This is the look on Rick Hill’s face when he received a surprise early birthday gift. His son and daughter coordinated the gift of a lifetime – a scholarship in perpetuity in Rick’s name. The photo is from a gathering at Trinity University where the scholarship was announced. Read the comments below from his son Rick Jr. for the rest of the story:

“The landline phone my roommate had mounted between our beds in my Trinity University dorm room would not stop ringing.

It was October 1990 and I was at my desk studying for midterms. I was tempted to just unplug it but I decided to get up and answer it to voice my displeasure.

It was my Dad. Before I could complain, he said “I have great news.”

Since I was graduating that Spring and told him I regretted not getting to study aboard because of baseball, he laid out his plans to take the family on a 2-week trip over the holidays to Australia and New Zealand.

Wow!

This was a serious upgrade over our summer trips to Lake Barkley, Kentucky where we’d pack our brown Ford Gran Torino station wagon and drive four hours south from St. Louis to stay in a glorified Motel 6.

Since I was going to graduate that Spring and my sister Laura was not far behind in her studies at Arizona State, he reasoned we should splurge on what could be our last extended trip together as a family.

It’s been over 35 years and I still remember every stop on our 8-city, 2-country tour.  From the Stephen Sondheim play at the Sydney Opera House to the Māori haka dance performance in Queenstown and the conversations we had over unforgettable meals. There are so many memories we still talk about today.

When I got back to campus, I described the experience to my friends as “the trip of the lifetime.”

The Trinity students I know who take the Sports in England class describe their experience the same way.  The quality instruction, priority access to venues, access to experts helping compare British and American sport models, and the opportunity to explore so many historical sites, made it a Trip of Lifetime.

That gave me an idea.

Dad, can you come up here and join me?

Luckily for our family our first Trip of Lifetime wasn’t our last. My Dad’s career gave us the financial means to take additional trips. His fear that we wouldn’t travel together was unfounded, especially since most were what my sister and I call a NWW…a no wallet week for us.

Dad for your 80^th birthday we want to pay you back. We are going to establish a scholarship in Rick Hill’s name to send one student on every Sport in London class in perpetuity.

Honoring you this way ties in your love of trips, sports, and philanthropic desire to provide educational opportunities.

Thank you for everything you have done for our family.  Our Trips of a Lifetime have had an incredible impact on us, and we know it will be very meaningful for the recipients of these scholarships.

Happy Birthday Dad!”

Speculating and investing are fundamentally different, and it pays to know why.

Speculating is exciting, full of breathtaking ups and downs. If you chart it over time, it looks like a heartbeat. Probably an elevated one.

Investing, on the other hand, is slow and boring. In the short term, you may have some ups and downs. But if you chart investing over time (over many years of time), it looks like a long slow curve upward.

Speculating is like a Vegas casino. Investing is like watching grass grow.

Know which game you’re playing.

This is the latest in our series of introductory “101” financial guides. Each guide reveals a set of wise actions as well as a set of behaviors to avoid. The goal? Help you make smart choices at every turn in your financial road trip. We have seen financial successes exponentially enhanced when wise financial decisions are made repeatedly over a long period. This month’s focus is Banking. Online banking, online banks, and fintech firms are rapidly changing the competitive landscape, so staying up to date can be challenging.

Compound Wisdom Actions

• Good Things Come in Threes – A great start is 1 checking account, 1 savings account for your emergency fund, and 1 savings account for near-term large purchases.
• Know the Fine Print – Understand the fees within your account and how to avoid them.
• Don’t Live on the Edge – Keep a cushion in your checking account to avoid overdrafts.
• Know Where You Stand – With smartphone access and reduced use of checks, it’s easy to know your real balance and there is less need to “balance your checkbook” each month.
• Hold On – Plan ahead so you aren’t surprised when a deposit is placed on hold and the funds are not instantly available.
• Stay Alert – Review your account’s balance and transaction alert settings and update them to match your preferences.
• Stay Safe – Enable two-factor authentication, and never access your bank app on public Wi-Fi.
• Go on Auto-Pilot – Use your checking account as a hub to auto-pay your bills instead of a credit card (which may be reissued every time fraud is suspected).
• Get the Kids Involved – A savings account for a child in middle school can be a great tool to start them off in learning about banking.
• Don’t Simply Pass it Along – Young adults should investigate the low-cost nature of online banks and not just adopt their parent’s brick-and-mortar bank.
• No Interest – While the national banks continue to offer low-interest rates on checking accounts, many online banks pay cashback when you use their debit card, making it a potentially wise choice for younger adults.

Behaviors to Avoid:

• Over-drafting Often – Regular overdrafts signal you are not in control of your finances.
• Surprise, Surprise – Not knowing your balance weekly or even daily can result in a costly surprise.
• Banking Inertia – If your bank is assessing fees or delivering poor service, pull the plug and find a better solution.
• Paying Avoidable Fees – If you are being assessed fees each month, you should ask how to eliminate them.
• Walking Around with Your Emergency Fund – Never use your checking account as a place to save for emergencies – create a dedicated savings account that is less easy to access (aka no debit card).

Feel free to pass this along if you know someone who might benefit from the guidance and look for more from me in this monthly series.

I lead our Hillfolio level client service and planning efforts, learn more about me here and reach out if I can help you put the magic of compounding on your side.