Tuesday + {Organizing Your Finances For Your Trip}

Do not do what I did. The moment you buy anything for your trip, write it down. And write it down in the same location. Make a giant chart on the way if it's more convenient. Use an app on your phone. Write it in a word document or an email to yourself. Whatever it takes so it's all in the same spot.

Trust me: you'll thank yourself later when you don't have to dig through hundreds of emails trying to find your one Ryanair itinerary.

Granted, with so many things online these days, a copy of practically everything is sent to your inbox. And you can keep track of your card transactions online, if you sign up for online banking.

But still, it's a pain. Especially when you are buying a lot of things and some of the transactions have nondescript names that do not give you a single clue about what it is for.

Which leads to the inevitable go-fish game through your inbox, facebook messages, text messages, and recall of verbal face-to-face or phone conversations to figure out what exactly that $233.13 purchase bought and who paid for it. Not to mention the pain that comes with trying to figure out currency exchanges on top of tracking down receipts.

Speaking of paying for things: among decisions that you could (and probably should) file under "not the smartest move this bear has ever made," Gooligan and I started to buy things for our trip without taking a look at our bank account to figure out how, exactly, it would make the most sense to organize our accounts.

Currently, Gooligan and I are sharing my bank account. And one debit card.  (That was exciting, let me tell you, when I had to travel to my last residency with a cash-only budget because Gooligan needed to deposit her paycheck into my account while I was away in order to feed herself, pay rent, etc.)

It started with the intention of being a temporary arrangement, but visiting the bank and setting up a new account has been a pain, considering our bank's closest branch is in a town thirty miles away and one or both of us works typical bank hours.

Anyway, it has actually been a really great experience sharing finances with Gooligan. I think it has deepened the trust in our relationship, for starters, not to mention make things easier when it comes time to pay bills.

There has only been one drawback: our credit union caps the number of times you can make withdrawals from your savings account without getting dinged. Gooligan and I each have a savings account. If we had split each bill evenly and paid each other back immediately, we'd drown in $20 fees. Instead, we have taken turns paying for things in chunks, then periodically sorting out who owes who what and squaring our accounts.

Our approach has been a little haphazard, and I definitely do not recommend it for everyone. With another person, there would have been some feathers ruffled undoubtedly, but Gooligan and I have done a great job communicating and checking in and it's worked for us.

Just remember to print those receipts and collect them in a safe spot!

Monday + {Selling Your Things on Craigslist}

We're moving. Part of the reason that we're going to Europe on the dates that we are is because it falls between our life in Bellingham and our life in Seattle. Since we're going to be gone for over a month, that's a month of rent we're not going to be paying, a month of food and gas and utilities and all the miscellaneous expenses of living that add up. When you consider the amount it costs you to live anywhere for a month, the extra amount that it costs to travel doesn't look too bad.

Since the space we're moving into until we find stable jobs and an affordable apartment--a room in my parents' house--is a lot smaller than our current two-bedroom apartment, we've had to make a lot of choices about which pieces of furniture to keep and which to cut.

Gooligan and I have collected a lot of great furniture over the last four years; some of our current pieces are things we bought for our first dorm rooms, some of them are IKEA purchases when we moved into our apartment two years ago, some are hand-me-downs, and others are items salvaged from thrift stores or the curbside.

We are keeping quite a few things. For our roommate who is going abroad for an undetermined amount of time, we're holding onto a cute purple armchair. We're keeping our dining room set--a huge wooden table with black metal folding legs, a pair of colorful chairs that Gooligan is in the middle of painting/reupholstering, and a black bench. We're moving our bed, a wardrobe, a Spanish cabinet with a million useful drawers, a bookcase, and a cute green retro loveseat.

On an impulse one day, I put a few of the things we aren't taking up on Craigslist. I had never sold anything on Craigslist before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I wrote a clear, honest description, snapped a few pictures, and priced fairly--and my item sold within hours.

It's not always that easy, of course. You have to know your market, for starters; people are in desperate need of cheap furniture on a constant basis in Bellingham, especially during the end of the summer, when everyone it seems is moving into a new apartment, or students switch to off-campus accommodations for the first time. And sometimes schedules just don't mesh. Sometimes it takes a couple of days. Sometimes people flake. But if you give yourself enough time and price your items fairly, they will sell.

It can be tempting to hold onto everything, but the fact is that it's so easy to find hand-me-downs or cheap furniture from thrift shops, extended family, yard sales or free piles--or off of Craigslist when you really need it--that there's no reason to move all the miscellaneous bookshelves, side tables, etc. if it's not absolutely necessary.

 For non-furniture items, such as clothes, household goods, or books, we either sold or donated most of our clutter. 

For clothes, a lot of places that accept donations of gently used clothes will give you a coupon to their store, so if you need a couple of fresh items, or you're going to be changing dress codes with your job, this is a good way to save some pennies. Depending on the quality of what you're donating, consignment stores might take them, too, and they'll either pay cash or give you store credit. 

Books have a notoriously low resale value, but many used bookstores will offer cash or store credit (usually up to twice as much). If you can see yourself using it, definitely go for store credit, but if you just need the cash or you're moving out of town never to come back, don't get hung up on the cut you'll be taking in price.

If you do the hard emotionally-intensive part of the move now--whittling down your belongings to the essentials--then you'll thanking yourself on moving day. And if you play your cards ride, you can make a decent amount of cash. Treat yourself to something special--a weekend on the town with your friends, a special date with your love--or something practical--a couple of tanks of gas--or just put it in the piggy bank for your next big trip. Just think: your desk could pay for a night in Paris!