Luckily cars mean absolutely nothing to us and we are still in our "Starter home" that we bought 17 years ago and have now paid off.Hit the retirement accounts hard and save elsewhere too...your time will come to relax and enjoy those fruits you've been cultivating. 

Quote from @Jonathan Scribner: Hello @Brett Deas and @Ben Rhodin,What would you say is the best strategy to get on a preferred list for agencies, hospitals, relocation agencies? 

Focus on your roots, and you will bear fruit. $8k is ok but not great.

Hopefully it is just low hanging fruit to be negotiated out because the rest of the bill is decently reasonable.

I was getting folks living in units periodically, usually during fruit harvest here.