December update
A year to go!
Until our estimated fly out date 😊
So the real countdown is on, it’s time to get serious!
I’ve got a plan for things to do each month in 2017. Here are some of the major things that need to get done before we leave.
Finances – tighten up the budget
*We’ve dropped some of the kids extra curricular actives to save some extra money
*We have refixed the mortgage at a lower interest rate (what good timing for it to come up!) which means I now know exactly how much I need our tenants to cover while we are away.
*I’m on the hunt for a job, with two kids going to school five days a week in 2017 this Mummy has the capacity to bring income into the family.
The house – declutter, declutter, declutter
*This summer the house, but more importantly the garage and the garden shed will get a ruthless sort out because the less we have to store, the better. We still don’t know where our things will go but I’ve looked at storage prices and it’s not cheap!!! So we will throw out a few things that have seen better days and my parents will take a few of our precious things.
*We also need to do a few jobs to make the house ready for tenants (sort out drains/gutters/fences etc.)
Step up the researching
I know, it seems like I’m researched out but there is always more to do, particularly the nitty gritty stuff. How exactly do you cross country boarders in SE Asia without getting scammed. How exactly does the toll road thing work in Europe….to name a couple.
Begin to apply for and book things
*Vaccination plans – visit the doctor, find out what we need and how many times we need it etc.
*International drivers’ licenses
*New passports for the kids
*Put in our expression of interest to work in an orphanage in Africa and other places that we might come across during all that researching
*Book flights!
I have realised this year (and you may have too, since I’ve been MIA for a few months), that October and November are very busy months for me. So I need to have this adventure sorted/mostly ready to go by September 2017 to alleviate as much stress as possible during those months then hopefully it will only be the very last packing and wrapping up to do in December.
Bring on 2017! First up January’s tasks – spend the summer holidays with the kids in our beautiful home city of Tauranga! Annnd find a job to start in February 🙂
Till next time
Claire