Since Mr. PiN and I married, I have put away money every year for travel. It’s been the same amount every year–no increase for inflation–and I think we have only met or exceeded that number twice.
Continue reading “Letting Loose On Vacation Spending?”Category: Travel
Fitness Log #312, Friday Firsts And Fabulousness
I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for 5 years, and plan to continue doing so.
Since the pandemic started, I have been keeping track of “firsts,” and more lately, I have been trying to note good things (“fabulousness”). It’s a good way to pay attention and not let life slide by.
Continue reading “Fitness Log #312, Friday Firsts And Fabulousness”What I Took Away From WCICON 24
I have just returned from WCICON24 (The White Coat Investor Physician Wellness and Financial Literacy Conference) in Orlando.
I have been wanting to go to this conference since the first one was announced in 2018, and was super-excited to finally go this year. It didn’t hurt that I was worn out and looking forward to some time away from all the craziness at home.
I tried writing down a pearl from each lecture. It wasn’t always the point of the talk, and towards the end of the meeting, I skipped a few. I thought I might share them with you.
I added a few other thoughts about the meeting as well.
Continue reading “What I Took Away From WCICON 24”Hotels.com Has Become One Key
In the past month, I have been seeing a number of e-mails in my inbox about One Key. Apparently, this is a new rewards program that is lumping the rewards for Hotels.com, Expedia, and VRBO all together.
As a moderately enthusiastic user of Hotels.com for over a decade, I thought it might be a good idea to see what all of these changes mean for an occasional traveler.
Continue reading “Hotels.com Has Become One Key”I’m Off
–to a much-anticipated vacation by the sea.
A Look Back At 2022
Happy New Year!
Before I start thinking about hopes and plans for 2023, I do want to reflect a bit on the year that has just ended. It ended with tough times, but I don’t want that to be the only thing I remember about the year.
The Flip Side Of Money And Medicine
I think about money and medicine a lot, and write about them often here. My writing usually focuses on the practice of medicine and saving money.
This post is a little different.
The past week or so has been spent away from home, watching other people practice medicine on my Dad, while I spend money like water.
While I deal with all the challenges this week has presented, I have had the opportunity to reflect on how my pursuit of FI (financial independence) has helped–or not–during this time.
Continue reading “The Flip Side Of Money And Medicine”Thoughts On My First Trip Abroad Since The Pandemic
It’s been a long few years.
Mr. PiN and I love to travel. Even after discovering FIRE (or, at least, the concept of cutting costs and saving more, to be able to leave paid work early), we traveled.
However, our last trip abroad was in 2018. We were getting close to paying off the mortgage, and we agreed to cut back on travel for a year to finish the job. 2020 was to be the year that we started traveling again; we all know how that turned out.
We have recently returned from our first trip out of the country since the pandemic started, and I thought I would share a few reflections.
Continue reading “Thoughts On My First Trip Abroad Since The Pandemic”Lessons From A Somewhat Sucky Staycation
I just took another staycation.
Mr. PiN and I went back and forth several times about staying home versus trying to get away; our desire to travel was up against an unreliable car and unreliable planes. We finally decided to stay put once I scheduled several medical appointments. I elected to call it a self-care staycation.
To be honest, it hasn’t been the best vacation I ever took. Since I am likely to be taking more staycations in the future, I thought I had better take away some lessons (again), and remember to use them next time I decide to stay home.
I hope that these may be useful to you as well.
Continue reading “Lessons From A Somewhat Sucky Staycation”Comparing Shoulder Season and High Season Travel
As you may recall, last summer Mr. PiN and I went to Maine (aka Vacationland) for the first time last year. We had a blast.
Since COVID is still affecting travel this year, we decided to go back, and see if it was just as nice as the first time.
The short answer: yes.
The other answer: it wasn’t quite the same.
The biggest differences related to visiting in the shoulder season, rather than high season.
For our international travels (back before COVID), we loved traveling in shoulder season. We were unconstrained by the school holiday calendar, and could find cheaper flights to destinations that had great weather and fewer crowds.
This year we found that shoulder season in Maine had some of the same advantages, and a few more drawbacks. I thought I would go through some of them.
Continue reading “Comparing Shoulder Season and High Season Travel”