Holding Your Furniture Hostage
June 3rd 2009 20:55
If you have to travel due to economic circumstances then there are some considerations you want to take into account before you move. If you are at the end of your rope, then jump in the car or on the bus and hope for the best. If you have enough breathing space to think about things before you go then ponder this. When you get to your new digs, you are going to need a place to live and if you get a new apartment there, you are going to need furniture. Buying furniture takes money or credit. Ideally, you should not travel with debt. By this I mean, you should pay off your credit cards and your car note before you move.
I once met a woman who had poor credit and no credit cards but she decided to move anyway. Somehow she got roped in with some fly by night moving company. After they moved her to her new city they jacked up the price of her move. Since she was already in debt before she started her move she had no margin for error. Since she had bad credit she could not get a loan or a credit card. She rented a place to stay and went home and cried every night in an empty apartment. They held her furniture hostage.
It's a bad idea to carry a balance on your credit car in any case, but it is doubly bad to be at the financial margins when you move. Something is going to happen-a flat tire for instance, and if you don't have the money to cover it you could be stranded in the middle of nowhere.
If you are driving to your next destination, it is best to take large major highways. You might think you could make better time on smaller out of the way roads but those roads are largely intended for locals. There won't necessarily be gas stations or even places to eat when and where you need them. You might have to go off road in the middle of no where for miles to find any kind of establishment to sell you what you want or need to keep going.
It is best not to travel in winter if you can help it. If you do have to drive cross country in winter then if you are driving say coast to coast in the United States, I recommend Interstate 10. It is the southern most interstate that covers most of the country. It will stay warm when the roads in Wyoming are snowed in.
If you have a tire blow out on the road consider replacing all your tires. This kind of thing depends on your budget and when you last replaced your tires but I have had a situation where first one tire blows and I fixed it. And then another blew and I fixed that...It's a little like playing Russian roulette. Sooner or later you will be in the middle of no where with no spare. Speaking of that, if you use the spare, replace it as soon as you can.
I recommend signing up with some road service company like AAA. They have helped me when I did not have a spare and when my car did not start. You should also stock up on travel maps and tips from the AAA well before you travel. Make sure to get maps of the new place you are going to move to. Hey, it's part of the service you already paid for so get those maps!
Have water and snacks in the car. The snacks should be things like apples and granola bars. I recommend some audio books if you are going to drive many miles though desert country or the state of Kansas. When you are far enough out in the countryside in say New Mexico, even the radio reception might not be that good. You might need a little help from an audio book on vampires to stay alert.
Be sure to carry a small first aid kit, some rags to clean the window or your hands and a small tool kit. Like Arthur Dent was always told in Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, always know where your towel is and Don't Panic!
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