Little car and I visited the Jiffy Lube :]

So my little 1994 Honda Civic is once again responsible for transporting Loveyy and I from one home to the next.
Almost two years ago I was packing her up and driving her 1,500 miles down here. I never thought she'd have to make the trip twice.
With the big move just 11 days away we decided to bring her to the car doctor for a check-up.
They filled up all of her fluids, and changes the oil. They also convinced me to flush the radiator. I haven't done this since I got her and I have put a good 100,000 miles on her since momma gave her to me after graduation in 2010.
All of this should have cost me around $130, which was steep but if it needed to be done, then it needed to be done.  However, with coupons, and discounts it only came to $70! I'd say I got a good deal! Proud? I am. We also bought some fuel injector and filler her up so hopefully her gas mileage will improve a little.
I LOVE when we take her in and get her tuned up, she always drives so much better afterwards.

Just 11 more days!!
I can not wait.

Nineteen to go!

In exactly nineteen days I will be packing up the last little bits of my belongings loading my two cats and my dog and Loveyy into my itty bitty 1994 Honda Civic, while my dad gets into the 16 foot budget truck I have reserved and we will all be pulling out of Austons moms drive and heading for our new home in the mountains.

This has all happened rather quickly. When I started planning this trip 6 or 7 months ago it seemed like it was going to take forever! Even as soon as 2 months ago I still could hardly see the end of all the moving, and packing and planning and stress. Now its basically here at my doorstep and I am still a little shocked by how quickly these past 6 months have gone by.

I am amazed by my ability to pull something as large as moving 1,500 miles awway in just a few short months. Auston has never made a transition like this. I however, am all to familiar with starting fresh. I have moved to many times to count! The summer before I started high school I moved from New Hampshire to California. Talk about scary. Maybe the fact that I'm callous to moving now is why I have such trouble trying to talk to him and comfort him. He is after all leaving everything and everyone he has ever known behind, and I am headed towards my mommy. I know its tough.

Here are a few pieces of advice when planning a move such as this:

• Give yourself Ample amounts of time! Like I just said, these past six months have FLOWN by, and honestly I'd be okay with staying and saving for another month.
• Let those who will be most affected know EARLY on. That way everyone has a chance to say their piece and get used to the idea of not having you around. It will still hurt when the time comes, but atleast everyone feels as though they have put their best foot forward and said what they needed to say.  - When Auston's family found out, I thought they would never get over how upset they were. but they did. It just took some time. And yes It is still going to suck, but atleast they were able to give us their input.
• Check, then check again, then RE-CHECK your budget. Make sure every last thing is included. Don't forget food for your trip, or the fact that your car will need a tune up if you're driving. Are animals coming? You might want to factor in fees at hotels for having animals with you. Gas is a big one - for my car its going to cost around $200, but the truck will be around $600, thats $800 in gas alone!
• Downsize. Do you need everything in your house? We got rid of tons and tons of stuff and still require a 16 footer to move it all. The less you move the smaller the truck, the less in gas. Its really a chain reaction. So look at your things and think "is this really worth paying to ship?"
• Ask for help! I don't know how this trip would have been possible without the help we have recieved from friends and family. Some helped us move, some are storing tings for us while we are in a transitioning phase, some are caring for the animlas, and some are housing us during the transition. Help is key! Trust us.

Thats all the advice I have for now. After the big day I'll probably do a big breakdown of everything involved.

Its Official.

I recieved my tax return yesterday!Which means that I am officially ready to move.

Of course, all the money I have saved up only covers "the moving" part of this new endevor, but I should be recieving plenty in the next couple of weeks to help with the transitional phase as well.

I also recieved another W2 that I wasn't expecting, so now I have to go file some ammended taxes. All that really means is a little more money for me though! Seriously, who's going to be upset about that? Not this girl.

My car insurance is getting paid tomorrow, and that is our last official bill, so my last two paychecks should be going towards fixing up my 1994 civic for the long haul. Poor Baby - she's going to hate me. I'll have to buy her a new bumper sticker.

Not a whole lot has been going on here, just a lot of working. And Planning.

We have been eating out a ton! because we aren't in our own place anymore. I didn't think this would upset me as much as it does, but I am really not happy. I will have to make more of an effort to buy easy meals to cook here. I can't wait to get back into my own place, with my own kitchen.

I also plan on participating in Carla's mini challenge this week. I just have to figure out who to send something special to.

Today we went out and bought the meat (that I was supposed to buy yesterday). Our total came to $20.91. This is only our second purchase of the month, and so far I am pretty proud of myself. I am also proud that the only two purchases we're alotted for, being that they were groceries. Read more about how my month of no spending is going.

My dad came for a visit from SoCal today, so my loveyy and I went to pick him up from the airport. I was pretty excited to see him. As an added bonus he filled my gas tank. Now I will have plenty of gas to get back and fourth between my house and my grandmothers, where he will be staying this weekend. Its a little bit of a drive, and I was nervouse to begin with about making the trip numerous times in one weekend. Especially since I don't work again until Monday.

On another happy financial note:
This one is in regards to our big move! As most of you know, Auston and I are moving out of state in March. However, our lease for our apartment is up January 31st, so for our last month we will be staying with my family. This just left me with one big dilemma, where were we going to keep the animals? It was looking like I was going to have to board our dog, which would have cost close to $600.00, and I had no clue where I was going to get that money from. Luckily, during a new years barbeque Auston found out about a woman who could potentially help. For Free! We are taking him out to her property this weekend for a trial run, I really hope all goes well. This would be a huge relief for us. Moving is going to be stressful enough as it is.
I am still trying to figure out what to do with the cats though... : /



I have been really bad about posting my pictures!!
Here's for the last 3 days! :

These two girls are more important to me than anything!!

I grew up swimming here. This is one of the many reasons I want to go home. These rivers are some of the most beautiful places I  have ever seen.

Ah! A baby Posum! I met this little guy in my Zoology class, junior year of high school!



No Spending in January!

We are Moving to New Hampshire March 4th!!

I know, I know, New Hampshire? what on earth is there? Most people can't even locate it on a map. Well, the truth is I love New Hampshire, I was raised there, and its high time this little chickady gets her butt home. I'm done living in the crap town, making no money, and seeing no mountains, for other people, I'm ready to start living for me. 

Sadly this epic move I have planned is going to cost a hefty amount of money. around $1,600. Currently we have about $600, which isn't bad at all. Most of it came from friends and family for Christmas - so Thank you! to all thouse who have helped. In order to fatten up our savings towards this trip we have decided that :

JANUARY will be a NO-SPEND month.( This months no-spend was brought on by Carla.)

Here are my rules...

Fixed bills -

• January's Rent - $650
• Car Insurance - I have to start a new policy this month, so I'm not sure exactly how much this will cost.
• Electric Bill - Somewhere aroung $90.00 I HOPE!

Nessecities-

• Groceries
• Gas
• Austons prescriptions
• Maitenence on Austons car (for the trip)

I will also be adding money daily to our sealed pot, and I will still be putting away $5.00/week towards my new car.

Other than the things I have listed above Auston and I will not spend any money. We really have to start getting serious about this move, or else we will be stuck when March rolls around.

I want to save up $400 to go towards our trip - this means watching EVERY PENNY we have.
But an added $400 should bring us to around $1,000. I will also be getting my tax return sometime in the next couple months, which will be added in, and I still have all of Feb left to save as well.

Instead of going out, I will be focusing on picking up extra shifts, organizing, throwing things out, cleaning, and getting ready for our move (we will be leaving the apartment at the end of January)

Wish me luck!

Breaking down our Big Move.

As I mentioned a little while back my Loveyy and I are moving to New Hampshire in March. I can not believe we are only two months out! Unfourtunately, between Christmas and work cutting back drastically on shifts, I have safed very little towards this trip. Last night, I reserved the truck we are going to need to move with. We saved $300 by going with Budget instead of Uhaul, and we also saved an additional $54 by reserving last night. Thats a big chunk of money we just saved! Today I finally broke down how much we are going to need to move with -

Truck (with a tow for my Honda) - $680
Gas for the Seabring - $200
Gas for the truck - $650
Money for a motel (notice I didn't say hotel? ) - approx $100

That brings us to a rough total of - $1,630!!!
Holy Smokes that's a lot of money.

Currently we have - $90.00 - I know I know!

But hold on just a minute! A big Chunk of this money is going to be coming from my Tax Return. That's why we decided to wait until March. Another big chunk is going to be coming from saving between Jan.-Feb.
Our lease is Up January 31st, and going month to month was not an option, so thanks to a lot of help from My stepmother, we will be staying with her. Also thanks to help from Loveyys mom, we will be storing our stuff there. We are still trying to figure out what to do with the animals in that time.  Here's to praying!

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Also - Here is my Photo for today:

Each day for a year I will post a picture of something that made me happy. This will help us start focusing on the little things in life, that are sometimes easily overlooked.
Want to participate? Let me know, and I will post a link to your site below.

This is from the walk Loveyy, the dog, and I took today. We wen't around five, the weather, and the water were both beautiful. I was actually suprised to see so many people out today, its December for crying out loud, where's the cold?!