Starting a Travel Fund

In May 2020 I turned 70 and started to collect my own Social Security. Although I had been receiving spousal benefits since Tim claimed his Social Security benefits in 2018, I had waited to collect my full benefits until age 70. (We had run the numbers back in 2018 and had been surprised to find that that strategy for collecting Social Security was the most advantageous for us.)

At the end of 2019 Tim and I had decided to establish a separate travel savings account where I would deposit my Social Security check. We also started depositing the money we received from our museum projects, as well as “bonus” money like stimulus checks.

Let's Hope the Travel Savings Fund Will Grow Quickly!

The travel fund would be used to pay for all RV expenses, all travel to and from our museum projects, and all other fun travel. Since we were no longer getting our travel fix with the RV, we figured that we would need a dedicated source of funds for future travels. With my larger Social Security checks, our travel fund would grow much more quickly.

Our Pandemic Lockdown

I must admit that I was very grateful to have a home to return to.  Our home became our sanctuary in which we would ride out the pandemic.  It was so fortuitous that Tim had suggested getting off the road when he did.  Being a full-time RVer during the pandemic would have been a nightmare for us.

After returning from SAMO, we spent the next five months at home with virtually no contact with the outside world.  Surprisingly, we adjusted rather quickly to lockdown.  We continued to cook all of our meals and really did not miss going to restaurants.  I discovered curbside pickup at King Soopers and Walmart and almost never set foot in a store.  I had to make an exception for Costco, however, but I only went during senior hours when it was not busy.

Tim never seemed to be at a loss for how to occupy his time.  He signed up for a GIS class at Front Range Community College during the summer semester.  The class was held remotely via Zoom, and he really enjoyed it.

The pandemic seemed to encourage old friends to connect virtually with one another again.  I was able to participate in quite a few Zoom happy hours with friends from Miami, while Tim joined calls with his more far-flung relatives.

The Kitty loved having us around all the time and spent many an hour on our laps.  She is the only one I photographed during this time.

Who Are You Looking At?