Day 62 (Monday, November 29, 2021)

Costs for the Day are in the Table below:

Today, I slept in and woke up at 9am. I made a warm cup of coffee and did a bit of writing.

I also did some laundry and listened to ABC World News Tonight with David Muir detailing the updates with the new Omicron Covid Variant out of South Africa, Travel bans, Impact on the Dow Industrials, the smash and grab looting occurring in LA and Minneapolis, and the Cyber Monday Shopping.

Then I did some online shopping and purchased a cool Orboot Earth Interactive AR Globe for my niece’s birthday that is coming up in January. I also got a nice gift for my Mom’s upcoming Birthday in January. (Total Cost: 129.69 USD).

VFS contacted me regarding our visas and rejecting the money orders from Millennium Bank. So, I called my bank in the US which is USAA to send expedited checks to VFS. I needed two Teller’s Checks so the details are $106.64 USD for the check + $10 for the Teller Check Fee + $8 for the Expedited Mail Fee and $35 USD for the other check + $10 for the Teller Check Fee + $8 for the Expedited Mail Fee.

I am kicking myself because it was very expensive to get the checks issued from Millennium Bank. So, the moral of the story is to use US Banks for any Money Orders/ Cashier’s Checks/ Teller’s Checks. The fees from the US Banks are much lower and the checks from Portuguese banks are not accepted even for visa services. I will say though that the customer service from USAA has taken a nosedive recently. It took me over an hour on the phone to get the Teller’s Checks issued which should be a 5 minute task. I used to be able to do it online with USAA but now the online security blocks me. Anyway, I finally got the checks issued so I hope they do not get lost in the mail or at VFS.

Since we are flying to the UK on December 16th to pick up our puppy, I checked on our IMG Travel Insurance and confirmed that it will cover us in both the UK and in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Bi worked to book our accommodations in the UK via Airbnb. She booked us a place in London for December 16-20 and then in Suffolk from Dec 20 – Jan 17.

Greater London – Airbnb Listing https://abnb.me/ekpWqlUIElb for Private Room (Cost: 258.69 USD for Dec 16-20 which is approximately $65 USD/night)

Suffolk – Airbnb Listing https://abnb.me/o9viD4WIElb for Private Room (Cost: 1,021.31 USD for Dec 20 – Jan 17 which is about $37 USD/night)

Bi also found someone to sublet our Lagos, Portugal apartment for the time we will be out of the country. Otherwise, that would be a huge financial drain since we need to maintain a lease in Portugal for our D7 Visa application.