I finally got a confirmed closing date on the house - 8/31 - and the current occupants have said they'll be out by 9/3. 9/4 is a holiday, and I took the rest of the week off with vacation time so I can move. Last time I moved, I had a pickup, so it was no problem moving all my stuff. This time, I think I'm going to have to rent a moving van for a day to move the big things, like the sectional couch, the bedroom stuff, the weight rack/set, the storage racks in the basement & garage, the lawn equipment, and the old motorcycle. Oh, and my tool boxes.I'm pretty sure everything else can go in my SUV, like the kitchen table & chairs, the futon, and my cabinet stereo. Will probably take a lot of trips, but it's only 3-4 city blocks away. Of course, if I get the big stuff moved quickly, maybe I'll just move the rest of it too, if I'm not too worn out.
The driveline shop should also be working on my Dodge, as of this past Monday. Hopefully I'll get a call about it soon. Also hopefully, it doesn't run more than $2k or so. Once it's done there, I think I can wait on picking it up, because I still need to have the exhaust done, and if I time it right, I can skip one trip with the tow truck & have it taken to the new place from there, rather than back here again. Looks like this weekend is going to be a lot of packing & finishing up things around the house. I slacked off & didn't really accomplish much on that front, but it's hard to stay motivated on your own. Besides, it'll be easier to work once most of my crap is out of here, right? :-) Once I'm out, I'll have to rent a dumpster so I can scrap a bunch of junk that's still here. I've been tossing some in my trash every week, but not nearly enough.
Oh yeah - my budget software is complete on my end, I'm just waiting on my coworkers to test it out. In the meantime, I found out just how much I spent going out for meals & drinks so far this year. My worst month was double what I'd casually budgeted (and I used a very generous number)! Anyway, based on the last couple weeks of me staying in & only dining out on the weekends, I'll be able to save almost 2/3 of my monthly payment in just that category. Not such a big deal regarding the house payment, but will be really important when it comes to growing my emergency fund, my retirement accounts, and the Dodge fund. Once I'm in the new place & get some firmer numbers for bills, I can tweak the budget even more.
I've really been getting serious about early retirement, and I don't mean the 59 1/2 '401k investment access' or 62 'social security' early retirement, I mean years before that. I've even scheduled a 'GTFO' meeting with WJC every Friday so we can discuss side gigs/passive income streams. He's already got his in place, and it'll be paid off & bringing in enough for him to retire in 7-8 years. I don't know that he will, but damnit, I want to be ready, because if I'm still employed there, I don't want to have to deal with the job once he's gone. I want to be able to leave too! (He's said the same thing about if I left, so at least we're on the same page!) By the end of the year, I should have a good game plan & be able to validate whether it'll work or it needs tweaking. I need to find a financial advisor I can trust, to go over the different scenarios I'm considering, too.
I'm getting ahead of myself, I know. It's good to keep those things in mind though, while making future plans. For now, I need to focus on getting into the new place, getting the old one sold, getting the Dodge on the road, and trying not to fall off the 'workout' wagon (I've been doing pretty well recently.) I'm sure I'll be skipping my workouts the week I'm moving, but I'll still be getting physical, so at least I won't be slacking.
P.S. Found another snake in my house, this time right on the landing as I walk in my back door. No idea how he got there, he must have climbed the basement stairs trying to get out, because there are no points of entry in that area of the house. Now I wonder what I'll find when I empty out the basement!?
7:02 p.m. - 2017-08-23
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