Debt Hater

Move 2007 -- Never again... if I can help it

    All right, so we unloaded the stuff I needed that could also fit in the apartment.

    The rest I had to drive to my cousin's house to store in her basement.

    By the time we were done, I couldn't wait to get rid of that truck. I took it to a U-Haul depot, dropped it off and have long since decided that I will save my pennies and let movers handle the whole shebang next time... especially if it requires a long distance drive. Hauling a truck for 16 hours is no fun... especially without a CD player.

    Anyway!

    The whole trip cost almost exactly $1,200 (including the trip to my cousin's place plus tolls) -- just what I budgeted.

Move 2007 -- We made it

    Oh... my... lord!

    What a looooonng drive.

    The movers arrived at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning right on the nose. They emptied my apartment and loaded the truck in two hours. My guy and I eventually got on the road later that afternoon.

    A 10 to 11 hour drive took us 16 hours because we were driving the truck with my car hitched up to a two dolly on the back.

    I was terrified of driving the giant thing. I don't even like driving SUVs. I don't feel like I have control over the vehicle. But, I had to get my grown woman on and just haul tail in the truck.

    I drove that sucka for two thirds of the trip! I was hauling it at 65 and 70 mph smooth as butta! I was all proud of myself.

    We did hit one snag that cost us about an hour in Knoxville on Thursday morning. You can't back up with a car on a tow dolly. So, I went down some country road hoping to get back to the Interstate after we stopped to get some gas. But, this city girl forgot that the country doesn't do block. You can just turn a few corners and be back on the road you wanted.

    We drove into a dead end on a quiet residential street. I drove the truck into somebody's driveway, up a hill and then we sat there trying to figure out what to do.

    We had to take the car off the dolly. Then, we had to unhook the tow dolly because it wouldn't go straight back when the truck was in reverse.
    Nightmare.
    Why?
    Because we were on a hill! That tow dolly was heavy as all get out. We're struggling to keep it from rolling into a grassy ditch. Almost broke a finger and pulled out my arms. My guy was muscling up too and we were none too happy.
    Long story short, somehow we got the dolly onto the street, then I back the truck down and we re-assembled the whole works.

    I just chalk it up to experience.

    We got to Washington at night and spent a horrible hour dragging my stuff into his apartment.

    All in all, we're alive, nothing was damaged and we were home!

    DH

Move 2007 -- The final countdown

    Mostly everything is packed up except for some straggling knicknacks, household cleaners and junk that needs to be thrown away.

    I'll spend a few hours scrubbing things down so they don't nickel and dime me on my deposit (like they did the last move).

    I'm not looking forward to that, but I am looking forward to hitting the road with my beau tomorrow!

    I'll let you know how the move goes.

    TTYL

    DH

Move 2007 -- I'm making progess

    You may not care, but in yesterday's post I promised I would do some packing when I got home from work.

    I am proud to report that I packed most of the bathroom, all the knick knacks, vases and such from the living room and bedroom and a significant amount of the kitchen, clearing out two drawers and two cabinets and boxing up most of the non-perishable food and spices. Did it in just 2 hours.

    Tip: Don't throw away spices and flavorings when you move because they're expensive and they won't go bad in a box for a few days, or a week for that matter.

    Back to the grind tonight...

    DH

   

Move 2007 -- Whining about moving and a funny thing with UHaul

    Yes, I know I have whined before about packing and moving.

    I'm sorry to beat the dead horse.

    The good news is, my guy is in town and is going to stay with me until moving day next week to help me drive the U-Haul back East.
    The other good news is that my cousin has agreed to let me stash my furniture and some boxes in her basement until the guy and I can find a place big enough (right now, we'll be jamming in -- jammed in -- his studio apartment).
    I guess there is no bad news except that I haven't really started packing... I made a HUGE mistake of uber procrastinating the last time on packing and I vowed never to do it again, so don't ask me what my problem is now.
    It's just that I'm so tired when I get home from work ... (hear the violins in the background, listen to my voice degenerate from a grown woman's to a whiny 5-year-old's).

    The best news is that the truck rental and the movers I hired folks to unload the apartment and load the will cost about half what I expected to pay!

    I set aside about $1,200 for total moving expenses. I reserved a U-Haul last week for $598 not including the car towing hitch, which added $98. Add in gas, a hotel stay and the movers and we're talking right at budget (maybe just under).
    The week before I made this reservation, the cost was much lower, about $350 for the truck. So, I thought it was some sort of special I missed or a glitch, but I didn't get a human on the phone to figure it out. I let it go.
    Then, a few days ago, I had to switch from a Monday pickup to a Tuesday pickup. All of a sudden, it was only going to cost $397. Then, a day later, I called to switch from a 10ft. truck to a 14 ft. truck. The price went up $12.
    So, I went from $698 to about $507 for the truck and tow hitch.

    Nice.

    So, if you're making a moving truck reservation, just go ahead and make it to ensure you have the equipment when you need it, but keep checking the Web site, because it looks to me like the prices fluctuate like airline tickets.

    Anyone else have a similar experience?

    DH

    PS -- I promise I'll actually do some packing tonight!

Did I mention that I hate moving, period

    It's 2:30 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon and I just got out of bed.

    The move yesterday kicked my butt... physically most of all, but financially as well.

    Of course, because it was a move and it involved me, there was plenty of drama.

    The moving company I hired originally was supposed to show up at 8:30 a.m. No one was at my apartment by 9 a.m. I called. The little boy who answered the phone (seriously, he sounded like somebody's teen son) said he couldn't come because the truck broke down and he was waiting for a mechanic. Could he come tomorrow?
    Thankfully, I hadn't actually given these people any money, so I said "No thanks buddy."
    Scrambling at the last minute and found a company who could do it that day, but, of course, there was no time to review contracts and check DOT numbers and all that stuff.
    Anyway, they came, they moved and it took them longer than I thought it would, so it cost me more than I thought I was going to pay.

    Then the cable guy almost didn't show because he had the wrong apartment number. When he did come, the buildings cable box was all jacked up so it took them two hours to get my cable straightened out.

    And, I forgot about the fees utility companies like to charge when they transfer your service. So, that was another $50. Plus the fact that it was 90 degrees and I had the AC blasting in two apartment I am paying the electricity for.

    Did I mention that the movers didn't move everything because we hardly packed most things? So my guy and I spent the afternoon, packing, unloading packing, my car again and again with all the little bitty things I hadn't packed.
    Did I mention that we're still not done? We collapsed from exhaustion at about 9 p.m. and had a dinner of pizza, wings and beer. We went straight into a hard sleep (coma, may be a more appropriate description)... and now, I am writing this blog post. I guess we'll finish up today, though my body is done.
    Yeah, see, that's what happens when you don't pack before you move! I'll never do that again. I may procrastinate on many things, but not this again, ever.

    Happy Saturday folks, enjoy it!

    DH

   

Did I mention that I hate packing

    It's midnight here.

    The movers will be here at 8:30 a.m.

    I haven't put a single item in a box.

    And, if I could get away with it, I'd go to bed right now and not pack a thing.

    I did this to myself. Procrastination is a b---, well, you know.

    At least my guy is here with me to help this go faster. And, since I'm only moving a few hundred yards up the road in the same apartment complex, it's not imperative to carefully cocoon every item in a box.

    Ugh. All right... I'm gonna get to packing... may God help me. :-p

    DH

My Move Diary: #7 Getting your money back from the government

    I plan to hit Uncle Sam as hard as I can without breaking the law in the upcoming tax season.
    Ironically, though relocating pushed me back deep into the debt hole, moving might actually help me come out ahead in the end.
    Kay Bell, tax guru, author of the Don't Mess With Taxes blog and a frequent contributor to Bankrate.com, was kind enough to explain for me just what things I can deduct.
    Remembering to adjust my W-4 to make sure I keep as much as cash as possible in my paycheck and then deducting every last penny I can should be a great big help in the Spring. See, this is where keeping a spending record and being a nerd about tracking your budget comes in handy -- when it's time to punch your numbers into Turbo Tax or hand them over to your tax preparer, you won't have to estimate and you can get every penny the "gub'ment" owes you.

    And now words of wisdom from Ms. Bell:

DH: Can you deduct the cost of the moving company and packing supplies (like going to Wal Mart and buying boxes, tape and Sharpies)?
KB: Yes. And having moved in 2005, I know this is a big one, so you're smart to hang onto all those receipts.

DH: Can you deduct job hunting expenses including miles driven to an interview, the cost of paper and copies and fax charges?
KB: You can't deduct job hunt/work related expenses as part of your moving costs. You can, however, deduct these costs as miscellaneous itemized deductions. Here's a story I did on writing off job-hunting costs and another on the miscellaneous itemized deductions category. The big hurdle here is that your expenses must exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income to be deductible.

DH: Can you deduct your mileage if you drive from your old place to the new one?
KB: Yes, when you drive to your new home you can deduct either (1) your actual expenses, such as gas and oil for your car, as long as you keep accurate records of these costs or (2) you can use the standard mileage rate deduction.
The standard mileage rate for 2006 is 18 cents a mile. Which will cut your tax bill more, $3 a gallon gas or 3,000 miles at 18 cents per mile? You should figure it both ways and then use the higher figure as your deduction. And regardless of which method you use,  you also can add in the cost of parking and tolls paid during the move. You also can count costs to ship your vehicle if you decided not to drive it, as well as to transport any pets to your new home.

DH: Can you deduct hotel stays and meals?
KB: You can deduct your lodging costs in moving, but not your meals. I have no idea why not. Maybe the IRS thinks you should pack up all the stuff in your old refrigerator and eat it along the way to your new home!

DH: Can you deduct house- or apartment-hunting expenses (including all the application fees and deposits)?
KB: Sorry, you cannot deduct as moving expenses any house hunting trips or any costs related to buying your new home. Hang onto the home purchase receipts, however, as you might be able to use some of these costs later when you sell your residence and move again.

Thanks Kay!

My Move Diary: #6 Paying for health insurance

    Once, I paid $100 for a Band-Aid.

    I was living in North Carolina in my very first apartment. I invited my friend over for dinner and was making sausage and pepper sandwiches. I chopped the veggies with a 10-inch knife I bought off an infomercial. I'm a good cook, but my chopping technique is terrible. I was tightly holding a smooth onion between my left index finger and thumb while slicing away at it with my right hand. Predictably, the knife wasn't as sharp as advertized (slice through metal cans like butter? Yeah right!) so I had to press hard to cut the onion. I squeezed the onion from between my fingers so they touched and I came down on both of them with the knife.

    It was literally a bloody mess. I shook my hand and grabbed a dishtowel to wrap around it. I pulled it away long enough to see how bad it was. All I saw was blood. My friend arrives, turns off the stove and races me to the ER. I waited about 30 minutes, feeling dumber with each ticking second. The doctor pulled the towel away. It was a shallow cut that required some tape to pull the two sides together, bacitracin and regular band-aid changes.

    That was all.
   
    I apologize profusely to my friend, but we still ate dinner afterwards. I owed him that much. When I was cleaning up, I noticed that I got blood everywhere -- the wall, the fridge, the cabinets, the floor, even the ceiling.
    A few weeks later I get the bill. Just showing up in the ER cost some amount of money I can't even remember, but my health insurance covered that.  What it didn't cover was the doctor's fee -- $100. He talked to me for 2 minutes and put on a Band-Aid.

   That episode is why I refuse to walk around for any amount of time without full health coverage. As whacked out as prices are these days, I just feel like only an idiot would forego health insurance if she can afford it. I'm not talking about people who have to choose between feeding their families and paying for coverage.
    At the same time, I don't want to pay for it. My COBRA benefits will cost me $350 a month for the next three months (until my new coverage at work kicks in). I thought about skipping it. I can make it three months, right?
    But I still can't chop very well.
    And, when I arrived in Tennessee, I felt terrible physically.  I guess that's what happens when you spend weeks eating out, working on little sleep and stressing out about packing and a million other small details.
    The Sunday after I arrived I woke up with a headache and a rash nearly from head to toe. It looked like I was having an allergic reaction to something, but I had no idea what. It was the last straw in a series of weird health issues I was suddenly having.
    Panicked, I started calling the local hospitals to ask what happens when you show up in the ER without health insurance... as if I didn't already know. "We'll do what we can to help out with the bill," the woman said. My stomach tightened and I hung up.
       I envisioned myself sitting in an ER full of poor people, sick people, unemployed people, recently immigrated people or cheap people trying to shirk paying for insurance. I saw myself sitting there -- a young, healthy black woman in new clothes, carrying her wallet in a Coach bag going into the "financial services" office and explaining "I'm uninsured and I can't pay any charges. Can't you write it off as charity care?"
    Or worse, getting a $1,000 bill after seeing a doctor for 5 minutes and getting a "prescription" for something I could have bought over the counter (that happened to me once too).
    It was not a pretty picture. And, it seemed dishonest. No I don't want to pay $300+ for coverage for the next three months. We all know what I'd rather use it for, but I am blessed with a good job and decent salary, so it just seems to me it wouldn't be right to go after the charity care -- or to pay an outrageous bill.
    In case you're wondering, I didn't go to the ER, I feel much better and I am going to pay for COBRA.
    If you're changing jobs or moving, I seriously recommend making sure you have health insurance. Sucks to pay for, but think about paying quadruple that for something simple and stupid... like a band-aid.

My Move Diary: #5 Clearing the Clutter and Making Some Money

    The best thing about packing to move is that you're forced to go through everything you have and make decisions on what stays and what goes with you. Choosing wisely can save you money.
    If you read my previous post about choosing a mover, you know that most reputable movers charge you by weight. So, once they give you an estimate, you can conceivably lower the cost of your move by lowering your weight (but make sure you know if the mover has a minimum weight limit).
    That was plenty of incentive to ditch stuff I didn't use, want or need.
    I went through all my closets and created 3 piles a la "Clean Sweep" -- a makeover show on TLC -- a keep pile, a trash pile and a sell pile. There was very little in the "trash" pile and I went through the "keep" pile more than once to identify things to sell.
    This is the tricky part -- actually selling everything.
    There are lots of ways to go about this, but I was pressed for time and, frankly, I'm lazy when it comes to this stuff.  I just want to get rid of what I've got without doing a whole lot.
     This is what I did:

1. Sell online. Books and CDs I didn't want I listed on www.half.com, an eBay site. It's faster and easier to sell these kinds of items on Half.com than on eBay, but you might not get as much money for them as you would with an auction. I've already sold a CD and four books.
2. Hit up your friends. I sold my Nintendo Gamecube plus two games to a good friend in New York. She paid me via PayPal.
3. Hire some help. I hired eBay "trading assistants" to sell bigger items on eBay. I've tried to sell things on eBay before and it was just too much trouble for me. Plus, I feel like amateurs like myself will only see their auctions ignored or eaten alive by eBay nuts. So, I went to some folks who do this all the time. I read a local news story about two women who sell things on eBay for people and use the proceeds to fund their charity. I contacted them and they came to my apartment, going through all the items I wanted to sell: a Harmony bunny lunchbox, a one-of-a-kind coat made by an African designer in New York, GAP jeans that were too big for me, a J Crew dress and on and on. I know they'll be able to fetch much higher prices for my junk than I would. And it saved me a TON of time. While this does make life easier, keep in mind that trading assistants get commissions -- a bite out of your auctions. But anything they can't sell will be considered a donation to their charity and I can write it off come tax time (I even get a receipt).
4. Use a consignment store. I took some designer suits that no longer fit to a local consignment store specializing in women's fashion. This also made my life much easier, but they get a whopping 50% of the selling price for my clothes.

    Long story short, being lazy like me will mean you won't get all the money from your sales, but I think I'll still come out better than I would have if I just sold things myself or donated it all to charity.
    There's also the yard sale option, but once again, that was more time and effort than I wanted to spend on clearing the clutter from my place.