Arrigate

Moving households, whether it is due to a job transfer or upgrading your home, and whether moving across country or across town, is an expensive proposition. Even when a new employer sponsors a relocation, there are hidden or un-thought-of expenses such as tipping or registering your vehicle in a new state. Here are six ways to reduce expenses during your next move:

1. Boxes, boxes, boxes
Asking your local grocery, drug, or liquor store for their empty boxes is certainly one way to save money. You could easily spend $100 or more when buying new boxes. Consider visiting an apartment complex the first weekend of the month when new tenants are likely to move in. Tenants will be eager to rid themselves of their unpacked boxes and you can score by taking them off their hands. If your employer is paying for the move, be sure to save and store your new boxes for future use.

Buy your packaging tape at a hardware store instead of a grocery store or office supply store. It can save you up to $5 per roll! And remember to be nice to whomever is helping you move, pack books in a few smaller boxes instead of one big box!

2. Truck Rentals
If you are ambitious enough to move yourself, be sure to comparison shop weeks in advance of your move to get the best prices on truck rentals.

At the time this article was written, the following online price quotes were researched from well-known companies offering truck rentals. Be careful to investigate how the company charges for mileage. Another hidden charge that you may not be aware of is that of dropping off the truck in a different city/location from where it was rented. Inquire with the truck rental store or website if there are special promotions or discounts for being a AAA or AARP member. Do call your insurance agent before you reserve any truck to determine if your homeowner’s insurance will cover any damage to your furniture and if your auto insurance will cover the truck. This will save you worry and money, if you don’t need to purchase additional insurance from the rental company.

As an example, you could expect to tpay the following charges for a 400-mile move:

• Uhaul, www.uhaul.com, 14′ Truck, $109 + $.40 per mile after the first 476 miles

• Penske, www.penske.com, 15′ Truck, $429 for unlimited miles, receive a 10% discount for reserving the truck online and another 10% for being a AAA member

• Budget, www.budget.com, 15′ Truck, $452 with a $100 refundable deposit, 515 miles are free

Each of these companies does a great job of up-selling boxes, tape, hand truck rentals, and moving quilt rentals on their websites and in their stores. The boxes and tape can be purchased much cheaper if you plan in advance.

In this scenario, Uhaul is the clear winner, but this is NOT always the case. Prices will vary due to availability, timing, and distances.

And, don’t forget … you are responsible for paying for the gas in the truck, which can be an exorbitant cost with current gas prices. Ask the rental company for the average mile-per-gallon of the truck when you are reserving it to estimate this cost.

3. Storage
Temporarily storing your belongings may be a necessary expense. There are a lot of options with storage facilities and you will want to weigh each aspect carefully. For example, if you are always strapped for cash, and there is the slightest chance thay you will not be able to make the payment in a timely fashion, your belongings may be confiscated! Don’t risk signing a contract with a storage company if you aren’t confident you can make the payments. An alternate option here is to use your credit card for the recurring monthly costs, but ONLY if you pay off the balance in full each month.

When choosing a storage facility, consider the companiy’s reputation, whether they have climate controlled units (if this is important to you), and what security the company can promise. Having easy access 24 hours a day may also be a key attribute for you depending on your circumstances.

If you are renting a truck to move your belongings, be sure to ask what partnership pricing they have with a local storage facility. Sometimes storage can be obtained for as little as $1 for the first month with a 2-month minimum contract when you rent a truck at the same time. Buy a padlock for your storage unit at your local hardware store to save spending 3-times the amount at the facility.

4. Packing Fragile Belongings
As with boxes, packing materials to protect fragile belongings can be expensive. A cost effective and space efficient tip is to pack these breakable items in your bathroom and kitchen towels, throw rugs, blankets, bed linens, and even shower curtains! This is a much better alternative to newspaper, which leaves ink residue behind. All of your linens can be washed and folded once you have moved into your new home.

In an easily identifiable place such as a drawer of a piece of furniture, be sure to pack a complete change of clothes for you and your family members, toiletries, a complete set of bed linens, and toilet paper. This way, you won’t be panicked trying to find the necessities when your first apprive at your destination.

5. Utilities and Address Changes
Remember to cancel your old utility services, start new utility services, and change your address. You may uncover some forgotten money when canceling services if you were required to pay a deposit when you started your service. Be sure to end the services the day AFTER you move out. This may incur a few dollars of extra costs, but typically these companies can not ensure a cut off time, and you don’t want to be stuck without electricity or hot water while you are still in your place. On the same note, you may wish to schedule set-up of your utilities at your new residence the day before you arrive to be sure everything will be working when you arrive. Here is a list of common utility companies to contact. The property management company or Chamber of Commerce in the area where you are moving can give you local company numbers.

• Electric

• Gas

• Water

• Phone

• Cable

• Garbage

Also, if you are moving into a subdivision or condominium complex that has a private trash collecting service, you may be charged for the pick-up of your moving boxes! This cost can be $25 or much higher, depending on the number of boxes. Check this out before putting your boxes out at the curb. You may want to consider donating your boxes to a new neighbor with a ‘For Sale’ sign in front of their home.

In addition canceling and starting new utility services, don’t forget to change your address with your:

• Bank

• Credit Cards

• Utility Companies

• Insurance Companies

• Doctors

• Magazines

• U.S. Post Office (at your old location)

6. Save ALL Moving Receipts
If your move is not being paid for by an employer, the incurred expenses may be tax deductible. According to the IRS website, www.irs.gov, “You can deduct your allowable moving expenses if your move is closely related, both in time and in place, to the start of work at a new or changed job location.” The IRS has an interactive questionnaire, which determines whether your move may be deducted on your taxes. http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=132125,00.html Contact the IRS or your tax preparer if you have specific questions relating to your move.

Moving even the simplest of households can be expensive. Save yourself a lot of stress and money by planning far in advance of your move.

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Do you suffer from the occasional headache that is very annoying but you can continue to do things around work or home?

Do you ever get a headache so severe, that you think you are going to vomit or you do vomit? Your head hurts so badly that you cannot even open your eyes?

I have good news for you, if you answered ‘yes’ to either one of these questions.

Did your doctor ever tell you that there could be food triggers for your headaches? I went to many different doctors for several years before anyone ever mentioned to me that I could be having a reaction to the foods I was eating. Interestingly enough, food was one of the biggest triggers for my migraines!

It seemed so simple, remove these foods from my diet for 6 weeks. At the end of the six weeks, add one food per week back to my diet. I could do that, and I did. When there’s a time limit, most of us can do just about anything for 6 weeks. (As a side note, it takes dairy at least 30 days to work out of your system).

At the end of the six weeks, I discovered that tomatoes were a big food trigger for the migraines and milk products caused me to hold on to weight, my body did not know how to process it.

This was nearly 10 years ago, for me, the food trigger list is still the same. Over the years I’ve learned ways to deal with the migraines which have diminished to the annoying type of headache, and I rarely even get those any more.

Some common food triggers for Migraines and Headaches are:

–dairy products*

–chocolate

–eggs

–citrus fruits

–meat**

–wheat (bread, pasta, etc.)

–nuts and peanuts

–tomatoes

–onions

–corn

–apples

–bananas

* Includes skim or whole cow’s milk, goat’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.

** Includes beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.

Certain beverages and additives are also among the worst triggers, including alcoholic beverages (especially red wine), caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, and colas), monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame (NutraSweet), and nitrites (in hotdogs and lunchmeats and wines).

This is only one of the first steps in the process of finding out the cause of the migraines and dealing with them. You can look for migraine food triggers in just about any search engine online.

In the meantime, if you want to wean yourself off of the pain medications and try a more natural route in dealing with the pain, you can treat your migraine without using your prescription. It takes a little longer and you may need some help the first few times you do it, but by using water to soothe you head, you can get some relief from the pain. Sounds a little strange right? Well we know that there is an inflammation in your head, which is causing you to feel so much pain. The idea is to cause inflamation elsewhere to bring the level of the headache down.

You will need:

– a pot or bucket of very warm/hot water

– ice pack or bag of frozen peas

– dry towel

– cotton socks, wet with cold water (then put in the refrigerator)

– wool socks

– a warm cozy bed (preferably close by)

At the onset of a migraine, it really stops you in your tracks making you not able to do anything except a huge effort to get rid of the pain! You will probably want to go lie down and sleep it off, especially that’s what you’ve done in the past with pain medinces. In reality, when you have a migraine or even a tension headache, it doesn’t go away even after 6-7 hours of sleep. This is a simple foot bath hydro-therapy treatment, that you will find soothing and helpful as you are trying to stay away from the prescription pain medications.

1. Soak your feet in the very warm water, appx 15 min. or so, or until the water cools down.

2. Put the ice pack on your head or back of your neck. (sometimes these first 2 steps is all you need)

3. Have someone bring you the cold wet socks from the fridge.

4. Take off the ice pack.

5. Take you feet out of the hot water one at a time, dry one with the towel then put on a cold wet sock, then the wool sock over the wet sock. Do the same with the opposite foot.

6. Crawl into your warm cozy bed for the night. The socks will be dry in the morning, and your headache should be soothed or gone.

In the future, for preventing migraines, because that is where we really have to look, is in the prevention. You will want to research what foods, like the ones above, trigger your headaches. What situations are you more prone to have a headache after? i.e. Dark movie theater in the middle of the day, then going into the bright sun after, after eating ice cream, Chinese or Mexican food, etc.

Think about what nutrients you may be missing in your daily diet. Are you deficient in vitamins and minerals? Are you taking any supplements at all? Are they the right supplements for your body? Do you eat enough fat? Fats help with the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory processes in your bloods cells. You may not be drinking enough water. Do you take goo care of yourself? Or do others come before taking care of you? When you feel a bit ill, do you go on with your commitments instead of resting? I cover a lot of this information on my website, so go by and take a look. You can also call me for a free 20-minute nutritional assessment consult to determine if the information I have would be able to help you. Take prevention into your own hands, your doctor can give you medicines for the pain, only you can make the decision to live a healthy life.

Stephanie Meyer is a Certified Nutritional Therapist. After struggling with her own health issues and finding out that she could be healthy again, she has been helping others find hope through good nutrition since 1997. For your free 20 minute nutritional assessment call 1-800-839-2068 or visit her home on the web at http://www.CrossOverToHealth.com