I’m back from Israel!
I actually got in late Wednesday evening after over 24 hours of straight traveling, but I took that night and yesterday to get through all my email, read all your comments on the posts (Thanks to Shawn for moderating!) and getting through about 800 new posts in my Google Reader (I still have about 400 to skim through).
Thanks again to all those who guest posted on this site. It felt great to know my readers were still being treated to some good (and some controversial) opinions and information while I was gone.
I’ll hold off talking about Israel until I can put together some more dedicated articles this weekend. But I will say the weather was BEAUTIFUL, especially compared to what we came back to in DC. No rain, sunny skies and 70s/80s the whole time. But I’m glad to be back anyway. There’s something to be said for sleeping in your own bed and sitting on your own toilet.
As far as financial tidbits, it was nice to see gas prices drop another 20-25 cents while we were gone. There’s a few stations north of us at $1.99 per gallon now.
And I checked the 6-month LIBOR rate and was shocked to see it down to 2.63% today. Our first mortgage is an interest-only, 5/1 ARM set to reset a year from now. It’s at 5.25% currently, but if it were to reset today, I’d be paying only 4.88%! I can only hope it continues this trend for another year, but I doubt we’ll be that lucky.
Since Israel did carry Fox News, I could keep track of the market each night (they’re 7 hours ahead of EST). No shock that it continued its triple-digit fluctuations.
And lastly, it was good to find out that absolutely nothing of interest happened at my job while I was gone. Not that anything interesting happens while I’m here either. It’s one of the most boring jobs, but the pay is great, as are the hours.
I was in Israel backpacking 2 summers ago and absolutely loved it. I also went backpacking to Jordan and Egypt as well. Did you get a chance to do that? It’s hard to find people who have traveled to the Middle East so I always enjoy hearing stories from those who have. I would enjoy to hear more about your experiences. Feel free to email.
@Craig, we just got through Israel. Our days were packed between northern Israel (Nazareth, Tiberias, Capernaum, etc.( and the Jerusalem/Bethlehem area. I would love to go back to see Petra, but I think that will be years away when I can plan more than just that. But we did see Jordan from across the river (and across the Dead Sea)!
Welcome home, and thank you for letting me guest post while you were gone!
Welcome back! My church puts together a trip every year or two. I haven’t yet had the chance to go, but I would love to soon. Glad the trip went well for you.
Welcome back! On my way in to work this morning, I saw gas at $1.78. I’ve been so used to seeing $3+ gas, the price signs look funny now!
What is everyone doing with the extra wiggle room in their budgets due to the lower price of gas?
I have used it to buy some early Christmas presents and been able to sock a little bit more into some small debts.
@Danielle, I haven’t personally noticed any difference with the lower prices because I take the train to work. Stacie is noticing a difference in her gas bills, but she has a reasonably efficient MINI Cooper and only drives it on weekdays to work. I’m sure we’ll notice it more in December when we drive to see family.