The Power of Vacation

Thought you might find this interesting: These are the Top 10 Dream Trips according to Trip Advisor. We’ve only done 2.5 of these, so the rest will have to go on our bucket list. I can’t wait.

The power of vacation. Yes, there is such a thing.

According to Fox news, 1 in 4 Americans don’t get paid time off. By contrast, France and Italy top the list with employees getting 31 days off each year and Canada giving 19 days. Even of the people in the US who get paid time off, 75% don’t use it.

We are lacking, and all of our hard work is actually hurting our bottom line.

According to Business Insider, the vacationing worker is:

More productive when they return
Relaxed upon their return – I would agree with this one.
Refreshed and rejuvenated – possibly better able to solve problems and come up with answers / ideas. This has happened to me several times. When I step away from something and turn my thoughts to something else a solution or new idea pops into my mind.
Have better relationships with their partners – time away will do this.
Live longer lives

You don’t have to travel far to get the benefits. Time away from work (think stay-cation) will work wonders.

Remember: taking a vacation does not mean working remotely from your laptop or phone. You need to disconnect from email and technology to relax. If I can do this being self-employed, so can you.

How to plan for a dog before buying a puppy

I am passionate about travel, but it doesn’t compare to how I feel about my dogs. Brownie has been a member of the family for seven years now. We rescued her at about 8 weeks when she was only 12 pounds, a far cry for her 70 pounds now. We love her just as much as any of our other dogs.

But owning a pet can be a budget breaker. Pets are expensive. You need to consider their day to day costs – food, supplements and services – which can range in price from affordable to “how am I supposed to pay for that?”

The Initial Costs

According to peteducation.com, the first year can cost between $500-$6,600 depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

You have the simple comforts and necessities: bed, leash, collar, food bowls, toys – these aren’t too expensive individually, but can add up when you’re buying them all at once.

Then there are your legal requirements, like puppy shots, license and tags.

You may also want to consider having your puppy neutered and micro-chipped. Thank goodness where we rescue the cost of puppy neutering is included, so it’s not an extra cost for us. If you rescue, ask to see if you can save too.

Finally, depending on the dog’s personality or medical issues, you may have other expenses. Brownie went through the teething stage, as puppies do, but she wasn’t interested in inexpensive items like shoes or pillows. She chewed the molding around the door so that we needed a carpenter to make the repairs. That was expensive.

The Costs Going Forward

According to the Pet Education, the annual costs can be anywhere between $300-$2,500.

Brownie’s annual vet check-up and shots cost about as much as a car payment and are due every summer along with her license. That’s not including any extra trips to the vet for illness, injuries, etc. All these need to be planned for.

Your homeowners / renter insurance can increase depending on your dog’s breed.

Lastly there is caring after your dog’s emotional and physical well-being. Do you need to have a dog walker while you’re at work or to board your dogs when you’re traveling? More costs.

Lots to think about. Besides just selecting the right pet for your family, make sure to plan the financial part, too.

Avoid extra cruise fees (and still have a great time)

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Now that you know how to prepare for the airport, I want to help you get the most out of your cruise.

As you know we enjoy cruising and do it often. They seem like an inexpensive way to travel – you have one flat fee for your room, meals and entertainment. But there are extra fees, some of them unexpected, and that’s where the cruise lines make their money.

Here are some of the fees you might incur and how to get around them.

Beverage Fees

Not just alcohol, but soda and bottled water come with a fee too.

How to get around it: Some cruise lines let you bring a small quantity on board with you at embarkation. We routinely bring bottled water and soda, and have even brought on a bottle a wine in the past. Don’t forget your corkscrew, or they’ll charge an uncorking fee to open it for you.

Fitness Fees

You may have a full access to the gym aboard the ship, but the exercise classes come with a fee.

How to get around it: I have to admit, I love water aerobics and have paid a fee for that class. But I typically abstain from classes, and instead start my day with a walk on the jogging track. On days were the weather isn’t cooperating, I use the machines in the gym. I love the smell of salt water and the quietness of the early morning, getting my exercise in as the sun rises.

Dining Fees

Most of your food is included when you eat in main dining room and at the buffet. But you’ll find they offer some high end, very tempting options for a fee: like expensive meal choices, specialty restaurants, premium coffee and ice cream, and some brand name restaurants.

How to get around it: Cruises have food, food and more food. Check out what free options are available before you even think about exploring the fee options. For example, you’ll have to pay for the premium ice cream at the Ben & Jerry’s on board, but the soft serve from the self-serve ice cream machines are free.

Shore Excursion Fees

The cruise line will offer tours of each port and beyond – for an additional fee. The fee applies if you’re just using their transportation service to get to the city so you can explore on your own.

How to get around it: There is ease and peace of mind with the cruise directed shore excursions, but lots of times you don’t need them. We have used outside companies and/or toured on our own for a fraction of the cost. Yes, it takes research and planning but it can be well worth it. We’ve even booked shared transportation with others on board ahead of time, so we could see exactly what we want in a much smaller group – and for a fraction of the cost.

This has been our experience. Check with the cruise line you’re using because they may have different rules than the line we use. Nothing is worse than purchasing a case of water to bring on the cruise and having to leave it on the pier because it’s not allowed. If want to get around an extra fee, and you can’t find details on it in your cruise contract, then call the travel agent or cruise line and ask ahead of time.

Bon voyage!

How to get through the airport and on the plane

As you know we just got back from an amazing European cruise vacation. I want all of you to try it, but I know that some of you won’t because you’d have to fly to London.

You can get around the expense, but you can’t get around the new security rules. What if you say the wrong thing and get thrown off the plane? What if you bring the wrong thing and get taken to security in front of everyone? What if they won’t allow you to get on the plane with something you need or want, and your choice is to throw it away or miss your flight?

Because we’re experienced travelers, we don’t worry about that at all.

If you want to get through the airport and onto that plane without stress, do what we do.

1. Make parking reservations – I can’t stress this enough. What if you planned on leaving your car at the airport only to get there and find the airport lots are full – now what? We park offsite with a reservation – no hassle. They even have a frequent stayer program and we get one night free for every 7 we pay for. The best perks? They have a shuttle to the terminal and if it’s cold outside, they warm up car when we arrive.

2. Sign up for text or email alerts – They’ll offer it when you make your reservation. We set up a text alert for 4 hours before the flight so we can avoid waiting at the airport for a plane that’s been cancelled or delayed. If you didn’t do this when you bought your tickets, I am sure you can add it now.

3. Weigh and measure your luggage – there are so many rules and regulations. Here’s what you should know before you go: What is the size limitation of carry ons and checked luggage? What are the maximum weight restrictions? There is nothing worse than having to repack at the airport to avoid fees. Measure your suitcase before you start to pack, and weigh it after you’re done. Don’t waste your money on a luggage scale, you can use your bathroom scale.

4. Plan your carry on bag – Are you checking your luggage or carrying it on the plane? Checked luggage goes in the cargo hold, so you can pack any size toiletries. Carry ons stay with you, either at your feet or in the overhead bin. If you are carrying any luggage on, pack your toiletries according to the TSA regulations and place them in an easy to access area (i.e. on top of your clothes or in an outside pocket). This makes the security check point so much easier. Check out the TSA website for the complete rules and regulations

5. Charging electronics – not all seats in a plane have power ports. Check your seat details by going to SeatGuru.com and looking up your airline, flight number and date of flight. Sometimes airlines will change planes and you won’t have the power port you expected, so make sure all your electronics are fully charged before you leave home.

6. Check in online – You should do it before you leave home. Our airline lets us check in 24 hours in advance. I do this to the minute to possibly snag an upgrade. Some airlines make you wait until check in to select your seat assignment.

7. Preplan your layover activities – If you know you are going to have a layover, check out the airport in advance (many have apps). When flying British Airway into or out of Heathrow, you can schedule a massage during your layover. You can purchase a day pass to an airline club. We’ve done this and had a great experience with good healthy food choices, free Wi-Fi, and a comfortable place to relax.

These simple plan-ahead tips make flying easier, so relax and make those reservations.

What do you do to make your trip less stressful?

The Best Pre-Travel To-Do List

Before we travel, we check off a pre-travel to-do list. Today, I am going to share all the steps we take before leaving on vacation.

Home

Stop the mail and newspaper delivery
Set timers on electronics to turn on and off at natural times
Unplug or turn off all other electronics – it will save you a lot of money
Clean out the fridge and take out the trash
Water the plants
Tell your local police that you will be away so they can check your house when patrolling

Finances

Pay bills ahead or set up automatic payments to avoid late payment fees
Notify your credit card companies of your whereabouts and how to reach you
Clean out your wallet and remove anything you don’t need

Packing

Charge the electronics that are traveling with you
Pack chargers in your luggage
Use plastic bags. Put jars, tubes, and dispensers in sealed plastic bags (if they break your other items will be fine). I put my clothing in huge bags, so if my luggage is out in the rain on the tarmac, my clothing will stay dry.
If you are traveling with a passport, remember to make a copy to take with you. It makes getting a replacement so much easier.

I hope these tips will help you have a safer and happier vacation.

Lessons in Cheap Travel from an Expert: Me! (Rerun)

We just returned from an amazing trip to Northern Europe and, surprise, surprise – it didn’t break our bank account. How did we do it?

Transferable frequent flier miles

When we fly, we usually use one airline so our frequent flier miles are easy to use. But, our first destination was Copenhagen and our favorite airline doesn’t fly to Denmark. Lucky for us, the airline was in the One World Alliance so we were able to transfer our miles to another airline to receive free flights – we only paid the taxes.

We earned extra miles just by eating out and shopping

Our airline has a dinning program so you can eat out at participating restaurants to earn miles. The program is free. You just need to register your credit or debit cards. The shopping program works great for us. When we shop online, we start at their shopping website. Then use their links to access popular retailers. Between flying, eating out, and ordering online our frequent flier miles really add up.

We used our hotel points

Our flight got us in to Copenhagen a day early, so we had time to explore and meet up with a good friend. We stayed at a hotel and our lodging points covered the cost of both nights. Even better, we used extra points to upgrade to a room with access to a hospitality suite that served breakfast and late afternoon snacks.

We used timeshare points for the cruise

As some of you know, we like to take cruises. So, when we found a cruise that visited the Baltic regions of Northern Europe, we were really excited. Neither of us had been, so it was a first. We were so happy to find that we could trade our timeshare points for the cruise. All we paid were the taxes and port fees. We sailed to Tallinn, Estonia; St Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

Yes, it took a lot of coordination and advanced planning…

But, our travel, lodging and cruise were covered – we only paid taxes (which were minimal). Of course we spent money for some of our food, entrance fees to museums, the tours themselves and souvenirs. But we saved money by walking, taking public transport, or tour transports where the only cost was the tip for the guide.

So, that’s my experience and my expert advice. You can travel without killing your budget!

That’s several more countries checked off our bucket list. Where would you like to go?

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What will your retirement income be?

Remember these?

You used to receive one in the mail around your birthday. If you are younger than 50, you probably threw it directly into the trash. (It’s much more interesting the closer you get to retirement.)

Now you can just go online

To see your Social Security statement, go to www.SSA.gov (If you have trouble remembering it, just think “ass backwards” then “gov”). You’ll need to set up an account with the typical personal details plus security questions to verify your identity. If you want added security, you can take it a step further and use information from a prior year’s W-2.

Why do you want to see it?

To verify your earnings. It’s a lot easier to correct errors when they are new.

To help you plan how and where you will live at retirement. You can see how much you will earn when it’s your time to collect. Is it enough to cover your mortgage payment? Is it enough to continue with your hobbies or cover basic expenses?

To help you decide when to retire. You will be able to determine your Full Retirement Age (based on year of birth). Currently, you can take your social security benefits early at age 62 with a lower monthly payout or wait as late as 70 to receive a greater payout.

Protecting your account

You can add extra security by having them text you a unique code every time you want to sign in online. In a surprise twist, setting this up initially involves them sending you a letter in the mail. It’s a process that takes 5-10 business days, but once it’s done, you can rest a little easier. I recommend taking this extra step, since everyone’s had their information compromised at least once or twice in the last few years.

I would suggest that you check your Social Security statement annually – either a month or so after you file your income tax or around your birthday. The important thing to do is to check it.

Clutter: It’s time to let it go

Stuff.

It’s easy to come by and we all have too much (including me). But is it hurting you? It could be. Clutter is a budget breaker. I won’t go into details in this article, but trust me that having more makes you spend more. You’d think that once you had everything you’d stop spending. You’d be wrong.

Are you using that?

When you’re busy, things get messy. So how do you know if you have clutter or a mess? According to my friend Matt Baier, of Matt Baier Organizing, you should ask yourself whether it has a pulse:

Here’s an example of a living mess and an example of true clutter. If there is a playroom full of toys, all over the floor and they will be moved around and played with tomorrow, that’s a living mess. If, however, there’s a room full of toys and the kids have moved out and have kids of their own now, that’s true clutter. It has stopped moving. The heartbeat is gone. It’s dead.

Unfortunately, we had a lot of dead clutter.

Save it for a rainy day… I mean the project not the object

We needed to tackle our clutter, but I wouldn’t waste a sunny day on it – or even a whole day.

This is what we did on snowy weekends this past winter.

Scanned documents from the file cabinet, then shredded and recycled the paper (medical records, income taxes, etc.)

Digitized the notes, workbooks and CDs from conferences we attended – now it’s all filed in the computer and backed up.

We did a major cleaning of the basement. In our house that is where things get put that don’t have a place. Plus, living in a family home, we have stuff from our parents – photos and memorabilia that I wanted to preserve. It’s not all done, but it’s well on its way. We are tackling the basement one box and one shelf at a time.

Donated some useful items. We found several old cell phones that we donated to an organization that gives cell phones to battered women. We cleaned out the books for a donation to the library.

We cleaned out the pantry and got rid of foods we no longer choose to eat. Some was donated to the local food pantry.

The bittersweet goodbye is mostly sweet

There are so many positives with decluttering. It’s not all heart wrenching goodbyes and worries about being caught without “that thing we were saving in case”. The house feels bigger and brighter. It’s a place where we feel more alive because we’re not clinging to the past or the future. We’ve benefited from sales and donation tax breaks. We feel closer to each other because we’ve processed our feelings and made plans for what we really want out of life.

We’ve found that we’re actually more ourselves without our stuff. And our spending is more focused on the things we really want – like travel.

See My Vision Board for 2015

I always make time during the holidays to take an assessment of my life.

How do I feel about my life in general?
Am I on track with my long term goals?
Did I complete last year’s goals?
What should I add to enrich my life?
Where can I cut back to simplify my life?

I use that to determine what I want to accomplish so I can set meaningful goals for the year. I am a visual person, so I make an outward expression of my goals with a vision board. I love giving an outlet to my creative side, and a large poster is a great reminder all that I want to achieve.

Here are my steps to creating a vision board:

List what I want to achieve this year in different areas of my life. For example, I might set separate goals for my business, my personal life, family relationships, fun and recreation, and spirituality.

Next the fun starts: I look for pictures that reflect the feeling behind my goals. I also look for words in large and colorful type face. The image has to resonate with me to earn its space on my board. I use magazines, newspapers and images that I’ve found online. Then, I cut them out (or print them) and set them aside.

Then I arrange, and rearrange, the images on the poster board until I’ve achieved an overall image that speaks to me.

Finally, I glue everything in place and display it.

Now, this is the end result for my 2015 vision board.

Start Flexing Your Financial Muscles to Make Your Dreams Come True

Welcome to our very first Blog Hop for 2015!

This month we want to help you start the year off with a fresh start featuring articles, how-to’s and resources that have helped each consultant, blogger and business owner on the hop in their own lives and businesses. Get ready to be inspired for a fabulous year ahead of you as you move along through the blog hop.

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Deb Brown at Touch Your Client’s Heart on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.

Start Flexing Your Financial Muscles to Make Your Dreams Come True

It’s the New Year and you may have goals related to your appearance and business, but what about financial fitness? When you strengthen your “core” you’re improving your center of balance, and your money is the main center of movement for your lifestyle. If it’s in balance, everything flows from dream stage to the “I can do it” stage.

So how can you start flexing? Try these exercises:

You may not be great at them at first, but just remember how you felt in your favorite exercise class the first time you tried it – a bit slow, out of synch, not sure what came next. Now you love it, and you’ll love these too because they feel good and get you what you want most: a lifestyle that serves you.

1. Keep your credit score as high as possible.

First get your credit score for free (CreditKarma.com, Quizzle.com, CreditSesame.com). Then, take little steps over the next 12 months to increase your score. This is a new exercise, so take it slow. You can do one small thing each month to improve your score: pay extra on a debt; earn a little extra income; or, check your official credit report for errors. Just like training your muscles, your task is to nudge that score higher over the course of a year. Patience and diligence will pay off and your higher score will reap big rewards in respect and savings when you enter into a new financial agreement.

2. Live under your means.

Yes, I mean spend less than you earn. I know it’s hard when everything you buy feels like something you need – so don’t go cold turkey! Instead, each month look around and see if there’s one thing that can be replaced with something cheaper. Have you tried the library lately? They’ve moved beyond print. You can borrow the DVDs for Game of Thrones, or download an audio book. Some people are saving $1,000 per year by disconnecting cable TV and replacing it with services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. You may be able to get cheaper car insurance or move your phone service to a “friends and family” plan. You might find out that you love using your pressure cooker to make amazing soups from leftovers, or that you love having a vegetable container garden.

There are a number of ways to save that actually enrich your life, giving you a bigger benefit, and making you feel the opposite of poor. To find your biggest budget leaks, I recommend tracking your spending for a month. I offer a tracker when you sign up for my newsletter.

3. Having savings for times of need.

Again, take it slow. Just like you won’t get fit in a day, you won’t have a big savings account in a day. It’s all about moving a little money over on a regular schedule. If you receive a paycheck, you can have it deposited automatically. If you’re an entrepreneur, you can schedule a monthly transfer from checking to savings. Out of sight is out of mind. It’s just like hiding the snacks in the back of the cupboard.

I don’t want to to scare you, but without a savings, you are one step from financial disaster when the next unexpected expenses occurs. Having a savings account is a lifestyle and it’s one you want to work your way into.

Turn these steps into regular exercise and you’ll have healthy finances to support your dreams.

The next stop is Kim McDaniels at iBiz Design Duchess on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again next month!

Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Consulting
Cari Vollmer at PassionIntoProfit.com
Wendy Bottrell at Lifestyle Transformation
Janet Slack at Solopreneur.Biz
Vicki Heise at Live Your Healthy Life
Rochelle Togo-Figa at Speaking Breakthrough Strategist
Lisa Ivaldi at InsightClarityGrowth.com
Robin Hardy at Integrity Virtual Services
Sandra Gardner at Tall Red Poppy // Marketing, Magic, & Design Sanctuary
Deb Brown at Touch Your Client’s Heart
Jill Russo Foster at JillRussoFoster.com <<– you are here!
Kim McDaniels at iBiz Design Duchess
Sharon Lewis at Questiam Leadership Development
Chérie Ronning at Chérie Ronning, Consultant-Mentor-Speaker

Jill’s Financial Tracker and NearlyFreeTravel

To Receive Jill’s Financial Tracker and her bi-weekly newsletter (only 26 issues a year) AND register for her free Travel Class in February, follow the link below:

In Nearly Free Travel: Lessons in Travel from Jill’s European Vacation, Jill shows you how she plans her trips and ups her miles & travel perks – without actually flying! This is Jill’s latest free class and it starts in February. You’ll also receive her bi-weekly newsletter and her Financial Tracker.

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