If you’re ever planning to live in a foreign country – either on a temporary basis or as a full-time resident – there will be many things to learn and deal with. As US citizens, we are so blessed with many environmental, technological, and socio-economical advantages that populations the world over cannot even imagine. So […]
Seriously, retirement may not be in your best interest. And not everyone who retires loves the idea of not having to go to work, so why not take steps to a happy retirement. However, because right now you’re in the middle of a dreadful week . . . and the stress and long hours have […]
“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” – Alan Keightley Like many people, my husband and I looked forward to retirement. But the more we thought about it over the years, it was beginning to seem like more […]
It’s fun to enjoy extended periods of travel, distant countries, sightseeing historical places, and eating in Irish pubs, French cafés, and Italian pasticcerias. The benefits of culture, history, determination, and foreign language are immeasurable. But once you’ve made the decision to go, how do you prepare for extended periods of travel? A standard suggestion for […]
When we left the lush rain forest and geothermal area of Arenal to explore Costa Rica’s iconic Pacific coastline, we drove two-and-a-half hours to Liberia, the second largest city in the country and the hub for the northwestern coast. When we reached Liberia, we exited the freeway and headed south towards the Pacific beach towns. […]
Ah, Belize, . . . summertime and the livin’ is easy . . . . err, that is, if you’re a teacher who has summers off. Next week, my husband and I will be jetting off to a Caribbean island known as the world’s second largest Great Barrier Reef – Ambergris Caye (pronounced “key”), Belize. […]
Have you ever just wanted to get away and do something out of the ordinary? Save money and free up your lifestyle? That’s what has been hitting us lately. We have been looking for ways to minimize, simplify, and have more fun — without having to worry about the house, our jobs, or anything else […]
Just the other day, I read an interesting article on the Business Insider, an online publication, about saving for children’s or grandchildren’s college education through College Savings Plans. It provided insight and information about the different aspects of 529 state-sponsored plans and why they are so popular. When I first started to read the article, […]
Wealth If you read my article on Goal Setting for 2014, you probably noticed that they are very broad. For example, my “Health” goal includes basic such as healthy eating, getting some sort of physical exercise into the daily routine, and being involved in a hobby or activity you love. What it does NOT mean […]
Goals-setting for 2014, a common practice this time of year. Most of us reflect on what we have accomplished the previous year and determine what we would accomplish in the next. Although many people go through the process of setting goals and then forget or completely dismiss them, sometimes the process is very helpful and productive. […]
In part one of this article, I wrote that many of us are not prepared for financial emergencies. According to Bankrate.com, “28 percent of Americans say they have no rainy-day fund” and 49% “don’t have enough emergency savings to cover three months’ worth of expenses.” In other words, even with the uncertainty in today’s murky financial […]
Most of us are familiar with the idea of saving money, it can be in a traditional savings or money market account for emergencies. This type of account can be used for unexpected expenses, or for expenses that cost more than we anticipated. Although it’s known for adding safety to our financial wellbeing, it’s an […]
When writtenFYI was first started, we had very little experience with anything having to do with blogging. However, we had a full life to share and the desire to inspire healthy eating and world travel in others. The idea was to maintain a schedule for writing projects that we had talked about and never completed. […]
Recently, I’ve had the privilege of guest posting on one of my favorite personal finance blogs, Budgetinginthefunstuff.com. I wrote about short term and long term savings and how my husband and I have used whole life insurance policies to fund some of our purchases over the years. Although whole life insurance isn’t usually considered a […]
The business of blogging is offering a positive impact on the personal finance model for many today. When one researches the term ‘personal finance’ on the internet, it comes up 727,000,000 times in .24 seconds! That’s not to say that all of these articles have the same information or even the same opinions – because they do not. Some […]
Would you like to get away, but don’t know how you can afford it? Is it one of those ideas that is planned haphazardly because of insufficient funds or a complete lack of funds? A family vacation is a great bonding time, and it is a time that will be cherished and remembered as some […]
Recently a friend of mine wrote that she’s concerned about her finances. Since we’d never really discussed the subject of her finances in any detail in the past, I wasn’t really aware of how the situation had become a very stressful situation for her. In her note, she had written that one of her biggest […]
Have you noticed, or is it just me, how many servers at restaurants are senior citizens? How about baggers at the local grocery store? Does it seem that more and more people of retirement age are working in the service industry than there used to be? It could just be my perception, but it appears […]
The economic environment seems to be undergoing significant changes, and the baby boomers are on the front lines. For that segment of the population, the outlook is increasingly challenging because there is less time to prepare for whatever’s coming. It is a certainty that we will all need to know how to navigate the road […]
For those who are 65 and older or disabled and on Medicare your favorite time of year is fast approaching. Your AEP or Annual Election Period is just around the corner. This is the 54 day windowknown as the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period in which Medicare recipients can make changes to their Medicare Advantage Plan […]