get the lead out - separating the women from the mice

I have great news. I will retire my debt in October, about a month sooner than expected.
This goal has been on my mind so long, I'm not sure what I will obsess about now!

That's not precisely true. I know what I will obsess about. The truth is this: I'm now officially in freak out mode. I'm coming to the point in my preparations where I must deal with NEW challenges. Help!

The first time I moved to Colorado, I was called there, by a college acceptance letter. Once I got that letter, I prepared financially and physically. When I arrived, I had a room, a job and a task waiting for me.

When I moved to Atlanta, I had a job waiting for me. Atlanta was never a location I'd have picked for myself, but it was a road out of the small Georgia town I didn't want to become my home. I was expecting it to springboard me into OTHER opportunities. I've learned the hard way that if you don't like where you live, you won't enjoy the way you live either.

This time feels completely different. There's no acceptance letter calling me, for one. There's no snug ugly dorm room. There's no job. I'm not Expected.

Why can't I be Expected? Imagine me saying that with a little whiny kid voice and a pouty lip. See, I've arrived at Big Girl Grownup territory. I'm not moving because I've been Called or because someone is looking out for me. I'm moving because it is what I want for myself, because I want to like where I live and what I do. I haven't been called there. I'm trying to buy my own ticket and get a ride on the bus, arriving in town Completely Unexpected.

For more than a year, my debt stood in the way. By the end of the month, it will be gone. Am I happy? Of course, I am proud of myself. I'm probably in the best financial condition I've ever been. It took skimping to make progress without raises, bonuses or cost of living increases, to pay down a debt and to build some savings along the way. I did that during a recession.

How could I not be proud of myself? Let me share that you can be terrified and proud of yourself at the exact same time.

So what's the next step? Rent the house first, move once I find a renter? Scramble around looking for a job once I arrive? I have friends who did that. They made it. Should I try to find work first, then scramble around looking for a renter? I could try that too. Should I just move, then scramble looking for work, a place to live and a renter? I could do that too.

I don't know the answer. I know searching for work long distance is going to be challenging. I know finding a new place to live is going to be challenging long distance. But it's all going to be a challenge, so prioritizing it is just a mental exercise.

So, anyone hiring? Anyway, look forward to the end of the month -- I will post a pic of the $0 balance on my card!

--Laura