Help Briana Get Home
Donation protected
After just over 3 years in central Pennsylvania, it is with a heavy heart that we officially announce the time has come to move home. Due to some urgent family issues back home, we are moving back to Oregon ASAP.
It's been quite the journey here, and we have had some fantastic experiences and met some truly amazing people. It's also been a bit of a bumpy ride, with a prolonged divorce, substantial health issues, constant car troubles, multiple moves and unexpected twists and turns leaving us in a not-so-great place financially. I'll save you the sob story unless you really want to hear it, in which case I'm happy to share - but suffice it to say that we live paycheck-to-paycheck without much to spare or any savings. Family back home isn't in much of a place to help either, unfortunately, and my last day of work was yesterday.
We'll be living with my mother, who has an 800 sf condo - two adults, two teenagers, three cats and a large dog (the teenagers and the cats are mine). We can save money and squish for awhile until we are able to find a bigger house together!
The movers will be picking up the minimal possessions we'll be bringing with us on the 21st. Celina is already in Oregon with Grandma. Caity, the cats and I will be driving back with the minivan! We're turning the minivan into a pseudo-camper-van for the trip and staying at campsites or in friends' driveways, and perhaps the odd Walmart parking lot. I'm going to sell whatever I can (which is not much) and save as much money I can - but I'm not anticipating a whole lot from either of those sources. LOL Don't worry, we'll be taking lots of photos and blogging on the way!
We had to fly out very last-minute at the beginning of December for an emergency, and the funds I had set aside to cover some of these costs simply aren't there any more. I ended up staying much longer than planned, and the job I thought I was keeping understandably didn't care for me being gone for a month.
Most of what we need to get out there is covered somehow; we've pared it down as much as possible. Here's the list of what's been funded and what's still needed to get out there; any help is greatly appreciated!!
Grand total still needed: $2280
Still need:
- Movers: $1000 on delivery of stuff
- Gas for the beast for approximately 4,200 miles at an optimistic 20 mpg and an average of $3/gal: $630
- Food costs on the road for 2 adults and 2 cats for at least a week (estimated): $400
- Remaining supplies to get the van ready for winter camping/travel: $150
Already funded:
- Movers: $2600 total; $1600 deposit and pickup has been figured out
- Set of new winter tires: $500
- Nonstop plane ticket for Celina: $300
- Tickets for emergency visit home: $1500
Not doing unless I win the lottery:
- Health certificates with vaccine updates and microchipping for two cats: $300
- Tune-up and transmission fluid change, new brake pads, general road-worthiness checkup: $300 (fingers crossed)
This doesn't cover everything - but it covers the big items. I've scrounged and coordinated everything I can at this point, and have kind of reached a dead end in terms of finding additional funds through my resources. Hopefully there are no unexpected surprises along the way, though with my track record, we'll be very lucky if that happens. LOL If by some miracle we get more in donations than needed, the extra will go towards move-in costs for a bigger house - a two-bedroom condo for essentially 4 adults, a large dog, and 4 cats is more than a little chaotic!
Thank you in advance; we'll miss our community here in PA terribly but we're also excited to be home soon! Wish us luck, and follow our adventures on my blog if you like - http://dysfunctionalexecutive.com/ .
It's been quite the journey here, and we have had some fantastic experiences and met some truly amazing people. It's also been a bit of a bumpy ride, with a prolonged divorce, substantial health issues, constant car troubles, multiple moves and unexpected twists and turns leaving us in a not-so-great place financially. I'll save you the sob story unless you really want to hear it, in which case I'm happy to share - but suffice it to say that we live paycheck-to-paycheck without much to spare or any savings. Family back home isn't in much of a place to help either, unfortunately, and my last day of work was yesterday.
We'll be living with my mother, who has an 800 sf condo - two adults, two teenagers, three cats and a large dog (the teenagers and the cats are mine). We can save money and squish for awhile until we are able to find a bigger house together!
The movers will be picking up the minimal possessions we'll be bringing with us on the 21st. Celina is already in Oregon with Grandma. Caity, the cats and I will be driving back with the minivan! We're turning the minivan into a pseudo-camper-van for the trip and staying at campsites or in friends' driveways, and perhaps the odd Walmart parking lot. I'm going to sell whatever I can (which is not much) and save as much money I can - but I'm not anticipating a whole lot from either of those sources. LOL Don't worry, we'll be taking lots of photos and blogging on the way!
We had to fly out very last-minute at the beginning of December for an emergency, and the funds I had set aside to cover some of these costs simply aren't there any more. I ended up staying much longer than planned, and the job I thought I was keeping understandably didn't care for me being gone for a month.
Most of what we need to get out there is covered somehow; we've pared it down as much as possible. Here's the list of what's been funded and what's still needed to get out there; any help is greatly appreciated!!
Grand total still needed: $2280
Still need:
- Movers: $1000 on delivery of stuff
- Gas for the beast for approximately 4,200 miles at an optimistic 20 mpg and an average of $3/gal: $630
- Food costs on the road for 2 adults and 2 cats for at least a week (estimated): $400
- Remaining supplies to get the van ready for winter camping/travel: $150
Already funded:
- Movers: $2600 total; $1600 deposit and pickup has been figured out
- Set of new winter tires: $500
- Nonstop plane ticket for Celina: $300
- Tickets for emergency visit home: $1500
Not doing unless I win the lottery:
- Health certificates with vaccine updates and microchipping for two cats: $300
- Tune-up and transmission fluid change, new brake pads, general road-worthiness checkup: $300 (fingers crossed)
This doesn't cover everything - but it covers the big items. I've scrounged and coordinated everything I can at this point, and have kind of reached a dead end in terms of finding additional funds through my resources. Hopefully there are no unexpected surprises along the way, though with my track record, we'll be very lucky if that happens. LOL If by some miracle we get more in donations than needed, the extra will go towards move-in costs for a bigger house - a two-bedroom condo for essentially 4 adults, a large dog, and 4 cats is more than a little chaotic!
Thank you in advance; we'll miss our community here in PA terribly but we're also excited to be home soon! Wish us luck, and follow our adventures on my blog if you like - http://dysfunctionalexecutive.com/ .
Organizer
Briana Elaine Montagne
Organizer
Elizabethtown, PA
