Finishing it up

Big day today, started playing around with things this morning and then the day just took off.  Sorted out the phone, and then banged out the Gamechangers stuff for Kaps (more later on that).  Went and picked up the now dead automobile, managing to get it back home - limping the whole way!!  Then I sat down and started looking at sleeping bags online.  And I found a steal to good to pass up.  $60 dollars for a 40+ degree nylon and down bag from Lafuma.  THAT'S $240 UNDER BUDGET!!  Sweet!!!  Who cares if its a mummy bag, giddie up!!  Regular price is $125, but Sierra Trading Post was cheap and my friend gave me a coupon on top of it all.  I also would like to publicly thank the person that donated the money specifically for this sleeping bag... I now officially get to sleep with her the entire three months I'm gone!!  lol. Nice!!  ;) 

I wanted to buy the bag locally from Mountain Tops, but I have little choice as I know they can't do that kind of price.  I feel a bit bad, I wanna use them.  But they haven't been very proactive with helping me with my stuff.  Its been over a week and a half and the only word I've heard from them was when I stopped in there.  Still no response to my email or the things I asked about even after stopping in.  So I had to just get things done.  I leave in less than three weeks... no time to wait.

That was the premise of it all today, get it done.  I ordered the two shirts I've been procrastinating on, the Steripen, and the solar panel - which is huge in terms of having time to experiment.  But I mean screw it, the only way to now if it'll work is to get it and try it out.  If it doesn't work Amazon will exchange it for me!!  Gotta make it happen.

I now have pretty much everything of consequence bought.  Only details left...  feels nice...  relieving...  

Finances

So as things are slowly coming together, so is the financial picture.  And it is not pretty.  I suppose as the nature of this venture is non-profit, open, and charitable, there are no secrets!!  So here is my current financial report, for Friday the 13th, August 2010!!

In July and August thus far I have spent $95 on car insurance, $40 on gas (yeah I don't leave the house - I can't afford it!!), $27 on my phone, $50 on food (in addition to food stamps), and $50 cash which has some gas in there and a $16 book for my mom.  Not like I'm living it up.  But car insurance and gas kill you (I hate cars by the way;), and I still have to cover those costs for two more months.  Unfortunately when I was planning my trip I was planning on leaving about now.  Thus I do not have the next couple months budgeted in - this will hurt.  Someone needs to hire people to just go around and help people!!  What a great job that would be, from old ladies crossing the street to charity walks in Africa!!  I'll take an application pleeeaaaaase!!

As for my budget for the trip itself, I am not far off on this.  I had been figuring $4000 total, $2000 to get there, $1000 while there, and $1000 to get ready.  My logic was that I would do it all on a shoe string as this is the way I live life anyway and don't have the means to do otherwise anyway!!  Where I seem to have come to a problem is the things that have been added, or the budgeted amount doesn't get you quality materials for this type of journey.