Student Loans

My student loan servicing people called. They wanted to let me know that I'm no longer enrolled in school. I was surprised- I thought it would take them almost twice this long to figure it out. Only one of the loans starts collecting soon, and I need to start working on the "hardship" paperwork now, since they want $50 by the middle of this month. The rest either haven't caught up to me (unlikely), or have some more deferral time left.

Of course, if I go back to school part time, they all go back into deferral. But I just moved states, so that's not likely to fix anything just now. Indeed, paying out of state tuition would cost much, much more than just paying the stupid loans.

right now my estimated monthly payments on all my debts are about twice my (minimum) living expenses. Actually a little more. Cutting out all the fun stuff, all the wiggle room, and all the soda (sob), my monthly living expenses are only about $500. If my other loans only come out to $300 a month, I'll be paying more than $1100 a month on debt repayment- and that's just the minimums.

So I need a job. Or jobs. And someone needs to tell all these people hiring minimum wage, open availability, 10 hours a week that for a max of $72.50 a week they don't get open availability. Ugh.

Need sleep

Put up a craigslist ad for dog walking. Haven't heard anything yet. Hate selling, need to work on that. Joined pet sitting forum for free, going through information and archives.

Borrowing more money from dad, will pay the rent for the month, hold off wolves for another week or so. Hopefully I can at least pull some server job by then.

I'm going to hold off on updating/ swapping out the "progress" bars until i have a job. watching the numbers get bigger is depressing, and I only have to do it on statements one at a time. Don't think I could take it all at once.

Oh, and I robbed my food money to buy gas, so I need to put $20 back in the envelope.

Dog walking, still thinking.

I'll get to the dog walking thing in a minute. First... I need a basic bill paying job. I'm spending part of this afternoon helping Mom finish setting up her blog, and part of it applying for crappy server jobs. Well, maybe not crappy, but server jobs. Which I don't feel confident at, but which pay better than fast food.

On to dog walking.

As soon as I have a name I'll put up an ad on craigslist. I don't know that I expect to hear from anyone the first couple of days. I still need to have the paperwork ready in case I'm wrong. So I need a client or "dog walking" agreement. And a questionnaire, vet release, and... there was something else. I know what my price points are-

• $10 for a 15 minute potty visit,
• $15 for a 30 minute walk (plus water refill,and whatnot- about 40 minutes total)
• $20 for a 45 minute walk, and
• $25 for an hour walk

They don't sound too low, or too high. Town is kinda flung out, so I need to figure out how to deal with people who live way out there. Do I start out with a more limited service area and expand into middle of nowhere areas when I have x potential clients? Or do I add a surcharge for driving way to hell and back?

And incentives- what's a reasonable rate to offer them at? 1 free walk after a referral has completed and paid for 5 walks, or is that giving away too much? 10% off a week's service?

And discounts for hardcore users- weekly rates, or discounts, or one free walk every however many booked and paid for? Puppy packages, food delivery, pet taxi, dog walking for new parents...

Mom was like "wow, that's a great idea", but now that I'm digging into the realistic side of things, holy carp there's a lot to do!

I guess I can treat Charleston as a training ground, then when (if?) I move to savannah, I'll have the know how to pull it off. Have I mentioned how well dog walking fits with running a hostel? Now I just have to see if I can do it.

In other news, I still have no job, no money, bills due, and rent to pay. Oh, and a huge house-sized hole my debt goes in. Pleh.

well, here's to jumping.

Job hunting and possible options

I still don't have a job. I'm still looking and not hearing back. I'm sure there's something out there, but most of what I'm seeing either needs experience I don't have, a degree I don't have (for $8/hr??!!), or is part time and requires full availability. Which is not happening.

So I'm thinking about shifting my focus. One of my roommates does paper delivery, and while it's not huge or great money, it's not bad, doesn't take too long, and is usually available. If I can get a paper route (yes, increased gas/ car expense), I can also look at an evening job. Papers in the morning, hostess in the evening, it would leave my whole day open- either for an eventual "real, day job" or for something I do myself. The two part time crap jobs would cover gas, rent, and most of my minimums until student loan repayment shows up.

Which leaves me with my current possible idea. I don't know how it would work out, though.

I'm thinking about starting a dog walking business. There are a lot of dogs in the Charleston area. And lots of people who work a lot. And, I guess, if I want to be really honest, a couple (bunch?) of people who already do dog walking or running.

Startup costs are pretty reasonable-

• Advertise on craigslist until have a couple clients (free)
• poo bags/ water bottles/ snax/ backpack to carry them all in (already have, free)
• gas to get to clients (~$2.60/ gal)
• printing cost of contracts, client info, report cards, vet release ($5-10)
• setting skype to send calls to my cell (or get another disposable cell) ($0.12/ minute or $30+)
• possibly a business license- have to check. ($30?)
• basic lock box (<$15 for cash box)
• spare leashes/ collars/ haltis (<$30, borrowing leashes for now)

If I can get a couple clients, then once there's more money coming in than going out, can add-

• insurance and memberships (starting at $150ish/yr)
• printer/ paper/ ink so I can print my own paperwork
• phone number just for business calls
• business cards and flyers to leave at vet offices, groomers, community boards and just for handing out.
• Basic web-site
• Better lock box
• binder, three hole punch, pencil bag for keeping organized during the day

If it starts doing well- to the point that I can make it into a "real job" then I can add-

• accounting software
• online scheduling and payment software/ service
• better web-site
• i don't know what else...

Obviously there's some pretty serious wear and tear on the car, and gas expense. I'd have to increase mileage on my car insurance too, which will make that go up... And I don't have the best car for advertising a business. I can do a little to make it look better, I'm just not sure how much can really be done to it though.

But there are deductions for business driving (I'll have to look into what's acceptable), and eventually I could save up for something better with better gas mileage.

I'd probably have to register a DBA, and get a separate bank account too... eventually. Wonder if the local FCU has cheap business accounts?

When you can't find a job that pays what you need, create one, right? I'd much rather walk dogs then clean houses. I'm better at it, too.

Has anyone out there done this? Is it a crazy idea? Is there anything I'm not thinking of?

Goals and Money

Money and goals, they're kinda tied together. For me they're stuck to each other because most goals require money in some way, even if the goal is something free. I want to take a long, long hike up the east coast. Walking doesn't cost much, food while hiking is cheap- even if I go bonkers and start eating cheese. Macaroni and cheese, ramen, beans- these are all cheap foods. Nuts, veggie jerky, and dried fruit are a bit more expensive, but not hugely so. But to take that trip I either need to be able to pay my debts and day-to-day stuff while I'm gone, or I need to have my debts paid off. That's a lot of money.

Other goals cost more. Travelling around the world is done by backpackers on budgets as low as $10,000 a year. Wild, innovative trips. Dream fulfilling, castle building trips. But again, you need to have money to go, and pay any bills left behind while you go. Vet school is... yeah, hugely expensive. It doesn't really allow for things like taking years off for travel, which is probably part of why I'm not 7 months from graduating like my past classmates are. Still paying for it though. Owning and running a cool hostel, giving travelers a chance to spend time someplace they couldn't afford to visit otherwise. Now that's a goal with some money attached to it.

Then there are people I've known through work at Walmart. One lady, who is very nice, had very low goals. I asked her what her dreams were, what things she wanted to do before she died. These were things that would make her feel like she'd lived a full life. All three were things that are *very* easy to do- with a little bit of money. Stay in a nice hotel, eat at a nice restaurant, go to a society party.

Those were her life goals. That was the coolest thing she could think of to ever do, ever. Having done all three, I gotta say, she can aim higher. Plus there is nothing worse than being the outsider at a society party. She could pay for the whole batch after a year just by quitting smoking.

So we started working on her. Why were those her goals? Is she sure she doesn't just want to be rich? It's better than trying to figure out where the rent is coming from, but it's not easy. I think she has more goals now. Bigger ones. Would she have been better off with smaller goals? Maybe. But you can hate your life just as much if you have low or no goals as you can if you have huge, world changing goals. And if your goals are bigger then possibly, just maybe, your self worth will go up too. After all, dreams and goals are things you reach for. Even the ones you don't think you'll ever get a chance to do.

So that's why I'm here. I want to be able to chase dreams. I want other people to be able to chase their dreams. I want my goals, and other peoples too, to get bigger and more exciting. I want to be free. And that's a goal too.

What are your goals? What are the dreams you dream when you're alone in the woods, or the library, or watching planes coming in over the highway, or curled up on the couch with your SO or dog?

Managing Acquisitiveness

I have a weakness for some things. I want to own them, hold them, know they are mine. Most of them are easy to avoid- I don't buy movies or video games if I don't go places they are sold. I admit I tracked down one ($8) game on Amazon. I can't afford to grow my sock collection, even though it's thinning out fast.

Some things make life feel empty without them, though. That's where I'm having trouble. Things like books, music, and social or cultural activities. So that's what I'm working on now.

Books-

I love books. New books, Used books, Old books. I love how they look, feel, smell. Heck, I even like how e-books don't take up any extra space in my bag on trips. But they're so expensive, and heavy, and a nightmare to move. Plus, I'm kinda furniture-lite ATM, so they're either expensive to store or a mess all over my floor.

I'm working on cutting back here. Well, cutting off actually. There is a perfectly good library system in the area- three of them in fact. I'm sure there will still be some expenses (late fees, inter-library loan, gas) but no where near what my book-a-day habit would run me. Plus, cookbooks are forking expensive and I don't usually make more than two or three recipes out of each.

Music-

Music is expensive, no doubt about it. CD's are spendy even if they aren't (sometimes difficult to find) Opera recordings. I also love watching "live show" recordings, and own a couple of a band I haven't seen in person yet.

And if buying someone *else's* music is expensive, learning to make your own is insane! I want to learn to play cello. Some of the most happy-making music I've ever heard is for cello. Well, and hot boys play it. But cellos are expensive to buy, and lessons are tough to find in some places and are private, so $30+ each.

I'm working on this one. Listening is easy to manage, though I don't get much choice. iTunes radio tuner offers just about anything I could want to listen to, including a station that plays opera *all day long*. I can watch videos and (sometimes) recordings of live performances over at youtube. Best though is that both of these keep rotating in new music I've never heard before. So while I wouldn't drop $80 on a recording I've never heard and might hate, there's a good chance someone will request it, I'll look it up, and I can add it to my life list of things to see live or (eventually) collect.

When cash flow opens up a bit (and I get enough stuff paid off that I don't feel like I'm wasting extra payments) I will probably try renting a cello, and getting lessons with that. The cost of the rent is usually lost (though some places will credit a percent of your rental fees toward purchase of an instrument from them), but buying a similar quality cello would be a long term savings goal, and I don't want to wait that long.

Social and Cultural Activities-

This is probably the toughest and easiest one at the same time. Going out with friends means some combination of gas, tickets, drinks, food, parking, and who knows what else. Concerts have expensive tickets, museums charge entry, movies- again the tickets. It's just expensive.

But there's a lot that's either cheap or free. I don't have to buy stuff when I go out with friends, or can just get a soda if we go someplace like a bar- as long as I tip the bartender everyone is happy. There's usually a free parking option for nighttime activities, so I can save on that, but during the day it's pretty much required- if I don't want to walk 3 miles.

The Charleston County Public Library system has free showings of the Met's operas. They also do movies, lectures, tax prep. It's a bit of a hike downtown, but wow, the resources. And Charleston has Spoleto. Paying for tickets would bankrupt normal people, but locals can sign up to usher. You have to work a bit, but you get to see shows with $50 or $100 tickets for free. Also, there's Piccolo Spoleto, a bunch of lower cost and free events, concerts, and shows. It's enough culture to kill a girl. And the local free paper has listings every week of cheap and free activities, low cost shows, art openings, and drink deals.

So I guess I just need to try harder. The most amazing things in life probably shouldn't be easy, not if you want them to be affordable too. Sometimes, though? I just want to be able to hold that book and know it's *MINE!*

The Job Hunt Continues

My bills are (yay, huzzah) almost totally taken care of through the end of the month. I owe everyone's great friend Sallie Mae about $100 between now and then, but I'm thinking she's just going to have to wait. Next item after that is rent again, and if I really need it my father offered to "help", which would add to the $1000 I officially owe him-- more like $1400 if you include the stuff he's bought me since I got back to town.

I had an interview for a minimum wage job last week, which I didn't get. I suspect nerves and a pretty much overwhelming in-person reticence is my undoing. While Valium might make me more outgoing, I don't think it's the answer here. I am simply a miserable sales person, of myself more than just about anything.

In a way it's good that I didn't get that job. It's in a good location, commute-wise -- between here and where I'd like to live -- but it would take up prime money earning hours.

I'm applying to other jobs. I'm rewriting my (less than inspiring) resume. I'm filling out applications and asking people I know (when I can convince myself it's not pushy) if they know of any opportunities.

And I'm keeping in mind that I don't want to live out here forever. I want to be closer in, eventually in the "downtown" area itself, when I move out of my current place (sometime between now and when my lease runs out). So I'm not looking any farther out of town than I already am because gas is expensive, repairs go up with commute distance, and I don't think this car will last long putting 50 miles or more on it every day.

Well, and I have better things to do with all that time and money. Like paying off bills, creating (cheap) interesting things with words or visual art, or chasing (cheaper) dreams.

So ideally I find something that has the shortest possible reverse commute from where I want to live, and nothing too horrible from where I live now. Which would probably be at the airport, or somewhere around there -- halfway between where I live now and where I want to live. Alternately, I can set myself up for a terrible commute now, and an amazingly short commute later.

The city I'm in now, also, is hiring for a career-type position. It's super competitive to get, high stress, "high" pay work- starting around $13/hr. But it's close enough to where I live that I could bike there, saving gas, and it would be a (somewhat long) reverse commute when I move to a more desirable area.

Really though? If I were offered a job that covered my bills (all of them) with 5-10% wiggle room and no need for overtime or a second job? I'd probably walk barefoot on hot coals everyday while dragging my car uphill, through snow, in wet cotton long underwear to get to it. For a while at least.

Site note- I haven't updated my progress (reverse progress?) yet. I know I said I would, the lack of delivery annoys me. I have code for new, much less tacky progress bars (like the ones you've probably seen on everyone else's blog) I just haven't placed it yet. It's easier to read, look at, update, and live with. I just have to put it in. I will let you know that the little tiny $1k E-fund is gone.

Super Single Girl Money Saver Number 1 -- Roommates

There are bunches of options out there for saving money. Some of them save a little over a long time (CF lightbulbs, buying less food), some of them save a lot all at once (buying the cheapest used car that won't get your license yanked), and some save a lot over a long time (routine car maintenance, Dentist check ups).

Most of them aren't fun. This Super Money Saver, though, seems to be the most dreaded. More than cancelling cable or cutting back on cell phone features (which I'll get to... eventually).

Living with roommates.

After Debt payments, my biggest single expense each month is rent. Really. And i live with roommates. If I didn't, it'd be close to beating out *the total* of my monthly minimums right now.

Like with anything that deals with saving money, you need to think about pros and cons. If you're not careful, or the potential roommate doesn't disclose everything, or the landlord is of the slum variety your living situation could suck. Lots.

But if you know what you're doing, and you're careful, and you don't let people pressure you into things without thinking it can be a great money saver.

Pros to sharing housing (not a bedroom, just an apartment)

• Lower rent (this is the big one)
• Split utility bills
• Some support if you don't know anyone else in the area
• Split chores

Not bad, right? Unfortunately, there is a nasty downside here, too.

Cons to sharing housing

• Different standards- slobs with neat freaks, private people with party animals
• Less privacy- You won't generally be able to make wild freaky monkey love on the kitchen table.
• Irresponsible or inconsiderate roommates- if they don't cover their part of the rent, you have to.
• Explaining to friends and family why you're living with "strangers"

There are more, but they differ with each situation and set of potential flat/ house/ roommates.

So how do you go about finding decent, employed roommates who's lives aren't so far off yours that you want to slam your head against the wall, or get an SO just so you don't have to go back there every night?

Most of it you need to do before even meeting them or looking at ads. You need to know who you are, what you need in your home, what you're willing to do or deal with, and what is a non-negotiable.

Disclaimer- I do not have such an agreement with my current roommates, and I've started a countdown to move out- in 10.5 months. This is a clear-cut instance of FAIL. I should have known it was going to go bad when they wouldn't even discuss a cleaning schedule or standards.

So you make up your list. Put crazy stuff on it- no cheetos or chocolate in the house during diets, people are responsible for the dribbles and toilet seat positions left by them/ their guests, no guests at all ever anywhere in the house, whatever. Put Stuff That Matters on the list- expectations of quiet times, smoking, pets, cleaning rotations and standards, responsibility for bills, kitchen or religious habits, overnight guests.

Wait, what? Quiet, smoking, pets you get, right? Maybe even cleaning and bills. But kitchen habits? Religious choices? Sleep Overs?

This is stuff you might not think of before looking for a roommate. It's stuff with a total ability to drive you nuts after. I live with two guys. One has his boyfriend (semi-committed) sleep over one or two nights a week. The other brings his Friend With Benefits over three or more nights a week and leaves her at the house while he works a 12 hour shift. They have a *lower* standard of clean than I do. I just want it to not look like a crack den and not attract more bugs. No pubes on the bathroom floor/ pee smell would be a nice bonus. They don't seem to mind that so much.

And don't even start on the religion thing. A flaming atheist and a serious, devout Christian should not live together. Just trust me on this one. It leads to bad things. And bodies. Likewise Kucinich supporters and people who vote for Palin should not cohabitate. People with day jobs and those on third shift are another example.

And, while I know this last one will probably draw a lot of crap, it's still true. People from different ends of the socio-economic spectrum should probably not live together. Likewise people who value education and those who scoff at learning.

I am doing most of those things now. We have an atheist, a pagan, and a (non-churching) Christian living here. I come from a background that values work and goals (even if I don't seem to be living up to those expectations), and which is admittedly very upper middle class white. Anywhere else it would just be upper middle class, but for some reason people in the south seem to make a big deal over dermal pigment. Don't get it, but whatever. My roommates were raised working class, lower middle class. They value a job, but have no interest in finding something that fulfills them, just in a paycheck and beer money.

Class is a big angry tiger everyone in the US tries to pretend isn't there. You can pretend it's not there all you want, but the manner you are raised- and the manners you're raised with- will make a big difference in who you can live with.

Now you've got your list of things you're looking for in a roommate. How about things you don't want? Only put total deal breakers on here. If I were someplace more liberal than South Carolina my list for this would still be pretty short- no one who can't pay rent, no cats, no one who watches Fox News and *likes it* for other than comedic value, no eaters of meat. Here that's cut down to just the first two.

Now you can go looking at ads. Much like finding an apartment for just yourself, start in areas you like, in your price range. People in the US use craigslist.org. You can search rooms/ shares by price and keyword. Vegan in Charleston, SC brings up no listings. In Los Angeles it brings up dozens. Check the ads that match, read them to see if the people seem like the sort you can get along with. If all's good at that point, contact them. E-mail or text, or whatever they say they prefer. Tell them about yourself, what you're looking for in a roommate situation. Let them know anything you're non-negotiable on, and that you're hoping to find people who'd be willing to have a (formal/ informal) roommate agreement.

You won't hear back from everyone. You might not get some places you think you'd love. Some people will freak out at the idea of a negotiated set of standards and ways to deal with stuff. Most Professional, Educated people should be cool with it tho. If they aren't, they might not be people you want to share rent with.

Important- Make sure the non-negotiable stuff is worked out before this! If you *cannot* be around smoke, make sure you're not moving in with smokers. If they keep kosher, you'll need to either have a pig pan or live without bacon cheeseburgers at home. Also keep in mind that anything on that list covers everyone, not just them.

• Once you find this roommate situation, you have to actually draw up the agreement. Everyone makes a list of stuff they would like to have (heating/ cooling limits, communication methods when things aren't working, cleaning rotation ideas, number of nights someone can sleep over before they need to start kicking in for rent and electric). All the negotiable stuff.

• Once everyone has their list go through and put everything you all have down in the agreement. If you all want an empty sink before bedtime, no loud noise after 10 on weeknights, and to watch the Amazing Race, those don't need to be bargained over. If 2 out of three want it, it's time to deal.

• Rank what's left on your list. Leave the crazy stuff off.

• Based on how important things are to other people, add items to the agreement. If one person ranks "toilet cleaned daily" first, you might want to agree- so long as they're willing to do most of the additional cleaning.

• Work your way down the lists until everyone's satisfied that whats *actually important* to them is included.

• Leave less important things to be dealt with as needed. It's a home, after all, not a prison.

Make sure you include in there some kind of conflict resolution method. Nothing sucks more than living with people, having a problem with them, and having no way to deal with it. Have a set weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly meeting to talk over stuff, deal with bills, and get all the business out of the way.

Roommates can save you a lot of money. Just make sure you jump in the smart way.

Oh, and if your roommate (like mine) complains about the power bill but never turns his or her computer off and keeps the house at 70F year round, just remember it's not forever.

schedules, bills, interviews, and terror

First off- I'm going to try to get on some sort of actual schedule here. Unless I'm sick, dead, or have said differently I'll work on posting consistently Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, before 9am on the east coast of the US (-5 GMT, I think).

I'll update my debt bars in by Monday the 15th, and my savings bars as well, since there's been a bit of change in there. Namely my E-fund is just about gone, and my cc's might be going up in the next couple days.

Interviews- I've had one. For a minimum wage job. If I don't hear from them by Monday on a "working interview" I should assume they're not interested. Which I read as they're not interested now, and just don't want to say it while I'm standing there.

Which brings me to terror.

I have about $70 cash, $50 of it off in ING land, where I can't get to it right now. There are only a couple of places hiring, even servers. But Charleston is very competitive for server jobs, there are lots of career waiters.

So right now I have no job, no idea when I'll get one, and no money. Oh, and I live in a rodent and insect infested dump with a pair of super slobs. The only thing I have anywhere on the horizon is the (faint) possibility of a job that will pay half my bills, if I'm careful. I'm beginning to think I should have just emptied my accounts when I got my tax return and hopped a bus someplace cheap.

Basically, if I don't have a server job by Wednesday, and I'm not earning money by Friday, I won't have to worry about my crap living situation, because I'll be getting kicked out at the end of the month.

Sometimes jumping really sucks.

Realities of paying off debt

There's a lot of emphasis online, and out in the world, to focus on cutting expenses to pay off debt. Sometimes I wonder who these people are, that they still have enough padding in their budget to cut a bunch and pay everything off faster. If I cut all the remaining fun from my budget, dropped to a (slightly) cheaper car insurance, and picked up all the change I saw on sidewalks and in parking lots (instead of just silvered) I'd have maybe an extra 1800 a year to pay stuff off.

While that might add up to my two smallest debts, it also would be me hating life and running around uncaffeinated. That wouldn't be good for anyone.

While there needs to be control of spending while paying off debt, sometimes (most times?) there needs to be increase of income too.

I put up my budget numbers last time, and they aren't very promising, but they are what they are. Less promising is what's available in the local area. $12 jobs don't grow on trees here normally, and South Carolina is not in the best condition now. Tourism is picking up a bit, and with the dollar relatively weak there are more tourists from Europe and whatnot, so service jobs are looking up.

But I am nowhere near a good enough server to pull $600 a week in tips. Just not. The other jobs in town that are interesting pay between minimum wage and $11 an hour, and as the pay goes up so do the expenses- gas because they're farther away, clothes because they go from behind the scenes/ casual to office gear, entertainment and shared office expense. Because while no one at Taco Bell expects you to kick in $15 for the boss' birthday gift, office ladies will drive you out for it.

So I'm going to work on finding a "day job"- something that while it may not pay well, at least pays something- and a server job. And in my (theoretical) spare time, I'll work on building a freelance sideline into something that actually pays at least one bill every month. And of course, work on finding a day job that pays more.

I think the worst part of paying back what I've borrowed isn't that all my money goes right back out, or even that I've left myself no real freedom. It's that money is now very important to me. Important enough that I'm willing to give up things that are also important to me in order to get my hands on more of it. Important enough that I worked a dead end job someplace I hated, with business practices and employee relations I abhor just to have more.

Hopefully I can manage to find something I at least don't mind doing this time. And I've still got just enough cushion in my account/ low enough expenses that with a server job I can at least buy gas and pay the rent. So I can hope for something I even believe in while spamming every place that might be willing to hire me.

Yay?

A wild guess at my budget

My student loans are (mostly) still hanging out in who knows where, not repaying yet land. I hope they stay there a bit longer. As long as I don't have numbers for them, though, my budget is more than a little hypothetical.

So.... I'm breaking my budgeted expenses into two groups right now. I know they should be three or four, but for now they're just life expenses and debt expenses.

Life Expenses (in no particular order, monthly average)

• Rent- $350
• Internet- $20
• Food- $30 (already in my hands thru mid-august)
• Soda- $30 (this needs to go down)
• Gas- $50
• Car repair fund- $50
• Car insurance- $30 (paid 6 mo's, so sinking fund for sept.)
• Cell phone- $15
• Skype- $10 (about $60/ yr. +$3-5/ month in calls)
• WoW- $15 (yes, really)
• Misc. household stuff- $30 (guess)
• lotto/ fun- $20
• 10% oops- $65

Total per month- $715

There's a bunch of stuff I can take out of there, and a bunch of stuff that's just a wild guess. I don't spend more than $10, really, on the lotto/ fun category. I've no idea how much household stuff will run, now that we've got most of the stuff we need, and it's just soaps and replacements. And obviously, if I don't fix something soon WoW goes away. I could probably pull $145 off of that if I had to, but I'd be running really close to the edge.

And I wouldn't have any soda. That would be bad.

Debt payment/ repayment expenses (known so far)

• CC1- $15
• CC2- $265
• CC3- $365
• Dad- $100
• S. Mae- $100
• other unknown loans- $$$$$

Total debt payment- $845

That's without most of my student loans. Note- don't pay tuition with credit cards. Also don't pay for anything else with them, unless they are then directly paid off with cash from the bank.

So my total out going money (right now) is $1560, with $65 for oopses. In a state with 9% income tax on... everything... my take home will be between 72 and 76% of my gross. I need to make about $2100 a month to break even, without any other expenses. That's a little over $12, working 40 hours a week.

Now I just need to find a $12/hr job in a state with double digit unemployment, in less than two weeks. Yay? But that's a project for tomorrow.

In which the intrepid heroine gets a car

I was going to do a whole huge update on the first, but I haven't paid all my bills yet, and I want to get my papers organized (and my budget worked out) before I do that.

In the meantime, I have a car! i found it on the craigslist of wonderful +2, and it ended up being even less than it was advertised for. And the lady selling it was super nice. When there was a problem with the title she came all the way out to the middle of nowhere (that's where I live, again) to fix it. Super super nice.

So I am now the proud owner of a $600 car. Which has also so far cost $178 to insure (6mo's), $12.39 in property tax, $69 to title, register, and licence, and $17.40 in gas.

But don't worry, it's going to get more expensive fast- cheap cars always do. I need to replace the bulb in one headlight, one brakelight, some hose (which may or may not leak gas), a couple bumper stickers (not really a ron paul kinda girl, ya know?), and the wiper blades.

And someday, if I'm very very good, the stereo and speakers.

Oh, and it needs an oil change, but don't they all?

did i mention the bit where I keep going squee? Why are the most exciting things in life so often the expensive ones?

One goal, done! Now i just have to pay dad back and fix it up.

Squee.