Even Though the Move is Expensive...........................

Even though the move is very expensive, I have still tried to do as much as I can over the past 6 weeks to be frugal and save money. There isn't much that I can do about the cost of the move; it is what it is! However, here are the things I have been doing to save as much as possible:



1. Since coupons for the giftcards for prescriptions are illegal in New York, I have been filling as many as possible here before we move. I have about $500. worth of CVS giftcards to take to New York with me that have been accumulated not only from prescriptions but through other deals and programs. That should give us a good start on HBA and cleaning products after we move. I also want to help my son and DIL stock on diapers for the new baby.
2. I received a $90. Rewards Rebate from Staples that has to be used by the end of December. That will help buy a few Christmas gifts.
3. I have accumulated $200. in Kohl's giftcards to buy more Christmas gifts. I have delayed the majority of my shopping until we reach New York, so that I don't have to pay to ship it.
4. I had my DIL purchase a couple of Entertainment Books for me at a price cheaper than I can buy them online.
5. I have accumulated $100. in Target Giftcards to use for food and/or Christmas shopping.
6. I have packed a few things like dishtowels, a set of dishes and utensils, some pots and pans and a crockpot for the apartment so I don't have to buy these things. I also packed all of our Christmas wrap, tags and bows for there so that I don't have to buy any. I am also taking some dish detergent, laundry detergent, TP, bar soap, and paper towels in the car with us.

7. I had already bought a few Christmas gifts and have packed them to go to the apartment. I will ship them from there to relatives in NY. It will be much cheaper than shipping them cross country. Most of the gifts will be delivered in person this year! Yeah!
8. I have put fast food and other restaurant coupons in my coupon envelope for my purse for the cross country trip for the towns we will be staying in. I am not adverse to stopping in a supermarket and picking up a bagged salad and some prepared chicken either and taking it to the hotel. We will have plastic utensils and paper plates in the car with us.
9. I have spent a bit of time researching the grocery store policies in my new area and keeping my binder up to date with coupons.
10. We had our preconstruction meeting today for our new home. We had already upgraded to a high efficency hot water tank but decided to upgrade today to a Rinnai Tankless Water Heater. It only heats the water as you use it which will save us megabucks on our gas bill. It is only costing us $ 75. more than what we were already paying for the high efficiency tank. This change alone will save us a ton of money over the years. The other advantage of the tankless is they last twice as long as a hot water tank and they mount on the wall of the basement so take up no floor space.
11. We are still conserving on energy. Since most of our lamps are packed already, we are using mostly ceiling lights.
12. Our big screen TV died today. DH thinks it is the color wheel. We have decided to take it with us and when we get in the house, DH will replace it himself. There is a terrific video on You Tube showing you step by step how to install a new one. We have too much to do to bother with it right now. It will go in storage and we will purchase a new wall one when we get to NY. I would be purchasing one for our exercise room in the house anyhow, so we will just get it early. We have another TV to watch for now; not that we get a lot of time these days to watch TV.
13. We are researching rock bottom prices for the 4 star hotels and motels that we will be staying in cross country. Checking them out online and then calling the hotels on their local numbers and asking for the best price. We also have a # of discount cards we can use for belonging to the hotel clubs, AARP and AAA. We will only be staying a maximum of 8-10 hours in each hotel. We are looking at hotels with complimentary breakfasts that take pets. We will also have a box of cereal with us and you can always find milk in a vending machine or locally.
14. Since the beginning of September, we have basically eaten from our stockpile. Except for a little money spent on fresh milk, orange juice, eggs, bread and the things for our early turkey dinner, we have spent nothing on any other food. We have just about enough to last us till we leave.
15. I made homemade turkey soup today which will give us a few meals.
16. There were a number of reasons that we rented the luxury apartment that we did.... location, location, location, the fact that they would allow our pet although they are charging us for her, and the very nice fitness room with lots of machines that is available to residents 24 hours a day. Another reason was because high speed internet, cable TV and a washer and dryer were included in the rent for the apartment. This will save us a bit of money over the three months we live there.
17. We have done most of the packing ourselves. The van lines are making crates for two expensive tables and packing those up. They will be shrink wrapping all of our furniture, huge plants (not live), and a few other odds and ends that are too big for us to pack. We found the moving boxes at Home Depot were the cheapest in the area. We did have to put out some bucks for specialty boxes from U-Haul like lamp boxes, boxes for our art pieces and mirrors, and dishpacks. We are also letting them ship the back seats from our minivan so we have more room for the crate for the cat, our luggage, cat litter and cat food and some food for us while we travel, and other items that we are taking like soaps and paper products.
18. I have boots. DH did not but found some at Lands End that were on sale and free shipping so I ordered those for him and went through Ebates to get 3% cash back.
19. I went to Goodwill and found a couple of cheap paperbacks to take with me on the trip. I used to navigate the maps on trips but with GPS that is not necessary anymore. So DH will drive and I will read.
20. I almost forgot. I have $ 250. in prepaid gasoline cards to help defray the cost on our trip.
21. We have not eaten out in a restaurant since we got back from N.Y. in September. The H1N1 virus is rampant out here so we are avoiding crowds right now. This has saved us some money.
23. And lastly, I have gotten my Christmas cards written early this year. I plan on mailing them right  after Thanksgiving even though we won't close on this house until close to Christmas.  In them, I have let family and friends know our temporary address and our new address and approximately when we will be in the house, so that I don't have to do a mailing twice. This will save us about 75 stamps. We have taken a P.O. Box for 6 months to give us some overlap when we move from the apartment to the house.
So even though, we have been extremely busy, we have taken the time to plan all of the above so that we are organized and prepared. I have found over the years that a little planning pays off in a big way.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us what you have done lately to save money.