Moving!

Our lovely home. Buh-bye!

I calculated that this is my 17th home. From the time I was born to the house in which I currently reside with my own family, I am a longtime veteran of moving. We’ve been in our home now for 10 years, and we’ve been very happy. But, after my hubby started dropping hints about wanting to shorten his commute (okay, they weren’t hints, they were outright asks!), and a re-evaluation of our budget once we entered Alex’s post-secondary years, we decided to list the house for sale and move nearer to his work. The area in which we’re looking is beautiful, offers the smaller-town feel that Katherine and my hubs are looking for, with plenty of jogging paths and trails for me and the dogs.

Of course, the work that follows is never as easy as the decision made. We looked around our house with “buyer goggles” on and rhymed off a bunch of things we needed to address. We’re thousands of dollars into upgrades and updates and up to our eyeballs in boxes, but we think we’ll be ready to list our home on March 1st. We’re going to go the route of no-agent for the first while to see how that works.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Alex on the Metro X express bus from downtown Halifax to the airport – I love this service.

When you miss someone, being there is so much more important than getting there. That said, the “how” does factor in cost and time, important when you’ve got a child away at university.

I drove Alex up to Dalhousie when she was first starting school because she had a lot of things to bring to Halifax. The 18-hour drive was beautiful and fun, and I was happy to see so much of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We did the drive over two days, which in hindsight was a tad ambitious. Next time, we’re going to space the driving out over three days each way.

We brought Alex back for Thanksgiving on a flight because she didn’t have a lot of time off, which we’ll do again at Christmas, because we don’t want her road-tripping in slippery conditions.

If you’re certain of your child’s days off (don’t assume – I learned the hard way), check the airlines in advance for good fares. I got excited to hear about Via’s ‘Crazy Tuesday’ sales, only to be left deflated when I learned it didn’t include all their destinations. Hopefully they’ll consider the money parents spend on travel with kids away for post-secondary, but until then, the train’s a no-go for us.

Alex invited me up to see a few of her ringette games next weekend, which also happens to coincide with my birthday and an airline seat sale. WIN! Can’t wait to hang out with her in beautiful Hali and watch her and her team play the game they love.

 

 

 

RESP

Younger Daughter Always Giving Back

I’ve never been a saver. I’ve always been a spender. So it didn’t come as a surprise to me that by the time my eldest was researching universities, I didn’t magically have enough money in the bank to pay for it. The shock and sense of uncertainty were enough to scare me into fixing it right away, and once I did, I promised myself I would not be in the same position eight years from now when my younger daughter is ready to choose her post-secondary “next step”.

My eldest daughter knew pretty much through high school that she wanted to go to university and study business (marketing). She loves presenting, she loves being creative, and she loves the business environment. It’s a great fit for her, and she’ll go far.

My younger daughter says she wants to become a marine biologist, but I see a very community-minded girl. She belongs to many clubs at school, with her favourite being “Fitness Friends” through which she spends time with developmentally-challenged students to ensure they’re included in games and are also having fun at recess and school events.

I can’t wait to find out where her talents and interests will lead her, and I will make sure I’m ready financially for whatever form that takes! RESP account here I come. It’s catch-up time.