Tackling the Fix-It List & Planning $1000+ in Cash Back [Day 2]

The Fix-It List

Hood Prop

Austin tackled the fix-it list today. He straightened out the hood prop which was madly bent out of shape from someone closing it improperly with a ton of force. This involved taking out the headlight, dropping all of the bolts into the rocks below the van, moving all the rocks to find the bolts, twisting the prop back into shape using vicegrips and replacing it. Now the hood opens smooth as butter.

Back Step

He also fixed the back step, which had been used as a battering ram (I assume) or at the very least a feeler for knowing when to stop backing up. It was also madly bent out of shape, but it protected the back doors from damage. A few hits from a 5 pound sledgehammer later, and it was as good as new. Austin tacked it back on using some plastic retainer clips (aka fender bumper clips), a must-have for anyone repairing a vehicle. They’ll make more than one appearance today 🙂

Headliner

The headliner was separating from the roof in some places, so Austin used plastic retainer clips (see, I told you) to re-secure it. It was still a little saggy in one spot so he used double sided velcro to stick it back up.

Rear Door Stoppers

The rear door stoppers were bent out of shape in such a way that if you closed the door while they were disengaged, they would damage the tail lights. Austin did more bending-back-into shape with each of these and while not completely like-new, they won’t damage the taillights anymore.

Inflate Tires

Alan’s front driver side tire was low at the dealer, so we asked him to pump it up. It still appeared low when we brought the van home, so Austin pumped it up again and used soapy water to determine if there was a leak. No leak was found, woohoo!

Hide-and-Seek

He also had lots of fun playing hide and seek with the battery, which oddly enough, lives under the driver’s floor mat. Who knew? (Not us, obviously.) We thought that the passenger side marker light needed to be replaced, but Austin found it and replaced it so it works again.

Documenting the build

While Austin was being a mechanic and fixing things, I set my laptop up on the shelves in the back of the van. They’re a great height for standing desk, it turns out. I even hooked up an inverter to plug in when my battery got low.

While I wanted to start filming Austin’s work on the van, I realized that I had left ALL of my various SD cards at home. So I grabbed the SD card from my dashcam, reformatted it, and tossed it in a GoPro.

While I was at it, I cleared off the memory on my phone (which will soon be filled with Instagram photos & stories – follow us here). And I downloaded the videos from Austin’s dashcam of our drive home in the van on the day we bought it. Eventually I want to get some footage up on Youtube (so follow us there), so I’m making sure I save it where I can find it.

 

Travel hacking a van build

My first task was to determine our credit card strategy to save the most money and earn the most points from the van build. This is what we do whenever we have large expenditures planned, because most rewards credit cards have a minimum spend requirement (in order to get a bonus) that we can’t typically reach with our low expenses.

For this project, I focused more on cash back credit cards instead of travel reward credit cards, because we don’t anticipate doing air travel or staying in hotels for at least the next year. Cash back credit cards are a great way to save money on a large project because cash back can be applied directly to the statement balance and reduce the amount you have to pay.

The other criteria I looked for was a $0 annual fee, since we are trying to lower our expenses as much as possible during our trip. While I’m usually happy to “spend money to save money” when it comes to travel rewards, it doesn’t make sense for the overland domestic budget travel we’re looking to do in the van over the next year. The payoff of an annual fee is typically much higher when you’re buying plane tickets, rental cars, and hotels, which are not in our travel plans anytime soon.

Want to know what travel hacking and cash back credit cards I use to save thousands on travel every year? Check out what’s in my wallet.

The 4 Card Approach

General: Chase Freedom Unlimited – $330 saved

• $200 bonus when you spend $500 in the first 3 months
• $100 bonus for me referring Austin to sign up for the card
• 5% cash back on groceries in first year. Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases
• 0% intro APR
• No Annual Fee
• Projected $330 cash back during build based on projected spend

 

Amazon: Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card – $230 saved

• 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods
  • 2% restaurants, gas stations, drugstores
  • Rewards come as points that are worth a penny each. They can be redeemed toward eligible Amazon.com purchases, with no minimum redemption required. But you can also redeem points through Chase for cash back, either as a statement credit or a deposit into an eligible checking or savings account, also with no minimum required. Other redemption options include travel and gift cards. Note that points earned on the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card cannot be combined with Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. *** Points are worth one cent each any way you use them.
• No annual fee but must have amazon prime membership $119 annually or $12.99 per month
  • At 5%, you’d have to spend more than $2400 to make the $120 annual prime membership worth it
  • Since monthly memberships are eligible, you could do a $12.99/mo prime membership during build (4 months = $52) then cancel. Would still get 3% cashback with the card as a non-prime member.
  • We were able to add Austin’s account to Austin’s parent’s Amazon prime account as a Household member (learn how here), and take advantage of the Prime benefits and get the 5% cashback without having to pay for membership.
• Bonus $70 Amazon gift card upon approval
• Extended warranty and purchase protection
• Calculated $230 cash back during build based on projected spend

 

For a home improvement card, we were between Home Depot and Lowe’s, but Lowe’s was the clear winner. Home Depot had basically no cash back benefits, just some financing options.

Home Improvement: Lowe’s Advantage Card– $130 saved

• 5% off eligible purchases – will need to sign up for free Lowe’s account
• $0 annual fee
• 20% discount on your first Lowe’s purchase, up to $100 off (offer expires Jan 31, 2021). (https://www.lowes.com/l/Credit/new-account-promo-tandc.html)
  • That’s $100 off a $500 purchase
• Calculated $130 cash back during build based on our projected spend
• I’m not sure about applying for this credit card, since there are other ways to get a 5-10% discount at home improvement stores, by buying coupons and using competitor coupons.

 

Tomorrow I need to check the cashback categories on existing cards, as Gas Stations, Amazon and Home Improvement stores are frequent categories for cards that we have like the Discover it and the Chase Freedom.

Before our trip, we are also thinking of applying for a gas-rewards credit card. This is the one we picked:

Gas: PNC Cash Rewards Visa – $312 in Year 1

We will wait to apply for this until just before the trip, because we will spend the $1,000 JUST on gas the first 3 months, but want to use the other CCs for other rewards during the build.

• $0 annual fee
• 4% cash back at gas stations up to $8,000 per year
  • On a $5300 projected gas spend = $212 + $100 bonus = $312
  • The $8,000 cap also includes dining and grocery store categories, so keep this as an only gas credit card
• $100 bonus after spending $1,000 in first 3 billing cycles
• Projected total $312 saved in first year (this is nearly 1 month’s worth of gas, free)

 

 

Listing stuff for sale (including our homemade teardrop trailer)

There are plenty of things we can sell before we leave, both in order to declutter and to make extra money to finance the build. I told you yesterday that I think we can make about $600 from selling Austin’s old textbooks. I also listed a bunch of clothes on LetGo, and my old motorcycle gear on Craigslist.

Then, I went outside and pulled the tarp off of our homemade teardrop trailer to clean it up for a photoshoot. It was time to say goodbye, and list that baby on Craigslist. I brushed away the dirt and cobwebs, and wrote this little craigslist post:

This custom made wood teardrop travel trailer / camper is perfect for your next adventure.

Features:
-Built on a 4×8 trailer, fits a full or queen sized bed
-Huge plexiglass window perfect for star-gazing
-Can tow with any car – we’ve towed it with a Honda Civic
-Removable windows with screens for ventilation
-Hatch in the back that can be propped up or locked closed from inside or outside
-Plenty of room for 2 people and camping gear
-Laminate flooring (small area where bed would go is not covered)

The exterior needs a little TLC. The wood trim on the front is delaminating, and would need to be refinished. This is only a cosmetic issue though, the trailer works great and still looks pretty darn good.

Use it for travel, RV, hunting, camping, road trips, and more!

I included some photos from our epic road trip to Newfoundland, Canada where we pulled the trailer with a Honda Civic. It was nostalgic, but I’m hopeful someone else can make great memories in the trailer, since we were no longer using it, and we’ve moved on to bigger and better projects.

Within 30 minutes of posting, I got a text from a serious buyer. She is coming to see it tomorrow or Friday. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Summary:

8/26/2020

Build Day #2

Hours Worked: 12

• Austin – 6
• Becky – 6
• Total Project Hours: 42

Money Spent: $0

• Total Project Spending: $16,624

Tasks Complete: 8

• Fix hood prop
• Fix back step
• Fix headliner
• Fix rear door stoppers
• Inflate tires
• Locate battery and marker light
• Determine credit card strategy
• List items for sale

Questions Googled: 1

• Freightliner battery location
• (+lots of credit card googling)

 

Stayed up until 11:20pm to finish this post, but I got it out today! It’s better than me staying up till 1:45 yesterday to get out the last 3 days worth of posts, and get a little work done in my business after a few busy van days. Now I’m headed to sleep, and going to try to get at least 7 hours tonight 🙂 Goodnight!

 

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS? SAVE THESE TIPS TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!