location, but also at home. Do not neglect the home exercises, unless you want to really extend your recovery time.
If you are offered the option of an ice machine, do it. Insurance did not cover my ice machine, so I had to pay $300 to rent it for a month. I have to say that I think the ice plus the compression the machine provides has really helped bring the swelling down, and it also helps relieve the pain. A standard ice pack cannot compare to what an ice machince can do.
If you have any questions or issues after surgery, do not hestitate to call your doctor. Don’t worry about bothering them or anything. You are a paying patient, and you deserve help if you need it. Especially considering you may not remember what the doctor said post-op, you may have a lot of questions.
If you will be having physical therapy or post-operative treatment, make sure you decide where to go before you head in to surgery. The last thing you will feel like doing after you come home is making a bunch of phone calls and figuring out logistics and such. Word of mouth is very important when it comes to physical therapists, so do some work up front and decide where you want to go ahead of time.
Listen to your body. The standard guidelines said I would need ‘controlled’ pain meds for about 5 days afterward. Well, I ditched them after one day and was so glad I did. On the flipside, if you are in a lot of pain, act accordingly and don’t overly push yourself (and call your doctor).
Forget perfection. Life can be hard, and sometimes, commitments cannot be met. In the big scheme of things, who cares? Let go of perfection when healing and focus on getting better. Accept all offers of help too.
Prepare your home ahead of time (if you can). If you will be on crutches or in a wheelchair, have the house set up ahead of time so you have clear pathways after you come home. Make sure the refrigerator is stocked and maybe even have some meals waiting for you in the freezer. Do whatever you can to make your post-surgery life easier.
Prepare your body ahead of time. Be in the best shape you can possibly be in prior to the surgery if you can. I am convinced that this knee is recovering so well because I had full flexibility with it going in to the surgery and had decent muscle tone.

So, overall, so far so good. I am quite pleased with my post-surgery knee, and hope things only get better from here.

If you have any additional tips to share that helped you get through the post-surgery time period, please add it in the comments section!

Perhaps A Darwin Award Is In My Future?

Kris — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:56:51 +0000

A few weeks ago, we had issues with our sink and we had to hire a plumber. The plumber was in the kitchen chatting with me when I glanced over at the wall and saw one of my pictures on the wall was crooked. Being the polite person I am, I kept looking forward to chat with the plumber while oddly leaning against the couch to adjust the picture. As I leaned over the couch with my feet planted, I heard several popping sounds. The pain was excruciating, but since the plumber was there, I couldn’t yell expletives and cry like I wanted to. I just calmly sat down and thought I might implode. After the plumber left, I tested my leg and was able to walk around. However, my leg was giving out on me, and I knew I was in trouble. (I blew out my right knee playing soccer years ago and had 3 surgeries on that knee.) I got an MRI the next day, and of course, my ACL was completely torn.

I discussed my options with a sports medicine doctor and an orthopedist, both who suggested surgery if I planned on doing any more than walking completely straight the rest of my life. (And hope I never slip on ice or trip on a pine cone.) Given how much the leg was getting on my nerves, and the fact I don’t want this knee to limit my activities the rest of my life, I decided to have ACL reconstruction done. The surgery is actually today (January 12th, 2012).

I must say this is probably the dumbest injury I have ever had. The doctor theorizes that my ACL was partially torn previously, and this little twist just tore it the rest of the way. Whatever, I just know that I am incredibly mad at myself. I am mad at the plumber too, but not sure why.

So, I will be taking a little break. If you find you miss me, please feel free to dig through my old posts (with your Alexa bar on, of course) and poke around. I may be bored out of my mind during recovery and end up online constantly, who knows. Maybe if I get some good painkillers I will end up writing the post of my life, so make sure you don’t stray too far!

See you soon!

You May Be Able To Refinance Your Home, Even With Little Or No Equity!

Kris — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:55:28 +0000

Recently, I wrote about how we had refinanced our home through ING Direct. In our case, we had enough equity in our home to do a standard refinance. (Unfortunately, not everyone does.)

Those that do not have 20 percent equity in their homes may still be able to refinance though through the federal Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The catch is, the mortgage must be backed by Sallie Mae or Freddie Mac. However, not everyone knows if their mortgage is backed by Fannie or Freddie, and probably assume it is not. (Bad assumption.)

How To Find Out if Sallie Mae or Freddie Mac Back Your Mortgage

You can either call or check online to see if your home is guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie. It is really easy to check, and you don’t even need your account number:

Fannie Mae: 1-800-7-FANNIE or www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup
Freddie Mac: 1-800-FREDDIE or www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage

If your mortgage is owned by one of the agencies, there are still other qualifications that must be met. A few examples are as follows:

*Home must have been sold to Fannie or Freddie on or before October 31, 2009.
*Timely payments must have been made on the property for the last 12 months.
*Your mortgage servicer must participate in the HARP program.

Additional Notes About Refinancing Through HARP

*Fees may still apply when refinancing. However, it is possible that you will not need an appraisal.

*At this time, the program is only available until December, 2013.

*If you do decide to refinance, really think about the loan term you want to agree to. Maybe consider taking a 15 year loan instead of 30 year if your monthly payment will be dropping because of the reduced interest rate.

*If you find that your mortgage is guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie, call your mortgage servicer to get more details and possibly initiate the process.

So, if you are frustrated with how high your interest rate is and wish you could lower it, click on the links above and see if maybe your mortgage is actually backed by Freddie/Fannie. It only takes a minute to check, and it may just end up saving you hundreds of dollars a month if you actually are eligible for the program.

If you have actually refinanced or tried to finance through HARP (or want to discuss refinancing in general), please leave a comment!

My Plan To Help the Housing Market

Kris — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:46:25 +0000

We recently refinanced our home, and as part of the refinance, we had to have our house appraised. Our appraisal came in high enough that we were able to refinance, so we were lucky compared to so many other people. Fortunately, we refinanced before a neighboring house started plummeting in value.

The house I am referring initially went up for sale around $300,000 this past summer. Now in January, it is down to $235,000, and it is a short sale. I have no idea what happened behind the scenes. All I know is the owners up and moved away out of the blue one day and the house was suddenly up for sale.

When I thought about how much this home has dropped in value, I thought about price-drop-prevention.

My Plan To Help Keep Home Values From Dropping

I thought a lot about the how quickly and severely the price of the home in our neighborhood dropped, and to me, the reason is obvious: The house is very outdated. Curb appeal is minimal; the family room still has paneling and pink carpet, etc. I honestly believe you could put $10,000 worth of upgrades into the home and it would sell pretty quickly, and at a much higher price. I was then wondering…what if banks that end up owning these homes partnered with contractors to fix up these houses instead of just allowing them to be sold at fire-sale prices? I understand that banks are not in the ‘construction market’ (they are too busy in the ‘flood zone market’, but perhaps they could partner up with a company that was, at least in areas with big markets?

We Could Even Create A New Segment Of Government!

This plan could even possibly help the government. Think about all the abandoned homes that are backed by Fannie/Freddie. Perhaps instead of just dropping home prices by $10,000, that money could be invested in the home in order to increase home value and reduce the amount of time it has to sit on the market. (Warren Buffett could even fund this initiative if he wanted to!) Again, the government would have to get involved in a business they are not currently in, but at least this type of involvement would help increase home prices and provide jobs.

I know that some people justify walking away from mortgages by saying it is just a contract between a homeowner and a bank, and people are allowed to back out of the deal. However, many others get hurt in the fall out too. (Especially considering how little many appraisers put into their reports, these ‘comps’ can really hurt those who want to sell a home or refinance.) Now, if someone had initially come in and paid $10,000 to fix up the house in my neighborhood, I am betting it would have sold for at least $270,000 months ago. The house has a great structure and is quite large. It is just hard to ‘see’ what it would become with it’s outdated carpet, walls, and fireplace. I am guessing that ultimately someone will scoop the house up at some point and renovate. If that is the case, I hope they sell it after the renovation so the ‘comps’ more accurately reflect the real value of the home.

I recognize that my plan is overly simplified. However, think of the jobs that would be created and the possible increase in home prices if the banks (and Freddie/Fannie) could be proactive and actually try to improve the homes instead of just letting these homes languish on the market.

What do you think?

What I Learned From A Long Break

Kris — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:34:08 +0000

Christmas break in 2011 started on December 16th. My daughter had a basketball game that night, and the following morning, we hopped on a plane and headed to Florida. The weather was beautiful, the trip was great, and we returned on December 23rd. After we returned, I ran around like crazy trying to get everything finalized for Christmas. The holiday came and went, and the following week, I did…

Nothing.

I have never been less productive in my life. I didn’t write (much), I barely cooked, I really don’t know what I did. I guess I drove the kids to some practices, but I really have nothing to show for all the time I had off.

My lack of accomplishment is comparable to people that charge up their credit cards and then really have no idea what they spent all their money on when it comes time to pay the bill.

This ‘lazy December’ has made me realize I have to make better use of my time. I know I was tired from the traveling and hosting Christmas, but geez, I don’t think I really needed a week-long reprieve.

One thing my break did do was re-motivate me to make better use of my time. Quite honestly, I slept way too much during this break, and I never used to be someone that slept in. However, when you hear the wind blowing outside and you know it is cold out, it is so easy to just stay under the blankets and sleep.

But then the comfort of warm sleep is countered by guilt. However, while lazing about, I did a lot of thinking.

What I Learned From Being Lazy

Sleep is addicting. The more I slept, the more I wanted to sleep. I could sleep 10 hours at night and still crave naps during the day. What a waste.
I can only relax so much. If you told me that I would have nowhere to be and there was nothing I ‘had’ to do, I would have celebrated that thought in the past. After having such an ‘unscheduled’ week, I realized I must have a project to focus on or something, or I will just flounder. (In my defense, I do have an injured knee so I am somewhat limited in my activities, but that is a post for another day.)
We better have a lot of money saved before we retire. That thought was already a given. However, while laying around thinking, I totally understood how some people feel lost when they retire. If this past week was how I lived my life every day, I would probably go insane pretty darn quickly. Part of the issue is feeling trapped inside the house because it is cold and blustery outside, which is why I want to have the ability to travel if I hate the weather I live in.
I don’t handle change well. OK, I have always known that about myself, but my belief was even more affirmed during my lazy week. My life went from chaotic to traveling to completely unscheduled, and I have to say I missed my ‘normal’ life. Heaven help me when the kids all go off to college…

Have you ever had an ‘unscheduled’ week? Did you like it? Am I just crazy?

Comparing The Real Costs of Driving Vs. Flying

Kris — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:01:10 +0000

Our family loves to escape to Florida every year just to get a break from the cold, gray Michigan weather. The past two trips, we have driven to Florida for a variety of reasons. However, this year, I decided to go extravagant and bought refundable airline tickets for the five of us.

While enjoying my free peanuts somewhere over Georgia, I started wondering if flying really was ‘extravagant’, or if it actually made sense. I then started breaking down the costs for flying and driving, and the details are as follows:

How Much It Cost Us To Fly Round Trip To Florida From Detroit and Rent A Car

Ticket cost: $1575 ($315/person, including taxes and ‘refundability’. Actually, three of the tickets were free, but lets pretend I paid full price for all.)

Rental car cost for one week: $208. We got a Crown Marquis, so space was not an issue.

Gas: $55.

Cost of driving to and from airport in Detroit: $63.00 (100 miles x 63 cents per mile)

Airport Parking back in Detroit: $140

Baggage check: $50

Grand Total to Fly to Florida and Back: $2091

How Much It REALLY Costs To Drive Round Trip to Florida From Detroit

Total Car Cost: $1700 (2700 miles x 63 cents per mile, based on info from AAA. Cost is probably higher as that per mile rate was based on $2.88 cost per gallon of gas. Used a figure based on driving a minivan for 15,000 miles a year.)

Meals: $240

Grand Total to Drive To Florida and Back: $1940

Keep in mind, we drive straight through from Michigan to Florida, whereas most people would probably incur hotel charges and make the trip in two days. If hotel costs were added, it would cost MORE to drive than to fly.

So Why Drive When You Can Fly For the Same Price Or Less?

To tell you the truth, I don’t have a good answer to that question. Obviously, driving is cheaper up front because you only have to pay for gas on the trip, and possibly hotel. (It isn’t like you have to pay money out for depreciation and wear on your car, so driving may seem more affordable.) Plus, it is nice to have all your stuff with you in the car instead of being limited to cramming what you need in carry on bags to avoid the bag-check fee.

However, I can say I don’t think I will ever drive to Florida again. Even though it is a little cheaper to drive than fly, I don’t want to give up 2 days of my life in a car like that again, not to mention how tired and awful I feel the day after driving that many miles. I am glad we had the adventure driving, and we did actually have a good time in the car for most of the time. (Those last 4 hours can be grueling.) In essence, my time and comfort is worth way more than the small incremental cost of flying versus driving.

What are your thoughts? Do you have ‘breakeven’ distance, where you insist on flying instead of driving?