Harris Financial Coaching Blog

When your dependent gets approved for Chapter 35 benefits, it can feel like a major financial relief. For many families, that monthly payment can help cover food, books, transportation, supplies, housing needs, and other expenses that come with being in college. It can also reduce how much parents feel pressured to send each month. It is a valuable benefit, but it also comes with rules that can affect your household budget if you do not understand them up front.

A resort can look beautiful online, but the real question is this: what does it actually feel like once you arrive? That is what I wanted to capture during my stay at Catalonia Royal Tulum. It is an adults-only, all-inclusive resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Catalonia Royal Tulum has a calm, tucked-away feel. Here is one of the first tips I would give anyone visiting this resort.

My daughter and I decided to unplug. No screens. No noise. No deadlines. Just us, the trail, the trees, and enough space to breathe. Sometimes we do not realize how much we are carrying until everything gets quiet. Sometimes peace begins when we pause long enough to notice what is already around us. In Japan, this practice is called shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.

Sometimes the best part of a trip is not the big-ticket attraction. It is the place you wander into for food, then end up staying because every corner has something different to see. That was Ponce City Market for us in Atlanta. We visited three times during our three-day trip because it was close to everything and gave us a little bit of everything: food, desserts, local shops, rooftop views, vintage finds, and easy access to the Atlanta BeltLine.

Tybee Island is just outside historic Savannah and is known for its beaches, lighthouse, seafood, and coastal feel. The official Tybee Island visitor guide describes it as a coastal escape with several beach areas, including North Beach, Mid Beach, Back River Beach, South Beach, and Little Tybee Island. For this trip, we spent about $500 total for a four-day getaway, and the biggest reason it worked was that we planned before we packed.