We're in Las Vegas!

We made it to Las Vegas!  Here's a picture of the hubby with a couple of famous, multi-millionaire poker players (sorry, I don't follow poker so don't know these people but hubby said they are Jennifer Harmon on the left and Tom Dwan on the right, hubby is in the middle).  Hubby is in seventh heaven and the other many thousands of people in the convention center at the Rio Hotel also look pretty happy to be there.  I wish I could have taken a picture in the convention center because there are literally thousands and thousands of people playing poker simultaneously which is an amazing sight.  They have games going 24 hours a day and the tournament will run from May 31st to July 7th.  We are only staying for a week for hubby to try to win enough money for a seat in the finals (he plays $125 tournaments in hopes of winning $1000 so he can play in even bigger tournaments in hopes of winning $10,000 for the main event. He would probably have to pry the $10,000 entry fee out of my hands, however, because that is A LOT of money to put down for a one shot chance of winning against thousands of other people!).  Here's some financials:

• We are staying in my sister in law's condo so our lodging is free.
• We did end up renting a car because they are using their car.  Note: in the past we always declined rental car insurance because our full coverage car insurance covered rental cars however a while back we dropped down to just liability because our car was getting older. Now it is costing us an extra $20 a day just for car insurance through the rental company--if I would have known that I would have reinstated full coverage insurance on our car so we wouldn't have to pay such exorbitant fees!!
• For food we eat breakfast in the condo (bought at the grocery store) to save money.  Lunch so far has been at cheap, off-strip Asian restaurants, and dinners have been two-for-one coupon deals so we haven't spent much on food.
• I have lost $20 so far which is about my limit.  Hubby is down $80 in the last three days and my brother in law is down around $4000 (yikes!).  Hubby has a limit of about $60 a day for live game so he really tries to make it last.
• My friend is taking me to look at houses today.  We have tossed around the idea of having a permanent home base somewhere and the houses here are super cheap so I want to check them out and see what's available.
• The condo place charges $40 a week for internet access and with that, only one person can be online at a time so I have been getting free internet access at McDonalds and Starbucks (note you can sit in the parking lot and still get the free wi-fi signal!).
• Other free stuff we have enjoyed: free dancing at the casinos, a free photo at Binions, free slot spins, free handouts for signing up for free casino players club cards.
• Also, it's been around 105 degrees each day since we got here--that's hot!!

That's all for now!

A Quick Update

Here's what's happening today:

• We are off to Las Vegas today!
• I booked our flight for this evening which, if I would have thought about it, I would have done differently.  Evenings in tropical climates often bring thunderstorms which often delay flights and I (duh) forgot all about that.
• Just as I thought, I somehow had less to pack when leaving than when we first arrived.  This is due to sending a couple of flat rate boxes of stuff I didn't want to my niece, having my sister in law take a suitcase of our stuff to Seattle when she worked there last week, and mailing one last flat rate box of stuff we didn't need to our mailing address today where we will pick it up week after next (we figured the $10 flat rate box was less than the $50 it would cost to check a suitcase through to our final destination). 
• We're going to miss the beautiful weather, the free rent (!), and the great food here! 
• It will be wonderful to meet up with friends in Las Vegas that I haven't seen in a while.
• Friends back in Seattle already have plans for me when I get there as well. 
• And my oddest realization...You know how people think that if they had a few months of having absolutely nothing to do and no responsibilities, they could do all kinds of great things (write a novel, exercise every day, learn a new language, etc)? I used to think that but I found that during our last four months here with absolutely nothing to do and no responsibilities I really didn't accomplish much of anything.  I guess for me, I get much more done when I am already busy (that whole 'objects in motion tend to stay in motion, objects at rest tend to stay at rest' thing I guess).

Splurge! And A List of Things I No Longer Pay For

I was debating about using my limited funds to get my nails done when my SIL surprised me with the cash for a mani and pedi.  This might not seem like much to most people but considering I haven't done this in many months, it was a very nice surprise for me.  A few years back this was a bi-weekly thing for me--every two or three weeks get my nails done--but now it is a rare treat. This was just one of the many reasons I was so deep in debt!  Then I got to thinking about the many things I no longer regularly spend my money on...

• regular manicures and pedicures (I do this myself but not very well)
• the newspaper (I read it online)
• magazine subscriptions (ditto)
• weekly clothes shopping (now I might buy something every month or two)
• a new designer handbag at least once a month (I haven't bought one of these in ages either)
• eating out every day (we have cut down to once every week or two)
• a home phone (I don't actually have a home now but still, a home phone is practically unnecessary for many people these days)
• bank fees (my credit unions offer free checking and savings accounts)
• gym membership (walking is free)
• buying books (now I read free books online or go to the library)
• expensive salon haircuts (now I go to the local place that charges $12)
• designer makeup (I've switched from the makeup counter at Macy's to the makeup aisle at Walmart)
• expensive perfume (now I buy a $4 bottle of scented lotion on sale at Bath and Bodyworks and skip the $80 perfume)
• movies in a theater (I walked by the movie theater at the mall last week just to see what was playing and was shocked to see that it cost $11 just to see a movie these days!  That doesn't even include popcorn!)

That's just a few of the things I thought about today when I considered how much I have cut my spending over the past few years.  These small changes really do save a lot of money!

A Few Words About Cremation

Yep, you read that right. I like to write about things that are happening right now so today's subject is cremation. The topic came about because nine years ago when my mother-in-law died, her body was cremated and half of her ashes went to the hubby and half to the sister we are staying with now. When the SIL was in Seattle last week she was able to pick up a Chinese-style altar that we left for her at her son's house (it's the first picture, above, and came from our house when we moved everything out). Anyway, the altar is now here and hubby was going to set it up for her then he noticed that his sister's part of his mom's ashes were still in the box they came in from the crematorium. So off we went yesterday in search of something to put the ashes in. What we found (which is similar to what we found for our half of the ashes) was a pretty box from TJ Maxx that you can see in the second picture. Which brings us to the few things I wanted to say about cremation:

• Most of the people in both of our families feel that cremation is a good thing. It is much less expensive than burial and much less hassle for all involved.


• The couple of down sides is that first, you have to decide who keeps the ashes (and then what happens after they pass?), and the second is that there is no actual place for loved ones to go a visit like a cemetery (although you can inter ashes in special places set up just for this at some cemeteries).


• You don't need to spend an arm and a leg on an urn. Obviously some people will feel differently about this and think that only an "official" urn is sacred enough for ashes but for us, finding a pretty box for the ashes and placing them on an altar (I learned about altars when traveling in Asia and thought it was a very cool idea) is reverent enough.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 6 of 10): Divorce

A common disaster which many people don't prepare for is divorce. It's interesting that 50% of US marriages end in divorce yet this is one type of disaster that no one prepares for (I guess if you did go into marriage preparing for divorce, it would kind of take the fun out of the whole thing!). So, while hopefully you stay married for a good long time (hubby and I have made it 25 year so far!), there are some things that everyone should be aware of in the event of a divorce.

1. Be debt free. Much like if a spouse dies, being debt free takes a lot of financial pressure off of both parties in the event of divorce. The last thing you want to do is be reduced to one (or no!) income and be awarded half of the debts.
   


2. Have a pre-nup. If you both start out with nothing, obviously a pre-nup isn't necessary. However, combining a couple with one or two giant incomes and/or lots of inherited money and property, pretty much dictates that some sort of agreement gets put in place before the wedding in order to protect both parties financially as well as their heirs. Unromantic? Totally. Financially savvy? Totally.
   


3. Do the whole pre-marriage counseling thing before you get married. Since money problems account for nearly half of all divorces, you would think people would want to have some pretty clear discussions about finances before they get married. This usually isn't true, however, because talking about money is uncomfortable and can be contentious and when you are blissed out in love, the last thing you want to do is upset the apple cart. It really does pay to discuss financial goals, rules about spending and saving, and future money issues (what happens when kids arrive, how will you help your family financially, etc) before the wedding.
   


4. Both the husband and wife should be 100% involved in the family finances. Both should know how much money is coming in and from what sources, how much money is going out and to whom, and how much is being saved and where the savings are kept. Each spouse should have their own mini emergency fund (around $1000) as well as their own "no strings" spending money each month. Secrets about any of these things can lead to divorce (ever try to keep a mistress when they wife knows here every penny goes?) and can lead to problems divvying up the estate after a divorce (a friend of mine had no clue about any of these things even after being married almost 20 years which made it that much more difficult--and expensive--for her attorney).
   


5. When marriage problems crop up, and they always do, fix them immediately either with some knock-down, drag-out conversations or a marriage counselor. Many times people know there is a problem in their marriage but it is just easier to act out than to fix the problem. Note that acting out usually has financial repercussions for the family--like the wife continually running up her credit cards to improve her self esteem and/or get back at her husband, and the husband going out and buying a boat without even consulting his wife.
   


6. Consider divorce seriously before acting. Divorce is never easy (you couldn't pay me enough to work in the drama that is family court!) but many people think it is a simple answer to their marriage problems. Obviously you shouldn't stay miserable for your entire life but if a marriage can be fixed it should. Getting divorced will cut your household income dramatically and up your household bills exponentially (you never have to put a price tag on raising kids until you start paying child support). Divorce can also impact health insurance benefits, life insurance benefits, Social Security income, and income tax breaks among other things.
   


7. Both spouses should always #1--have their own emergency fund, #2--be able to earn their own income, #3--have friends they can turn to for support, #4--know their rights concerning separation and divorce.
   


8. When it comes down to getting divorced, remember: never use the kids for leverage or to bring messages to the other person because you don't want to talk to them, a lawyer will be expensive and a good lawyer will be even more expensive, a heavily contested divorce will make you poor and your lawyer rich so try to play fair and work out as many details of the divorce as possible, don't obsess over your soon to be ex to the point of stalking/violence/other bad behavior...it isn't worth it.
   


9. No matter who instigates the divorce, you will both be emotional disasters for a while...some longer than others. There is no quick way to get over a divorce except for time. You need to give yourself enough time, coupled with enough distraction (like work, exercising, caring for your kids, etc) to grieve the death of your marriage.
   


10. Some technical after divorce stuff: changing titles on your car and house, refinancing the house into one or the other's name, changing beneficiaries on life insurance, changing coverages on health insurance, closing joint bank accounts and opening individual bank accounts, ditto for credit cards/investment accounts, updating your will and Power of Attorney, separating out business things if you jointly owned a business,

All That I Have...All That I Need

We are gathering up our stuff and getting ready to hit the road again. Since we have been here in Atlanta for a little over four months, hubby has acquired quite a few things (he is the pack rat in the family) but I think I actually have less than what I arrived with (I am the minimalist...plus I have sent three boxes of clothes and shoes to my niece in the time we have been here). So I thought I would list everything I have with me. Here's everything I am packing up:

• A carry on-sized suitcase and a backpack


• Four pairs of shoes (tennis shoes, flip flops, sandals, high heels)


• Clothes: seven pairs of pants, 24 tops (not really as much as it seems since most are tank tops and others are small, gauzy tops that don't take up much space), three pairs shorts and three old t shirts to sleep in, bathing suit, North Face jacket, warm up jacket, scarf, seven bras, twelve undies, six pair sox


• "Officey" stuff: passport, tiny notebook, playing cards, sewing kit, three ziploc bags, mini Sharpie marker, small whistle, couple of rubber banks, couple of safety pins, tiny flashlight, key chain with car key on it, five blank checks (haven't used a single check since we left as I pay everything online), one stamp


• First aid kit: bandaids, aspirin packets, Thera Flu, alcohol wipes, antibiotic cream, moleskin


• Toiletry kit: nail clippers, nail file, hair pins, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, razor, lotion, suntan lotion, noxzema, tampons, tissue packet, tweezers, mirror, floss


• Tech stuff: Canon Powershot camera, camera charger, spare memory card, two spare USB drives, cell phone and charger cord, Sansa MP3 player and earbuds, 15" Toshiba laptop and cord, mouse, Flip camcorder


• Other stuff: jewelry (one pair earrings, five bracelets), tiny fold-up tote bag, purse-ish totebag, sunglasses, wallet with ID and debit cards, pen, small notebook, change purse with lots of change, small calendar book, Japanese language textbook, notebook, small make up bag (comb, eyeliner, brow liner, lipstick, powder, concealer)

And that's all. Besides the few things we are using here (towels, washcloths, TV, bedding, a place to do laundry and a place to cook and eat) that is literally all I need to survive...not much once you really look at the list. Obviously in your own home you won't have such a minimal number of possessions but if you really need to cut back (ie: stop shopping and/or sell a lot of the stuff that you own) it is good to know that to actually live on a day to day basis, you really don't need much stuff.

More Links and a Quick Update

First a few useful money links...

• How I Easily Saved Over $1000 Per Month (I've done many of these things and you really can save money doing these simple things!)


• Confessions of Extreme Penny Pinchers (some amazingly good ideas here!)


• How to Balance Friends, Family and Finances (some very useful advice here!)

And a quick update...

• We are leaving Atlanta in a week. This will seriously throw us back into the "real" world as my sister in law has been spoiling us completely over the past few months (ie: paying for all of the gas we use, buying gourmet foods for us to cook with, and the occasional meal out at some great restaurants). In other words, our expenses have been nearly nil for four whole months and now we are going to be on our own! Yikes!


• I finally got all of my blogs and websites in some semblance of order. As part of that process I got rid of some extraneous accounts, expanded into some other blogs for specific things (namely business and tech stuff), and decided to mostly just be me instead of the semi-anonymous me that blogging usually allows. So...hi y'all...my name is April and you can check out my website here, friend me on FaceBook here, and follow me on Twitter here. Whew!


• I kind of came to my "coming out" moment above because I met an amazing lady this weekend. I have been following the Family on Bikes since they first hit the road almost four years ago to ride their bicycles from northern Alaska to the southern-most point of South America. Their blog was great and when you read about people nearly daily for so long, you kind of feel like you know them. So this weekend when they were giving a presentation near where we are staying Georgia, I showed up just to meet them. It's kind of weird to have never met someone but know all about them ("hi, I'm your blog stalker...you've never met me but I know all about your son's toe problems and the new house you are buying..." weird huh?). But Nancy was sooo nice! In fact the whole family was so nice! After the presentation Nancy and I went for coffee and it was like we had known each other for ages. This was actually the first time I had ever met someone from "online" so it was a pretty amazing experience.


• Finally, a belated Father's Day to all of you dads out there!!!

My 44 Goals for This Year

I am still in the process of reorganizing my blogs and website so please bear with me as you see some random posts pop up here! Anyway, since this is my most personal of blogs, I have decided to move my annual goal list here so my travel blog can just focus on travel stuff. Besides, most of my goals involve some sort of financial investment in order to complete.
Each year on my birthday I put together a list of goals I want to accomplish. This year I am 44 so the list has 44 goals on it. Here they are!

1. Go to the Philippines
2. Go to Japan/meet Namiko (there is a long story about this lady which I will include in my post when I complete this goal)
3. Go to Las Vegas
4. Go to Europe
5. Go on a cruise
6. Visit Stehekin
7. Visit the San Juan Islands
8. Go to Connecticut
9. Go to Medieval Times Restaurant
10. Go to New Orleans
11. Ride my bike from Canada to Mexico
12. Finish 1000 Places book and find publisher
13. Complete all Spanish PMP books (13)
14. Complete both Elementary Japanese books
15. Attend a self improvement conference
16. Start new web project
17. Hike the West Coast trail on Vancouver Island
18. Visit 20 countries
19. Enter a contest
20. Send a message in a bottle
21. Attend a university lecture
22. Go to San Francisco
23. Visit my grandparent's graves
24. Read one classic a month
25. Get my upper ear pierced
26. Get another tattoo
27. Find out my blood type
28. Get 10,000 reddit karma points
29. Take a picture every day for a month
30. Watch 10 TED lectures
31. Watch the entire Love Truly Korean drama series
32. Meet a favorite blogger
33. Post a video of me singing Tagalog on YouTube
34. Finish my BA degree
35. Do an extreme health month (exercise daily, no wheat/dairy/chocolate/caffeine, etc)
36. Spend a day with each of my sister's kids.
37. Earn $500 a month in AdSense
38. Finish my novel during NaNoWriMo and submit it to a publisher
39. Participate in the Great Urban Race
40. Write a song and have it published/sold
41. Participate in a different sport each month
42. Have dermabrasion done
43. Have laser treatment done
44. Participate in a Flashmob or Meetup

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 5 or 10): Natural Disaster

When people talk about preparing for disaster, this is usually the topic they are thinking about--natural and man-made disasters such as an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, major winter storm, flooding, etc. Fortunately, these things don't happen often but when they do, you need to be prepared ahead of time. Here's how:

1. Always keep enough food, bottled water, and other important items stored in your home for use in an emergency. If you can't get out or all of the stores in the area are closed for an extended period, this is what you will have to live on until things get back to normal. (Note: be sure to include items such as medications, baby formula, baby diapers, adult diapers, pet food, and any other specialized items that you can't live without).


2. Review your insurance coverages. Many people are surprised to find that their home and auto insurance won't cover things like floods, hurricane damage, earthquake damage, etc. Be sure that your insurance covers these things and/or get specialized riders for natural disasters that are common to your area such as hurricanes and earthquakes.


3. Have a selection of emergency items in your home for use before, during, and after a disaster. These would include but aren't limited to: NOAA radio, wrench to turn off the gas, a flashlight for each family member, extra batteries, matches, camping gear, a first aid kit, etc.


4. During certain disasters, you may have to evacuate so each member of the family should have their own bag of emergency gear that they can grab and go with only a few moment's notice. This bag should include a change of clothes, shoes, food, water, toiletry kit, etc.


5. Know what the most likely disasters are in your area and in the areas you are visiting. Right after we arrived in Atlanta, there were tornado warnings blasting across the TV screen. We had no idea where we were in relation to the warnings and we had no idea what to do if a tornado was coming our way since these are virtually unheard of in Seattle. A little bit of Googling will give you pages and pages of information on how to prepare for disasters that are likely to hit your area and what to do during and after such disasters.


6. Get in the disaster knowledge loop so you will receive warnings of possible disasters that are heading your way. This can be done in a number of ways. Our local Department of Emergency Management has a place on their website where people in the area can sign up for email/text/phone call warnings that are sent out when a disaster is imminent. You can also sign up here for alerts and warnings. You may also want to bookmark websites that would be useful during disasters that are likely in your area such as this and this.


7. Hold regular practices with your family. These should include fire drills, lockdown drills, communication planning and drills, earthquake drills, tornado drills, etc. Plans and ideas for holding these drills can be found by Googling these topics.


8. Plan for a disaster. Do you have a plan for who would stay with your kids if you can't get home? A plan for helping out elderly neighbors and relatives after a disaster? A plan for sheltering outside if your home becomes unlivable? A plan for your pets if you need to evacuate? Think of a variety of disaster scenarios then think of how you would react in those situations.


9. Learn skills that would be useful during a disaster. Many communities have first aid classes for the public, HAM radio clubs offer lots of info and classes on using these radios during a disaster, your local Search and Rescue generally needs volunteers and provides excellent training for how to respond after a disaster, and even simple skills such as fishing, hunting, foraging for wild food, and growing your own garden can be very useful in the event of a major disaster.


10. Learn about your community. It is a good idea to find out ahead of time: where your community disaster shelters are, where the evacuation routes out of your city are, where there are alternative sources of water that you could use after a disaster (be sure to know how to purify it!), where local sources of food are (ie: parks that have fruit or nut trees), what tsunami or tornado warnings sound like if these are available in your community, etc.

Resources:

• FEMA


• 72 Hours


• Ready.gov


• The Epicenter

More Links and Other Useful Information

Hmm..two links posts in a row. Oh well...this is what I have been doing today:

• I'm a big fan or reddit. Here's two threads that you might find useful, one a giant list of great free software (was included in yesterday's post), and the second, lots of info on how to live on $11 an hour.


• I'm trying to figure out the MAC flight system so we can book our flight to Asia in August or September. MAC/SpaceA flights are free flights that people who are active duty or retired military can take advantage of. The disadvantage is that you need to be really flexible because you never know when or if you will get on a flight since active duty people with orders and military equipment takes precedence over lower category people like us retired folks. Basically you go to the airport or air base and wait and see if they can fit you in, if they can't you go back home and try again at a later time. On the positive side, this system can save you literally thousands and thousands of dollars if you like to travel overseas. Here's where to sign up.


• I was going to buy some white strips and whiten my teeth up a bit before we leave here but they cost over $20! So I went to Google where I found this information on how to use hydrogen peroxide to white teeth (and save about $19.50 in the process!).


• Now that I am carrying around a big bag (this purse) my change tends to rattle around in the bottom of it. At the store I found a cute change purse but it cost $15 (!). The hubby and I then walked next door to the Dollar Store and found a travel toothbrush/toothpaste kit for $1. I gave hubby the toothbrush and toothpaste and kept the bag it came in for my change purse! See photo above.


• Finally, I started yet another blog, mainly to keep things better organized. In addition to this blog and my travel blog, I now have a tech blog which you can find here.

Link Round Up: Money Saving Ideas

Here's some interesting (and money-saving) ideas:

• 7 Habits of Highly Frugal People (some great money saving ideas)


• Extreme Couponing (a great way to save money on food)


• Angel Food Ministries (a unique way to save money on food)


• What free software should everyone have? (great ideas for great, free, software)


• AllTop Frugality (an amazing number of links on the topic of frugality)

Wish Listing

I am trying to get everything ready to go since we will only be in Atlanta for another couple of weeks. Even though I didn't bring much, it seems like my stuff has multiplied--where it all came from I have no idea! So I am sending a bag of stuff back to Seattle with my sister-in-law who will be working there next week and I am also sending a box of clothes to a niece. Now I have to replenish my stuff and make it "Vegas appropriate" (most of the stuff I brought here was for lounging not for going out dancing!).

Of course my dilemma is the rather small amount of money I have for doing this. If I had a lot of money, it would be really easy to just hit the mall and start shopping but I have a super tight budget. Since I only use cash, there is no charging things and paying for it later. Since I want to save as much cash as possible, I need to stretch my meager funds as much as possible. In order to do this, I do what I call "wish listing".

I am a "listy" person anyway. If I don't write things down I will immediately forget it so it is just a habit to write down stuff I want, stuff I need to do, stuff I need to get at the grocery store, etc. With wish listing, I write down everything I want and need in my notebook. I add as much detail as possible to each item so I can have a clear picture in my mind of what I want. Then I prioritize my list by how much/how soon I need the item.

This is what my wish list looked like yesterday:

• Tennis shoes. Asics. (I like this brand but they are usually on the expensive side--$60-$100 a pair).



• A cute tote bag for carrying my netbook, small purse, and jacket. Coach. (I have a vision of a big Coach carry-all type of bag. I also have a vision of it being very expensive).

I have other things on the list like a book for my brother in law and a new battery for my netbook but these things can wait a week or so, and I have had some things on my wish list for ages but when it comes to prioritizing the items, they always end up at the bottom (for example, I would like a new North Face rain coat but I already have two perfectly good NF jackets so this isn't a priority). I also need some cute clothes but I figure I will pick these up as I see them come on sale. Plus, I want to check the Goodwill and Value Village for pants and shirts because while I like new, name brand shoes and bags, I don't mind buying used clothes (I even think they feel more comfortable than new clothes!).

So I headed to Ross and TJ Maxx yesterday hoping to find the purse and tennis shoes that I wanted but had no luck. Then I went to the mall not expecting to find much because it is usually way more expensive at the mall than Ross and TJ Maxx. At the last store that I checked at the mall, I found the perfect pair of pink Asics tennis shoes. They were on sale for $39.95 but when I went to the register they rang up for $34 so that was an extra little bonus.

I still didn't know what to do about the Coach bag. Did I really really want a new bag? Yes, of course. Did I think there was absolutely no way I could find the bag for under $200? Unfortunately, yes. So, even while I may have a specific bag on my wish list, sometimes reality takes over and then I have to consider a compromise. If I was to get the bag, that would leave me with much less money for the other things I need to get.

Fortunately, I came across a cute bag at H&M just as the hubby came to meet me at the mall (note: it saves me quite a bit of money shopping with the hubby trailing along behind me saying "you don't need that! Annoying, but money saving). He pointed out a lot of reasons why I should get this bag instead of spending a lot of money on the Coach bag that I wanted, namely, it only cost $25, I go through bags--name brand or not--with amazing speed (and then I either give them away or Ebay them), that if he wins in Vegas he will give me the cash to buy a new bag, that this way I would still have money left over for clothes instead of taking my old clothes with me to Vegas, and that this bag was the perfect size for what I needed it for and stylish too (the hubby knows more about designer purses and stylish clothes than I do!). So I bought the bag (above) and am happy with it.

The moral of the story is that my wish list worked just as it always does. I found the things I wanted, on sale no less, and with a little compromise, I am really happy with how this shopping trip turned out!

Update...Or What We Are Doing Now

Here's what we are up to now...

• We will be in Atlanta for another couple of weeks and are really enjoying our time here. Last weekend we drove through the Smoky Mountains which were beautiful and I tried boiled peanuts for the first time which were yummy!


• Our next stop--for sure since we already have our tickets--will be Las Vegas for the last week of June. Hubby and the brother-in-law will be doing the World Series of Poker tournament. Depending on how well they do we could leave when our tickets say or we could end up staying for three or four weeks until the end of the tournament (if we need up staying until the end of the tournament that's a good thing--it means he will place in the money. First place is around $8 MILLION dollars!)


• We are scheduled to be back in Seattle for the 4th of July! I will be happy to catch up with my friends. We talk on the phone and keep in touch via FaceBook but I feel so "out of the loop" so I am really looking forward to seeing them!


• Our future plans (subject to change...usually about every other day) include: going to Japan in August instead of September as planned. House sitting for a cousin in Seattle for the month of September. Going to Connecticut for the month of October (for another poker tournament, the World Poker Tour). And going to the Philippines in November. Of course our plans keep changing so who knows. We were going to spend the rest of the summer in Seattle (the most beautiful time of year there) but a cousin wanted us to house sit so we decided to move up our Japan travel plans which may or may not work out (we get free flights to Asia via the military but as retirees, we are in the very lowest category which means we get on the plane if and when all of the active duty, active duty dependants, baggage, and military gear gets on and there is still enough room to squeeze us in...it's kind of a hit or miss thing but it is FREE which is great).


• I'm really feeling like I want a home again. I have been looking at home prices and now seems like a great time to buy...we just don't know where. Seattle is nice but prices are a bit higher and the gloomy weather for six months of the year is a bummer. Atlanta is nice (I love the hot, humid weather) but they have had so many tornado watches while we have been here I'm not sure if I want to live in tornado alley (but home prices are super low here). We are going to look at houses in Las Vegas while we are there because prices are so low and with hubby being a poker player, he will be right in the middle of the action. I am not, however, a fan of hot, dry, deserty places. Finally, family keeps telling us to move to Connecticut where most of the family lives but there are quite a few downsides including higher home prices, cold, snowy winters (two days of snow like Seattle gets on occasion is OK, two weeks or two months of snow is not OK), and higher taxes.


• On the business side, I am bored silly. After six months of not working, all I can think about is starting a business and making some money. Again, where we settle will have an impact on this as well. In Seattle, I have a lot of business contacts which could really help with new projects. In Las Vegas I have heard the business climate is not so good (rumor only so I will need to check this out), Atlanta seems to have a pretty good business climate but I will have to literally start from the ground up since I know exactly two people in this entire city, and Connecticut would be a happy medium between Seattle and Atlanta because many of our family members are business owners so at least I would know some people there to help me get started.


• Finally, the siren call of materialism has been trying to catch my attention lately. Or maybe I am tired of wearing the same four pairs of pants and same four pairs of shoes that I brought with me when we started traveling in February. I want some beautiful clothes, some beautiful shoes, and a couple of nice designer handbags (I just don't have room to carry all of this stuff around the country with us!). Then I was in TJ Maxx a few days ago and all of their home and kitchen decor looked so beautiful, but then I have a flashback to selling everything in our home for pennies on the dollar and decide that I need to find a happy--and inexpensive--medium between having nice things and the money that it costs to buy these things.

That's about it for now. Limbo.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 4 of 10): People Problems

One type of disaster that can sneak up on you when you least expect it is problems caused by other people. You can be living your life, happy as a clam, financially stable, and secure in your preparedness then "BAM!" someone calls you with a problem that while it isn't your problem, they may want to make it so. Here are our ten rules for dealing with people problems:

1. We never co-sign for anything for any one. This includes but is not limited to: cell phone contracts, cars, mortgages, loans, credit cards, student loans, etc.


2. We do keep a separate emergency fund to help others if needed. There isn't a lot in this fund but with a giant family, it is pretty much a given that someone will need help and if we are so inclined, then at least we will have the money on hand.


3. We don't loan money to anyone for anything. If we have the money to offer and we feel it is a worthy cause we will gladly offer it as a gift but we never loan money then expect to get it back because past experience has shown that this only leads to disappointment and relationship drama.


4. We don't bail people out of jail. This rule was instituted when the boys became teenagers. Our feeling was that if you got arrested you were most likely at fault no matter what the Miranda warning says and if you choose to do something illegal you can sit in jail until you can work the problem out with the judge.


5. We won't buy from your MLM business, go to a presentation that is trying to sell us something, become one of your MLM "downlinks", or otherwise enter into a "great business opportunity" with anyone.


6. I won't enter into a business partnership with anyone. I have seen way too many business partnerships crash and burn to think this is a good idea. I will, however, provide you information, moral support, consulting if it is within the realm of my business expertise, and otherwise support you into your new business if you would like.


7. The hubby and I freely provide: someone to vent to/talk to, a free meal if you stop by the house, a place to sleep in an emergency, a free ride if you have been drinking, moral support, useful information, help with a wide variety of problems/projects if we have the time, and provide other non-financial assistance whenever possible.


8. We won't sell you anything on credit. Mostly this involves the sale of cars and other larger items that people may not have the money for. Trying to collect the money a year down the line on more than one occasion in one of these deals has turned us off of this permanently.


9. We don't take sides and we don't like drama. Having a big family and lots of friends, there is bound to be drama between people and families from time to time. We like to stay "above it all" as firstly, we don't like drama, gossip, or rumors; secondly, unless a person has earned our wrath personally, there are always multiple sides to an issue; thirdly, we live far enough away from the bulk of the family to be able to stay out of local dramas; and fourthly, these things usually work themselves out eventually so we will just wait. And stay neutral. Like Switzerland.


10. We treat people how we would like to be treated, namely, with honor, respect, patience, humor, and firm parameters so as to avoid miscommunications and other inter-personal issues. We expect the same in return.

More Money Links

There are so many great money-related ideas floating around out there. Here's a handful I came across this past week:

• Man vs Debt's Take on Credit Card Use (my feelings exactly!)


• 10 Days, No Spending (an excellent idea for a challenge!)


• 21 Quick Actions You Can Take Today to Revolutionize Your Health (good health=save money!)


• Family of Three Lives Mortgage Free by Downsizing (I love it when people think outside of the box!)


• Innovation Starts With Disruptive Hypothesis (a great idea for business, a great idea for how you live your life!)


• Nearly Half of Americans are 'Financially Fragile' (an excellent reason to bulk up your emergency fund!)


• My Blog is also Paying My Bills (this is the point I would like to get to!)


• Interview with Long-Term Traveller Roni Weiss (I love his take on money!)

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 3 of 10): Job Loss

Continuing on in our series about ways to prepare financially for the most common types of disasters that you may face in your lifetime, today we will look at how you can prepare ahead for job loss.

A decade ago, losing a job was a big deal but, for many people, all you had to do was dust yourself off and go get another job. These days that has changed quite a bit as over the past few years people have lost their jobs and there are literally no comparable (paying) jobs to be had. Scary. Here's ten ways to prepare yourself now for the possibility of losing your job.

1. Have an emergency fund. Notice how this is the common denominator of ALL of the preparedness plans? With an emergency fund of six to twelve months worth of expenses in savings you will be able to give yourself quite a financial cushion if you should suddenly lose your job.


2. Have six months to a year's worth of food in storage. It seems like a lot but there are a few reasons for this. First, if you find yourself the host of an impromptu family gathering, you can easily pull out enough food to feed everyone, often without even having to run to the store. Second, in the event of a major natural disaster when the stores shut down, you will be fine holed up with your stash of food. Finally, if you find yourself in the middle of an extended job layoff and you only have to pick up perishables once a week instead of ALL of the groceries your family needs, you will be able to save a lot of money (and stress!). Consider watching 'Extreme Couponing' then begin your stock up plan.


3. Be amazing at your current job. I have hired people away from other jobs simply because I saw them working and they were AMAZING. Great work, great attitude, great people skills...think of how you currently conduct yourself at you job as a never ending job interview. People who do a great job tend to be noticed (and sought after!).


4. Be aware of what is happening in your job and in your industry. Often job loss shouldn't come as a surprise because there are a number of clues in the months leading up to termination that should scream "there won't be a job here much longer!" Clues can range from the internal--your boss is bouncing checks like a mad man, to the external--the housing market is circling the drain so if you are even remotely in this industry it may be time to jump ship.


5. Know what benefits you are entitled to. When termination is imminent, figure out what you can get on your way out. A 'golden parachute'? That would be nice. Severance pay? Back pay for unused sick time and vacation time? Unemployment? Re-employment training? Take whatever you can get as the time between jobs can be lengthy.


6. Get out of debt and stay out of debt! It is much easier to cover your bills with unemployment or side jobs if the bills are small. If you are drowning in debt, a job layoff will probably push you over the edge to bankruptcy. Ditto with keeping any other debts you have as small as possible. Your house payment should be no more than 25% of the family's income (this way even on one spouse's income the mortgage can get paid), car payments should be as low as possible (actually you should pay cash for cars so you will have NO payment), and sundry items (gas, clothing, cell bills, etc.) should be able to be immediately ratcheted back if necessary.


7. Always be prepared to change jobs at the spur of the moment. Always have your resume updated, network to "stay in the loop" in your industry, continue to refine and add to your current job skills, etc. This way, whether you become unemployed or you just run across an amazing job opportunity, you will be ready to bounce.


8. Always have multiple streams of income. I have done this for most of my life and it just makes me feel comfortable. Having side businesses or side jobs is a great way to always have money coming in no matter what your current job status. For example, I know quite a few guys who started in construction trades, became white-collar office workers, yet still keep doing construction-type side jobs (roofing, flooring) both for the extra money it brings in and for the added exercise it provides.


9. Look at other options when the hatchet falls on your job. This is what I did at the end of last year when my biggest business client went toes up. Instead of sticking with the status quo (find another client or another job to replace the income I was losing) we decided to make a radical change (sell the house and sell almost everything else we owned) in order to try something new (traveling and living on one income). Granted not everyone can easily do this but many people have made very radical lifestyle changes (one family decided to live in an RV and travel, another family decided to bike from the North Pole to the South Pole) in order to enjoy opportunities that having a regular job wouldn't have allowed them to do.


10. Don't be afraid to seek help. A job loss is a pretty scary, disorienting thing. If needed, don't be afraid to ask for and seek out what you need whether it is food from the local food pantry, psychological counseling to get you through a rough patch, financial assistance from family and friends, support from your church, or just a hug from your SO. Everyone goes through hard times and everyone deserves a little help now and then just as you help others when you are able to.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 2 of 10): Death

Back in my social service days, death was another disaster my clients had to deal with. Since most of my clients were youngish people, usually with small children, their spouse dying was a HUGE crisis. I mean, when you are young, there are a lot of things to worry about--your finances, getting and keeping a job, taking care of your kids--however someone dying young usually isn't even on the person's radar. But it does happen and the scramble afterwards to take care of funeral arrangements, pay bills, and help people through the grieving process really made me aware of the fact that you can die at any time so this is another area where it pays to be prepared ahead of time. Here's ten things to prepare for right now in case the worst happens:

1. If anyone depends on your income (spouse, kids) be sure to get life insurance (term life insurance is best). I have seen a 55 year old woman who never worked a day in her life have to pick up menial jobs to make ends meet because her husband let his life insurance lapse and then he died, leaving his wife too young to collect social security which basically left her penniless. Fortunately, for young people, life insurance is very inexpensive.


2. Have a Will, Living Will, durable power of attorney, and medical power of attorney. These documents (properly written and notarized of course) make the death and dying process much less complicated. Unless any of these documents could be contested, many states will let you draw up your own documents as long as they are officially notarized. For a bit more protection, you can draw up your own documents to save money then pay an attorney to give them a quick read through to ensure everything is correct.


3. Have an emergency fund! Right after someone dies, there are all kinds of expenses that need to be taken care of, unfortunately it usually takes life insurance a while to pay out so the money in an emergency fund (kept in an account where both spouses can access it) can really help a person through the first few weeks after a death whether to pay bills or pay for funeral arrangements.


4. Discuss your final wishes with your SO. It's kind of an odd conversation to have, especially when you are still strong and healthy, but many people can end up in the poor house when a loved one dies because they guilt themselves into spending way more than necessary on a fancy funeral and burial plot when, if the loved one would have been asked, wouldn't have cared what kind of casket/burial plot location/flowers/etc they got. FWIW, I would rather the hubby keep his money and enjoy it rather than spending it on me when I am dead and can't enjoy it. I told him that if I am practically dead to pull the plug (I'm a fan of compressed morbidity), have me cremated (it's way cheaper than a burial), and to skip the funeral service and have a party to remember me at home (again, as long as he has friends to support him when he is grieving, I'm happy with that...besides, funerals make me sad).


5. Get out of debt ASAP. One of the main reasons I became so focused on getting out of debt was because a lady came to my office one day four months after her husband had died. She had literally never handled the finances and didn't know what to do with the four month's worth of mail she brought me in a giant bag. After sifting through the mail I asked her if she knew they were nearly $100,000 in debt not counting the mortgage. Of course, she didn't know. Her husband always juggled the bills (looking at his mess of bills the stress from juggling these debts probably speeded up his demise!) and she thought everything was fine. Everything wasn't fine and in the midst of her grief she ended up having to file bankruptcy too. That situation really hit me hard and I realized that there was NO WAY I was going to leave my husband with that kind of mess (or vice versa, end up with myself in that kind of mess if he were to die first) which pretty much made me super focused on paying off all of our debt.


6. Know what death benefits you are entitled to. In my case, my husband is a veteran so there are a number of death benefits he is entitled to from the VA. If you have minor children, they are also entitled to death benefits if a parent dies. Searching out all of the benefits you are entitled to can save you a lot of money so it pays to find out what you are entitled to.


7. Have all of your important documents in a single place where both spouses can access them. After someone dies, there is a mountain of paperwork to do. To streamline this process it helps to have all of the family's important documents together in one place (I keep these in a safe as well as keep scanned copies of each document in my computer). Among the documents you need: birth certificates, Wills, powers of attorney, medical power of attorney, adoption records, insurance policies, financial records, list of creditors, marriage records, divorce records, military records, etc.


8. Give stuff to people when you are still living, enjoy people too while you still can. Suffice it to say that seemingly normal people can act like rabid hyenas after the person who held the family together dies. From experience I have learned that it is best to give stuff to people when you are still alive (this ensures things go to who you want them to go to and you get to see them enjoying the things you give them) and I have also learned that it is way more important to spend time with people NOW while you can enjoy them instead of showing up at the funeral wishing you had called/visited your loved one more often.


9. Prepare an "if I die" letter. This is probably the last thing people want to think about, especially if you are young and healthy, but I have seen way more than my share of people die in the prime of life so I know that putting such a thing off until later can often be too late. This letter should include things you want to say to your loved ones, advice about what they should do after your passing (ie: how to arrange home matters and business matters), user names and passwords to all of your online accounts (some people even write a final blog post to be published after their death), plus anything else they need to know.


10. Don't forget anything. Before and after death, there can literally be a hundred things that you need to do. In addition to this checklist, here is a bunch of other good lists of things to remember to do both before and after a loved one dies.