Musings
On Work
It's an interesting time to be here.....
2Birds1Stone wrote: ↑Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:07 am
Its utter chaos in the company based on my conversations with peers yesterday. Chaos is good, especially since I've had so much practice living out "Office Space" these past two years.
Sorry to disappoint anyone who thought it would be goodbye for good. I'm going to ride the coaster till it makes sense to step off. My gut feeling is that it will happen sooner than later. For the time being I'm semi-ERE'd in place
I was told earlier this week that we "over-hired" within the sales organization, and they are doing an analysis to determine how many people to get rid of, and who that will be. Based on my track record over the past 6 months, the likelihood of making that list is very high. Having refused to play the politics game, and instead choosing to fly under the radar doesn't help either. I've accepted that I'm on borrowed time, and will just make the most of it while I'm here. Getting the boot could be an excellent jumping off point, although not ideal for future marketability if the need arose.
On Money
Based on the above information, I've revisited a number of ideas and plans that have been laid out in this journal, as well as others here on ERE and elsewhere. But I'm definitely thinking a bit more about money, how to need less of it, and how much of a haircut I can afford to take before I see myself freaking out.
On What's Next
So work will be work, until it no longer exists......but the focus from now on will be on what comes next.
With a move out date of March 31st, I'm slowly drafting a to-do list, of everything that needs to be done before we can get on a plane and set of on a year long trip with a very loose itinerary.
I'm going to draft something here, which will be a base for something that will evolve as we get deeper into our prep/plans.
Pre-Trip To-Do List
Understand the whole 90 Days in Schengen for US Citizen vs. 90 additional days in Poland - SO can be in EU for 90 days, plus another 90 days in Poland, but the caveat is that Poland needs to be entered and exited through a non EU country, which makes our original plan of Western/Southern Europe for ~45 days -> 90 days Poland -> 45 days Eastern Europe difficult/impossible. We may have to alternate the plan to do the other EU countries first and only then enter Poland for the last 90 days of our trip.
Parse Bank Accounts and Credit Cards - We currently have over a dozen cards from travel hacking. Many need to be closed before traveling for simplicity, also have way too many savings/checking accounts.
Change Mailing Address on all accounts - dozens to do, parsing down and closing as many as possible will help with this.
Sign up for paperless everything if possible.
De-clutter our storage room - have a lot of junk that needs to be tossed asap, and anything worth selling needs to be cleaned, photo'd and listed
Parse wardrobe - 75% of clothing will be donated or re-purposed as cleaning rags
Parse kitchen - many duplicate items that can be sold/discarded, we will keep some basics in storage with family for when we inevitably move back.
List everything we plan on selling on Craiglist/Ebay/FB Marketplace/Let Go etc
Open Schwabb Checking w/ international ATM reimbursement
Do our 2019 Taxes
Come up with a rough monthly budget for the next 12 months
Take/Print two dozen passport sized photos for visa's in SE Asia
Make Copies of passports
Digitize important documents
Store valuables in safe deposit box
Get any necessary vaccinations
Get physicals and blood work while we have insurance
Get ahead on dental work/cleanings
Sell my more expensive car, ASAP if let go from job, no later than Jan/Feb if not
Sell SO's car, right before leaving (value <$1k)
Thoroughly clean/vacuum pack clothing we will store/keep
Store bicycles/sentimentals/clothing/kitchen stuff we are keeping with family/friends
Purchase travel insurance
Cancel car insurance/turn in vehicle plates
Purchase a laptop for me
Purchase a 50 liter travel backpack for me
Purchase a mobile phone for SO
Notify landlord 60 days before planned vacate date
SO to request leave of absence 60 days prior to departure date
Purchase our one way flight to Europe (most likely Portugal at this point), means scouring deal sites and checking emails from "Scott's Cheap Flights"
Convert ~$2000 into Euro when the exchange rate is most favorable within the next 6 months
Convert ~$1000 into PLN when the exchange rate is most favorable within the next 6 months
Reset the clock on Travel Rewards Points (Airline & Hotel) that have expiration policies
Sign up on Couchsurfing.com
Sign up on trustedhousesitters.com
Purchase a go-pro
Start a blog for family & friends to follow our journey
Start a Youtube Channel for the same reason, as well as being able to look back on our trip when we are old and unable to replicate this style of travel
Book accommodation for the first week in Europe, then wing it after that
+ a bunch of shit I'm probably forgetting