We have always done road trips. Princess and Gymnast took their first road trips a week after they were born. And as the kids became drivers, they drove some…but not much. We had a 15 passenger van and that’s a little scary to trust to a new driver. Not that they didn’t get their turn.
But I can’t remember a time since they were all driving, that we took a road trip. But the girls and I are have done just that. Headed to Texas for Thanksgiving. Three drivers and a dog. In my beloved Honda HRV. 15+ hours of drive time, with a planned break in New Orleans. (My car camping mattress was in place so whomever is in the back could actually sleep. We were packed tight). No hotel stops planned.
We packed food. I budgeted $100 for gas. And everyone had their own spending money for whatever we do in New Orleans…Cafe Du Monde beignets and Muffuletta for me. Our goal was to get to my parents in less than 24 hours.
I’m grateful for this time with my girls. For the means to make this trip and spend a week with my family including all 5 of my kiddos. All 13 of my immediate family will be there – parents, siblings, and my kids. These times and times get more and more rare. And harder to arrange.
Food for the Week
I’ve arranged the menu for the week. I’ll be cooking for everyone for every meal except one. (My kids will all pitch in to help.) My dad will provide the groceries for the week. I’ve already written about the cost of dog boarding. I realize there are some in the BAD community who question my dad’s help. It’s just how our family works. It’s how my dad’s family worked. And I (we all) recognize how blessed we are and do not take it for granted.
And then, after my kids all leave, I’ve got a new laundry list of things my dad has requested some support with.
How about you? Do you have exciting plans this week with friends and / or family?
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Thanks so much to those who left thoughtful comments on my post about Open Enrollment! It’s given me a lot of food for thought about investment strategies and has encouraged me to think more strategically about financial investment moving forward. Engaging in that conversation also made me reflect more broadly on my 2025 financial goals. So here’s what I’m thinking for the year ahead:
Travel Less
Ha! As an avid traveler, I never would’ve thought this would be on my list! 2024 was a unique year. I had two major international trips in spring (one was to Peru for work and the other was a long-awaited Italian vacation we’d planned for over a year). On top of that, I had a sabbatical in the Fall semester (August – December). I took advantage of it by taking multiple mini-trips: visiting my friend in Wisconsin, hiking Havasu Falls with hubby, and a mother-daughter long weekend in Savannah. Not to mention our usual family trips, like visiting family in Austin over the summer. It all added up to a LOT of travel!
The travel was fun and, thankfully, it was planned well in advance. I knew about Italy for over a year, and I’d started budgeting for the sabbatical travel last December. I was prepared for a travel-heavy, pricey year in 2024. But as much as I’ve loved these adventures, I’m planning for a quieter, more budget-friendly 2025.
In 2025, we’ll still have one big summer vacation and will budget and save accordingly. Other than that, we will be sticking closer to home. We may do a long weekend road trip during one of the kids’ school breaks, but no big trips that need extensive planning or saving. The goal? Less time and money spent on planes and more time spent together near home.
Investments
My Open Enrollment post covers many of my expectations and goals for investing for the coming year. The main point is that I want to increase the amount I invest and to diversify my overall investment portfolio. The one thing I didn’t touch on in that post is real estate.
I still have a goal to buy a rental property, though I’m not sure if it will happen in 2025 or farther down the road. For now, I plan to do more research, keep an eye on interest rates, and be prepared to jump on a good opportunity if one arises.
We’ve discussed the short-term versus long-term rental debate, and I think we’ve landed on long-term rental as the best fit for us for now, ideally somewhere nearby. Eventually, I’d love to invest in a vacation rental that could double as a getaway spot for our family. But for now, we’ll focus on monitoring the market locally and getting familiar with the rental landscape.
Open an LLC
I’ve been toying with this idea since summer, and it’s time to make it official. By opening an LLC, I can do business under that name and pay the girls when they help me with tasks for the business. This isn’t just about getting help; it’s about setting them up with their own Roth IRAs at an early age, planting the seeds of financial independent and smart saving. Even though it won’t be much at first, I see this as an investment in their future financial literacy and security.
Interview (& hire?) a financial planner/wealth manager
Comments on my last post made me re-think my stance on financial planners. Hubby and I had interviewed a couple awhile back (maybe 2023??) but never pulled the trigger with hiring anyone. Overall, I feel like I do a pretty good job with managing our financial portfolio and I’d have a tough time paying a financial planner’s fee when I feel like I can get the same ROI by using self-managed options through my Fidelity account(s). That said, your comments got me thinking. I’m not going to commit to hiring someone as a goal, but I at least want to interview a couple of people and see if I like their plans and if maybe it makes sense at this time to have someone else help manage our investments.
“Invest” in what matters
Aside from traditional investments, I also want to start putting money and time into things that contribute to our overall health, happiness, and values as a family. For me, this means prioritizing health and wellness through higher-quality, nutrient-rich foods and supporting local (when possible), sustainable brands for products we regularly use.
I already started buying a monthly farm box of meats from a family farm in our area. I do something similar with a veggie box as well. It’s a little more expensive than meat from the local grocery store, but it’s much higher quality meat (e.g., pasture raised and finished, ethically slaughtered, etc.). You can see the difference in the color of the meat and taste the difference too! I joke with the family that you can taste the difference in a “happy cow.” While this is something I never would have done 5-10 years ago when I was in the throes of debt-reduction mode, it’s something I’ve had an increasing interest in over the past couple of years.
I feel similarly about some of the personal hygiene and beauty products we use, too. Sunscreens, face moisturizer, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, etc. I’ve started to become more aware of the chemicals in many of these products and have started to look for cleaner alternatives. They tend to cost more, but this is something I want to start prioritizing. At the end of the day, I want us all to live long, healthy lives and I believe the things we put into and onto our bodies matter.
Wrapping Up
So, those are my big financial goals for 2025: travel less (but with more intention), build a smarter investment portfolio, make my business official with an LLC, and start prioritizing higher quality food and products. Have you started planning for 2025 yet? What are some of your financial goals?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
