(Belated) February Goals

Week 1 - 2/16-2/20

1. Relist Balenciaga on eBay
   
2. Do threading
   
3. Go to Meetup events... and meet new okc guy ;)
   

Week 2 - 2/21-28

1. Get a pedicure
2. Call CC companies re: getting interest rates reduced
   
3. List Miu Miu on eBay
4. Do at least 30 hrs of work
5. Go to Hip Hop class
6. Get a haircut I love it!
   
7. Go to the dentist for teeth cleaning
8. Go to Meetup events

Life Right Now...

In a word? Hectic. Disorganized. Stressful. The bright side... the pain in my chest has eased some. No more uncontrollable sobbing. But still sudden, sharp longing that comes and goes. It's been a month and a half. Still four and a half months to go?

The renovations to the house have still not been wrapped up. The landlord promised to have everything done by the 31st, and as of today, everything still isn't fixed. And more problems are cropping up. My bathroom is now flooding every time water is used somewhere else in the house. The toilet will start bubbling, and then the water comes gushing out below. Fun! My mom hasn't been able to move in because the garage isn't done, and she needs to put a lot of stuff in there in order to fit. Thankfully she's been able to stay in her old place without a problem. But that means she's paying double rent. We're considering asking him to take two weeks off of the March 1st rent. Has anyone else ever asked this of their landlord, with similar circumstances? What's been your experience?

The bright side is that it's a lovely house, in a nice area, within walking distance to a job I applied for the other day (which I REALLY REALLY want, I might add - keep your fingers crossed for me ;)), with a pleasant landlord (albeit one that hires lazy, semi-competent workers).

Money is really stressing me out right now, although I do have some in the bank. I just need to get a job ASAP before any more of that money disappears.

In the most important news, I've decided to postpone taking the bar until July. The folks with my bar review course have been incredibly kind to me, and offered to let me take the course again at that time. I hope I'm in a stronger, sunnier place at that time... ready to kick some ass. :) Right now, I'm just ready to get settled and focus on making money.

Lowering Interest Rates

I'm getting ready to pay off some of my credit cards. But before I do that, I'm considering how to get some of my interest rates reduced. I have two cards with over 24%! I don't intend to not pay off my bills in full in the future, but regardless, I think it would be beneficial to secure some more manageable rates.

Would it best to (1) pay the cards off first and then ask for the reduction; (2) ask for the reduction now without paying anything; or (3) pay off half the balance and then ask for a reduction?

What's worked and not worked for you guys?

Edit: I'm not planning to cancel any of my cards. The ones with the highest interest rates are also, unfortunately, the oldest. But if there was some big emergency and I had to rack up a balance again, I don't want to be faced with the same high rates.

Edit2: I'm just going to call them and see what happens. I'll report back on my success or failure. :)

I'm all moved in...

And I'm very, very, very tired.

...one of the reasons I got into a car accident yesterday! (But other than the guy calling me the c word numerous times, it was a minor incident - no damage, no injuries. Hopefully he doesn't try to take it anywhere!)

So now I'm faced with unpacking the millions of boxes and bags I have laying around my floor. Who knew we had this much stuff?! I seriously had the urge to sell everything - my big desk, my pc, my monitors, my dressers, clothes... I may have to look into some serious minimizing. My mom has been a HUGE help. And she has her own move to face at the end of the week!

I've been very emotional the past couple days, but starting to feel like everything's coming together. Everything will get better. It has to.

I just need my family to hurry up and move in, because the loneliness (and fear) is a little bit amplified in this big, new house...

Raising Money

I'm selling some items (negotiable on everything):

1. BenQ Joybee GP1 DLP Mini Projector - $350 Sold :)
   
2. Balenciaga City in Jet Black - $1200
3. Chloe Paddington in Chocolate Brown - $600 Sold :)
   
4. Coach clutch - $100
5. Coach wallet - $75

If you're interested, email me at debtchronicles (at) hotmail.com. :)

Good News!

I found a replacement tenant for my apartment, who plans to move in the first week of February. I found this person after a day of searching!! The apartment managers were thrilled.

My mom and I also found an awesome house (with a landlord who seems really nice) only a little more than a mile away from where I currently live (which, aside from not having tennis courts across the street, is an even better area). I can't wait to get a puppy. :)

The only iffy things are that (1) we haven't yet signed a lease (though I put down a partial deposit), and (2) the owner is renovating and thinks he'll be done in "2 weeks." He's been saying 2 weeks since Sunday, so that would put the completion date somewhere between Jan 30th-Feb 1st. It could work out perfectly. Fingers remain firmly crossed!

I need to sit down with my mom and figure out a budget. Once we have the lease signed and everything is a done deal, I'll post an update on the financial front.

I'm trying not to get angry

...but I don't know if it's working.

First of all, we have been together more than 6 years. For many years, we split all our finances. We made a mutual decision for me to quit my full-time job so that I could focus on school. When I graduated from school and couldn't find a job, he agreed to pay my monthly expenses. I told him I wanted that money to be considered a loan.

When there were jobs that were not ideal that I could have taken, he encouraged me not to take them. We had long discussions where we again came to a mutual agreement that I would try to find something part-time, and just focus on studying on the bar.

I relied on him. And he relied on me, in every way that didn't have to do with money. I envisioned a future in which school was entirely behind me, and I would be supporting him while he built up his own company.

Do I think he's being GENEROUS? No. I think he's being FAIR. He's doing what is morally right in our situation. It has nothing to do with me being "irresponsible" with money. Mutual decisions were made based on the assumption that we would be together in the foreseeable future. A mutual decision was made that I would not work full-time while I was studying for the bar. He SCREWED ME OVER. He could have PREPARED ME for this. And he realizes that. Which is why these decisions have been reached. (well, that and the fact that he says he still loves and cares for me so much and wants to still be close and see me... and he's conflicted and may just be a "stupid little boy.")

And re: the lease... we are not allowed subletters. We are not allowed assignees. So I can't just find someone to take over our lease (although I did approach the landlords with the possibility - they can agree to a lease amendment if they so choose). We've always been good tenants, and this is a pretty small management company... But I don't know how they'll react.

edit: So I should mention this post was in response to comments left on my previous post... which I deleted. But I think you get the gist of what they were saying!