Tom Bombadil

All of my children did well in college, with me footing about 80% of their total bill. There is a lot of data that suggests if parents pay all of their expenses that those students usually don't do as well.

I have worked out a pre-retirement strategy to have more time to do the things I want to do. For the past 10 years I've been "banking" a week of leave a year. We get 5.5 weeks of paid vacation every year, so I've been using 4.5 a year. Now I'm going to start drawing from the "bank." I'm planning to take 7 weeks a year off for at least the next two years. If I do this, I'll still have 7 weeks left in the bank two years from now.

This past year I took only 3 full weeks off, along with a day here and a day there. As I'm making my plans to take 7 weeks this year, it's a rush just to think about it. A week off every 7-8 weeks. Woo hoo! First up, a week in Florida in January, then a week in North Carolina at the end of March. 5 more weeks to line up.

Perhaps this year, all of the breaks will help me to be fresh when dealing with all of the personnel and budget issues that come up with being responsible for nearly 200 staff.