Saturday, October 1, 2011

Checking In...And We Are Off to Vegas

It's been a whole week since I last posted!  Sorry, it's been a zoo around here so here's a quick update:
  • We leave for Las Vegas tomorrow.  We will be picking up a truck from Budget Truck Rental (a lot cheaper than U Haul and way way cheaper than using PODS--which I would have preferred because it is a simple way to move--but we are saving money in every way possible so a semi-expensive rental truck and towing the car behind us is what we will do).  I am NOT looking forward to the 20 hour drive to Las Vegas, but then again, we are doing this as cheaply as possible...  Money lesson: expensive=comfortable. Cheap=uncomfortable.
  • When we get to Las Vegas we will put our stuff in storage until we find a house to buy and the sale closes.  Fortunately the cousin we will be staying with in Las Vegas while we are looking for a house gave me the number to the storage unit place she uses so we will get our first month free and she will also get a free month for referring us.  That turned out well financially for everyone.  Money lesson: let people know if you need help with something and they may surprise you will what they come up with!
  • As soon as we get the truck unloaded and returned we will be meeting up with the realtor and we will find a place to buy within a week (I hope, our tickets to Connecticut have us leaving Las Vegas a week after we arrive!).  The realtor has already sent us some great-looking listings so we are hopeful that we will find something.  Although we originally wanted a small condo, I think we will end up with a bigger house but that may work out OK because it sounds like we will have a lot of guests after we get settled.  Money lesson: thank goodness the houses in Las Vegas are super cheap and there are plenty to choose from!
  • A week after we arrive in Las Vegas we will be heading to Connecticut to visit family and friends.  We were supposed to go there last spring but got side tracked with a longer-than-expected stay in Atlanta.  We don't have a return ticket because we don't know how fast the house will close so after a month or so in Connecticut, we may end up going to Atlanta until the house closes if it takes longer than expected.  I want to get out of Connecticut before it snows!  Money lesson: not really a lesson, but I hope we can find cheap tickets to get us to Atlanta and/or back to Las Vegas!
  • Hubby just learned how to use FaceBook.  It is good because he can keep up with the kids and grandkids, it isn't so good because he asks me a million questions about it (usually while I am in the middle of proofreading documents or designing a website). Eeekkk  Money lesson: just like I try to be patient with money things, I need to be more patient with hubby!
  • I really miss baking. I'm not sure why it just hit me but all of the sudden I want to bake.  I want to bake pizza and cookies and a cake and bread...  It isn't really convenient to bake where we are staying so I will just dream about my new kitchen and wait a couple of more months.  Money lesson: it is hard to cook for yourself while you are on the road.
  • Finally, I kind of can't wait to move to Las Vegas and try some of the money saving things I learned in Japan.  For example, my friend always hangs her laundry outside to dry and never uses her dryer, she has an on-demand water heater which I want to find out about getting installed because it seems a much better (and cheaper) option than having a big tank of water that is kept continually hot.  Also, I want to look into solar power.  Las Vegas has a lot of sun so it just makes sense to use it to power our house if at all possible.  Money lesson: I'm going to try to be super frugal once we get settled.
I hope you are all doing well and will get back to reading your blogs as soon as possible!

6 comments:

  1. I have just started talking to my husband about the on demand water heaters. First of all they take up so little room plus they are great money savers. I just need to call around to find what it is going to cost

    Judy

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  2. Have fun in Vegas!!! :) I need to buckle down even mores now that fall/winter is here...heating bills are outrageous! :/

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  3. Hi Carla, We are going at a good time--we will save the high heating bills during the winter in Seattle and will also miss the high air conditioning bills in Las Vegas (at least until next summer but then I heard that people's electric bills can be pretty outrageous!).
    Hi Judy, I will post the info here when I find our about the on demand water heater; it may different in your area but at least you will have an idea.
    Thanks for the comments ladies!

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  4. I'm sending positive vibes into the universe for you in the hopes that you will find a nice place to live and the paperwork will go smoothly this time. Good luck!
    BTW: my hubby turned on the heat right after I wrote that post.

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  5. You should be able to get a really nice house there because of all the foreclosures. It had one of the highest home repo rates in the nation. Good luck, moving is a lot of work but also exciting.

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  6. Thanks Lorraine, we can use all the help we can get! We have looked at a lot of repos...the problem seems to be that they aren't in great condition (one house had EVERYTHING removed--sink, light fixtures, doors...). We have a couple of places that we like but so far nothing *perfect*. We may have to settle for close to perfect.
    Also, Kim, I love your blog and read it often but for some reason I have hard time leaving a comments so just know that I find your blog fascinating!

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