October 2014 – Frugal Living

Shawnee National Forest

October 27, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Autumn colors are really starting to show around here so we thought that a trip to Shawnee National Forest was in order. SNF occupies a large chunk of southern Illinois and is the largest tract of publicly owned land in the state.

Auntie decided she wanted a break from studying and tagged along. Frugal Boy was glum until he saw Auntie get off the shuttle bus.

With Auntie’s bags loaded up we hit the road on Friday night so we could get a fresh start in the morning and see all of the sights. We made a few stops on the way down. Rest areas are great for babies because they usually have clean bathrooms with changing tables. Failing that, there are usually plenty of places that they can be changed outside.

That night we found a hole in the wall diner that offered up southern comfort food. Mmmmmmmm. Delicious!

The next morning the drive became more interesting as we left the flat plains behind and entered rolling hills. Our first destination was the Garden of the Gods.

The main attraction at Garden of the Gods is Camel Rock. There are series of rock formations and cliffs that offer sweeping vistas of the surrounding wilderness.

Proper footwear and maintaining three points of contact are good rules to follow when scrambling around rocks.

While it may be tempting to leave your mark in such a beautiful place, please refrain yourself. Once one piece of graffiti shows up, it tempts others to add more.

please don’t do this. Leave no trace

Besides, why would you want to distract people from views like this?

Relax grandparents, I was farther away from the edge than the picture looks.

If you are passing through the area or are looking for a nice day trip destination, Garden of the Gods was a lot of fun. The featured trail is not very long, but there are longer trails and it probably isn’t as crowded on non peak foliage weekends. Seeking a reprieve from the hordes of people, we went to a lesser known place called Rim Rock. Rim Rock is an escarpment that was used by Native Americans and early settlers for protection and shelter. It is easy to see why the place is defensible when you hike around it.

Down on one side is a “Cave”. Big overhang is probably more accurate. Lumberjacks used the cave to corral their oxen and keep them out of the rain. These steps led down from the escarpment to Ox-Lot Cave.

All of that morning hiking worked up our appetites so we paused for lunch. Like our earlier Missouri trip we saved time and money by buying a giant deli sandwich from the grocery store deli that morning and then split it up three ways and added in our prepackaged snack food.

After lunch we drove down highway 1 to the Ohio river and Cave In Rock state park. There is a free ferry that will take you across the river into Kentucky but we decided just to watch from a nearby bluff.

Wandering about the bluff we spotted a fenced off sinkhole. It was a warm day, in the low 80s and there were many other visitors milling about enjoying the unseasonably warm weather.

A short walk on the main path and we found David.

This large cave was hollowed out by water long ago. You can still see where the water cut down and carved out the rock.

Near the back of the cave was a column of light coming from the before mentioned sink hole. I have been in a lot of caves and most have a nice earthy smell. This one stunk of rancid river water. Outside we found another spot to do a group photo.

It was starting to get late and we still had a long drive to get home. A couple of rest areas provided much needed breaks for all size passengers.

It was a fun trip and nice to reconnect to nature. There are a number of little cabin rentals if you are feeling adventurous and we passed by so many brown signs for points of interest that we could have easily spent a few days exploring all of the nooks and crannies of the East Shawnee National Forest. I say east, because there is a whole other chunk of SNF that is closer to Saint Louis and includes Little Grand Canyon. That’s a trip for another day.

A Free Toy

October 24, 2014 by Andrew 1 Comment

One of the perks of walking to work includes seeing what is left on the curb as trash. You wouldn’t believe what some people throw out. I’ve picked up an Ethan Allen hardwood end table, a large bathroom mirror, camping chairs, tools, and even a couch! Okay, so the couch wasn’t on the curb yet, but they were carrying it out to the curb. Shae’s latest find was a toy dump truck and after a bit of bleaching and rinsing off, it was as good as new.

Beep Beep! What kind of treasures have you found?

Dining Room Drift

October 14, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Did you know that in 2008 the lowly stick was inducted into the toy hall of fame? Yep, something kids can pick up off the ground when they are outside and use their imagination to turn it into anything.

In 2005 another classic was immortalized in the annals of toy history. The cardboard box. What do these two awesome toys share in common? Well, they are both free, rely on the imagination, and are easy to come across.

Probably the best thing about these toys is that they are hard to outgrow. Even as adults we still play with them from time to time. Who is having more fun in this video, mom or baby? (Hint, it didn’t take long for Mom to find the permanent marker and add wheels and a license plate)

As a parent, it is a great joy to introduce these toys to our children. How do you play with boxes and sticks?

Macabre Monday

October 13, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

We just had our first wills made up and seeing as it is getting closer to Halloween, I thought this would be an excellent time to have a spooky post. So gentle readers, if the thought of your own demise is too unsettling for you, then you should probably keep reading!

You know the old saying, “nothing is certain except death and taxes”. So why is it that only 44% of adults have planned for the inevitable with a last will and testament? Well, according to this article, the majority of people don’t want to think about their mortality and prioritize estate planning below present day concerns. Perhaps if the one out of two procrastinators knew what happened to their lives work when they passed away without a will, they would be better motivated to draft something up.

For example, in our home state of Illinois when a single person with no children passes away, any positive net worth will go through a court and eventually end up with their parents. If the parents are deceased, then it goes to siblings. If there are no siblings, the court will widen the family net and keep trying all while paying themselves with your money for the time spent settling your estate. Did you want to help out a charity or perhaps see your niece through college? Too bad, so sad, you should have spelled that out in a will.

Circumstances get uglier when children are thrown into the mix. No will and no surviving spouse, guess who the minor kids get raised by? Who knows, it’s entirely up to a judge who does not know you, your children, or your family. In Illinois, a judge will first see if any grandparents are willing and capable to raise children. Failing that, then aunts and uncles are decided upon. Do you think your alcoholic brother-in-law would make a terrible father figure? Welp, it doesn’t matter what you think because you didn’t write down your wishes. If he shows up to court and no one else does, he may just get the job.

What about a less gloomy scenario where your spouse and kids survive. Your spouse will be in for a rude awakening when they discover that all of your assets have been split between them and the kids. Have two kids? Now your spouse has a 75% stake in the house and the 1 month old and three year old own the other 25%. Good luck refinancing or selling the house (and have fun sitting in court waiting for a judge to look out for the best interests of the kids stake).

Going along with the theme of things going terribly wrong, here is another scenario to ponder. That car wreck that should have killed you, but the awesome first responders managed to get you to a hospital pronto, only to have the surgeons say that the deer antler stuck in your head has penetrated your brain and turned you into a vegetable, ya you’re technically not dead so without a living will and without being able to ask you (because you’re drooling and pooping yourself) the doctors have to leave you hooked up to life support. Indefinitely. A living will, can spell out your wishes and you can name person(s) to make medical decisions for you when you cannot speak for yourself.

Yay, you’ve decided to make a will. You’ll need a his and a hers (two identical (ish) but separate wills). Here are some things you’ll need to ponder.

Executor/Administrator

This person or person(s) that you name in your will are responsible for carrying out the instructions in your will. They need to distribute assets to your beneficiaries, settle any debts, and close your financial life. There are two popular choices for executor. A family member or a legal professional (lawyer, CPA). There are pros and cons to each. A family member will be cheaper than a professional, but it is no small job and can cause resentment from other family members.

We chose to use a lawyer to act as our executor in the case that we both perish. The small additional cost is well worth it in our eyes to let our families grieve without having to spend days sifting through paperwork and canceling Netflix subscriptions.

Guardianship

If you have minor children or think you may have children in the future, it is important that you figure out who will raise them in the event that both your spouse and you perish. Often times this will be family, but it could be a very good friend. Make sure that you talk with them beforehand so they don’t get an unexpected delivery.

We spent a lot of time thinking about this one and all of the possibilities. I have quite a large family which is both a blessing and curse. If a family reunion went awry, some sorry sap could end up with a HUGE amount of responsibility (think World War 1 treaties). In the end, we asked Shae’s parents if they’d be willing and they happily accepted.

Trust or Not to Trust

Going along with the previous point, you will have to decide when descendants will inherit your wealth. If you do not setup a trust, then a probate court will manage a child’s inheritance until the child turns 18 years old. At that time, the child gets his or her’s full inheritance. If you want an inheritance to be managed and paid out in a different manner, you will most likely need to setup a trust.

In our case, the legal guardians are not the same people that handle our children’s money. The two are kept separate. Sorry grandma and grandpa, no spending sprees! Instead they will have to get together with the trustee for “child support” payments out of the trust. Also, our children will not receive their full inheritance at the age of 18. We’ve set up the trigger a bit differently. The trigger(s) can be as vanilla or esoteric as you want. A great movie about a crazy trust is Brewster’s Millions (I think it’s on Netflix right now).

Living Will

While you’re working on a last will, it is a good idea to do a living will as well. Your state probably has some generic forms that cover this type of will. In Illinois, you basically get to make 3 simple decisions. 1.) will you donate organs? 2.) who will make decisions for you if you cannot? 3.) to what extent do you want your life to be prolonged?

Wrap Up

Making up two wills, two living wills, and setting up a trust was about as painless an experience as it could be. We talked with an estate planning lawyer that we know and met with him twice. All of the above set us back $500, a small price to pay for putting an epilogue on our life’s story. Any future changes that we make will cost a fraction of the initial work. You could almost certainly make up a valid will for less money. Depending on your state of residence, a hand written will would be accepted by a court of law.

Five minutes, a piece of paper, and a pen is all you need to leave the unprepared majority. Do you have you will done? How about now? Now??

Flu Season

October 9, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Chili, pumpkins, beautiful Autumn foliage and of course influenza, yep it’s that time of year again. The flu shot (vaccine) can be found almost everywhere nowadays. Our local pharmacies have more signage out advertising the flu shot than an election campaign on November 1st. Some employers, like Shae’s, even have flu shot drives on site.

Last flu season (Oct 2013 to May 2014) only about 34% of 18-64 year olds were vaccinated but the same age group made up 61% of hospital cases. So the myth that flu only affects children and the elderly is totally bunk.

This year, in order to help protect Frugal Boy and our sanity, we each received a flu shot.

So what exactly is the flu shot and how does it protect you from getting sick? Each year, researchers try to predict what strains of virus will be prevalent in the upcoming flu season. They then grow those viruses in chicken eggs, deactivate the grown viruses, and combine them into one big slurry that is your vaccine. The inactivated viruses in the vaccine cannot make you sick, they are for lack of a better word, dead. Your body however doesn’t know the difference, so it produces antibodies to fight off the ‘dead’ invader. Once your body has created antibodies to counter the viruses, you have an immunity to that particular strain of influenza. This immunity takes about 2 weeks to develop from when you receive the vaccine so if somebody in your house already has the flu, you’re probably too late to get protected.

It is difficult to say how effective the flu shot is because there are many variables for each year and individual. If you’d like to read more, the CDC has a webpage dedicated to the topic.

Finally, the conversation of the flu shot wouldn’t be complete without talking a bit about side affects real and mythical. Unless you have an allergy to eggs or latex, the basic needle stick in your arm flu shot will only give you a sore arm for a couple of days. There are a few nutters out there that claim that mercury in a flu shot causes autism. They are full of crap, and here is what the vaccine information sheet has to say about that,

Some inactivated flu vaccine contains a very small amount of a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. Studies have shown that thimerosal in vaccines is not harmful, but flu vaccines that do not contain a preservative are available.

So take off your tinfoil hat, and if that is too much to ask for, just get a darn flu shot that doesn’t have preservatives.

Shae’s shot took 5 minutes out of her day (employee clinic), mine took 25 minutes (doctor’s office). Walgreen’s and CVS are probably somewhere in-between. The cost is a whopping $30 without insurance. If you’re reading this blog, chances are good that you have health insurance. So go get vaccinated and save yourself from several days of misery!

Frugal Living

Indulging in life, financially responsible

Month: October 2014