by Joe Hearn | Dec 13, 2011 | Pursuits, Retirement, Travel
I received an email the other day from a friend who had just finished reading an article of mine in the newspaper. His email said:
“I awoke this morning feeling at peace with my future; thinking I had everything under control and that my family’s needs were completely taken care of. Then I read your article. I broke out into a frantic sweat and [expletive deleted] my pants. Thanks a lot for the reality check. Much like the rest of America I prefer to operate in a delusional universe where I don’t need to think about those things.”
I’m not going to lie to you; I laughed pretty hard at that. But his point was a good one. Sometimes the coverage devoted to retirement planning can seem kind of negative (either by design to draw attention or simply because the reader feels convicted).
Because of that, it’s easy to lose site of all the things that are right with the world, great about retirement and amazing about the opportunities available to each of us. So as penance to my friend and as a reminder to us all, I give you some reasons to look at the glass as half full.
Peace, love and understanding
According to Harvard Professor Steven Pinker, we’re living during the most peaceful time in our species’ existence. Yes, we still have wars (I suspect those will always be with us), but the average number of violent deaths per 100,000 people has dropped from 15 percent during prehistoric times, to 3 percent during the 20th century, to a fraction of 1 percent now. True, I have sometimes felt nervous on the subway when traveling in a strange city, but at least I don’t have to worry about being thrown to the lions in the Coliseum or being used in an elaborate human sacrifice to appease the volcano god.
Medicine and life expectancy
I take Lipitor to lower my cholesterol and reduce my risk of heart disease. My sister had a cancerous tumor the size of a grapefruit in her neck, but after treatment she has been cancer free for years. My grandfather was cutting firewood when a tree fell on him and shattered his hip. His doctors replaced it with a new one made out of titanium and he’s been getting around great for the last decade. Modern medicine has been enormously successful at increasing both the quantity and quality of our lives. As life expectancy has increased, retirement has changed dramatically. Rather than being a time to wind down, it is now viewed as a new chapter in life that is active and can last for decades. Be thankful for your health and use all that extra time wisely.
Technology
If asked, I would have to put my iPad in the same category as such worthwhile inventions as the wheel, penicillin and the printing press. That might be a bit of an overstatement, but you get my point: Technology is pretty remarkable. More than just cool, however, it is useful and helps us live fuller, more productive lives. It’s hard to imagine life without things like computers, the Internet, email, cell phones, digital cameras, ATM machines, MRIs, global positioning satellites, iPads, iPods, Kindles, and cloud computing. The other night our daughter was using FaceTime to video chat with her grandparents in Alaska. That’s the kind of invention that was imagined for the 23rd century in old Star Trek episodes! After looking at how technology has advanced in the last 30 years, imagine what the next 30 years will look like (especially since the pace of advancement is accelerating). It should be pretty amazing.
Learning
All that technology has greatly expanded our avenues for learning. Gone are the days when you need to spend $100,000 and four years of your life just to learn about something you’re interested in. With iTunesU you can sit in on history classes at Oxford or take photography classes from National Geographic (all free). Search engines like Google can answer any question you put to it. You can bring subjects into focus with Squidoo. Wikipedia can give you a basic understanding of almost anything. You can take guitar lessons on You Tube, learn to simplify your life on Zen Habits, or learn how to mix a martini like James Bond (or any number of other things) on Expert Enough. With so many resources, it’s easy to channel your inner Jefferson and make learning a broad and lifelong endeavor.
Social interaction
Yes, there are negatives to sites like Facebook and Twitter, but used properly they do an amazing job at connecting you to the people you care about. Social interaction is a critical element to human happiness and we have more ways than ever to experience community and connect with friends and family.
Doing good
Even with everything that is right with the world, there is still a lot that is wrong. Thankfully, there are some amazing people trying to do something about that and they’re looking for people like you and me to jump in and help. Charity is no longer limited to just writing a check or dropping a few bucks in the offering plate. Volunteering locally or getting involved with organizations like charity: water, International Justice Mission, and World Vision allow us to reach beyond ourselves and do work that not only helps others, but gives us a deep sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and purpose.
Traveling the world
There hasn’t been a more exciting time in travel since Kitty Hawk. The triumvirate of jetliners, online travel resources, and countries clamoring for tourist dollars have combined to make global travel accessible to almost anyone. A hundred years ago, most people lived their entire lives within walking distance of their house. Now you can hop on a plane and be hiking in the Andes or walking down the Champs Elysees by breakfast. For a little inspiration visit Everything Everywhere or Lonely Planet. And don’t let money hold you back. There are sites like travelhacking.org that can teach you how to search out deals and rack up frequent flyer miles. Then you can spend those miles on a round-the-world plane ticket and take off in search of adventure. As Saint Augustine said, “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
Well, there you have it. While certainly not a complete list, I’ve given you a few reasons to look on the bright side. Sure, there are still a lot of people unemployed, the housing market is still a mess and the stock market is just as bipolar as ever, but resist the temptation to focus on the negative. It sounds trite, but you only live once. None of us should let fear and uncertainty keep us from pursuing our dreams or living a rewarding and meaningful life. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, don’t die with your music still inside you. Look at the glass as half full and live a life you can be proud of.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Nov 30, 2011 | Pursuits, Retirement, Travel
In case you missed anything, below is a list of articles published at Intentional Retirement during the month of November. We’re heading into the home stretch of 2011. Touch base if I there’s ever anything I can do to help you out.
Thanks for reading!
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Nov 10, 2011 | Pursuits, Travel
Travel is at the top of many retirement “to-do” lists, so it’s a topic I’ll cover from time to time here at IR. One interesting development these last few years has been the explosion of new tools available for travel bugs on their cell phones and iPads. Below are ten apps that I use all the time to help me plan, navigate, and enjoy my travels.
FlightBoard I love this app! The best way to explain it is to have you imagine the arrivals and departure boards at your local airport. Now imagine that you could have them on your cell phone (or iPad) with the most up-to-date information for almost every airport in the world. Picking someone up from the airport and need to know if their flight is still on time? Check FlightBoard. Need to know what gate your connecting flight leaves from? Check FlightBoard. Need to email your flight info to Grandma Jan so she knows when you’ll be arriving for Thanksgiving? You can do it directly from FlightBoard. As an added bonus the app has a beautiful design interface that was inspired by the arrival/departure boards at Charles de Gaulle Airport inParis.
TripAdvisor If you’ve ever been planning a trip somewhere and wondered what other travelers thought of the hotels, restaurants, or attractions you’re considering, then TripAdvisor is for you. This app (and www.TripAdvisor.com) gives you access to over 50 million reviews and opinions posted by your fellow travelers. It also has cool tools like “Near Me Now” which pegs your current location and then gives you options for nearby restaurants or attractions.
Dropbox The Dropbox motto is “Your files, anywhere.” That pretty much sums it up. Anything you save to Dropbox is automatically saved to your other computers, phones, mobile devices and at dropbox.com. That means you can access those files (even without an internet connection) while you’re on the road. It’s a great tool for those who need access to certain work or other documents while traveling. I’ve also used it to store back-up copies of my passport, driver’s license and travel itineraries. Go to dropbox.com to get a free 2 GB account and then download the Dropbox mobile app from the app store.
Big World This app does a lot of things, but I use it primarily as a trip-planning guide. Creating a new guide displays a map (similar to Google maps) of the area that you’re visiting and then you can drop pins at key locations (e.g. your hotel, restaurants you want to visit, sites you want to see, etc.). It gives you a good visual representation of the places on your itinerary and helps you pack as much as possible into each day by scheduling things based on their proximity to each other. It’s also a helpful navigator as its GPS locator constantly tracks your position and displays it on the map.
Subway Apps If you’re visiting a big city and plan on taking public transportation, be sure to download that city’s subway app. Having the route map in your pocket is useful, but where these apps really shine is with their route planning features. Here’s an example. On a recent trip to Washington, DC I could see on Big World that the closest metro stop to our hotel was the Foggy Bottom station. As we’d head out each day I’d pull up my DCRider app and click on the Trip Planner feature. In the “from” field I’d choose “Foggy Bottom” and in the “to” field I’d choose wherever we wanted to go. If we were heading to Arlington Cemetery, I’d choose that and click “Get Route.” The app would then give me the best route. In this case it told me to board the blue line towards Franconia-Springfield and then get off at the second stop. These apps are a great way to take the stress out of subterranean travel in strange cities.
Where To Go This app is kind of like having a concierge in your pocket. In a strange city and want to know all the French restaurants within a ten block radius? Trying to find the closest grocery story? Have a toothache and need to find a dentist? These are just a few of the hundreds of preset searches you can do on Where To Go. The interface is simple to use and gives you twelve key categories like restaurants, entertainment, retail stores and medical. Click on restaurants, for example, and it gives you a comprehensive list from Afghan to Vietnamese. Then click on the type of food you want and your options are highlighted on the map with your current location represented by a blinking blue dot.
The World Clock Thanks to the magic of jetlag, it’s not unusual to wake up at odd hours at the beginning of a trip not remembering if you’re in Baltimore or Bangkok. The World Clock won’t cure jetlag, but it will at least keep you oriented to the correct time zone. It has a really cool day/night display that moves with the sun and below that you can put clocks for six different cities, which is helpful if you’re having lunch in London and wondering if it’s too early to call the kids at grandma’s house back in Omaha. The simple alarm feature is also a welcome addition if you’ve ever struggled to figure out the nightstand alarm at your hotel.
Kindle This is a great app for those who love to read when they travel, but hate to lug around their library. It gives you access to the million plus books at Amazon as well as hundreds newspapers and magazines.
TripIt TripIt is a great travel organizer that allows you to put all of your plans in one place. Just forward your booking confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and they will be added to your trip itinerary in the app. Then when you need your rental car reservation number or flight information, you know exactly where to go to find it.
AirportAce This app gives you access to terminal maps, wifi availability, transportation options, parking information, weather, and amenities at an ever increasing number of airports worldwide. Trying to make a tight connection at LAX and need to find the closest Cinnabon? This is the app for that.
Games A game can be a great diversion if you’re suffering through a particularly long layover or flight delay. Your options here are pretty much unlimited, but some that I enjoy are Chess with friends, Words with friends, Cut the Rope, Bike Baron, and RealRacing2HD.
Whether you’re heading to Kansas or Cameroon, these apps will be a welcome companion. It’s a big world out there. Get exploring!
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Jul 1, 2011 | Hobbies, Pursuits, Travel
Ask a hundred different people what they plan on doing during retirement and the answer you’ll likely hear most is “travel.” There is just something compelling about getting out and seeing the world. Especially when your itinerary is no longer limited by the standard two-week vacation.
One of the joys of visiting a far off place is being able to bring back great photos that you can share with others and use to remember your adventures. Unfortunately, most people come home with a camera full of forgettable snapshots. That was certainly true of me.
In fact, I was so frustrated with the quality of my photos after returning from a trip to Paris a few years ago that I asked my friend Nick (a professional photographer) for help. Below are his key photography tips as well as a few more that I’ve learned along the way.
1. Buy the right equipment
Nick’s first suggestion was “Get a quality digital SLR with two good lenses: a wide and a zoom.” I must admit, this was tough for me to do. I like to travel light and am partial to a camera that can fit in my back pocket. I also don’t want to look like the stereotypical tourist, laden down with camera equipment and walking around with my nose buried in a map. But I wanted to take better pictures, so I went out and bought a Canon T2i with an 18-55mm wide lens and a 55-250mm zoom lens. It is a great camera and what I sacrificed in portability I more than made up for with better pictures. A point-and-shoot just doesn’t have the quality and versatility of a good SLR. Go buy yourself a better camera.
2. Use the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a compositional technique used to create more interesting pictures. Imagine that the picture you want to take is divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Important elements of whatever photograph you’re taking should fall somewhere on those lines.
Let me show you what I mean. Here’s a picture I took of a bird when I was walking on the beach in Florida. If you divide the picture into thirds by drawing two vertical lines, Mr. Bird is right on top of the left side line. It makes the photograph more interesting than if I had just centered him and snapped the shutter. Resist the temptation to center everything.
3. Look for interesting angles
In addition to the rule of thirds, another way to make your photos more interesting is to take the picture from an unusual angle or vantage point. Instead of standing at eye level, dead center in front of something, try to capture it from a unique perspective. For example, get down on your belly, hold the camera above your head, or move so you’re facing your subject from the side.
Case in point is the photo of Mount Rushmore below (courtesy of Nick). Most photos of Rushmore are taken while standing on the visitor’s platform. They usually have a few strangers caught in the frame, and have T.J. and Teddy dead center. How is Nick’s photo different? He found an interesting angle by climbing the hill opposite Rushmore. Throw in his use of the rule of thirds, the fog blanketing the valley, and the beam of sun illuminating the faces of the Presidents, and you have a really cool shot.
4. Shoot tight
Another common faux-pas is trying to get everything in the shot. People love to zoom out. Ask someone to take a picture of you and they will likely zoom out (or walk backwards) until your entire body, head to toe, is in the frame. Ask them to take a picture of you next to a mountain and the goal will be to squeeze both you and Everest into the frame. This usually makes the subjects of your photos look small and far away.
To avoid this problem, shoot tight (aka zoom in). Pick out an element that looks interesting and zoom in on it so you can see all of the colors and details that made it interesting to you in the first place. Here are two examples. The first is a picture of a trout that Nick took while on a canoe trip with his family. The second is a picture I took of part of a lamppost outside the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Neither of these pictures would have been very interesting if they were just wide shots with all the surrounding scenery.
5. Shoot wide
OK, I know I just told you to shoot tight, but sometimes you need to zoom out to tell the story. If you’re standing next to the Eiffel Tower, you don’t want the photo to be a close-up of your face. To know when to zoom in and when to zoom out, ask yourself: “What am I trying to capture with this shot? What story am I trying to tell?” If the answer has something to do with that enormous thing in the background, then zoom out. Here are a few examples. The first is courtesy of my friend Andy Stoll while he was snowboarding in New Zealand. Andy spent four years on a round-the-world journey and captured tons of great pictures like this one (read more at http://noboundaries.org/). The second shot is Nick canoeing up in the boundary waters. In both shots the background is a big part of the story.
6. Take pictures at dawn or dusk.
It’s amazing how much the right lighting can affect a picture. If it is a bright day and the sun is directly overhead, your photos can look washed out and overexposed. The best light of the day is often the first hour of daylight and the last. That is when it is softer and the angle of the sun makes for some interesting shadows. So resist the temptation to sleep in when you’re traveling. Some of your best photos will come in the small hours of the morning or the early hours of the evening. Below is an example of the latter. I’m standing on the ice flow looking out over the Cook Inlet in Alaska as the sun sets. Notice it’s not a bad use of the rule of thirds either.
7. Know when to get out of the picture
Of course you’ll want to remember your travels by having a certain number of “posed” pictures. The ones with you in the beach chair holding up the Pina Colada or your spouse in front of Buckingham Palace. But resist the urge to be in every shot. Again, one goal of taking pictures is to try to tell the story of the place you’re visiting. Staying out of the photo often makes it more authentic (aka better, more interesting, etc.). Below is a picture (courtesy of Nick) of the harbor in a little fishing village in Ireland. Getting in the picture would have changed the entire dynamic. Also notice that by shooting tight he really brought out the colors and details of the boats.
8. Get involved
One way to tell the story of a place and still be in the picture (without looking out of place), is to make yourself part of the story. Don’t be afraid to meet some locals and participate in their traditions, activities, events, or festivals. You’ll not only walk away with some amazing memories, but you’ll likely get some great photos too. Below are a few examples courtesy of Andy. The first is him at Holi, the second largest Hindu Festival in India. As he describes it: “The streets are filled with revelers running around with water balloons, squirt guns full of colored water and bags of colored powders. You exclaim ‘Happy Holi’ as mobs of people splash and rub colors on any and all passers by, as a sign of the change of season.”
The second shot is after Andy had worked his way onto the set of a movie in Jodhpur, India. Again, I’ll let Andy describe it: “Playing a 19th Century British Soldier (huh?) in the soon-to-be-released Bollywood film Veer, starring Bollywood badboy Salman Khan. It’s an epic, period film about the uprising of a band of rebels against the ruling Maharaja who is aligned with the British crown (think Braveheart, but with more song-and-dance numbers).” Both shots are great examples of moving from spectator to participant.
9. Learn how to shoot with a tripod.
There are plenty of really interesting photo opportunities after dark (especially in cities), but to capture them you often need to shoot with a tripod. That’s because you need to leave the shutter open long enough to allow in enough light to properly expose the picture. If you try this without a tripod, the shake from your hands will cause the picture to turn out blurry.
The technique is pretty easy, though, as long as you know some of the basic settings on your camera. Just put your camera on the tripod, switch to manual mode (usually denoted by an “M” on the mode wheel), and then slow down the shutter speed. My camera allows for up to a 30 second exposure at which point you can switch to “bulb” mode and leave it open for as long as you want.
I’ll put a few examples below. The first is the Raven Glacier Lodge in Alaska where my wife and I were married fourteen years ago. I took this picture when we stayed at the lodge with family this past Christmas. The second shot is one I took of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Nick took the third shot on a winter camping trip with his family. All three photos were taken using a tripod in order to get the proper exposure.
So there are some basic tips for taking great travel photos. Keep them in mind next time you travel and you’ll come home with photos that are a little more “National Geographic” and a little less “forgettable snapshot.”
by Joe Hearn | May 22, 2011 | Pursuits, Travel
Note: I originally published this article in the AARP Bulletin.
Carla McDowell has always loved to travel. She’s toured the Soviet Union, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Korea, Costa Rica, England and Alaska. And like a growing number of Americans, she always purchases travel insurance. “No one wants to get sick and cancel a trip,” says McDowell, 64, of Omaha, Nebraska, “but insurance gives me peace of mind that I won’t lose a lot of money if something unexpected happens.”
Travel insurance has been around for decades, but the industry has grown rapidly since the terrorist attacks of 2001, reaching sales of more than $1 billion. Before 9/11, only about 10 percent of Americans taking cruises, tours or international trips bought travel insurance. Today that number is around 30 percent, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association (USTIA).
About 80 percent of those policies are “per trip” policies that cover the three most common sources of trouble: canceled or postponed trips, medical emergencies, and lost or damaged baggage.
Should you buy travel insurance to protect your travel investment? Here are several points to consider before you decide.
What’s covered? Terrorism? How about hurricanes? The answer, of course, is maybe. Some policies may exclude terrorism or “acts of God” altogether; others offer broader coverage. For hurricanes, your policy may apply only if you purchased it before the storm was named and then only if your destination is under a mandatory evacuation order.
Bottom line: Read the fine print carefully before you buy, and make sure that the risks you want to cover are, in fact, covered.
Cost. A travel insurance policy can add anywhere from 4 to 8 percent to the cost of your trip, depending on your age and how much coverage you want. Websites such as www.insuremytrip.com can help you compare policies and prices. For McDowell, cancellation coverage for her $3,600 Alaskan cruise cost her an extra $280. “It was worth it,” she says. “Without the insurance, getting sick would have meant deciding between staying home and losing the money or going and being miserable.”
Is it worth it? Travel insurance often makes sense on very expensive trips or on trips that require large, non-refundable deposits or advance payments for hotel stays or special-event tickets. Cruises can fall into this category because most of the cost is paid upfront and canceling even 30 days in advance could mean no refund.
But there are also instances where insurance does not make sense—for example, if your trip doesn’t include high prepaid expenses or if your prepaids, such as airline tickets are changeable for a small fee. If you rarely get sick, cancellation coverage may not be worth the added expense. Most trips go off smoothly or with minor hassles that tend to affect your mood more than your pocketbook.
Credit card coverage. Some credit card companies provide certain travel assistance when you pay for your trip expenses using their card. While helpful, these extras are typically not as comprehensive as travel insurance.
For example, Mike Cimino of Southern Pines, N.C., was traveling in the Canary Islands when he fell and broke his kneecap. His credit card company connected him with medical personnel in the area, facilitated consultation with his doctors back in the United States, and arranged for him to be flown home on a stretcher after his surgery. While this logistical help was welcome, the medical bills were his to pay.
If your credit card company already provides certain coverage, you may be able to save some money by buying a policy to fill in the gaps.
Sources. If you book your trip through a travel agent or cruise line, you likely will have the option to add travel insurance at the time you purchase. In some cases, insurance may be included in your package. For example, Elderhostel includes certain kinds of coverage, including emergency medical evacuations, in each trip at no additional cost. You can also buy policies from a number of companies such as Access America or Travel Guard.
Medical Care. Medicare will not cover health care expenses outside the United States. Likewise, some private health plans limit coverage for those traveling outside the plan’s network. Travel insurance can bridge this gap but you should check with your plan provider to make sure you’re not paying twice for the same thing. Also, some travel policies may exclude pre-existing medical conditions unless you obtain a waiver or purchase the policy far in advance. If you have recently had a heart attack or have diabetes, for example, check with the provider to make sure you’re covered.
Medical evacuation. Travel insurance can pay for evacuation to your home or to the nearest suitable medical facility, important if you become injured in out-of-the-way places. Such evacuations can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, according to Clif Carothers, president of U.S. Air Ambulance.
“We once evacuated a couple whose vehicle had overturned while they were traveling in Africa,“ he says. “We arranged to have a bush pilot fly them from where the accident occurred to an airstrip where our jet could land. They were in pretty bad shape, so we then flew them to Frankfurt, Germany, for care and, eventually, back to their home. The total cost of the evacuation was about $115,000. To make matters worse, they had no travel insurance, so it was all out of pocket.
The odds. According to a recent survey, 17 percent of people who buy travel insurance actually wind up filing a claim. That’s fairly high compared with other types of insurance, considering that one of the fundamental tenets of insurance is that most people won’t use it—if they did, policies would be unaffordable. For some, however, travel insurance can turn out to be a wise investment.
Al and Jodie Goldberg were traveling to Australia from Washington, D.C., via Charlotte and Los Angeles. Because it was a trip with many connecting flights, they opted to pay $269 for insurance. Their policy covered trip cancellation up to $9,000 (the amount of their prepaids), medical expenses up to $10,000 per person and medical transportation up to $20,000 per person; it also had an assortment of coverages for delays or lost baggage.
The trip got off to a shaky start. The couple became stranded in Charlotte when their flight to Los Angeles was canceled due to heavy smoke from California forest fires. Their travel insurance paid for a hotel in Charlotte, meals during their delay and cab fare to and from the airport. It also reimbursed them for a prepaid hotel room in Sydney they were unable to use because of their late arrival. They eventually got another flight, but one of their bags didn’t make it, and the insurance paid to replace Jodie’s formal dress for their night out at the opera.
“I think Murphy’s Law was written with international travel in mind.” Says Al. “The travel insurance helped us to smooth out the rough spots and still have a great trip.”
by Joe Hearn | May 4, 2011 | Pursuits, Retirement, Travel
At the risk of sounding obvious, you have a much greater chance of accomplishing a goal if you know exactly what it is you want to do. Someone committed to going to Harvard has a much greater chance of ending up there than does someone who just wants to go to college. Someone committed to climbing Mount Everest is much more likely to reach the summit than someone who just wants to climb mountains.
How about you? When it comes to retirement, how specific are your plans? do you want to “save” or do you have a specific dollar amount in mind? Do you want to “retire as soon as possible” or do you have a specific date in mind. Do you want to “travel” or do you have a goal to visit five countries a year? A decided person is a productive person. Being specific allows you to aim at a target. Not surprisingly, aiming at the target improves your chances of hitting it.
