For the past few years, the economy has been experiencing staffing issues. And in case you forgot, over TEN THOUSAND baby boomers are retiring every day, … and have been for quite some time. Throw in the COVID work at home variable and now you have even more people that don’t want to go back to a “normal” job. And while millions of people stopped driving to work, they also stopped buying gas and changing their oil. Trickle effect. Did you know there were gas stations that closed and went out of business due to no customers? For some people gas prices can dramatically affect their weekly cash flow. Most people only have a ten gallon tank, so a buck or so more shouldn’t destroy everyone. No one is crying because the cost of meat as doubled. The reality is most people have a lot of extra money because they aren’t doing other things that they might spend money on; like fancy dinners and date night. Concerts and festivals are out and have been, but things are opening back up again. Although I still am not going to Coachella. There are still millions of people who aren’t vaccinated.
And here are the latest from the NY Times:
| DAILY AVG. ON APR. 5 | 14-DAY CHANGE | TOTAL REPORTED | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | 28,693 | –1% | 80,128,432 |
| Tests | 870,272 | +13% | — |
| Hospitalized | 15,383 | –27% | — |
| In I.C.U.s | 2,308 | –35% | — |
| Deaths | 602 | –40% | 981,112 |
Technically if you have been hiding out for 2 years, and most of society got the shot, in theory, you could be safe without the shot. You still need to wear a mask and wash your hands like cray, but it could potentially happen. Due to staffing issues, many savvy travelers are taking advantage of the Air B & B market. There are a lot of really expensive homes that are dedicated just to being rented by the night. VRBO is another resource that takes advantage of people who bought into the whole “timeshare” scam. Gosh, that one week a year sounded great until you can’t change the dates. I have sat through timeshare presentations and it sounds all neat, but the reality is you want to travel to different places, see new things. Even the hotel or resort they are selling will lose its wow factor after a couple of visits. As a smart consumer, you can just rent those rooms/homes for the weekend or whenever. You still won’t come close to spending the money you put into a timeshare.
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Think about it, you really only have so many years of fun travel … before you get old, can’t walk, need help or extra time. Those good years are usually the years you don’t have the time or money. Just don’t get sucked into thinking a timeshare is a good idea. Take those fun vacations, save up for it. It doesn’t have to be super expensive. Don’t stay in a villa. Rent an air b&b that is AS nice or nicer than a villa. Home owners you stay with are happy to give you a fresh towel. Hotels have extended wait times for everything. I told you a long time ago that harsh immigration practices would eventually affect you and your vacations. The Motley Fool recommends buying some air b&b stock. That is a market that is continuing to explode as smart investors are buying homes just to rent. Real estate in any form of investing is a good if not great idea.
