by Tricia
Last week we spent time with relatives some 500 or so miles away. I always feel weird not blogging about the trip itself as it is happening, but I’m not one to announce that my home will be vacant for an extended period of time. I wait to discuss the trip after the fact.
It was definitely a long trip. Probably the longest time we have been away from home in some time (8 days). For most of the trip we were staying with family so our cost was low. The biggest expenses were for gas, food (on the drive) and lodging (also during the drive). Once I enter everything into Quicken, I’ll have a better idea of how much we spent. I have a feeling it will be similar to last year’s trip (around $500 if I remember correctly).
I realized a few financial things during this trip:
1.) I’m tired of worrying about our house and our belongings while we are away. I have a renewed zest for selling most of what we have – only leaving the things that we regularly use, can take with us or things of sentimental value that can be locked up securely. I thought we did a great job reducing stuff during last summer’s garage sales. Nope. We can do even better and make a few more bucks while doing it.
2.) Related to #1, I have to get off my tush and get a safe deposit box going to store copies of important documents and all of our pictures. I started scanning things to store electronic copies, but I lost some steam to finish it. I need to get this task done.
3.) I have to go to the doctors and bite the bullet about my knee pain. It has been an ongoing off/on thing for some time now. Sometimes it was brought on with activity, sometimes it wasn’t. I always drive the entire distance because I love to do it and because my husband doesn’t mind being a passenger. For the first time in over 10 years, I couldn’t drive the entire trip. I drove as long as I could before the pain became too much to bear and I was almost in tears. That was even with taking some Tylenol. Who knows where this pain could lead. You can bet that I’ll be making sure our insurance company gets a timely payment from this point forwards!
On another note, I was dealing with limited internet during our trip so some emails have accumulated. Rest assured, I am going through them and replying to them as quickly as possible. My internal schedule is still out of whack, but by mid-week I should probably be back into the groove.
Expect more posts related to our trip this week. There are a couple juicy topics too 🙂
My week off is next week. It will be nice to get away from it all for awhile. The worst thing that can happen from a vacation is over spending or forgetting to do something while you were gone. I’m going to double and triple verify that our bills are paid prior to our departure.
Take care of your knee while you can still do something about it. I came to terms with my teeth and have spent the past few years having them fixed.
Definitely get the knee checked – chances are it won’t get any better without some intervention! It may not be as bad as you think it is either once you get it treated.
I’m with you on the safety deposit box – I’ve really got to do that – and a fireproof safe, too.
There was a huge fire in our area this past weekend with a warehouse going up in flames, propane tanks exploding, a few vehicles in the parking lot engulfed, etc. The people who lived in houses about a block away were told to leave NOW because there was a fear it would spread and/or get to the gas station, which would have been horrifying since the houses were in that block. Another reminder to me that I also need to get emergency “get out now” backpacks ready. You don’t think it can happen and fortunately none of the homes burned, but you never know…
P.S. I’m glad you’re back. You are one of the bloggers I check daily and it always worries me a little bit when one of you doesn’t post for several days!
I would get that knee checked out soon. It would save a lot more getting it checked now that god forbid it gets worse, and it gets worse. Glad ti see you back, and rested. !
take care,
Ian