dsmWealth January 21, 2021

The temperature here on the outskirts of Fredericksburg, Texas, right now is 56, and it’s cloudy, with a few sprinkles. Woe is me; I am missing 34 and a wind chill in Des Moines. Yes, I’m hiding from yet another Iowa winter by taking up temporary residence in a rented (and tethered) Airstream travel trailer in the Texas Hill Country near Austin. And I tacked on a week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. But I’m doing so in what I consider to be as responsible a manner as I could select and abide by social distancing and COVID-ducking protocols.

I first drove myself to Dallas, and hopped a flight to Cancun. I specifically booked a 787 aircraft, which in the front of the plane has single seats (no sharing). Once in Mexico, I rented a car – no sharing a shuttle ride to the resort. I selected a Hilton Hotels property, figuring they would protect their reputation with frequent sanitizing and spacing at meal and drink sites. It was an all-inclusive resort, so I had no need to leave the property.

The beach was wide open. The salt water, too. They had a great, vastly underused swimming pool – I was typically the lone swimmer in the 100-meter-long pool. The only bad behavior I spotted was at the whirlpool spas that ringed the main pool, as some partiers clustered and ignored mask or distancing guidelines.

The airport at Cancun was swarming with freshly tanned/burned Americans. Unlike virtually every other country, Mexico has no restrictions on travel, which serves to funnel to it anyone interested in a foreign vacation. (The U.S. may soon mandate for a negative COVID test for travelers from Mexico.)

Back in Texas, I drove to my trailer. I chose Texas so I could bring my bicycle. I wanted a warm and COVID-free area, and, oddly enough, I was able to assess both qualities at the Weather Underground, www.wunderground.com. Plug in any city in the country and it will give you the forecast, plus historical temperatures for any given past January. Most important, on the main page for each city, it lists the number of COVID cases and deaths for the county where the city is located.

I wanted southernmost Texas. But COVID counts there were relatively high; my measuring stick was Polk County – 45,000 cases for a population of 493,000. I wanted to beat that rate, and among a dozen communities I considered, I found it at Fredericksburg. It’s an attractive town of 10,000, with a big dose of German food and culture that honors its founding fathers. The county’s COVID case rate is half what it is in Des Moines.

So far, I’m healthy. And a little tanned. The tan will fade. I hope I’ve chosen correctly so that my health will not.

Beach Vacation in Your Plans? Test the Waters

BY STEVE DINNEN

I like to take beach vacations. And when I do, I like to swim. I mean, swim for 30-40 minutes at a stretch, not just splash about in the surf. But I’m a Goldilocks swimmer, because I don’t like the water too cold, or too hot. I like it just right – around 78 degrees.

Right now the water temperature at Honolulu is perfect – 78.4 degrees. I know this from scanning www.seatemperature.org. Just when you thought the world had churned out all the websites it could ever use, along comes one that spits out the current and monthly average water temperature for darn near any beach in the world. What a great planning tool it is.

Two weeks ago I drove to south Texas, hoping to spend some time at South Padre Island. But the water in January is way too cold, just 67 degrees. So I jetted farther south, to Cancun, and its comfortable 80.1-degree water. I’m now back in Texas, where the water won’t hit my Goldilocks moment until May. This website lets you plan your vacay to whenever it suits you waterwise.

My business partner lives in Santa Cruz, California, and when I go there it’s all business, no swim. Right now it’s an icy 53.8 degrees there. Pretty to look at, cold to touch. There’s a reason all those surfers in California wear wet suits.

Are You a Stock Investor at Risk of Getting Burned?

BY LORIE KONISH FOR CNBC.COM

As some stocks have climbed to record highs, you may have been tempted to double down on a favorite pick, like Tesla, or the latest initial public offering.

But at least one money expert is sounding the alarm that some investors may be overexposed to individual stocks. Christine Benz, director of personal finance at Morningstar, said she vowed to speak up the next time she saw potentially dangerous market conditions crop up, after the dot-com bust of the late '90s.

“It feels like that time is here,” she tweeted last week. READ MORE.

Are You Saving Too Much for Your Kids' College?

BY KRISTIN MCKENNA FOR FORBES.COM

With the average cost of college nearing $33,000 per year, few parents have concerns about saving too much for their kids' college. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be. Whether you're over-funding a 529 plan and risk incurring taxes and penalties or prioritizing college savings over your own financial security, saving too much for college can be costly. Here's how to tell if you're saving too much for your kids' college and what you can do about it. READ MORE.