THE FATHER BLOG

I think I would have made a good travel agent. I truly enjoy planning trips and organizing activities while away. We’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled a decent amount and have seen some pretty interesting places. We probably all have our bucket list places that we want to see as well. For me, I still want to see Italy, the Pyramids of Egypt, and take a Viking River Cruise pretty much anywhere in Europe. Those take a bit more planning but I will eventually accomplish those trips.

But for the “quick getaway”, here are the things I do that I find helpful.

#1. Search for locations that your local airport flies DIRECT. If we are doing a short trip, I don’t want to waste time with connections or increase the risk of delays.

#2. Consider non peak or “off season”. For example, this upcoming trip to St. Thomas is not peak season and the flight and accommodations are a fraction of the cost of what it would be a month from now.

#3. Consider your activities and what you want to do before booking a hotel or VRBO/Air BNB. If you are already closer to where you will be spending most of your time, you will get more out of it for a short trip. I love VRBOs and have found some amazing deals…off season and last minute deals are way more affordable.

#4. Rent a car. This added cost is so worth it in my opinion. Having the freedom to move around and see more at your own pace is how you truly immerse yourself in a new location. If you want to book an all inclusive resort, lay on the beach all day, and never experience the people and culture outside of resort walls….go for it. But that isn’t what I like to do.

#5. Never let the fear of the unknown stop you! Never driven on the opposite side of the road? Language barrier? Who cares! Trust me…you will figure it out and be glad you did.

So start searching for the next getaway. It’s always nice to have something to look forward to!

We (and specifically myself) are not going to stop buying and consuming beer. But did you know each state has it’s own excise tax on alcohol? I’m not talking about sales tax as that’s a whole different story. And this is specific to beer because wine and spirits are also taxed differently.

The United States collects an excise tax on fermented malt beverages at the federal level (ranging from $0.11 to $0.58 per gallon based on production, location, and quantity). At the state level, all 50 states and the District of Columbia collect their own beer excise taxes, added on to any other retail sales taxes from state, and sometimes municipal, governments.

Kudos to our friends in Wyoming who can boast the lowest excise tax ($.06) and our apologies to those in Tennessee who are getting crushed ($1.29) as per 2024.

Where does your state rank? https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-beer-taxes-2024/

State Beer Excise Tax Rates

(Dollars per Gallon) As of January 1, 2024

State	Tax Rate	Rank
Alabama (a)	$0.53	8
Alaska	$1.07	2
Arizona	$0.16	36
Arkansas (b, c)	$0.35	18
California	$0.20	30
Colorado	$0.08	46
Connecticut	$0.24	27
Delaware	$0.26	24
District of Columbia (b)	$0.79	5
Florida (d)	$0.48	9
Georgia (a, d)	$0.48	9
Hawaii (d)	$0.93	4
Idaho (d)	$0.15	38
Illinois	$0.23	28
Indiana	$0.12	43
Iowa (d)	$0.19	32
Kansas	$0.18	33
Kentucky (e)	$0.93	3
Louisiana (d)	$0.40	15
Maine	$0.35	19
Maryland (b)	$0.60	7
Massachusetts	$0.11	44
Michigan	$0.20	29
Minnesota (d, b)	$0.47	11
Mississippi	$0.43	12
Missouri	$0.06	49
Montana	$0.14	40
Nebraska	$0.31	20
Nevada	$0.16	36
New Hampshire	$0.30	21
New Jersey	$0.12	42
New Mexico	$0.41	14
New York	$0.14	39
North Carolina (d)	$0.62	6
North Dakota (b, d)	$0.40	17
Ohio (d)	$0.18	34
Oklahoma (d)	$0.40	15
Oregon	$0.08	45
Pennsylvania	$0.08	46
Rhode Island (c)	$0.12	41
South Carolina	$0.77	5
South Dakota	$0.27	22
Tennessee (e)	$1.29	1
Texas (d)	$0.19	31
Utah (d)	$0.41	13
Vermont	$0.27	23
Virginia (d)	$0.26	26
Washington (d)	$0.26	25
West Virginia	$0.18	35
Wisconsin (d)	$0.06	48
Wyoming	$0.02	50

Depending where you get your news, you may have heard that AI is taking over the world and half the jobs currently held by humans. Is this a foregone conclusion? I have no idea. But I can say this much….if you aren’t at least researching some AI stocks to invest in, you could be missing a big opportunity.

As I’ve stated in the past, I am more into ETFs to reduce volatility in my portfolio….but that’s also because I’m not in my 20s anymore. But here are some things to consider:

What types of AI and technology ETF stocks are out there? Broad AI and Technology ETFs, Robotics and Automation ETFs, Generative AI ETFs, and Semiconductor ETFs just to name a few.

Within each segment, there are several to choose. Do you own research and due diligence as usual, but I can say this much: almost any one you choose will likely have a positive growth over the past 12 months on their charts.

If you are too lazy to spend lots of time doing your own research….you can probably just let AI do it for you!