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Aug 26, 2021    |       6 comments

HUGE Changes…

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I was offered both jobs and I accepted the Texas job. They have amazing pay, great benefits, AND they offered a signing bonus that will pay for all moving costs. It was more than I expected and I am super excited.

We leave in 3 weeks. Holy moly. We have lived 14 years in this house. Sure it’s 1200 sq ft but there are 6 of us. This ain’t gonna be easy! But we’re trying to go through this process as inexpensively as possible.

Reducing Moving Expenses

The job offered a flat bonus amount. It’s enough to hire a professional moving company but we’ve decided against it. Renting a U-Haul is $6K. Apparently Californians are like rats jumping off a sinking ship because U-Hauls the other direction are less than $2K. Ugh. Supply and demand.

We’ve decided to spend $8K to buy an enclosed trailer and tow it out ourselves. If it was a simple one-way move, we’d probably go the U-haul route but since we are renting for a year, we need to leave some large tools behind in California. Rather than pay for storage, we’re going to use the enclosed trailer as storage and leave it at my parent’s house for a year while we rent.

We’re Renting

We have never lived outside of southern California. Buying a house immediately would be an all-new level of stupid for two reasons. 1) We have no idea what area of Fort Worth we want to live. Turns out, Fort Worth is a huge city with lots of different neighborhoods. We know precisely zero about them. 2) Have you seen the housing market?!? These prices are insane. We’re hoping for some leveling out.

We’re Selling Everything

We are keeping the bedroom sets and selling everything else. If we haven’t used something in the last year, we’re selling it. We’re using this time as a deep spring cleaning. I have cameras and equipment I haven’t used in years. Sold. Stacks of clothes the kids have outgrown. Sold. Random unused kitchenware. Sold. It’s like the Dave Ramsey days when we sold everything. It feels good.

We’re ‘Flipping’ Our House

We chose one of the top performing realtors to sell our house. She made a punch list as long as my arm but she assured us that if we complete it, we’ll squeak out an extra $100K in the sales price. Chris is re-doing our kitchen and bathroom, repainting the house, and upgrading the landscape. The new buyers will have everything I ever wanted for this house which hurts just a little.

I’m excited. I’m scared. I’m sad. Name the emotion, I’m feeling it.

Aug 26, 2021    |       7 comments

Not a money post – Nervous Nelly here

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This is not a financial post. So skip it if not interested in other more personal stuff…

I am a NERVOUS wreck! Today will be my first day in the office for my new corporate job. It’s not a requirement, I volunteered. But since I had to come to ATL to pick up Princess for her weekend at home, I decided to make a day of it and spend the day in the office.

Ugh! Why???? I am an extreme introvert. Even the plethora of phone calls I have every day wear me out. What made me think that spending an entire day in an office, around people was a good idea.

I’ve spent weeks stressing over what to wear. This isn’t the outfit I chose, but it was one I considered.

So if you are reading this, please send up prayers and good thoughts for me. I will tackle this like I do all challenges in my life…one step at a time. And I know it will turn out great. I’m excited to actually meet many of the team members whom I really admire. But it will be a long day.

My reward at the end of the day…seeing Princess for the first time in two weeks and getting to have her home for the weekend. So definitely worth it!

I already have scheduled another in office day in September. And while it’s not required of me, I think it’s the right thing for me to show my face every once in a while. I will update on how it went next week if anyone is interested.

Any other introverts around? Tips and tricks?

 

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