Last February I visited Athens, Greece by myself. It was unseasonably cool which didn't bother me, but was unexpected. One morning I set out to visit the National (Art) Gallery, but as I exited my Airbnb apartment, I realized that it was warm outside, warmer than any day since I'd arrived, and the sky was mostly blue. So as the door latched behind me, I decided to seize the moment and visit the Parthenon instead. It took me about 30 seconds to update Google Maps, change direction, and start heading toward the Acropolis. I arrived before the ticket booth closed for the day and with five minutes to spare. Once on top of the Acropolis, I unzipped my jacket, wandered around the Parthenon listening to a Rick Steves audio tour, and chatted with other visitors. The experience could not have been better. 

But not everyone I know would find that in-the-moment change of plans enjoyable or satisfying. Some prefer to travel differently, planning their trips months, if not years, in advance and leaving home with detailed "rain or shine" itineraries that enable them to see as many sights as possible. They focus on efficiency, stick to a schedule, and see way more sites than I do. For them, that is the most fun way to travel, and it brings them great joy.

For me, it's all about just "being" somewhere. I prefer to travel slowly and wander, explore, and discover as I go. I delight in experiencing the unexpected and capturing a photo that can't be duplicated via a Google search. I still enjoy seeing many of the major sites, but don't need to see them all, and I really enjoy getting off the beaten path, if only just a little. I like to assume that I will return some day, so I'm OK skipping some of the major attractions in order to experience the unusual. In Athens, I learned to create a Chinese stone seal, and everywhere I go, I like to taste their version of Mexican food if I can. 

Friends concerned that I am traveling alone out of desperation regularly offer to travel with me. While I do enjoy traveling with others, I'm unwilling to give up the solo experiences. In fact, I enjoy them so much that I used to try to convince others that they should try it too. But the more I watch the way others travel and listen to their stories, the more convinced I become that solo travel probably isn't for everyone. Here's my current thinking. 

Solo travel may not be right for you if you ...

• Feel a sense of accomplishment or even get comfort from sticking to a firm itinerary
• Want help creating an itinerary and/or like help deciding what to do from one minute to the next
• Rarely wish you had more time to experience something while following an itinerary
• Feel compelled to discuss your travel experiences in great detail with others
  (because the best listeners are almost always your travel companions)
• Trust others (including travel guides) to predict what you'll enjoy most while traveling
• Don't wonder what's off the beaten paths
• Don't feel burdened by the need to constantly compromise while traveling with others
  
• Don't like problem-solving alone
  
  

On the other hand, you may love solo travel if you ...

• Enjoy being able to change your plans in an instant
• Believe that "mistakes" often lead to great adventure and entertaining stories
• Can't easily predict what you'll feel like doing from one day to the next
• Like starting and/or ending your day earlier or later than most
• Consider yourself great company

The good news is that most of us are able to travel on our own terms and refine our plans for future trips with each travel experience. And while some like to travel with others, and others enjoy going it alone, I haven't even mentioned that there's a whole group of people who don't enjoy traveling far from home at all. But that's a blog post for another day and should probably be written by another author. 

Enjoy your next travel adventure and let us know more about your preferred travel style below.

-- Kathy

If you're reading this post, chances are high that you're capable of managing your own investments and increasing your long-term results. You may even enjoy the process. For help getting started, consider the monthly step-by-step suggestions provided below. "Managing your own investments" is a loose description that will probably mean different things to different people. The suggestions listed in Months 1-8 do not involve any buying, selling or trading; they're more about understanding, learning and analyzing. Just by following those suggestions, I can almost promise that you'll make better decisions about your finances in the future, even if you stop there. (Note: This info is valuable for anyone who is at least 18 years old.)

There are multiple advantages to managing your own investment portfolio; one is that you'll save the annual fees many financial advisors charge; they usually vary from 0.5-2% of your portfolio value. These fees may not sound like much, but if you run the numbers, you'll see that these seemingly "small" figures add up to a lot of money over time.

Many people believe that financial advisors who charge fees based on portfolio value enable them to "beat the market", and the fees paid to these advisors are recouped through higher returns. But studies show that beating the market is not the norm. In fact, over the last three years (as of Mar 2025), only 15% of Large-Cap* mutual funds "beat the market". So, if you're invested in a Large-Cap stock mutual fund, and it's not an S&P 500 Index Fund, there is an 85% chance that your investment underperformed the market. i.e. You paid someone to help you underperform the market in the long-term.
*Large-Cap: A large-cap stock represents a publicly traded company with a market capitalization (total value of outstanding shares) of $10B or more (often considered a stable and established investment). 

Hopefully the suggestions below will enable you to save a lot of money by taking control of your investment portfolio within a year or less.
You can:

• Work the steps faster (or slower) than the suggested monthly pacing
• Research topics that confuse you
• Ignore ideas that don't meet your needs
• Work the steps in a different order
• Pose questions and/or offer suggestions via the comments below

On a more personal note ...
​Jim's been managing our investments for about 35 years, while I managed our budget. Since retiring, I've been learning more about our investments. This post is a result of my high-level learnings and desire to share the information in easy-to-understand and actionable bites. You may be relieved to hear that Jim has reviewed (and improved) the information.

And while we don't pay a regular fee to have someone else manage our portfolio, that doesn't mean we don't seek advice regularly and/or pay for advice on occasion; we do both. Most recently, we paid to talk with Mark Zoril and we regularly talk with our Fidelity advisor (who doesn't charge a fee), as well as friends and family.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, we're not professionals and don't claim that this is the only or best way to manage investments. Instead, we offer this up as food for thought and an invitation for you to share what you know. We hope to learn from you.

-- Kathy

Q:  Why did you document this info?
A:  I've been learning more about investing, and this info reflects what I've internalized so far. If you think I've missed anything or have ideas that will help us increase our returns, I want to hear them. This is my way of testing what I think I know.

Q:  What if I conclude that the process you've documented is still more work than I want to take on?
A:  A YouTuber named Joe Kuhn provides great advice for people like you in <3 min of this video (from 10:10-13:03 min).   

In 2019, I traveled alone from the US to Europe and loved it. The reasons are explained in a post called Expect the Unexpected, although one thing I didn't mention in that post is that my husband prefers trips where things go according to plan, while I prefer a moderate level of challenge, exploration, and surprise. Most of the time this makes us a great team, even though I usually experience travel magic when encountering the unexpected, while his contentment usually comes from avoiding the unexpected. That's why my occasional solo trips work for us, and he travels alone on occasion too.

Earlier this month I headed off to Athens, Greece (from the US). Given that I enjoy the entire travel experience, waves of euphoria can start as soon as I get dropped off at the airport. But this trip had me a little worried because I didn't really feel euphoric during my flight. (Think "full flight", "small seat", and concerns about my husband's health.) So you can imagine my relief when I got off the plane in Istanbul for a layover, and that euphoric feeling descended upon me. Even if I was only in the airport, Istanbul felt new and exotic.

I'd watched a few YouTube videos, so knew that the airport is huge and that the most transportation help I'd receive while getting from one gate to another would be moving walkways. Apparently you might need to walk up to a mile between gates! Thankfully, I had a two and half hour layover, so figured all would go well. I also know myself well enough to know that focusing would be my key to success because I'm easily distracted, especially when I'm having fun. 

We deplaned at Gate D9, and I breathed a sigh of relief to see that I'd be departing from Gate D10, knowing then that there was no way anything could go wrong. So I relaxed and settled in at very nice work area with plenty of electrical outlets and a view. It was just a few gates away from D10, so I could avoid the congestion of people gathering which would start happening before long. While I wasn't right at my departure gate, I was close enough to pack up and be there in a minute when it was time to board. My fun had begun, and I was already posting photos for my family in a private Facebook album and making new friends at the work area. People in airports are usually like people on chairlifts; interesting! Still, I could feel my brain fading given that I hadn't slept in over 24 hours, and even though I was having a lot of fun, the layover felt longer than expected. 

Because I was so eager get to Athens, and maybe even sleep a bit on the 90 minute flight that would get me there, I headed to the gate about ten minutes before boarding was even scheduled to start. Arriving a minute later, I was initially confused because there was nobody at the gate; literally nobody. I've traveled enough to know that gates change, and flights sometimes board early, so I was glad I'd allowed the extra time and quickly checked the Departures screen. My flight wasn't even listed. Nor was any other flight that departed at the same time (or earlier). 

You've probably figured this out by now, but I confused the time and had literally missed the flight! The good news, if there is any good news in this story, is that even though I'm a generally excitable person, when I get stressed, I usually become ultra calm and very focused. So even though I was still struggling with denial, I high-tailed it to the nearby Turkish Airlines Service Center I'd seen earlier. At the same time, I was trying to figure out how I'd made this mistake and concluded that the combo of my lack of sleep, the 24-hour time convention, and the time difference between Athens and Istanbul made for one bad mental cocktail.

Thankfully, I quickly found my way to a long desk filled with service agents ready to help, so I walked right up to a friendly-looking woman and explained that I had messed up and feared that I'd missed my flight. Honestly, I was still holding out hope that she'd tell me there had been a gate change and provide a simple solution, but that's not how things went. Instead, she indignantly asked how that could happen, and the best I could offer was to honestly report that I was having so much fun I confused the time in my head and just missed it. That made her very angry, and while I don't remember exactly what she said, I do remember being left with the feeling that I should have been paying more attention! That seemed obvious, and not really worth driving home in the moment, but I let her express herself completely before asking if she'd be willing to help me get to Athens. She pointed toward some other agents and told me to get in line. 

The good news is that the line was short. The bad news is that the people being helped by the two available agents were sitting in chairs with open laptops and/or phones in their laps. I wasn't getting the sense that these were fast-moving lines. And it was at this point that I remembered another thing I'd learned on YouTube; Turkish airlines is known for their great food and abrasive service. I had definitely experienced both.

I was feeling really stupid, but I also knew that all I could do was resolve the problem and keep trying to make forward motion. The Service Center was busy, and I'd beat a bit of a rush, so to a certain extent I was feeling lucky. And, I had to admit, this was definitely an unexpected adventure, and I already knew it was going to be a funny story that, at the very least, would help my family and friends feel savvy, or at least savvier than me.

While waiting in line, I was learning enough to help others who were arriving and feeling as confused as I had felt just a few minutes earlier. I was comforted by talking with a guy who looked very smart and capable after he admitted to having done exactly what I did; becoming distracted and just missing his flight. But I sensed he was traveling on business and didn't have the flexibility I did, so that made me feel lucky too. I also spent quite a while talking with an enthusiastic young man on his way to Pakistan to get married. By the end of our conversation, he had invited me to attend his wedding! (I politely declined, not feeling like I could handle much more "adventure" in that moment.)

Finally it was my turn to get some help from a service agent, so I repeated my story, and the typing began. There was no scolding from this agent, an older man, but there was also no sympathy. Many minutes later, after typing the equivalent of War and Peace into his computer, he told me that there was a flight to Athens in the morning, and he could get me on it. While I was feeling a bit desperate, I also felt the need to be smart, or at least less dumb, so asked what seemed like a logical question, "Will there be a charge?" There was a very long pause while he typed some more. During that pause I convinced myself that I shouldn't let $150 upset me, and while he kept typing I decided to increase that amount to $500 thinking that, in the scheme of things, $500 would not change the course of my life. So, I have to admit, I was a bit "surprised" when he said it would cost me $721. (My original round-trip flight had only cost $664!) I know from experience that you often have to push people to help you get what you want, so told him that I did not want to spend that much money. I asked for alternatives, and at the same time looked up the prices of other flights on my phone. I found a flight to Athens that left in two hours, and it only cost $150, so I asked if he could put me on that one. That's when I learned that I was required to change my existing ticket to avoid cancelling my return flights. What?! 

Given that I was standing in Istanbul, it was not my desired destination, I was not in peak mental condition, and I was struggling to understand what the agent was saying in his heavily accepted English, I decided to cut my losses and just buy the darn ticket. I overheard another agent tell a customer that there are "no hotels at the airport", so, in the end, I just stayed at the airport overnight and tried to get a little sleep. 

The airport contains quite a few nap/sleep areas and quite a few lounge chairs. So after weaving the straps of my carry-on luggage through my arms, covering my face with a scarf and playing soothing music through my noise-cancelling earbuds, I relaxed and did get a bit of sleep while worrying I was going to look even dumber if I slept through the next flight ... which I did not do. The next morning I was at my gate on time, flew to Athens, figured out the metro system, and made it to my Vrbo apartment by noon. By 6:00 pm I'd been out to eat, purchased groceries, and showered. I think I even fell asleep blow drying my hair right before crawling into bed.

I wish I could tell you that was the end of my travel drama, but nine days later, just before heading off to bed at 12:41 am, I received a text from Turkish Airlines letting me know that my return flight from Athens to Istanbul had been cancelled. Knowing I wouldn't sleep well until that was resolved, I spent the next hour online and finally "chatting" (online) with another Turkish Airlines agent. In the end, I had to depart two days later than planned. So while I lost a vacation day when I arrived, I gained two days going home. I think that means I "won" vacationing, right? :)

In case you're wondering ...

• The new ticket to from Istanbul to Athens (classified as a "flight change") cost so much because my super cheap fare included a "flight change charge" of over $500. In fairness to Turkish Airlines, that was in the fine print, along with the notice that not showing up for any leg of the flight would void the remaining flights.
• My Visa credit card offers travel insurance, but this type of event wasn't covered; I asked. That does seem reasonable.
• A friend pointed out that the extra two nights of my Vrbo, and my food for those extra days, would likely be covered by Turkish Airlines or my Visa credit card travel insurance. But I paid my Vrbo host in cash for the extra nights and didn't get a receipt for them. He only charged me €65/night for those extra nights, and I had a lot of fun during my extra days, so I've decided it's not worth the energy to try to get any of that money refunded.
• In the end, this was a great trip, and aside from the fact that feeling stupid isn't fun, I think it's possible I'll get $721 worth of enjoyment out of sharing this story :)

​-- Kathy

A year ago, I traveled from the US to Europe with carry-on luggage. The only real challenge I had was fitting all of my liquids into the required quart-sized bag. I got them all in there, but it wasn't easy, and when they asked me to open the bag during my connection in London, it was a real pain in the neck. 

So over the last year I was determined to reduce the number of liquids I use when I travel. I gathered ideas, researched products, and made the following changes:  

• Replaced Toothpaste with Toothpaste Bits (from Bite)
• Replaced Mouthwash with Mouthwash tablets (from Lush)
• Replaced Liquid Soap (to clean retainers) with Retainer Cleaning Tablets (Brite)
• Replaced Liquid Concealer with a Concealer Pencil (Jones Road Beauty)
• Replaced Liquid Laundry Detergent with Laundry Detergent Sheets (HeySunday)
• Replaced Liquid Tide Stick (for stain removal) with Tide Wipes (not considered liquid)
• Replaced Liquid Sunscreen with a Sunscreen Stick (Sun Bum)
• Replaced Liquid Makeup Remover with cotton pads soaked in Makeup Remover (not considered liquid)
  
  

I just finished up another European trip using the new products listed above, and they worked really well! I'm not claiming those products will work well for you, but they met my needs at least as well as the liquids did, and sometimes better.

Update Mar 6, 2025: Tried Shampoo & Conditioner Bars (Kitsch) and liked them!

In the future, I plan to try the following:

• Replace Liquid Body Wash with a Moisturizing Bar Soap
  (haven't found anything I like yet - please add recommendations in the "Comments" section below)
  
  

I also found a toilet kit I like a lot because it's light, functional, versatile, and flexible enough to shrink or expand as needed. It's also surprisingly inexpensive.

-- Kathy

Related info:

• DIY Mini Containers (video)
• Travel stories

The ACA (Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare"), provides us with great health insurance at an unbelievably low rate. We're sharing what we've learned about it, in case you find the info helpful.
Remember: We're just a couple of yahoos stumbling through this. We're not experts or advisors :)

HOW IT WORKS (as far as we can tell):

• Each state has an ACA marketplace (or "exchange"). In Colorado it's called "Connect for Health Colorado".
• Go to the ACA marketplace website for your state and
  -- Set up an account
  -- Fill out the application including your projected income and other info
  -- Select a health insurance plan from the listed options (there are lots in Colorado)
• Your projected income determines the value of the "Advanced Premium Tax Credits" you will receive.
  These "tax credits" are paid directly to the insurance company to cover a portion of your premium each month; you pay the remaining balance of your premium.
  ​(e.g. We qualify for $2,028.46/month in "Advanced Premium Tax Credits", and pay the remaining $111.76/month.)
• Your projected income also determines your "Cost-sharing Reduction" benefits. 
  These benefits lower what you pay when you receive healthcare by reducing deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
  (The reductions can be drastic. e.g. Our individual deductibles are reduced from $5,000/year to $100/year.) 

Our Experience
We've found the sign-up process and "system" to be complicated, and hope that the info provided here might make it easier for you. The first year we used the ACA (2020), Jim spent ~40 hours on the phone* getting it all to work. This year we dug into the details and feel like we have a much better understanding of the hows and whys. Also, this year our rates are 25% lower than last year and lower than they've ever been. We wonder if maybe the "Infrastructure Act" has something to do with this, but don't really know. 
* In hindsight, this was the result of us asking too many questions. We should have just filled out the online forms and shut up.

INCOME Determines Monthly Premium and Some Benefits

• "Income" is defined as MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income )
• The more MAGI you report on your taxes (& in the ACA tool), the lower your Adv Premium Tax Credits become (so the more you will pay toward your premium each month)
• Medicaid: A projected income below ~$29K/yr automatically applies us for Medicaid (called "Health First Colorado" in CO) instead of the ACA. Note that income thresholds vary by state and maybe even by county.
  Medicaid is not our desired outcome, and even entering "projected income" numbers that low into the online tool created huge headaches that took many hours to resolve. Note: Some people report satisfaction with Medicaid.
• We've found the joint MAGI "sweet spot" to be ~$30-35K/year to qualify for great "Advanced Premium Tax Credits" so we pay almost nothing toward our premiums each month

Non-Retirement and/or Roth IRA SAVINGS Enable You to Increase ACA Benefits
A layoff and start-up experiences led us to border on financial paranoia during our working years, so we stashed savings in non-retirement investment accounts. This enables us to postpone use of our retirement accounts and receive great ACA benefits. However ...

• It's possible that the savings we're realizing now may be more than lost in future taxes because our IRA RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) will be higher in the future.
• Two financial experts have advised "it's hard to know" if we're hurting ourselves long-term, so they think our plan seems reasonable

Our Healthcare Insurance for 2025
Healthcare Plan: Anthem Silver Pathway 5000 $0 Select Drugs (an HMO)
Premium cost to cover both of us: $2,140.22/month
Amount we pay to be on the plan: $111.76/month
NOTE: The published individual deductible for this plan is $5,000/person, but because of our low income status, our deductible is $100/person. Max out-of-pocket expenses are also greatly reduced for us.

INCOME and BENEFITS: Another data point
We pay little because our income is low. We know of a person who is single (in Colorado) who will also be using the ACA in 2025. This person pays ~$700/month for an Anthem Gold plan comparable to a plan that would have cost ~$2,400/month via the previous employer's retirement offering. This friend's MAGI is higher than ours. Obviously, you'll need to run your numbers to figure out what value you may (or may not) be able to get from the ACA given your MAGI.

You may be wondering:

• How do we  control our income so precisely?
  We lower our income by spending non-retirement assets and raise it with Roth conversions.
• What happens if actual income doesn't match income projections?
  When this happens, you have to "true up" at tax time (and re-pay at least some "Advanced Premium Tax Credits"). One year we did have to pay back a fair amount. Thankfully, we'd set the savings aside.
• What if I have a catastrophic health event? Will the insurance hold up?
  For us, the answer has been yes. In fact, the benefits have greatly exceeded our expectations.
  
  

The benefits we receive via the ACA still feel too good to be true and the system causes us varied amounts of angst each year during the open enrollment period. Some years this angst is even significant, but the savings seem worth it. If you want more info, see the comments below, and/or feel free to contact us. We're happy to share what we've learned.

Update added Jun 9, 2025: There is talk that the "One Big Beautiful Bill" could change these benefits in the future.

-- Kathy

P.S.  THANK YOU to the friend who casually asked, "Have you looked into the ACA?" back in 2019 when I was lamenting the high cost of healthcare insurance which we were purchasing through our previous employers' retirement offerings. The story she shared seemed unbelievable, but she was credible so we followed up, and now that we've been using it for five years, we're convinced it's real :) 

Even before the pandemic hit, my husband and I had decided that it didn't make sense to keep an "extra" car in the garage 24x7. Basically, we realized we both did a fair amount of driving, but rarely at the same time. 

So last summer we finally got our act together and sold my car. (He agreed to share his car with me :) We also agreed that if it creates any problems, we'll buy another car. We figured that in the event we both needed the car at the same time, one of us could use Uber, or, worst case, we'd rent a car. The plan was to track our expenses to be sure this plan really did make financial sense in the long run.

Nine months after selling my car, and almost a month after being fully vaccinated, we finally encountered a conflict. So I Ubered to lunch at a nearby restaurant yesterday to meet up with friends. The roundtrip transportation expense was almost $30; that was a lot more than I was expecting! So the first thing I did when I got home was calculate and compare car expenses over the last three years. Of course the pandemic makes it hard to know if today's calculations are useful in terms of predicting tomorrow's expenses, but here are the (very basic) findings: 

That chart is pretty basic. It doesn't include oil changes, repairs, and gas. Nor does it reflect the fact that we've turned the cash we got from selling a car into an apperciating, instead of depreciating, asset because we invested it.

Afterward I asked myself if there was any downside to the experience. I guess I didn't get to pick the radio station, but the interesting conversation may have been more enjoyable than anything I'd have heard on the radio. I was also little anxious about whether or not the car would arrive as promised and whether or not I'd get to lunch on time. The car did pick me up, and right on time, but I arrived 25 minutes early for lunch. Note to self: There's no need to add "buffer time" to the ride. There is also an upside to all of this; my husband's car is way nicer than mine was, so in a way, many of my driving experiences have been upgraded, although I do have to adjust the seat and mirrors each time I get in the car. (Next up: I need to figure out how to use the automatic seat adjustment feature, I guess.) And given we have different fill-up philosophies (he doesn't like to go below 1/8th of a tank and I like see how far below "E" the dial can go), I suspect I may never have to pump gas again :D

Assuming an average cost of $30 for round-trip Uber rides, we'll need to use Uber more than once a week and then blow through all the money we've invested from the sale of my car before we lose anything with this plan. I just can't imagine that happening. Having grown up in the Motor City, never in a million years did I imagine giving up my car at 58. And yet here I am. 

-- Kathy

Since retiring, I've been to Europe a number of times. Traveling seems very different now than it did while we were working and everything felt rushed. These days, I take it slower ... just because I can. And I find it way more enjoyable. Here are some things I've learned along the way. These are tips I haven't seen many other places. Maybe you'll find them useful. (It's also worth noting I've taken a couple of solo trips which require me to solve all of my own problems.)

1. Create a detailed plan for activating your smart phone before you leave home
   During a solo trip to Paris last year, I was able to watch YouTube videos before leaving. They showed me exactly what to do when I landed in Paris to be sure I could access and activate an inexpensive SIM card upon arrival. It worked like a charm. Earlier this year, when I went to Rome alone, I figured I'd do the same thing. But guess what? The process wasn't the same, and that meant I spent the first 24 hours of my trip searching for a SIM card, and I was lost most of the time I was searching. It seems funny in hindsight, and I didn't have a bad time searching, but being prepared would have been better. 
   In summary: Do your research and have a plan ... before you leave home.
   
   
2. Download maps before you leave home
   Honestly, this is something I've only regretted not doing in the past. Next time I travel, I will definitely download maps that enable me to navigate my way from the airport to my Airbnb/Vrbo apartment and around "my" neighborhood.
   
   
3. Use a compass app
   There are lots of free compass apps available, and if you're at all like me (i.e. directionally challenged), this can be a life changer. I received this tip from a friendly couple in a c​afe in Rome and have found the advice very helpful!  (I use Just a Compass.)
   
   
4. ​​Bring (or buy) a bag for groceries
   ​​Apparently grocery stores in Europe don't always provide bags for customers. I purchased an inexpensive and very light "pocket" bag from Franprix in Paris and carry it in my purse most days while I'm traveling. It has the added benefit of making me look a bit more like a local when I use it. (Photos below)
   
   
5. ​Leverage YouTube
   Before you leave home, watch YouTube videos to simplify the unfamiliar processes you'll encounter. You can find videos that show you how to navigate various airports, purchase and install SIM cards, purchase train and metro tickets, and more. Once you've arrived, if you're like me and have more data on a SIM card than you'll be able to use, you may enjoy listening to YouTube videos explaining various points of interest as you experience them. Once in a while I have to ask others what I'm looking at, but once I know where I am, I can can pull up YouTube videos and learn a lot. (There are downloadable audio tours that work well too. Rick Steves offers some good ones and they're free.)
   ​
6. Make a shower plan and arrive prepared
   Is it just me, or can European showers present challenges for those of us from the US? I created a shower "kit" for my last trip to Paris and it worked like a charm. It's described in a separate post called Upgrading a Paris Apt Shower, and this is a practice I will definitely continue.
   
   
7. Use restaurant reviews and increase your meal budget - just a little
   Instead of popping into an obvious restaurant, use Google Reviews or Tripadvisor to find a recommended place that's off the beaten path. And be willing to increase your budget ... just a little. I've concluded that increasing my meal budget by just € 5, returns way more than € 5 worth of value. Of course this is a highly personal suggestion, but try spending just a bit more to see if it's worth it to you.
   
   
8. Don't bring expensive jewelry
   This tip isn't too unique, but seems like it's worth repeating. There are so many little things to keep track of when traveling, so I don't want to worry about jewelry - even my own wedding band. Instead, I wear a very inexpensive band. (I purchased 10 of them for $5.00.) If I lose it, it just doesn't matter. And that's one less thing to worry about while I'm on the go.
   
   

There are many more travel tips out there, so these are just a few that you don't see too often (if at all). If you have additional unique suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Thank you!

-- Kathy

A fair number of people ask, "How did you know you had enough savings to retire?" Here's our short answer:

During our entire careers, my husband and I both worked in the IT industry and often for the same company. That's a risk. And after he was laid off in 2001, things felt even riskier. That probably caused us to be better savers than we might have been otherwise. The possibility of being laid off felt like a constant threat from that point forward.

In late 2014, business conditions and things I was hearing at work made me feel especially vulnerable. I asked my husband, who manages our investments, if I'd need to get another job if I lost my current one. We were both pretty happy with the jobs we had, and at 52 and 53 we hadn't really been thinking about retirement.

He asked, "How much money do you think we need every month ... for the rest of our lives?" (He manages the investments, and I manage the cash flow.) I threw out a number that pretty much aligned with our current spending rate and then assurred him I was capable of spending more. (I knew I could spend less too, but that wasn't my preference.) 

Three months later he gave me an answer: "We could retire right now!" In hindsight, he figures he built the mother of all spreadsheets that pretty much replicated the tools you can find online. If you're asking yourself the same question, your time will probably be better spent finding a tool rather than building one yourself.

The answer to my question changed everything; suddenly we were truly working for fun. I lasted another two years and he lasted another three. We retired at 54 and 55; and so far, so good. We have found that a lot of the things we're enjoying most don't take a whole lot of money, but we think it's possible that may change over time. 

But as of right now, no regrets. In fact, we're having the time of of our lives.

-- Kathy

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When I was in my early 30s, I commented to a co-worker that my husband and I were planning to meet with a financial planner. The co-worker was a little younger than we were and said something like, "Just remember that you're smarter than the financial planner." My intelligence isn't something people comment about much, so the comment caught me off-guard. I went home and repeated it to my husband. 

Since then (25 years ago) I've met some pretty smart financial planners, but my co-worker's comment launched a string of events that resulted in my husband and I continuing to manage our own finances and investments. Nothing we do is terribly sophisticated, but nobody understands our goals better than we do, and nobody understands our finances and investment choices better than we do. And, at least so far, it seems to be working well for us.

-- Kathy

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When many of us retire, we're as qualified to add value as we've ever been. And suddenly we have enough time and "space" in our lives to think big in terms of helping others. Here's a story about how we ended up using our skills and experience to help others in an unexpected way. Hopefully this story will encourage you to jump in when you think they can help instead of just watching and waiting from the sidelines.

On a Saturday morning in January of 2018, my YouTube feed served up a video of brave women and girls speaking during the sentencing hearing for that disgraced gymnastics doctor. Their stories and courage were impossible to ignore. You may recall that the hearing took place in Michigan and that the doctor worked at Michigan State University (MSU). He'd also served as the doctor for the US Women's gymnastics team from 1978-2016. Having grown up in Michigan, the story hit close to home, and I followed it more closely than some.

The University's response to the crisis was confusing and filled with missteps. Having spent part of my career in marketing and communications positions, the university's actions were counterintuitive to everything I'd learned about crisis management. As the university stumbled, I waited for alumni and students to speak up, but nearly all I knew remained silent. It was frustrating and confusing; it seemed like somebody needed to support these survivors, but neither the school, nor its alumni and students seemed to know how to help. Out of sheer frustration, and in an attempt to be helpful, I created an outline for a "Crisis Management Plan" which I emailed to the Acting President of the University. (The previous President had resigned as a result of the situation.) Surprisingly, he responded to the message quickly by expressing thanks and informing me he'd pass the info along to the external firm they'd hired to help manage the crisis. I was surprised to get such a fast response, and that led me to believe that my ideas might be valuable.

Unfortunately the university's missteps continued, and people continued to remain silent ... for nearly a year. As new info emerged, things seemed to go from bad to worse. One positive thing did occur; in December of 2017 a "Healing Assistance Fund" was established by the University's Board of Trustees. The fund was created to cover counseling costs for the survivors and members of their families.

In February of 2018 an Interim university President was appointed; the former Governor of Michigan, John Engler. Unfortunately, in December of 2018 Interim President Engler announced that the remaining money in the Healing Assistance Fund ($8.5M) would be "redirected" to pay down university debt; another point of confusion, especially among the survivors. Initially I assumed that the survivors must have misunderstood the intent of the Fund, so dug into the situation to learn more. What I learned was troubling; it was clear that MSU had truly broken a promise to these survivors and their families.

Again, I assumed that MSU alumni would step up to help get the situation resolved, but with only a few exceptions they continued to remain silent. It seemed likely that MSU alumni and the residents of Michigan cared about the survivors and would want MSU to honor its commitment, so after discussing the situation with my husband and adult children, we hatched a plan to provide a simple way for people to express their concern by creating an online call for the university to honor their commitment. It was called MSU Honor. 

We wondered if the effort would go anywhere and feared that only a few friends would be willing to sign on. The website was created quickly and a Twitter account was established. From start to finish, the set-up took little less than a day. On a Sunday afternoon in mid-December of 2018, the website was ready and announced via Twitter. As I clicked "Tweet" for the first time, I jokingly said to my husband, "Get ready for the names to start pouring in." We laughed and prepared to rest. But about two minutes later a name arrived. Then two more. Then even more. By that evening there were over 300 supporters. We were literally unable to post the names as fast as they were coming in, so eventually we semi-automated the process for posting new names. 

For the next eight weeks, which included the Christmas and New Year holidays, posting names and processing related activities like press inquiries consumed us. Five of the eight University Trustees added their names, along with the current and a former Governor of Michigan, other leaders, MSU alumni and students, many survivors, and other residents of Michigan as well as the US. 

It would be nice to think that this effort forced the Board's decision to re-establish the Healing Fund when that happened in February of 2019, but maybe it's more likely that it simply provided a focal point and amplified voices during a confusing and frustrating time. Either way, I think the effort helped and our exeprience and time provided some value. 

Maybe retirement is just the beginning in terms of putting our experience to work.

-- Kathy

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