moving Archives - the frugal millionaire

Buying a House? Why You NEED to Shop Around for Your Mortgage

Hi everyone!

So, big news over here: WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!! Not just any house, this is our dream home. Interesting story actually – it went on the market about 5 months ago and we found it when we were driving through a neighborhood one night (it’s our favorite neighborhood) on our way home from Publix. I had John stop the car so I could get out and take a picture. I LOVED this house. I even sent the photo off to a few friends and family members saying, “Check out this house! It’s my dream home in my dream neighborhood!”

Of course, at the time, John and I were both working for ourselves. We weren’t shopping for a house as we knew it would be another good 1 1/2 years before we could get a loan. Obviously by then, the house would be sold.

Tips on selling your home with little ones

Selling your house is a stressful process no matter how many things are in your favor. In fact, one poll shows that selling a house is more stressful than divorce, bankruptcy and the death of a loved one. While I would completely disagree with that, selling a house is still very stressful, time-consuming and a ton of work…especially when little kids are involved.

How to save on moving expenses

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are going to be moving into a rental home (that we really, really love) in less than a week! To say I’m excited would be an understatement. As much as I hate to complain, living in this apartment has been tough. Our furniture is way too big for the space, the layout isn’t open and there are no windows except for in the bedrooms. While it’s cozy, I sort of feel cut off from the rest of the world when I’m in here. I can’t wait to open up the blinds in our new home, give the girls and our dogs space to run around in, have a microwave (a small luxury I’ve missed), grill outside on our deck and just feel “settled.” I’ve loved living in North Carolina and while it already feels like home, I know living in a house will make it feel even more like home.

That being said, moving can be expensive. While this is nothing compared to when we moved across the country, I still want to save as much money as possible during this move.

One simple way to save time and money

In life, there are two things everyone wouldn’t mind having a little more of – and that’s time and money. I would love to have more time to spend with loved ones, more time to cook yummy meals and desserts, more time to spend working and more time to spending relaxing. And who wouldn’t want more money? I would save more, invest more, give to charity, help out those in need and probably shop more, too.

Since moving from Arizona to North Carolina, I feel like I’ve discovered the secret to having both more time and more money.

7 Ways to save money on rent

As most of you know, we seriously considered breaking our lease to rent out my “dream home” in my dream neighborhood. While money was an important factor, it wasn’t the deciding factor (though it very well could have been). Turns out the house backs up to a major highway. Huge bummer!! While the leasing agent said it was “white noise” and that it wasn’t that noticeable, I would have gone crazy living there. I’m already the world’s lightest sleeper so there was just no way I would ever live near a highway or major road. As a mom of a toddler and a baby, peace and quiet is just too precious to me!!

But, this whole process got me thinking on ways you can save money on rent. I actually had written out a contract for that house had we decided to move forward with an offer (this was prior to seeing it).

Making a House a Home on a Budget

I woke up yesterday to temps in the 50s, today…the low 40s!! For this gal from AZ, this weather is COLD!! So, yesterday most definitely called for some fall decorating, or decorating on a budget!

How to Decorate on a Budget

When we moved, I was forced (by none other than my husband) to get rid of my fall decor and Christmas decor. We majorly downsized, and if it wasn’t a necessity, it had to go. Unfortunately, fall decor just didn’t qualify as a “necessity” (to him, anyways). The good news is we did budget some money for some festive items. Yes, I’m always on a budget and prefer to save my money rather than spend it, but I’m still a girl, and when it comes to fall decor I’m just not quite ready to give that up.

Shop at Discount Stores

So off I went to Kirkland’s to stock up on a few essentials. I spent $48 (including my $10 off coupon) on the items you see on the fireplace mantle – the “Be Thankful” banner, two ceramic pumpkins, a “Harvest Home” sign, a burlap white floral arrangement, a festive light-up mason jar and a vanilla-scented candle on an antique candle holder. Looks good, right??!

My shopping didn’t stop there, though. We don’t have a dining room table and eating in our small apartment kitchen just wasn’t cutting it. I had found a table a few weeks ago at World Market that I liked, but at $990, I wasn’t sold. Then we had the brilliant idea of having my husband make me my dream farmhouse table. We priced it out and it would have cost roughly $150. Yes!! He agreed, only to later decide it just wasn’t possible in our small apartment. So back to square one we went.

Shop Online

Are you an online shopper? If so, Ebates allows you to earn cash back on your purchases at all your favorite stores – including Macy’s, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Walmart! This is a fantastic way to do some decorating for your home AND earn money back! Use my link to receive $10 off your first $25 purchase!

After I got back from Kirkland’s, we searched on Craigslist for farmhouse tables. We ended up finding the cutest shop just 20 minutes north of us – The Painted Owl. Owned by three ladies, they find old, antique items at estate sales and refurbish them. Tables, benches and chairs are custom-made by one of the ladies’ husbands. We drove down there and walked out with not only a custom table with a matching bench (chairs coming soon), but also an antique, refurbished desk with a black chair adorned in burlap.

We will eventually paint the legs bright white, but for now – this table is perfect. I can’t wait to serve Thanksgiving dinner on it!

The antique desk! While I normally work from the couch so I can keep an eye on the little ones, this desk will come in handy when my husband’s home so I can sneak away to our room to work. Also, this is a classic piece I plan on having for a very long time.

How much would you guess this costs? If you guessed $550 total, you would be correct. My home is my happy place, and I’m willing to spend money to make it look nice.

Take it One Room at a Time

Since originally writing this, we moved into a rather large house and we had very minimal furniture to go along with it. We’ve lived here almost a year, and I can say with confidence that we are *almost* fully-furnished. The only two rooms that are unfurnished are the office (other than a desk) and the sanctuary in the master bedroom. That room will eventually be made into a media room, but I’m guessing that’s a few years down the line.

Instead of furnishing our entire place on credit, we saved up and took it one room at a time. The family room was the biggest concern since it’s where we all hang out. We purchased a media console from Walmart and a Chaise lounge from Costco to complete the space. The kitchen nook is now furnished with a white table that I purchased off of Craigslist for $100 and painted. We’ve had to add some knick-knacks to hallways, like console tables, that I either purchased and repainted from Craigslist or bought at my favorite store – Kirklands.

In February, we saved up $1,500 to purchase patio furniture for our screened in porch. We definitely could have gone the cheaper route and bought used, but we had a good month income-wise and decided to splurge a little!

Now, we’re working on the nursery for our third baby girl, due on Halloween. We’re painting the room a pale pink and doing one wall in shiplap. I’m buying a grey crib from Walmart for $200, including the mattress. We currently have a queen sized bed in there that will remain in the room in case I need to crash in there one night. Since the bed’s there, I don’t see the need to purchase a rocking chair, so we’re skipping that expense. The baby also won’t have a dresser but will instead use the shelves in the closet.

Keep it Simple

I hate clutter – both because it makes it so I have more stuff to put away and keep track of and because it means I have to spend more money. Our house is big, but it’s simple. No rooms are overly decorated and everything has a place. If you’re decorating on a budget – keeping the areas simple is going to be the best way you can save money. Purchase the essentials, and then slowly add decor. Overtime, the space will come together. But in the meantime, there is nothing wrong with having a few bare rooms while you save up.

Any tips for decorating on a budget??!

How to move across the country on a budget

This past summer, John and I moved from AZ to NC with a two-year-old, a one-year-old and two dogs. Just thinking about that makes me cringe!

Why did we move? Because we wanted to. I work from home and John works in construction. We didn’t get transferred, we don’t have family out here and, in fact, John had never even been to NC before and I had only been once (and to a different city than we live, no less). Simply put, we’re here because we want to be!

Since we didn’t have a job to come to, we knew we needed to save every penny we could during the move.

We got rid of a lot of our stuff

For two months, whenever I had time, I would go through closets, cabinets and drawers and get rid of what wasn’t a necessity. I cleaned out my closet three separate times and donated roughly 12 full-size bags of clothes and shoes. We got rid of some of my daughters toys, kitchen gadgets, a couch, a dining room table, a grill, miscellaneous pieces of furniture, tools and more. If it wasn’t a necessity or something one of us treasured, it got donated or sold.

*As a side note, I can’t tell you how good it feels to downsize and get rid of clutter! With less stuff comes less stress, less to clean, less to keep up and less to worry about!

We rented a 6 x 12 U-Haul trailer

We packed our entire 3 bedroom + loft house into a 6 x 12 trailer attached to the back of our SUV. That’s how much we downsized!! One thing I refused to part with was our couch that we bought in July 2013. We paid $1800 for it and there was no way I was going to sell it for not even half that. The couch, by the way, is MASSIVE. It easily took up half of the trailer.

We also took a fake fireplace we had purchased the previous Christmas, our girls cribs and mattresses, our mattress (but not the box spring), some of John’s work tools, a few boxes of sentimentals, one box of kitchen items, half a box of bathroom items, clothing and some artwork.

Cost of the U-Haul: $550

We packed ourselves

No one likes to pack and load boxes into a trailer, but if you can physically do it yourself, I highly recommend going that route. I got quotes from movers and it easily would have been $8K to have all of our belongings packed up and moved across the country. Instead, John and I packed everything up ourselves. It took a day and a half and we did it while watching our girls in the 110 degree weather!

We drove one car

Part of why we downsized so much is we didn’t want to rent a full-size U-Haul moving truck. Those cost way more than the trailers plus we would have had to pay for gas for our SUV and the moving truck. Not to mention, we had two babies and two dogs with us, so it just made sense for all of us to be in one vehicle.

Total spent in gas: $650

We stayed in La Quinta’s

La Quinta’s are pet-friendly and don’t charge extra. Our trip was five days, four nights so we stayed at four different La Quinta’s across the country (Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Knoxville). We booked a two-room suite each time to allow for plenty of space for all of us. Prices ranged from $120/night to $160/night.

Total spent on hotels: $550

TOTAL: $1750 plus food to move a family of four across the country!

You really can’t beat that!

Readers: Have you ever moved across the country? What advice would you have for others?