If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
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dandan14
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If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by dandan14 »

If you had a few weeks of down time before starting a new job, what would you spend your time doing?
I'm just looking for some ideas so I don't squander this time.

Ideas:
Musical instrument
Learn a new skill. Ideas?
Online courses?

Just looking for some input.
Mike Scott
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Mike Scott »

exercise, go fishing, clean the garage, build some fence, take a nap, visit family
madmanx
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by madmanx »

Treehouse is a cool site if you are looking at expanding your computer skills (web design, programming etc.).
Sidney
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Sidney »

Might find an immersion foreign language program somewhere that also was an interesting travel destination.
I always wanted to be a procrastinator.
thewizzer
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by thewizzer »

Travel, assuming you have the funds
Alex Frakt
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Alex Frakt »

thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
Travel. The possibilities will depend on your funds.
Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Spend it with my kid and catch up at the gym.
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obgraham
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by obgraham »

Nap..
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englishgirl
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by englishgirl »

Honestly, I'd probably enjoy squandering my time.

But, there's always:
Read a ton of books.
Travel.
Hire a personal trainer and really go for it with the exercising for a few weeks to get in great shape.
Foreign language course.
Meditation course.
Cooking course - I wouldn't mind improving on my cooking skills, and my baking efforts are generally terrible.

I'm sure you'll think of something!
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by snyder66 »

Travel!
Atilla
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Atilla »

I'd take a really really long walk every morning.
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Fallible »

I didn't often have that much time between jobs, but when I did, I'd relax with long chats with friends or family, reading good books, taking long walks or biking. I'd do whatever is most relaxing because you'll soon be on somebody else's schedule.
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Ged
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Ged »

Alex Frakt wrote:
thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
Travel. The possibilities will depend on your funds.
I was luck once when laid off to have a lot of frequent flyer miles. Turned them into a trip to visit my father while he was vacationing in Hawaii. The whole thing was basically free because he already had a place to stay.

Coming back was hard though.
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Mudpuppy »

I'd probably sleep, then get to the small projects around the house that would take longer than a single weekend, but are low priority, so I've never gotten around to them. Might feel good to get the garage reorganized into zones or redo the drip irrigation for all the borders out back.
ychuck46
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by ychuck46 »

Hookers and booze. Or you could just waste the time.
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Tycoon
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Tycoon »

Read.
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harrychan
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by harrychan »

Travel.
This is not legal or certified financial advice but you know that already.
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dandan14
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by dandan14 »

thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
I have the funds, but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
thewizzer
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by thewizzer »

dandan14 wrote:
thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
I have the funds, but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
Hmmm, I can see how that would throw the proverbial monkey wrench into the works.

Catch up on your reading.
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Hector
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Hector »

I would travel.
Mudpuppy
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Mudpuppy »

dandan14 wrote:
thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
I have the funds, but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
That changes things a bit in terms of traveling, but family outings to places locally should still be doable. You could also ask your wife if there's anything she needs help with or would like to have you do before the baby gets here. Sounds like the next couple of months will be busy, so enjoy the time off work while you have it.
obgraham
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by obgraham »

dandan14 wrote: but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
All the more reason to Nap.

You have to get ahead of things here.
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Dutch
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Dutch »

Get into the best physical shape you can
Saving$
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Saving$ »

You have the funds but can't travel, because you have 8 month pregnant wife. Tasks for downtime:
1. Get in really good shape. Spend money on a trainer if that appeals to you.
2. Work off the honey do list. Do the things you never thought you would get done first.
3. Take over the chores your wife usually does. Make dinner. Spend time with her. Go to the zoo, or aquarium or museum with her during the week. Have a lunch date.
4. Pick the kids up after school and go hiking with them. Totally tire them out. Bring them home and feed them and put them to bed all while the wife rests.
5. Schedule a massage for the wife & surprise her. Another day, buy her flowers at noon.

You will get far more mileage out of the above than you ever imagined.
tim1999
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by tim1999 »

Assuming three weeks...First week would probably be spent playing 36 holes of golf per day for 7 days straight. Second week would be for some sort of US travel...warmer climate if it's winter where I live, preferably a road trip. Third week would be small home improvement projects and just hanging out at home, maybe hike some local areas, relaxing in preparation for the new job.

But that's just me.
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Alex Frakt »

dandan14 wrote:
thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
I have the funds, but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
Do the stuff within a day's drive that you meant to get around to someday.
mlipps
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by mlipps »

Alex Frakt wrote:
dandan14 wrote:
thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
I have the funds, but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
Do the stuff within a day's drive that you meant to get around to someday.
Take a babymoon and (if you cook) stock up your freezer to make your wife's life easier once the new baby arrives.
ensign_lee
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by ensign_lee »

Road trip across the US! Now is a great time to do it too as you can see the leaves change colors. I would 100% do this given the chance.
goldendad
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by goldendad »

I agree - definitly a road trip. See some sights, visit a few friends/relatives, read a few books.
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by frugaltype »

self deleted.
skylar
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by skylar »

Read, catch up on sleep. If my wife had time off too, maybe travel.
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Kosmo »

dandan14 wrote:
thewizzer wrote:Travel, assuming you have the funds
I have the funds, but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
I guess that takes traveling off the table. That would have been my first suggestion.

Seconds suggestion is to get as many projects done around the house as possible. Cleaning the garage, painting the bathroom, trimming the bushes, or whatever you've been putting off.
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dandan14
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by dandan14 »

Good ideas everyone. This sounds a little crazy...but I bought a banjo yesterday. I think it will be fun to watch some youtube videos and see what I can learn.

I also like the "get in shape" ideas -- something I really really need to do.

As I mentioned, travel is sort of off the table right now. We just went down for a long family visit and now my wife wants to stay near home for the rest of the pregnancy. We definitely haven't deprived ourselves of travel. Last time I was between jobs (before we had kids) we covered the US and 5 or 6 countries. :-)
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JupiterJones
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by JupiterJones »

dandan14 wrote: This sounds a little crazy...but I bought a banjo yesterday.
Excellent! That doesn't sound crazy to me at all.

But then again, I'm in Nashville where everyone is required by law to play at least one instrument and/or be a songwriter.

Anyway, you might want to check this out:

http://artistworks.com/banjo-lessons-tony-trischka

It looks a bit more structured/formalized than just collecting random YouTube videos. It costs money, but not much compared to private lessons.

Good luck! :beer
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dandan14
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by dandan14 »

JupiterJones wrote:
dandan14 wrote: This sounds a little crazy...but I bought a banjo yesterday.
Excellent! That doesn't sound crazy to me at all.

But then again, I'm in Nashville where everyone is required by law to play at least one instrument and/or be a songwriter.

Anyway, you might want to check this out:

http://artistworks.com/banjo-lessons-tony-trischka

It looks a bit more structured/formalized than just collecting random YouTube videos. It costs money, but not much compared to private lessons.

Good luck! :beer
Awesome....I was already getting frustrated with the lack of structure with random youtube lessons. I'll check this out.
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by VictoriaF »

dandan14 wrote:Good ideas everyone. This sounds a little crazy...but I bought a banjo yesterday. I think it will be fun to watch some youtube videos and see what I can learn.

I also like the "get in shape" ideas -- something I really really need to do.
Now, that you've got some suitable ideas and started acting on them, try to avoid the opposite extreme and do too many things at once.

Good luck,

Victoria
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Bogle101 »

Always wanted to do a yoga / cleanse retreat
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grap0013
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by grap0013 »

ychuck46 wrote:Hookers and booze. Or you could just waste the time.
+1 LOL

I'd make a few days productive with house/yard stuff and play with the rest of the time.

How come nobody mentioned spending time on www.bogleheads.org? I hear they give some good free advice over there. :wink:
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by rob »

obgraham wrote:
dandan14 wrote: but I also have kids and an 8 month pregnant wife. :-)
All the more reason to Nap.

You have to get ahead of things here.
Agree... You will have not sleep for a few years soon, so get some in ahead of time :D
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Re: If you had a few weeks of downtime, what would you do?

Post by Fallible »

dandan14 wrote:... This sounds a little crazy...but I bought a banjo yesterday. I think it will be fun to watch some youtube videos and see what I can learn. ...
Nothing like a little craziness to restore your sanity, at least for a few weeks. :thumbsup
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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