When Taylor and I decided to relocate to Michigan, we though that in addition to finally living together again, we would be saving a lot of money. This is what we’ve seen so far
I started out by pricing out moving trucks and storage units. Taylor started looking for apartments. We price-shopped, and figured that if we were in Michigan for less than a year, it would be a better deal to take the most important living items in a moving truck, stick some long-term storage stuff in the shed, and get rid of the rest. I sold my couch to Liz, gave away hundreds of dollars of clothes, housewares, and unused food. Our quoted $1700 moving truck ended up being $2300. Gas money for a cross-country drive and hotel rooms were about $500. Luckily we didn’t have to pay for a hotel for the two weeks that we stayed with the Pearces. We did have to pay more money than we expected on trips to SLC, but that couldn’t be helped.
This week I’ve been going to the store at least once a day. The first trip I spent about $150, thinking I was doing great on our budget. We had a few trips to IKEA to buy furniture and housewares. But then as we were unpacking, we realized things that I decided not to bring. I didn’t bring the mop, broom and cleaning supplies, since I wanted to leave it for Eleanor to clean after I left. I ragged out some old towels, which meant that I had to buy some new towels. I had to restock the fridge with condiments, sauces, and other staples. So $800 later, I think we’re finally set!