Tag: frugal

Vacation in Nevada

Possibly for the last time I am visiting my best friends in Nevada before the move back to my home state during my holiday vacation.  While I am very excited to have them only a few minutes away by car versus hours by plane it is sad that I may not see the mountains of Lake Tahoe for a long time now.  So there was only one solution to the problem.  I had to spend my holiday break in Nevada.

So I flew out on Christmas evening after the family festivals.  I waved goodbye to everyone and boarded my plane bound for Reno, NV.  I am always amazed by the people you can meet on a plane.   I was chatting to a wonderful lady sitting next to me after helping her with her smartphone.  I was speaking about my long term goals about becoming financially independent one day after hearing about her retirement and that sparked another discussion about sailing and bicycle riding.  Interestingly enough, she personally knew several local people whom live the exact life I envision.  They have sailed and lived aboard a boat for years.  Anyways, I was given some new email contacts to reach out and maybe get some lessons starting next year…  How exciting.

So here I am visiting my friends in Nevada with just a few articles of clothing, books and my laptop.  I am a firm believer in buying experiences instead of material goods.  Some of the things we have planned include:

  • Skiing (Of Course)
  • Bowling
  • Random beer tasting
  • Twister with the kids
  • Fixing vehicles
  • Snowshoeing
  • Hiking
  • Movies (New Laser IMAX in San Francisco)
  • Camping in Death Valley
  • Seeing the great coastal Redwoods
  • Ice skating/Rollerblading
  • Reading
  • Off-roading in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
  • Hanging with friends around the table
One of my best vacations yet!

Christmas Gifts

Christmas was one of the best I can recall, we has some amazing Christmas gifts.  It was fantastic having everyone gathered and even having my girlfriend tag along.  This year my family decided to focus each other’s gifts around items that are either used or handmade.  This proved to be a fantastic idea.  As I am fond of being frugal and minimalist, buying used items or making handmade items helped focused the gifts on being more affordable or practical in nature.  It also helps make the gift giving more personal and creative.

Some of the great ideas that came from my family this year were:

  • Weekend trip to NYC with my father as a thanks for helping me throughout the years and helping so much on the sailboat.
  • Handmade scarves from my sister
  • Handmade lotions and toiletries
  • Handmade colonial flag made out of barn wood from my ever creative father
  • Used VHF handheld radio for my new sailboat
  • Old wooden dolls hidden throughout the living room for the kids to seek and find
  • A first edition book for less than $5 that turns out to be worth many times over
  • Handmade Pottery
  • Individually customized painted dolls

Having everyone together on the holidays are a great time to catch up and share stories

Of course if I am to someday travel on the road or by boat I need to focus on minimizing my possessions and focus more on what’s needed versus desired.  All too often it is easy to get caught up in the Diderot effect when giving and receiving gifts.  I do my best to stay the course and focus on what is it that helps me stay true to my goals and dreams and what does not.

What are your ideas for some amazing Christmas gifts?