Who doesn’t want to go on a long trip? The Japanese way of touring Europe within 7 days doesn’t appeal to me. I was brought up with summer holidays lasting between 3 weeks to 3 months. We loved the summers on the beach and I’d be game for a longer holiday again, right now! What about you? Have you thought of taking a sabbatical or a longer trip?
Before you can get on that plan, have your home prepared. Here’s our checklist for you:
This New Year’s Eve did not go as planned. Having direct view of Burj Khlaifa, the tallest building in the world, we celebrated with friends at home and were excited to see some spectacular fireworks.
At around 10:00 pm, my mom questioned her eyesight. “Is that building over there really on fire?” The first message appeared on my phone: “Has the Address Hotel caught fire?” One of the most beautiful buildings in Downtown Dubai stood on fire!
Over the next hours, we were shocked and scared by how quickly the flames took over 63 floors and watched the news to understand what was going on. It was not what we expected.
When the New Year rang in, it was bizarre to watch the fireworks on the left and the burning building on the right.
This night made me realise how fortunate I am but it also made me revisit our safety. What can you do to prevent fires?
Travelling to Hong Kong, I wanted to write about overcommitment and instead watched the film “Batkid Begins”. If you’re like me, you may not have heard about the film but I bet you’ve heard about the story. Miles, a 5-year-old boy defying leukaemia, was fortunate to be granted his wish by the Make A Wish Foundation: he wanted to be Batman! San Francisco became Gotham City in 2013 and thousands of people saw this little boy fight evil. Such an uplifting and touching documentary!
If one little boy had the power to make all these adults happy, what power would two, fifteen or hundreds of children have to make this world a better place? Over the last 2 weeks, we’ve seen too many bloody attacks across the globe. People were shocked, intimidated, yet determined to not give up and continue living their lives. What if there are small steps to improve our surroundings?
Just imagine your house is on fire. The flames are spreading quickly. But you were given special protection by the fire fighters to quickly take few things. What would you take with you?
As horrible (and dangerous) as this situation is, the question brings a dilemma along. Would you take what’s practical (e.g. your insurance documents), what has value (e.g. your money) or what has sentimental value (e.g. a a necklace from your husband)? And what about your pets?
While visiting my family in Germany, our freezer decided to break down. It was ironic to happen when our handyman checked our dishwasher and shortly afterwards, there was the new freezer. After 21 years, it’s a well-deserved retirement. For my mom, it meant an unexpected and unplanned expense. Luckily for her, she had set some money aside for these events.
We don’t know what the future holds but we can prepare ourselves for the unexpected. Here are the latest tips to start your own preparations for unexpected financial expenses: