A Free Night In Vegas

June 3, 2009 2 Comments

Prime Steakhouse @ The BellagioAfter spending 9 days in the air & on the road it was finally time for us to return home.  We dropped off the rental car & took the bus to the airport where we would spend the next 5 hours wasting time before our flight departed.  There is nothing more boring than an airport terminal.

A few moments before our flight was scheduled to depart an announcement was made that the airline was looking for people who were willing to bump their flight to the next available flight, which happened to be at 6 am the next day.  I had heard that those people who volunteer to give up their seats are rewarded with some nice incentives for doing so.  I decided that I might as well be the one who was rewarded for “sacrificing” my seat as I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be.

When I reached the counter there was another person in front of me who was also considering the possibility of giving up her seat.  After some discussion with her boyfriend she decided not to.  It was my turn to see what the airline was willing to exchange for my generosity.  They would pay for our hotel room in downtown Las Vegas (slightly off the Boulevard), give us each a meal voucher worth $15 & a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the lower 48 states good for 1 year.

I jumped at the opportunity.  A “free” night in Vegas & a free round-trip ticket?  That is a great deal in my opinion.  After a bit of waiting around we were given our vouchers and instructed to call our hotel for a free shuttle downtown.  When we arrived at the hotel we were very impressed with the quality of the hotel they put us up in.  It wasn’t the Bellagio, but still nice & clean.

Instead of using our meal vouchers from the airport we decided to eat out at a nice restaurant on the strip.  We encountered our first problem with the clothing we had in our possession.  Since we had not been expecting to stay another night my girlfriend had already checked her bag and only had the clothes on her back, which happened to be comfortable clothes ideal for travel, but would not be suitable for a nice restaurant.

We grabbed a cab to a nearby shopping mall where she bought a cute dress and some sandals.  We decided to eat at Prime Steakhouse in the Bellagio.  When we arrived I quickly discovered that my shorts and sandals were not appropriate attire as their dress code preferred gentlemen to wear a jacket.  While I wasn’t equipped with a jacket, I did have black dress pants and a nice buttoned collar shirt.  After changing I asked my girlfriend for my dress shoes which I had asked her to pack in her bag as mine was out of room.  She kindly reminded me that she had checked her bag at the airport.

At this point I was rather frustrated.  I would look great from the ankles up, but I couldn’t pull off sandals with slacks and a collared shirt.  I was ready to walk to the In & Out Burger across the street and give up on the nice restaurant idea.  Instead I changed into jeans and a t-shirt and decided to look for something less casual.  We found what we were looking for at Mon Ami Gabi, a French restaurant across the street from the Bellagio.  I ordered the Filet Mignon, which was delicious.

By that time we finished eating it was getting late and we had an early flight out in the morning so we decided to call it a night and say “Good-bye” to Las Vegas.  Thankfully we were able to be flexible in order to take advantage of a great opportunity and use that opportunity to enjoy ourselves.  Without having the time or the money to use this opportunity to our advantage we may have missed out on a free room in Vegas, but more importantly, free tickets to anywhere in the continental United States.  That will save us a great deal of money on our next trip, which will likely be to Miami this winter.

Filed under News, Opportunity, Travel

When Things Don’t Go As Planned

May 18, 2009 3 Comments

"Moonrise over Monument Valley" by larrygerbrandt @ FlickrIn a recent Goal Update I eluded to facing some major life decisions, including some which run contrary to some of my goals.  We all encounter situations which require us to make a difficult decision and sometimes we must make choices which may seem contradictory to our visions.  The reasons for having to make these difficult decisions vary from necessity to opportunity.

In my case the reason is opportunity.  I have been wondering what my next step in life would be after completing my Associate Degree.  Would I continue working at my job, hoping to open doors to the international markets?  Should I continue my education which would require my life to be uprooted from the security and comfort of my hometown?  Is now the time for me to join the Peace Corps like I have wanted for many years?

It has been about a year since I decided that continuing my education should be my primary concern.  The next question was where to attend a University.  Neither myself nor my girlfriend were interested in staying around the area as it didn’t seem like a big enough step.  I have a natural passion for travel and the outdoors so we began looking into towns where there were Universities which had the degree programs we were interested in and were located in areas which were conducive to our interests and hobbies.

After a couple of months of searching and negotiation we decided on Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.  It seemed like a great place and is surrounded by all sorts of places where we would be able to enjoy the Great Outdoors.  We planned a trip to Flagstaff so we could visit the campus (which we will be leaving for on Saturday).

Everything seemed to be falling into place.  We decided we would continue working throughout the summer in order to save our money for the move as well as the transition time before we were able to find employment.  About a month ago my employer announced that there would be another layoff and this time both myself and my girlfriend would be affected.  This threw a minor wrench into the equation, but overall we decided to pursue our goal.

In order for us to attend NAU at a reasonable price we would need to establish residency in Arizona before applying for admission.  This meant we would need to live in Arizona for a year which didn’t seem like such a big deal as we could use this time to adjust to our relocation and get our focus.

About a week ago President Obama announced an educational initiative for workers who have been laid off and want to return to college.  The government would help to pay for school with expanded educational grants as well as extending unemployment benefits to students.  It has taken me 4 years to earn my Associate Degree of Arts & Sciences because I have had to maintain a full-time job in order to pay my bills.  This announcement meant a great opportunity for both of us to attend classes full-time without having to concern ourselves with finding work.  What may have been another 5 years to earn my Bachelor Degree had just turned into 2. 

In order for us to take advantage of this opportunity it means changing our plans of moving to Arizona and remaining in-state to attend classes.  We could still go to Arizona and get the government grants, but we would have to pay out of state tuition which is very expensive.  It wouldn’t be a financially sound decision for us to do things that way.  The details of this program are still limited and I am unsure of how to proceed in order to take advantage of these opportunities, but I did fill out my application for enrollment at an in-state university and am waiting to hear back from them, hopefully with the good news of being accepted.

Even though one of my goals is to attend college in another state, for now it will have to wait.  The opportunity which has been presented to me is too beneficial to be passed up.  Even though it is contrary to one of my goals, I can’t ignore a good thing.  Sometimes goals have to be put on hold or even retired completely.  It is important that we aren’t blinded by our long-term vision that we miss out on today as a result.

Filed under Goals, Life, Opportunity, Prioritizing

Importance of an Opportunity Fund

March 19, 2009 Leave a comment

"Sunbeams" by aremac @ FlickrI spend a lot of time discussing the importance of having an emergency fund.  The Golden Rule is that you should have at least 3 months of living expenses saved for a rainy day.  You never know when you may need it; your car explodes, you lose your job or any other sort of unexpected, unplanned for situation which may occur.

An opportunity fund is similar to an emergency fund in that you are preparing for the unexpected however, instead of saving in preparation of all of the negative things that you may encounter, an opportunity fund prepares you for all of the positive things which may present themselves.

Have you ever been presented with a great opportunity but weren’t able to capitalize on it because you didn’t have any spare money available at that moment?  Sometimes opportunity comes knocking so it is best to be ready for it.

Unlike an emergency fund where it is recommended that a person have at least 3 months of living expenses saved, putting a number on an opportunity fund is a little more difficult.  It is important that a person know what their goals are and prepare accordingly.  Whatever your goals, figure out what they will cost and begin stashing away some spare money into your Opportunity Fund.  As you save, you may find something which is better than what you had in mind.  Giving yourself a cushion of “just in case” money allows for greater flexibility and gives you options.

I took advantage of my opportunity fund when I purchased a new bike the other day.  I allowed myself to use the money which I had saved up to capitalize on a good deal.  Had I not had this money saved, one of two things would happened.  The first is that I would have had to pass up the opportunity of getting a bike at a good price.  In the case of buying material possessions having to pass on making a purchase probably isn’t such a big deal, but having to pass on something like a friend inviting you on a trip to China for a couple of weeks…that is a great opportunity, and something that would be difficult to miss out on.

The other option I would have had is that could have used my credit card.  Using plastic is so common that most people wouldn’t even think twice about whipping out their card.  They would continue to make the minimum monthly payment until they die while the real cost of what they had purchased would never even be so much as a passing thought.  Using a credit card to pay for something I can’t afford has become something which I will no longer do to myself.  Just thinking about going into credit card debt again makes me sick to my stomach.

Having an emergency fund is one the first stepping stone towards creating financial security.  An opportunity fund is something of a cushion to prevent you from tapping into your emergency fund in case you find yourself in an “emergency”.  Sometimes we struggle with defining what an emergency fund should be used for.  Buying a bike because it is deeply discounted is probably not an emergency, but it is a good opportunity!

Filed under Money, Opportunity

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