Tag Archives: Travel

Six Rules for Traveling in Retirement

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We have found that travel can be satisfying without being exhausting. But it has helped to follow these guidelines.

By Robbie Shell
Wall Street Journal, Aug. 20, 2024

Six guidelines that have made our travel a lot more fulfilling—and a lot less exhausting.

1. Travel offseason
Everyone knows that peak seasons aren’t ideal for traveling. But retirees have more of a commodity that working people lack—time for offseason trips. After all, you have flexibility for perhaps the first time in your life. Take advantage of it.

2. Choose ‘secondary destinations’
As retirees, we have found it easier to adopt a slower, more relaxed pace by focusing on destinations that aren’t always on the usual tourist grid.

3. Don’t be shy with strangers
One of the joys of traveling in retirement is unstructured time to enjoy casual, spontaneous conversations with people we happen to meet. Indeed, I find that impromptu connections with guides, drivers and even guards are often as memorable as the settings in which they occur.

4. Focus on just a few things
This might seem an obvious strategy for seasoned travelers, but it’s easy to slip, especially when enthusiasm for the day ahead is high after (in our case a substantial) breakfast. More can definitely be less when you’re traveling.

5. Stay at least three nights in each location
Packing and unpacking is a waste of energy. Cruises have the problem solved, but one way to approximate their advantage is to spend more nights in fewer places. By the second night, a hotel room or Airbnb is a moved-in place to rest. By the third night, it can become a familiar home-away-from-home.

6. Be prepared to improvise
When you travel in a la carte style, you are free to change the plans you made the day before for no particular reason. Maybe it’s the weather. Or perhaps you have a feeling that yesterday’s pace was too challenging or not challenging enough. Start the day whenever you want, and be open to impulsive detours to areas that aren’t on tourist bureau maps.

The travel experiences are a la carte approach which beats the prix fixe one. You are free to make tour own choices and find your own adventures as you look forward to where the next day will take you.

End Your Vacation on a High Note

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The adage to “save the best for last” appears to be the best strategy to craft a pleasant travel or vacation memories,

The outsize role certain final vacation experiences have on memories can be chalked up to a psychological principle called “recency effect”.

“The recency effect helps to explain our tendency to remember the ending portion of an event or sequence of events with far more clarity than the rest,” said Dr. Mary Poffenroth, biopsychologist and author of “Brave New You: Strategies, Tools, and Neurohacks to Live More Courageously Every Day.” She says the bias stems from our short-term memory’s inability to hold on to more than a small amount of information at once.

“Nobody wants to end on a downer—or even worse, let the trip peter out before it’s actually over. You want that travel orgasm at the end,” crime novelist and screenwriter Lee Goldberg said.

Traveling is like telling yourself a story. “There’s a beginning, middle and an end,” he said. “You know what you’re going in for, you have an idea of what to expect, and there are twists along the way. But ultimately you want the big payoff, the big finale.”

To avoid disproportionately spotlighting the final days, whether they’re good or bad, experts recommend creating a ritual to amplify earlier days in the vacation with reminders of those days: a live show ticket, a seashell, a cardboard drink coaster with a pub’s logo on it.

Source:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/WP-WSJ-0001994621

Southwest Airline’s Operational Meltdown During the Holidays

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“We are past the point where they [Southwest Airline] could say that this is a weather-driven issue. What this indicates is a system failure, and they need to make sure that these stranded passengers get to where they need to go and that they are provided adequate compensation.”  ~ U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Southwest Airlines has cancelled thousands of commercial flights during the Christmas holiday period after a severe winter storm created an operational crisis that left passengers stranded during the Christmas holiday travel season, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

While all U.S. airlines experienced flight cancellations en masse due to extreme winter weather, most other airlines were able to resume normal flight operations after the conditions cleared up ― while Southwest’s cancellation rate got worse, all during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year when people fly around the country to be with family for the winter holidays.

The Texas-based airline’s troubles appear to be tied to its uncommon operational configuration, The New York Times reported.

While most airlines have their planes return to a “hub” airport after flying out to other cities, Southwest typically has its planes fly from city to city without returning to a hub ― making it difficult to strategize and arrange plane availability after weather causes mass delays.

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan commented that his company is in the process of regrouping and he hopes operations will resume normally before the week’s end.

“Our plan for the next few days is to fly a reduced schedule and reposition our people and planes,” Jordan said. “We’re making headway, and we’re optimistic to be back on track before next week.”
But that does little for stranded Southwest passengers who’ve had to drop large amounts of money booking new flights with other airlines and paying for lodging while they wait for Southwest to rebook them.

On Southwest’s website, the company posted the following “under” statement:

“We are currently experiencing operational disruptions and are working diligently and safely to restore normal flight schedules as quickly as possible.”

According to aviation experts, the Southwest Airlines meltdown has its root in outdated technology that analysts and its unions have warned about for years. The carrier’s operations created chaos at airports across the nation. And the ripple effects for travelers could last for some time.

References:

  1. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/buttigieg-southwest-airlines_n_63ac8dc3e4b0b2e1505d973a/amp
  2. https://www.southwest.com/traveldisruption/?clk=TA-IRREGULAR-OPERATIONS-MWEB&channel=mweb&pageId=home-mobile-index&datachannel=mobile

Baha Mar Resort, Nassau, The Bahamas

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Baha Mar resort, Nassau, The Bahamas is the newest family vacation destination in the Caribbean.

This blog post on travel and experiences deviates from typical posts that appear on this site. Typically, past blog posts have covered pertinent topics dealing with building wealth, healthy aging, well-being and finding life’s purpose.

However, this blog post provides details of a recent March 2022, five night, six day trip and experiences of vacationing at the SLS Baha Mar Resort located in Nassau, New Providience, The Bahamas.

Baha Mar is an integrated resort, casino, and residential development perched on Nassau’s storied Cable Beach. The destination features three renowned hotel brands and a variety of luxurious amenities including the largest casino in The Bahamas, a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, a convention center, and a diverse collection of dining, nightlife, and retail outlets.

Travel and Experiences

New Providence, The Bahamas, is a 35 to 55-minute flight from most of Florida to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport. Baha Mar resort is approximately a 10-minute drive from the airport. Lynden Pindling International Airport offers U.S. Customs and Immigration pre-clearance in Nassau upon your return to the U.S.

Traveling to The Bahamas during COVID-19 pandemic requires a little advance planning. U.S. citizens traveling to The Bahamas are required to be vaccinated and to have a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test within three days of arrival. Additionally, The Bahamas Travel Health Visa (BTHV) ($40 cost) is required by international travelers over the age of 2 in order to enter the island country.

According to available government literature regarding travel to The Bahamas during COVID-19, individuals are required to wear a mask while indoors on the island. Although that is the stated policy of the island, what I observed was significantly different. Instead of people donning masks while indoors, I would estimate that less than one percent of the hotel guests actually wore masks indoor. In contrast, every Baha Mar associate worn their masks continuously, even outdoors.

Additionally, the Baha Mar Resorts purports to operate their hotels during COVID-19 pandemic far less than their maximum occupancy for guest comfort and safety. However, the resort was at 99% occupancy during our stay. Thus, they’re effectively operating the resort occupancy-wise as if the pandemic is no longer a concern. However, they are still going through the motions of disinfecting high touch surfaces.

Baha Mar Resort

Baha Mar Resort is located on Cable Beach, which occupies the northwest part of New Providence Island. Within the massive resort, there are three hotel brands that share the property — The Grand Hyatt, SLS Baha Mar, and Rosewood. Many resort rooms provide spectacular views of Cable Beach from balconies and permit access to the experiences of Baha Mar, such as Baha Bay water park and the white sand of Cable Beach.

We stayed at the considerably upscale SLS Baha Mar, which is advertised as “a new era of stylish, playfully sophisticated, luxe, high-design accommodations”. The hotel offers “sleek, well appointed rooms”. Also located on the property are Baha Bay water park and the casino.

During your stay at Baha Mar, you learn quickly about the burdensome Resort’s service charge of 15% and The Bahamas’ value added tax (VAT) of 10%. Added together, the combined resort’s service charge plus VAT adds 25% of additional charges to every already premium priced purchase. For example, a $16 glass of red wine would lighten your wallet an additional $4 for a total of $20 after adding the service charge and VAT. A simple Resort cheese burger starts at $26 which inflates to $32.50 after service charge and VAT are included.

Overall, the Baha Mar Resort has a plethora of amenities and activities to keep even the most acquiring guest interested. Starting with Baha Bay water park, there are death defying water slides named the “Devil’s Backbone”, which the floor drop out from under you before blasting through looping and twisting tunnels, and “Thunderball”, which is a freefall, straight-down slide that delivers an unforgettable experience. Both of these slides invoked fear into a few guests, who chose to walk back down the several flights of stairs instead of taking the faster water slide route down to ground level. Also, the water park contained The River, a typical lazy river with several interesting enhancements such as rapids and high waves. There are bail out points along The River before the rapids and several tubers did choose to abandon their tubes before making the turn to enter the rapids.

Other water activities include kayaking, paddle board and snorkeling the man made reefs a short swimming distance from the Baha Mar white sand beaches.

Dining

Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House is a celebration of Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s food and beverage creations. At the restaurant, the 8 ounce ground beef brisket and beef short rib sandwich, and Chef Yes cocktail were a favorite. Additionally, T2 Cigar Bar was a great place to relax and watch the fire fountain display during evening hours.

Resort guests are advised to make dinner reservations one week to ten days early at the most popular Baha Mar Resort restaurants like Shuang Ba haute Chinese and Fi’lia Italian restaurants. If you wait until after arrive on the Baha Mar property, it may be too late to attain dinner reservations.

Off the resort, Twin Brothers restaurant located at Fish Fry is recommended for those interested in trying local dishes prepared by local chefs. One appetizer that stands out is the Tropical Conch Salad. The salad is served in a large plastic container and it was by far one of the best dishes on the island. But, avoid the mac and cheese at Twin Brothers.

A local off-the-beaten path restaurant that is worth a visit is Sea Shell. The restaurant serves local Bahamian dishes prepared and served cafeteria style. It is well known and frequented by locals and taxi cab drivers, but it is located in an area of town few tourist would likely venture. Nevertheless, the Habanero Chicken Wings with sides of mac and cheese, and plantains, were truly memorable and well worth the short cab ride from the resort.

Casino

The Baha Mar Casino is the largest casino in the Caribbean. It was designed to remove money from every level of gambler, from casual players to high-stakes rollers, according to its literature. The casino offer several different types of gaming tables, a plethora of slot machines, live sports betting, and one of the Nassau’s top dining and nightlife scene.

For resort guest, the casino offers a $25 free play card for the slot machines. The cards must be used by guests within twenty-four hours of activation or the cards will expire.

References:

  1. https://www.onlinevisa.com/bahamas-visa/
  2. https://bahabay.bahamar.com/
  3. https://d3py87e0zuixsk.cloudfront.net/production/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/09122331/BHM_FACTBOOK_20211025_CB.pdf

Financial Freedom

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“It’s the ability to live and maintain the lifestyle which you desire without having to work or rely on anyone for money.” T Harv Eker

Financial Peace guru Dave Ramsey proclaims that “Financial freedom means that you get to make life decisions without being overly stressed about the financial impact because you are prepared. You control your finances instead of being controlled by them.”

It’s about having complete control over your finances which is the fruit of hard work, sacrifice and time. And, as a result, all of that effort and planning was well worth it!

Nevertheless, reaching financial freedom may be challenging but not impossible. It also may seem complicated, but in just a straightforward calculation, you can easily estimate of how much money you’ll need to be financially free.

What is financial freedom? Financial freedom is the ability to live the remainder of your life without outside help, working if you choose, but doing so only if you desire. It’s the ability to have the things you want and need, despite any occurrence other than the most catastrophic of outside circumstance.

To calculate your Financial Freedom Number, the total amount of money required to give you a sufficient income to cover your living expenses for the rest of your life

Step 1: Calculate Your Spending

Know how much you are spending each year. If you’ve done a financial analysis (net worth and cash flow), created a budget, and monitored your cash flow, then you’re ahead.

Take your monthly budget and multiply that amount by 12. Make sure you include periodic expenses such as annual premiums and dues or quarterly bills. Also include continued monthly contributions into accounts like your emergency fund, vacation clubs, car maintenance, etc.

Add all these together to get your Yearly Spending Total.

Keep in mind the lower the spending total, the lower the amount of money you’ll need to become financially independent. Learn how to lower your monthly household expenses and determine the difference between needs and wants.

Step 2: Choose Your Safe Withdrawal Rate

The safe withdrawal rate (also referred to as SWR) is a conservative method that retirees use to determine how much money can be withdrawn from accounts each year without running out of money for the rest of their lives.

The safe withdrawal rate method instructs financially independent people to take out a small percentage between 3-4% of their investment portfolios to mitigate worst-case scenarios. This withdrawal percentage is from the Trinity Study.

The Trinity Study found the 4% rule applies through all market ups and downs. By making sure you do not withdraw more than 4% of your initial investments each year, your assets should last for the rest of your life.

Step 3: Calculate Your Financial Independence (FI) Number

Your FI number is your Yearly Spending Total divided by your Safe Withdrawal Rate.

To find the amount of money you’ll need to be financially independent, take your Yearly Spending Total and divide it by your SWR.

For example:

  • Yearly Spending: $40,000
  • Safe Withdrawal Rate: 4%

Financial Independence Number = Yearly Spending / SWR

  • $40,000 / 0.04 = $1,000,000

Who becomes financially free? According to most financial advisors, compulsive savers and discipline investors tend to become financially free since:

  • They live on and spend less they earn.
  • They organize their time, energy and money efficiently in ways conducive to building wealth.
  • They have a strong belief that gaining financial freedom and independence is far more important than displaying high social status and financial symbols.
  • Their parents did not keep on helping them financially.
  • They have a keen insight to recognize financial and wealth building opportunities.

Net worth is the most important number in personal finance and represents your financial scorecard. Your net worth includes your investments, but it also includes other assets that might not generate income for you. Net Worth can be defined to mean:

  • Income (earned or passive)
  • Savings
  • Investing to grow and to put your money to work for you)
  • Simple and more frugal lifestyle

Financial freedom means different things to different people, and different people need vastly different amounts of wealth to feel financially free.

Maybe financial freedom means being debt-free, or having more time to spend with your family, or being able to quit corporate America, or having $5,000 a month in passive income, or making enough money to work from your laptop anywhere in the world, or having enough money so you never have to work another day in your life.

Ultimately, the amount you need comes down to the life you want to live, where you want to live it, what you value, and what brings you joy. Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness caused by something exceptionally good, satisfying, or delightful—aka “The Good Life.”

It is worth clearly articulating what the different levels of financial freedom mean. Grant Sabatier’s book, Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You’ll Ever Need, the levels of financial freedom are:

Seven Levels of Financial Freedom

  1. Clarity, when you figure out where you are financially (net worth and cash flow) and where you want to go
  2. Self-sufficiency, when you earn enough money to cover your expenses
  3. Breathing room, when you escape living paycheck to paycheck
  4. Stability, when you have six months of living expenses saved and bad debt, like credit card debt, repaid
  5. Flexibility, when you have at least two years of living expenses invested
  6. Financial independence, when you can live off the income generated by your investments and work becomes optional
  7. Abundant wealth, when you have more money than you’ll ever need

The difference between income and wealth: Wealth is accumulated assets, cash, stocks, bonds, real estate investments, and they have passive income. Simply, they don’t have to work if they don’t want to.

Accumulating wealth and becoming wealthy requires knowing what you want, discipline, taking responsibility and have a plan.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have great incomes, but you wouldn’t call them wealthy because of debt and lack of accumulated assets, instead:

  • They owe for their homes
  • They owe for their cars and boats.
  • They have little savings and investments
  • They have few “paid for” assets
  • They have negative net worth

Essentially, if you make a great income and spend it all, you will not become wealthy. Often, high income earners’ true net worth is far less than they think it is.

Here are several factors and steps to improve your financial life:

  • Establishing financial goals
  • Paying yourself first and automate the process
  • Creating and sticking to a budget. Know where you money goes.
  • Paying down and/or eliminating credit card and other bad debt. Debt which is taking from your future to pay for your past.
  • Saving for the future and investing for the long term consistently
  • Investing the maximum in your employer’s 401(k)
  • Living on and spending less than you earn
  • Simplify – separating your needs from your wants. You don’t need to keep buying stuff.

Financial freedom can look something like this:

  • Freedom to choose a career you love without worrying about money
  • Freedom to take a luxury vacation every year without it straining your budget
  • Freedom to pay cash for a new boat
  • Freedom to respond to the needs of others with outrageous generosity
  • Freedom to retire a whole decade early

When you have financial freedom, you have options.

“Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have. What you are will show in what you do.” Thomas Edison

References:

  1. https://www.phroogal.com/calculate-financial-independence-number/
  2. https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/what-is-financial-freedom
  3. https://thefinanciallyindependentmillennial.com/steps-to-financial-freedom/

People fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can travel safely within the US

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Health officials say travel risk is low for those fully vaccinated

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that people who are fully vaccinated can travel within the US with a low risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

The new guidance recommends that travelers continue to wear masks and socially distance, and advises that fully vaccinated travelers entering the US from overseas continue to test for infection.

The shift comes as new studies have shown that Covid-19 vaccines have been effective in real-world conditions at reducing the risk of infections with or without symptoms.

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CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that fully vaccinated people don’t need to get a COVID-19 test before or after domestic travel—and don’t need to self-quarantine following travel. Travelers who have been fully vaccinated also don’t need to get tested prior to international flights unless that is required by the destination, and they don’t need to self-quarantine when they return to the U.S.

References:

  1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-says-travel-is-low-risk-for-fully-vaccinated-people-11617376809?mod=e2tw

Stopping the Exponential Rise in Cases

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“Cases are rising. Hospitalizations are increasing, Deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase,” says Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 Incident Manager.

As COVID-19 cases continue to soar, it took the U.S. more than eight-and-a-half months to reach 8 million cases but less than two months to double that number.

As a result, hospitals across the U.S. are facing dire shortages of beds for critically ill coronavirus patients as the post-Thanksgiving holiday surge shows no sign of relenting, new data shows from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

About 1 in 8 U.S. hospitals had little or no intensive care unit space available last week the data showed. And for the sixth consecutive day, the US reported a record high number of COVOD-19 patients in US hospitals: more than 108,000 nationwide, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Public health experts say the number of hospitals struggling with intensive care unit capacity to accommodate the nation’s sickest patients likely will increase following another week of record COVID-19 cases.

As cases continue to soar, it took the U.S. more than eight-and-a-half months to reach 8 million cases but less than two months to double that number.

CDC and many states advise not to travel

As Americans contemplate whether to proceed with their holiday season or New Year’s travel plans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging citizens not to travel or to get tested before or is urging Americans who go against its advice to get tested for COVID-19 twice in a bid to make travel safer.

The agency says travelers should get a COVID-19 test one to three days before travel and three to five days after travel, regardless of their destination.

Additionally, some states are reimposing stay-at-home orders for their residents and travel restrictions ahead of the winter holidays.

While other states, such as Hawaii for example, require inbound travelers to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival or require those without results before their arrival to quarantine for 14 days.

What to do

This is one time Americans should heed CDC urging to not to travel and stay home as the best way to protect yourself and others this year; or to get tested for COVID-19 twice in a bid to make travel safer.

References:

  1. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/travel/news/2020/12/11/holiday-travel-check-covid-19-travel-restrictions-by-state/3878341001/?
  2. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/12/12/coronavirus-florida-what-you-need-know-saturday-dec-12/6511426002/?
  3. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/travel/airline-news/2020/12/09/covid-travel-test-things-to-know-coronavirus-testing-pcr-antigen/3800400001/?

Dr. Fauci Advises Staying Home for the Holidays

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Traveling and congregating together is unsafe this holiday season according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

It’s clear that “even modest size gatherings of family and friends in a home” are contributing to spread, Fauci said. “We’re starting to see infections that are emerging from what otherwise seemed like benign settings, namely a typical gathering of 10 or so people in a social setting,” he said.

But in addition to the number of guests, it’s important to consider where people are traveling from, and the infection rates in their areas, Fauci said. Travel increases your chances of spreading or getting Covid, according to the CDC.

Expected COVID-19 infection spikes due to Christmas and Hanukkah will likely be more severe than the levels experienced following Thanksgiving, because people are typically together for longer, often indoors and sharing food and drinks, Fauci said.

Fauci has warned that the U.S. could see a “surge upon a surge” of Covid-19 cases following Thanksgiving and heading into Christmas. The month of December could be a time of “precarious risk” as people begin shopping for Christmas gifts in stores and host parties for New Year’s Eve, he said.

Staying home during the holidays, wearing a mask whenever you’re around people from outside your household and maintaining proper hand hygiene are the best ways to protect yourself and reduce the community spread of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

References:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/09/dr-fauci-skipping-christmas-gathering-with-family-amid-covid-pandemic.html?__source=twitter%7Cmakeit+
  2. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/08/us-hasnt-seen-full-covid-brunt-from-thanksgiving-fauci-warns-.html

CDC Recommends Avoiding Traveling over Thanksgiving

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “strongly” recommends that Americans avoid traveling to see family members and friends over Thanksgiving. With the spread of the disease exploding in the U.S. and with several dozen states shattering records for daily new confirmed cases in the past week alone, the virus appears to be exponentially spreading across the country with records for new cases per capita being set in midwestern states.

“As we’re seeing exponential growth in cases, and the opportunity to translocate disease, or infection from one part of the country to another leads to our recommendation to, to avoid travel at this time,” said Dr. Henry Walke, CDC’s Covid-19 incident manager commented.

As of Wednesday, 11/18/2029, more than 250,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. And, roughly 1 million new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the U.S. in the past week.

Risk comes not just from the mode of travel, but from transportation hubs that can make physical distancing more difficult.

Holidays typically attract large gatherings, which tend to be associated with higher COVID-19 transmission levels. As a result, you want fewer people gathering than usual, and it’s even better if they’re people already in your “bubble.”

Risk factors to consider before attending a gathering include community spread of COVID-19, both where the gathering is held and attendees are coming from; exposure during travel; the location and duration of the gathering; the number of attendees and capacity for physical distancing; and attendees’ preventive behaviors before and during the gathering, according to broader CDC advice on how to navigate holiday celebrations and gatherings.

The risk level also depends on attendees’ social contacts and exposures over the preceding couple of weeks, M. Kit Delgado, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania explained. Sitting out this year’s big family gathering can help keep everyone safe — especially vulnerable family members — and avoid overburdening hospitals during flu season.

“Unfortunately, the merriment we crave — eating, drinking and singing together in a cozy room — are among the highest-risk scenarios for transmitting COVID-19,” Delgado said.

The dire COVID-19 infection numbers already had people reconsidering their Thanksgiving plans. AAA estimated that fewer Americans will travel for the holiday than last year — though this year’s number still hovers around 50 million people.

References:

  1. https://on.mktw.net/3pGIPEF
  2. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/11/19/936715870/dont-travel-for-thanksgiving-cdc-warns