As of today, I have one month left at my job. One month of my part-time, $8 an hour, wear-my-jeans-and-t-shirts-to-work job. One month until I am unemployed, moving to a new city, and terrified I'm going to have to resort to flipping burgers to make ends meet...or worse, random retail...or even worse. I could be that new gal with a cardboard sign at the red light, ya'll.
Okay, so maybe that's a little bit over the top, but still. I sat down and made our new Dave Ramsey budget for our income after the Big Move...and it was not pretty. I've called all the internet providers in the Roanoke area, and the lowest I could find was $29.99 (for a measly 3 months before it jumps to $39.99) for 3 Mbs. Honestly, I don't even know what that means, but those first numbers are awfully large in comparison to the latter number. Just seems fishy, if you ask me... We won't need cable or a home phone--I figure Netflix will have our TV issues covered, and our fancy schmancy smart phones better be as awesome as they're cracked up to be or Verizon will have another thing coming.
Which leaves me only one issue to resolve: grocery budgeting. Our only current deviance from the DR plan is that we don't budget for food. (Shame!, I know.) Everything else is taken care of (utilities, insurance, savings, etc.), but we leave what's leftover to eat on as we please and float over to the next month. So, how do you budget your groceries/eating out? Is there a formula? I mean, I'm not opposed to eating Ramen a day or two a week for lunch, but I'd like to occasionally eat out or grill a steak as well--maybe twice a month? Let me know, if you don't mind.
Our trip up to Roanoke two weeks ago went well. We signed a lease at an apartment complex less than 2 miles/5 minutes from Ryan's job. Conveniently for him, almost 75% of the company also resides there, and conveniently for me, it's one overpass away from Kroger, TJMaxx (!!!), Lowe's, every restaurant imaginable, and THE MALL. Yet another reason I am in desperate need of a job. Omg, the mall. It's been over 6 years since I've lived closer than an hour to a mall. I'm not afraid of sounding shallow, ya'll. This is exciting stuff. This means I can finally use my "free panty" cards from Victoria's Secret. I can take advantage of sales and buy in store so I don't have to pay shipping. I can try things on before buying! I'm ecstatic about just knowing it's there, waiting, in case I need something.
Anyway, let me introduce you to our new apartment complex: WestWind. Sounds pretty, no? And yes, yes, we do get the free iPad mini when we move in. Don't know what we're going to do with it yet since I already have a laptop and Ryan has an iPad2...but we'll see what happens. I suppose I could use it in place of my kindle...but I love my kindle. We've selected The Meadows layout with brand new appliances for $699/month. Not too shabby--2 bed, 1.5 bath. Hopefully we'll be able to save money (granted I get a job...) and determine where we want to buy a house in a year or so--as long as Ryan loves his job. I really love the old foursquare homes...with a porch out front...and a deck in the back. Maybe in the Grandin Village or Raleigh Court area? It remains to be seen. Either way, I want to grow old kickin' it on a front porch of an old house, but that's a little further than 30 days away.
