More financial nattering

[mousme]

Wow.

So I took a cursory look at what my monthly expenses are in order to get an idea of what my budget should be. My conclusion? Holy shit.

I have no idea how I made it this far without starving. The Financial Good Luck Fairy obviously got sick and tired of me very recently, because she must have been giving me a hand before. There's no other logical explanation.

The really bad news is the car. I just spoke to my Friendly Local Car Salesman, the one who leased me the car to begin with, and it looks like it won't be all that much cheaper to refinance the car over the next three years. Cheaper, yes, but only by about $60 per month compared to what I'm paying now. Mind you, $60 less is better than a kick in the teeth, but I was hoping for something more substantial.

I am vaguely annoyed, but not surprised, by the fact that if I plunked down the whole amount needed to buy the car right now (or in August when the lease is up, anyway), it would cost me about $3,000 less than refinancing it would. In essence, I'll be paying about $100 a month more than the actual value of the car as it stands. Frigging highway robbery.

I'm not sure that I won't have to abandon the car idea entirely when August rolls around. I'd really rather not, since the car has proved extremely useful for any number of reasons (moving band equipment, getting to and from places late at night, providing lifts, moving heavy stuff around on short notice, going to see fearsclave in Ontario…), but I am capable of being realistic. If it's really unfeasible to keep the vehicle, I shall get rid of it. *sigh*

Anyway, car considerations aside, I figure I need to make at least $500 (net) more every month in order to A) break even, and B) pay off the theoretical loan I'll be getting when my parents return from France. This will also give me a little bit of wiggle room in terms of buying food and other such happy necessities. I might even be able to indulge in books again. Maybe.

So it looks like getting a second job is the way to go, much as I'm not keen on this option. Even if I get a permanent posting at the bank, I wouldn't be getting a substantial enough raise to make all this work. However, according to my calculations, even a minimum-wage job at 20 hours a week would do it. I'll be stopping at Chapters and Indigo after work in order to fill out employment forms, and with any luck they'll be hiring for the summer, since I expect any number of students will be leaving over the summer months. Of course, tons of students will be applying for summer jobs as well, but I guess that can't be helped. This weekend I shall start going around to various restaurants and seeing whether or not they have something for me.

So that's the end of yet another instalment of The Not-So-Interesting Financial Life Of Phnee. Thanks for tuning in. :P

Comments

Financing

[looking4wings.livejournal.com]

One option you might consider is getting a bigger loan to include enough to buy the car outright. Bank interest is probably a lot less than car dealer financing.

A thought for you.

Hugs!

[miseri.livejournal.com]

Have you considered writing for publication? I remember looking up the acceptance criteria and whatnot for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine some time back, and it's not unreasonable.