My chuckle for the day

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I’m trying not to laugh.

A travel agent friend of mine just shared an email from a “sometimes” client who went ahead and booked a quick getaway to the Florida Keys on her own. Her agenda looks like this:

It’s a quick two-night stay. Found a great flight arriving in Miami at 5:20pm on a Monday night. Rent the car and be in Key West by 7pm. Spend the night on Duvall Street and the following day on the beach, then leave right after dinner on Wednesday for our 8:40pm flight home.

If you’ve ever been to the Keys, you know she’s in for a rude awakening. Factor in the Miami airport hassle, rental car lines, rush hour traffic, and the fact that it’s about a 150 mile drive, and she won’t be in her hotel until at least 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. As far as the plan to have dinner on Duvall Street before driving to Miami for an 8:40 pm flight home — good luck!

Sure, Miami is “right next to” the Keys, right? So it’s understandable that she thought this itinerary would work. But a travel professional would have explained the realities of the geography (the actual distance, the fact that it’s a two lane road in sections) and the nightmare that is the Miami airport (I prefer to fly into Fort Lauderdale instead, drive the extra distance, and maintain my sanity) and would have presented her with some much better options — like flying directly into Key West, which is the only thing that makes sense for such a short stay.

This is a perfect example of why even the simplest getaways can benefit from some professional guidance and advice. But I will admit that do-it-yourselfers like this are great for the entertainment value!

Disney for grown-ups

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My sister and her husband are headed to Walt Disney World this month, for the Disney Marathon, and they seem very skeptical about whether two thirty-something newlyweds (without kids) will really enjoy this family-friendly destination.

From personal experience, I know that they are going to find lots to love!  I’ve been to Walt Disney World as a college student (with my now-husband and his family), as a couple (for our fifth wedding anniversary), and as a parent (several times, with my kids in tow), and I found different things to enjoy each time. 

If you’re headed to WDW without kids, you can explore the parks unencumbered and can stay late in the evenings to make the most of the parades and fireworks. Even if you’re not a typical “theme park” fan, and don’t plan to spend much time in the parks themselves, you can take advantage of some fantastic restaurants, live entertainment, relaxing spas, multiple golf courses, gorgeous pools, and pampering resorts. Gee, that sounds terrible, doesn’t it?

I think my sister (like many other adults who have yet to experience WDW), is picturing a week spent riding roller coasters and visiting with Mickey and Minnie. What she’s going to find is that the “Disney Magic” goes far beyond the theme parks. I can’t wait to hear from her when she gets back 🙂

Time and Money

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What’s your time worth?

I had a potential client tell me the other day that she had spent “hours” scouring the internet to find a quote that was $10 cheaper than the one I had given her for her vacation.  Let’s assume she spent three hours — that would mean her time was worth about $3.50 per hour? Even if she only spent two hours, that’s $5.00 per hour, which is still below minimum wage. Even my 13-year-old daughter makes $10 per hour to babysit!

It’s an extreme example, I know, but it illustrates a mindset that baffles me. Why would a busy professional spend hours on the internet trying to save a few dollars on a vacation? Wouldn’t that time be better spent on work, or family, or just about anything else besides sitting at a computer stressing out about something that’s supposed to be relaxing? Not to mention the fact that if they go ahead and book with the rock-bottom vendor they found online, what kind of service are they going to get? 

Most of us only take about two weeks of vacation a year, and we dream about it (and save up for it) for weeks and months before hand. My clients know that, by putting the planning process in my hands, they’ll be getting a great vacation (tailored specifically to their needs and desires) at a great price, and they won’t have to spend hours on the internet worrying about it!

Priorities

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I saw a great article in the Wall Street Journal today about priorities. The “Yoder & Son” column (a weekly feature about personal finances from the point of view of a father and son) talked about their Christmas vacation in Slovakia this year, and whether they should have held back from this kind of spending, given the economy.

It’s the kind of question I see clients asking themselves all the time right now, and I think Stephen and Isaac Yoder sum it up nicely when they talk about priorities — it may not be important to spend money on “things” right now (expensive cars, fashion, etc.) but it’s still very important to them to invest in experiences.

What lesson is Isaac learning from this profligacy? I hope it’s that the world is too fascinating a place to miss, and that the lessons lost by staying home are often too pricey. I hope he has learned that it’s possible to live beneath your means and yet make whopping exceptions like this trips — when those exceptions pay back in immeasurable ways.

I couldn’t agree more! Even in an economy like this, I’ll never second-guess money spent on building memories with my family.

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You provided excellent guidance for us. I appreciated that you really had us think about what was most important to us when we were selecting the right cruise – and not to totally focus on what other people had to say. THANK YOU for helping to make this a memorable trip for our family! It really was a trip of a lifetime!

– Clare and Mark (family cruise to Alaska)

The level of service we experienced was out of this world (and we did NOT make it easy on Ann). We weren’t quite sure where we wanted to go, when we would be able to go, or what “vibe” we were going for. After asking us some key questions (what we liked, didn’t like, why, etc.) Ann helped us narrow down our trip details and planned the honeymoon of our dreams. She helped book some of our excursions, answered some emergency questions while abroad and was always available/willing to help. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be using anyone else for future travel planning – Ann is a rockstar!

– Carli (Italy and Spain)