My mom's chequebook

Recently I was visiting my mom who is approaching 80 years old. I arranged money to be transferred into her bank account so she could pay off a high interest debt she had for a hot water heater. Nothing out of the ordinary except when she wrote the cheque the very next thing she did was log the cheque into her log. My thought was....

Why?

$2,000 was added to the account and $2000 cheque was written on the account and as a result there was no actual change in the value of her account. Logging the amount entered and then logging the cheque taken out was a total waste of time...in my opinion...but for her is was an important accounting step for her bank accounts.

because she budgets differently than I do and her method of accounting helps her keep everything straight in her mind. She likes the routine of things in, things out, and tracking every step.

Of course we live in a day and age where I would guess that many people on HIVE have never seen or even heard of a chequebook. I think a more appropriate analogy would be: Do you use a Calendar app? Do you log all your appointments and schedule into an app or just take the day as it comes?

Personally I don't schedule much. Today is garbage day and I only now that because I see other people having their garbage out on the curb. My next shift working is Saturday and I'll remember because it sucks to work on Saturday. Tomorrow I'll visit with old friends for sushi at noon.. an event we just kind of put together yesterday. I'll remember because its important to me.

As for my wife? She has a paper calendar. Everything goes into the calendar. There are notes and scribbles all over it. Everything is planned and events are all over the place. Different people, different way of doing things.

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Keeping the goal in sight

While I may not have a budget and I may not have an itinerary I absolutely have a goal. The goal helps everything else come into place.

For finances?

My goal has always been to have a "small nut" (low monthly expenses) with steady income from investments. Did I have a set plan on how to get there? Not really. However, when I look at every purchase and every financial decision it is always based on : Does it align with my goal?.

Do I jump at new cellphones, new cars, or luxury items? Nope. I loathe monthly expenses because they increase my regular expenses which is something I really don't want. Do I spend money on items that depreciate (cars, phones, etc) again nope because I'm looking for investments that pay me and go up in value long term.

• Why do I have an ugly electric vehicle? It's cheaper over the long run
• Why do I cook from basic ingredients? It's cheaper over the long term
• Why did I enjoy a 2 month stay in Indonesia? It is cheaper than living at home for two months

Do I pay close attention to how much money is in my bank account? Do I budget? Nope. I have a good idea how much is there and I know that every expense is either necessary...or a want that I've considered for weeks, months or even years so I know that purchasing it is not a rash or financially harmful decision.

For my life?

My goal has always been a quiet life spending time with family and staying fit mentally, physically and spiritually. I suppose being responsible with those things which I'm entrusted with also is part of my life goal.

Looking at my day from that perspective? Work has never been the priority, family has. Unfortunately I needed to work to afford to care for my family. However, I never wanted to work any more than I had to to ensure that my family was cared for. Spending time walking with the dog, or my son, or chatting when they have questions has always been a priority. In that regard I approach my day having a loose idea of what needs to be done and then slowly do the most important things and continue down to the least important things.

Talking with my family? Typically most important. If chatting with my son means I don't make a Hive Learner post yesterday? That's just what happens. What will I do today? Walk the dog .. because its a priority. Read my bible. Do stretches and balance exercises. Clean the house, Prep some food. Those are my priorities. I'll do each one in time as to what is most pressing

.... but some things I have to plan

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Some things can't be done last minute

One of the things about spending time with family is to go on vacations. Getting away with family is a way to make sure there are no distractions from work, obligations, and general hometown activities. Vacation memories are a priority because my goal is to spend time with family.

Unfortunately last minute travel is EXPENSIVE. Big expenses are in opposition to my desire to living frugally so I can invest in monthly income. Result: Sometimes I have to plan in advance. However, that doesn't mean I have to be rigid in it.

Here is a real example. My wife needs to declare her vacation time a year in advance. I told her simply: Choose May and October. Why? Travel tends to be cheaper in May and October while most places have good weather in those months. Unfortunately her work had other ideas so she got May and November but we can still make that work. As long as I avoid peak travel months like late June, July, August, early September, Christmas, New Years, Spring Break, etc there are deals to be had for cheap travel.

When do I actually know where I'm going? Not until much later. I knew that I would travel in May but no idea where until recently.

Booking 30-90 days in advance usually gives the lowest price. Booking further out and there aren't usually seat sales and booking last minutes the airlines will gouge on price. So I asked my wife...what are you looking for? She said "history and something different".

Well, I was just in Asia. The United States is a little chaotic right now. Middle east is even worse. I asked her "Latin America or Europe"? She said Europe. Then I got to work.

Then I checked out one way tickets to Europe:

• Barcelona
• London
• Dublin
• Edinburgh
• Amsterdam
• Paris
• Frankfurt
• Rome
• Madrid
• Lisbon
• Munich
• Istanbul
• Zurich
• Vienna
• Copenhagen
• Budapest
• Brussels
• Athens
• Warsaw
• Krakow
• Talinn
• Vilnius
• Riga

Why did I check everywhere?

....or at least a whole bunch of different places? The location wasn't important, time with family was. Every one of those places has something interesting to see so why lock myself into one itinerary or idea?

Here is the fun part. If I look at the week I want to leave prices vary wildly with one way tickets going from hundreds to thousands of dollars. However, the absolute cheapest flight was $293 HBD to London.

Where will I go to? : London in early May

Then I did the exact same thing to find the cheapest flight to return home from all those airports. London was expensive to return. Actual cheapest flight back home? Rome at $349 HBD

Where will I return from : Rome in late May

Now I just have to figure out my itinerary for the three weeks in Europe. Knowing I start in London and end up in Rome? Likely spend some time in Portugal or Spain. Maybe some time in France. Right now I don't know. I'll just see where the busses, trains and flights go and what deals there are during that time.

Being flexible usually means I find new and interesting places with a price that is much cheaper than if I say "I'm going to London" or "I'm going to see Spain".

Indeed. A return flight to London on the first and last day of vacation time would be $963. Rome would have been even more expensive. $642 if I'm flexible. $963 if I'm not.

$321 cheaper...and I see more

Sure London is a great place. Sure Rome is a great place. But if I can save $321 I can see London, (Spain/Portugal), and Rome for the same price or less.

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Hive Learners asks: Do I plan?

That is a hard to answer question.

Of course I have to plan some things. I need to know where I'm going on vacation because I have to have my passport ready. I have to have hotels booked. I need to have Visa's or "Electronic Travel Authorization" in place. I need to prebook trains or busses to avoid paying horrible last minute fees.

Even in life many things need to be planned in advance.

I save in advance for major expenses like car insurance, home insurance, and even furnace replacement. I have to make plans for family events like my Mom's 80th birthday, my Son's 21st birthday and getting my prescription glasses replaced when the insurance will pay for them later this year.

However having a rigid daily plan? Structuring my house and my money strictly? I try very hard to be as flexible as this world allows so I allow time to smell the flowers, chat with my children or pause to admire a sunset. I keep my end goal in sight and adjust my life accordingly...as much as I'm able.

There is a saying : Life is a journey not a destination and I like to keep my route as flexible as possible.

Now one thing about the Hive Learner prompt:

Paying attention to detail and taking time to assess risks or just going with the flow and hoping for the best!

I like to do both. I absolutely try to go with the flow and enjoy wherever the day takes me. At the same time I evaluate every purchase and every decision to make sure it aligns with my overall goals in life. They are not mutually exclusive.

How about an example:

Back in December I was going through the mall and noticed they had an excellent deal on a Samsung S25 cellphone. I didn't go into the mall to buy a cellphone. My current phone (a Pixel 9) works just fine without issue. However, I also knew that my current cellphone contract was up and I could freely choose any new plan. The deal? Pay the same amount that I already was paying. Lock in the rate for two years. Get the phone for free.

I knew I had the best phone plan for my usage type (it is the only one that has cheap global roaming) so I just took a few minutes and grabbed a new phone for free.

• Cost: Zero
• Additional monthly expense: Zero
• Risk: Zero

I absolutely went with the flow and I absolutely assessed that it was very low risk.

True it is 3 months later and the phone is still sitting in a box unused and unopened...but I purchased a bluetooth keyboard, bluetooth mouse and USB monitor so sometime soon I'll check out how useful a cellphone computer really is. A fun aside I never expected...but life just kind of turned out that way.

But I digress. I love finding deals wherever they come up. I love being free to explore what looks interesting at the time. I also loathe risky things so I absolutely do make sure to do my research and rush into nothing unless I'm certain it follows my long term plans/goals. Drives my wife nuts but as I said before...we are different people :)

And that's my take on the Hive Leaner prompt for today. Thanks for reading down this far and as always I love getting comments, questions or feedback. Even no feedback? I always appreciate eyes on my posts. Thank you.