Waiting...Waiting

My life is in limbo right now, just waiting to leave for Thailand. I'm not working right now so I have loads of free time. Some people might complain of boredom but I have to say that I could really get used to this whole not having to work thing. I feel like I actually have time to do stuff like read and go to the gym. That stuff is normally neglected when I have a job because I'd rather veg out and relax after working all day.

I must say though that moving to another country is a job in itself. There are so many things that you have to do before you leave because you can't do them once you are gone. For example, yesterday I had to go and get my immunizations at the health clinic. Luckily, my friend's mom told me where to go to get them for cheap because it could have cost a lot of money. For her, even with insurance her doctor was going to charge her $800 for all the shots she needed. The clinic only charged $90. Although its not required to get the shots before you go, I think the $90 is worth reducing my chances of getting some crazy disease.

I also had to set up a new bank account with Citibank because they are the only bank I know of that has branches and ATMs in Thailand. It would suck to have to pay the ATM fee everytime I had to take out money. And now I can sign up for their savings account which pays 5% APY. Not only does it pay a higher interest rate than ING Direct, but your checking and savings accounts are linked so you can instantly the money you don't need immediate access to so it is earning interest for you. Luckily, I had no problems signing up with them (unlike all the drama I experienced signing up with HSBC).

I'm struggling with the decision to sell my car. Part of me wants to sell it because I would have extra cash and I would be able to pay off my student loans. But the other part of me is telling me not to sell it because if things don't work out in Thailand I would have to come back and buy another car and pay taxes and license and all that good stuff again. Having the car would give me a sense of security while I'm in Thailand that if things don't work out, I can always come back home and start over again without much hassle. The extra money would be nice though.

I'm so excited to get going. My 401k check should be in the mail on Monday so I'll have the money to either pay off my debt or buy my plane ticket (depending on what I decide to do with my car). Until then, I'll just have to keep waiting!