Road life business

Last summer I started a process to both simplify my financial life and to be able to do my business on-line. While I can pretty much do my business electronically, it certainly hasn't gotten simpler.

Part of the problem was underestimating the glacial pace of big business and government. I should know better.

A goodly part of the morning was spent with an Internet chat with a bank. I think the problem was solved, but it will take a couple days for them to do the financial transfers.

Before my lovely wife and I left New Hampshire we started the process of getting the little boat registered. We expected to have received some information by now so we talked to our Town Clerk. She was able to check with the DMV to see what happened to our application. There was no record of it in the state system. The Clerk told us that if there was a piece of information missing the DMV would just shred the application. We paid $20 for that paperwork.

Now I've got two options. Keep using the boat the way it is and hope nobody gives us a hard time or register it in the State of Florida. Tomorrow I'll look into that process. There are times when I think my life would be simpler if I embraced my outlaw side. (Okay, embraced it more often)

Next spring I'll be able to physically go to business and government offices. There are advantages to dealing with people face to face. Mostly, I'm too big to throw out of an office.

One thing that I did before traveling was to inform my banks that my debit cards would be traveling all over the country. Believe me, they will shut your cards down at the most awkward time if you neglect that little thing. Another interesting thing is that one of my banks will not allow us to access our accounts on my wife's smart phone. Their security protocols has the phone completely locked out and there's been no fixing it.

Fortunately, I can still access the accounts from my laptop. Every time I log on from a new location they make me play 20 security questions, but at least connection is eventually possible.

Next winter things will be different . . . really!

-Sixbears