Enjoying a vacation destination is easier if you love the accommodations that you book. With the availability of so many online travel companies and applications, it can be difficult to narrow down the wide array of listings or to be sure that you find a property that suits your needs and preferences. 

Also, what happens when your booking isn’t what you expected or your host doesn’t fulfill his/her end of the bargain. Not all companies screen their listings carefully, and you may even find that some hosts are not exactly honest in representing  their listing. Moreover, the policies of some of the larger booking companies could leave you high and dry without much recourse. We have some strategies that can increase your odds of finding a lovely vacation booking that meets your needs and helps you avoid unhappy experiences with bad bookings. .

First, book your vacation rental with a credit card, whether it’s an apartment or a hotel.  If worse comes to...

Living abroad for a period of time may be a life-long dream for some retirees. Knowing some important parameters regarding time away and length of stay can provide peace of mind during your travels. For in-depth information, consult the US Department of State’s website Travel.State.Gov.

Absence from the US

Regarding length of absence from the US, there is no time limit if you are a US citizen (native or naturalized). For permanent residents or conditional permanent residents, check with the state department, but the length of absence is usually 6 months.  

Length of stay in European countries for US Citizens

All countries have rules for length of stay and the rules vary for citizens from different countries (e.g. US citizens versus South Korean citizens). It is essential to learn the rules for the country you are visiting to avoid deportation. The rules vary across European countries. A number of countries are members of the Schengen area...

During work life, you may have noticed that each day is or was somewhat repetitive. You probably awakened at about the same time each day, completed a set of morning routines, like checking email, showering, dressing, and drinking coffee. 

Going to work may have meant commuting to an office or shifting to your in-home office. You got through the work day doing many of the same tasks each day and then commuted back home. 

Evening commitments may have varied but, for the most part, followed a routine...maybe dinner, gym, TV, reading, sleep. 

During retirement, do you find yourself creating a similar daily routine, albeit one that has more freedom and “fun”? We’re creatures of habit, right? So when we travel, we may not feel comfortable just letting every day unfold willy nilly. We’ve found that we really enjoy our travels more when we have a framework for each day. The framework allows us as a couple to have shared...

How much and what kind of cash to have on hand, how to find an ATM, which credit cards to use, and what to expect with regard to foreign transaction fees are all important things to know when you’re traveling overseas. We’ve learned some things over the past several years that might help you save some money and make sure that you have the right cash and credit cards in each European country that you visit. 

We learned early on that it is better to use a bank-affiliated ATM than others that you might find in a market or on a street corner. We’ll talk more about that in a minute. We also found that some cities and towns have more and/or easier access to bank ATMs. For example, Jon and I found ourselves looking for a bank ATM in Verona, Italy. We had most recently been in the similar-sized Tuscan town of Lucca where bank-associated ATMs were plentiful and easy to find. To our surprise, we were unable to locate one in Verona by wandering around the city and...

There’s not a fellow retiree I know of who doesn’t think about how to balance spending and conserving their wealth. Jon and I go through a very specific process, developed over years, for each major spending decision. We thought we would share our process with you since it has allowed us to live our dreams now and feel confident that we will continue to conserve enough money to live our dreams for years to come.

Here’s how we maintain abundance while using our financial resources in a way that creates joy for us in retirement. Indeed, we want to 

• spend without trepidation, 
• to have a solid understanding of our spending habits and flexibility, 
• and to sleep soundly each night knowing that we are spending in a very responsible way. 

In other words, we’re happy about our spending and it gives us joy to think about the ways that we’re spending our money. We work with a certified financial planner to achieve these goals...