Shitting Bricks

Hey, all. I just picked up the title to my car yesterday! I'm so happy that I'll finally get to drive my car. I'll register the car this Saturday which means that's when I'll pick up the car from the seller's house. I've already made the first payment on the loan so it's really about time that I got to drive the car. To be honest, I'm glad I didn't have the car yet. Considering this huge snow hurricane the northeast got this past week, I would've killed myself had I been driving the car and crashed it or something happened at all.

Anyway, that's now the reason I'm shitting bricks. I've been absolutely obsessed with my budget as of late. I'm constantly checking my bank account and modifying my budget to make sure I'll stay within the lines. I'm bent on moving out, though I had to push it back to August. I'm trying my hardest to, both, get out of debt as quickly as possible, and save up as much as is necessary to move out. So far I'm looking good in terms of my budget. I actually saved money this month over what I projected. Let's hope the other months are just as good, if not better.

My Surreal Day

I went to Raymour & Flannigan today to check out some Presidents Day deals and look at some stuff that was different from Bob's Furniture. I wasn't sure I'd find anything at a decent price but we found quite a few things for a great price, a little too much stuff. I planned out my living/dining room and my bedroom including a mattress. It worked out to $6474. That cuts into my TV budget so I probably won't have a TV in the living room for a bit. I'll also most likely have to delay moving in by about 2 weeks to make sure I have enough money to fall back on just in case. This makes the whole moving out thing much more real. I need to make sure it all fits in the apartment! I'll most likely head that way this week and submit the credit application for the apartment. I'll probably need a co-signer since my credit's been crappy due to, both, my financial irresponsibility and my being unemployed for 3 months last year.

I went with my parents to visit my uncle up north since we were close by while buying the furniture (not the uncle I usually go visit). I played with the kids, they're 3 and 4. They're so much fun. He lent me his Grand Prix so I don't have to inconvenience my parents. He hardly uses the car and had it garaged since they use their minivan more often because of the kids. I'm hoping this car thing is solved soon.

Sidenote:
@Steve: The reason for the prices being so high is it's Northern NJ. The cost of living is quite high here compared to the rest of the country.

The Direction of Things

I started my new job 2 weeks ago and it's been good so far. I've been doing simple stuff and some more complex stuff as well. To be honest, the project itself scares me, not because it's too much to handle, but because it's a clusterfuck. I wouldn't put my name on that. Unfortunately it's mostly done so there's no chance of a rewrite. It's horrible and I've tried to merely do as I'm told in terms of fixing or adding features. I've had to fix stuff for browsers they didn't even test on like Safari and Chrome and even some javascript issues on IE7/8 which they DO test on but somehow didn't catch. I know this sounds like I'm bitching but it's a good thing. I'll be working on a new project soon and it's from scratch so there won't be any horrible code to look at :).

The car situation still isn't sorted out. The loan went through, luckily, but now I have to figure out how to get the title. It seems the seller's bank is going to send it to my lienholder, which I then have to request it from and have it sent to the DMV to register the car. It's annoying, but at least we got this far. I'm one step closer to driving my (realistic) dream car, an E46 M3.

I'm at my uncle's right now. I drove here last night in order to drop off his car, which he so graciously offered the use of, but I realize it's been 2 weeks now and he needs his car. I'll borrow my mom's car for a bit and if this takes too long, I'll simply rent one for a bit or ask my other uncle if I can borrow his Grand Prix.

I don't remember if I posted about this, sorry if I already did. I've been planning on moving out of my parents' house. My stepdad's company is closing in the next two years and he's pretty close to retiring anyway. They're planning on buying a house in Puerto Rico and moving there within that time period. That's not why I'm moving out, though. I've felt it's time for a while but after having been unemployed it took me a while to get back on my feet. I made a budget a few weeks ago and was planning on moving out with a friend of mine. Unfortunately it seems she won't be able to. I would've saved a lot more money by getting a 2 bedroom apartment and sharing the cost of utilities, furniture, etc. even if the rent was more than a 1 bedroom. I found a nice 1 bedroom near work for ~$1200/mo. It's a really good price for the area it's in considering the average is between $1300 and $1400. On paper, it should all work out and I'll be out of credit card debt by next May. I plan on moving in around April 1^st.

Cross your fingers! If all goes well, 2010 could be the year of my independence and a turning-point in my life.