Summer Staycation

In Pre-Covid times many of us would be enjoying or planning a summer vacation. I had originally looked at this month and planned to write about summer vacations, saving for them and the importance of enjoying your money and your time. Just as summer plans have shifted, I thought I’d shift to talk about ways to enjoy the opportunities for entertainment and relaxation you can find around you.

This may be your summer to save money. Being forced to stay close to home opposed to taking the big vacation should cost less. You could use those extra funds to put towards another financial goal or take those funds and add to next year’s vacation fund for a bigger dream experience. Even if you did not have a vacation planned it is still summer and you want to take advantage of the weekends.

So what do you do? You have the time off, might be tired of being home after self isolating for months, but still want to maintain social distancing. Following are a list of places to consider exploring, maybe you’ll find a treasure close to home you have experienced before.  I am located in Western, NY so I am going to share some local experiences I have been encouraged to check out. Let me know what you find in your area! 

• State Parks - Last summer I wrote a blog “Summer In the Park” sharing information about the New York State Park system. This is still one of my favorite go to options for an easy, frugal day out surrounded by natural beauty. A quick tip to find a park near you is to use Google Maps. Zoom out and type in the search bar the type of park you’d like to find (local, county, state) and they will be marked for you. 

• Wineries - I am blessed to be in the Finger Lakes region and we have beautiful vineyards. You do not have to be a wine drinker to enjoy this, seeing the operation and following the trails to see the scenery is a fun outing. One excursion in our area is the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, mapping out a journey to follow. 

• Museums - There are going to be more restrictions on visiting indoor locations so I recommend calling ahead to see if you need to reserve a time to visit. In nice weather you can also visit outdoor museums and historical sites. Right down the road from our primary Corning office is the Corning Museum of Glass and The Rockwell Museum of Art. A little further away we really enjoy the Rochester Museum and Science Center. Outdoor sites - Again right in Corning is Heritage Village and a little further away one of my favorite destinations is the Genesee Country Village and Museum. 

• Hiking Trails - Free to explore and likely easier to avoid people! A quick google search should bring up local trail maps. Please be safe and take a hiking partner. The Finger Lakes Trail runs right through my town, there are over 1,000 miles of trails so there are many opportunities to find a small section to hike. 

Use this summer as an opportunity to explore life in a way that may be different for you. See what your area has to offer. With conditions and requirements changing regularly I do encourage you to call or visit the website of where you plan to go beforehand to be aware of any closures or requirements they may have.

This is a summer to reconnect with your local community, and remember Amy’s saying, “Life is about events, supported by your dollars and cents.”

Living the "Happy Money" Life

In this week's edition of Monday Morning Quarter-Buck, Financial Planner and CFP® Will Morrison discusses the journey to find happiness, the science of “happier spending,” and how he’s implementing it in his life. Perhaps he will give you ideas on how to implement it into your life?

By: Will Morrison, CFP

There are two things I try to accomplish each summer, my summer reading list and some memorable road trips.  Last year I went to a conference and there was an expert in happiness. The happiness expert had a fabulous presentation of all these different scenarios of things that cause happiness (and things that don’t).  The expert, Elizabeth Dunn, even wrote a book called Happy Money- The Science of Happier Spending. I found her so fascinating that I added her book to my already ambitious Summer 2019 Summer Reading list. Well, with one month or so to go until the kids are back in school (the unofficial end of summer) I have little chance of getting this book read. But I do have an epic road trip planned as a farewell to summer journey!

Some people hate driving, the thought of driving for 12 hours a day sounds pretty brutal. Now add three kids to the mix and some people might find this to be hell on Earth. For whatever reason this is my happy place.  I also find that road trips are a great place to teach kids lessons about money. 

Last year our first major stop on our trip out west was to Fort Mandan, North Dakota which is part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail.  When we got out of the minivan, the kids didn’t run for the log cabins to see the expedition’s living quarters, nor did they run to the giant statue of Lewis and Clark’s Newfoundland. Nope, they went right for the gift shop! “Dad, can I get this?” “Dad, I want one of these!” I really don’t know how it hit me, but at that point I thought to myself that I needed to find a way to keep them from asking to buy something at every gas station and tourist stop on our vacation. 

I’d read a few books in the past on parent’s being overbearing with how kid’s spend their money and I wanted to allow my kids to have free choice over how their money was spent.  I ended up giving each kid $20 each to spend on our 9-day vacation. They were allowed to spend it on whatever they wanted: A Lewis and Clark compass (good choice son!), a stuffed animal purchased at the Lewis and Clark visitor center that had nothing to do with Lewis and Clark (I kept my mouth shut and let middle child get it!), and an assortment of M&Ms, suckers, and soda pop (oh, my youngest…).  How did it turn out? Well by the time we got to Yellowstone 2 days later, my then 5 year-old daughter was out of money, my then 8 year-old son had $5 dollars left, and my then 4-year old candy junky had $13 left. 

At this point it sounds like an absolute failure of an idea, but it worked out pretty well. Having set the expectation that they only had that set amount of money, once the money was gone they didn’t pester me to buy things they didn’t have enough money to buy.  They actually browsed around the Yellowstone gift shop without any expectation of getting something! And one of the most amazing things to me? That dumb random stuffed animal that my daughter bought at Fort Mandan is one of her favorite stuffed animals that she sleeps with every night. 

Stay tuned for this years adventure - we’ll be taking our 2019 family road trip out west at the beginning of August, wish me luck!