Preparations (17 more days)

Notary Public / Apostille
This afternoon I took my criminal background check / fingerprints to the local Notary Public to be notarized. I then dropped them in the mail to the Department of State to obtain an Apostille.

"Apostille is a French word which means a certification. It is commonly used in English to refer to the legalization of a document for international use"

Car
Still dragging my feet, but I made a step in the right direction; I purchased a 'For Sale' sign 3 days ago and put it on my car today. Worst comes to worst I'll sell it to CarSense, who gave me a decent quote.

Charles Schwab Account
Sheesh, I'm glad I began the process of Opening this account a month ago. At first there was a problem / typo with my social security number. Then it took a while forthe debt card to arrive; just last week. Yesterday I logged on to my new Charles Schwab checking account to find out I had to fill out more paperwork to be able to electronically transfer money from my current bank to Schwab. So today, I physically mailed in paperwork. I'm disappointed with Schwab for not being more advance with their electronic banking. Paperwork is a thing of the past. And wastefull too.

I still need to:
CANCEL
Cell phone, easy pass & car insurance (once I sell the car.)

PRINT OUT
Info on which taxi I will take from the airport, the address of my host family, the address of my Spanish School & my ePlane Ticket

PURCHASE
American Express travelers checks to pay for the 2 weeks of Spanish School & room and board

CHANGE
Address at post office
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$5 Notarized fingerprints / Crim.Background
$15 Apostille
$0.99 For Sale sign for the car

Preparations: shots, papers, car insurance oh my

Fulfilling my need to plan...

I want to make sure my health is up to snuff and I'm making use of my health insurance while I have it, so I'm scheduling some regular check-ups. Also, I'm looking into:

• what types of documents I may need to bring with me
• fees I may encounter when accessing my U.S banking accounts
• possible penalties I may incur for canceling my car insurance

Immunizations
A couple weeks ago I told my doctor that I'd like to spend time in Buenos Aires; I asked what types of immunizations I should get. She recommended I get a the Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccination. She also recommended that I have my latest immunization history sent to her office. Afterwards I contacted my college (I knew they had records of my latest immunizations). They faxed over my history and it turns out I was over due for a tetanus shot. I scheduled appointments for all three - tetanus, which now includes the whooping cough vaccine, Hep A and Hep B. I'll soon be up-to-date with immunizations.

Birth Certificate
Yesterday, I printed out a form to request my birth certificate. It will cost $10. (To process the request online would cost $8 more; my frugal self will be snail mailing it.) I'll need to make copies of my drivers license and the change of address card (since my drivers license address is incorrect).

Accessing Money in BA
I'm starting to think about moving my checking and possibly my money market account to another bank to avoid ATM withdraw fees once in BsAs. There's some discussion about this on the baexpats.com site. I know that my credit union won't charge me, but there will be a fee from the owner of the ATM and possibly a foreign conversion fee. It appears Charles Schwab does not charge any fees and gives you back any fees that owners of ATMs charge. I don't plan on using my savings, but if I do, I don't want to pay fees to access my money. Here is what expats are saying about atm fees in BsAs. More about Banking and Credit Card Fees in BsAs

Criminal Background Check
Sometime this week Moira and I will get our fingerprints taken. For me, I need them to apply for a Criminal Background check that will be needed to apply for working papers in BsAs and Moria needs hers for when she applies for a public school position.

Canceling Car Insurance
My blog stalking is paying off. I just read that I just can't just cancel my auto insurance without a penalty when/if I decide to get it again. By canceling auto insurance, they, the auto insurers like Nationwide, views that as a lapse in insurance. If I would go for auto insurance again (after a lapse of insurance) I will be considered high risk and end up paying more!

Solution? I just spoke with Nationwide and they suggested that before canceling my policy, I be added to someone else's policy as a second driver. This way there won't be a lapse of insurance. The cost, she said, should be minimal,, if none since I'm over 30 and have a clean driving record.