Of Additional Bugetary Concerns

Yeah, this would be post #200 for this blog. Considering that I started at the beginning of 2006, for the past 3.5 years I've averaged... ~57 posts per year. ~4.7 per month. I'm not sure what the point of analyzing those statistics would be, but there they are.

I guess the appropriate thing for such a milestone would be to do something special or have some kind of significant announcement. Oh! I got just the thing! I got my 2008 tax returns! Wooohooo! I promptly blew the entire sum on on my high-interest savings account. Which, by the way, is not nearly as high-interest as it once was. Despite adding 35% more to that account since earlier this year, the amount of interest I'm collecting has been roughly cut in half. How depressing. I guess this would be filed under the 'signs that the economy is screwed' folder.

Oh yeah, I also got accepted to an art school.

I've been running some numbers. Basically, the programs require you to be in class for 30 hours each week. Add on a "significant homework load", and it doesn't look like I'll even be able to pull off part-time work.

So let's break down some numbers, shall we? Tuition, fees, health/dental, and all that other crap amounts to roughly $5000 a year. That's not too bad. For one of the programs I'm considering, there's an average $3000-worth of supplies every year. $8000 for a year of schooling? It's certainly a chunk o' change, but it's manageable.

Let's add on a minimum of $6000/year for rent, $1000 for all other expenses (if I can really tighten my belt). Add in the schooling, and the grand total goes up to $15 000/year. Maybe I decide to put my car on the road? Add at least another $2300 to cover gas, insurance, and maintenance. Don't forget - I'm younger than 25, which automatically means I'm a bad, unsafe driver who should not be on the road unless he's paying significantly more insurance than your average Joe.

So, ~$15 000 a year with zero employment. If I can get a decent job during the summer, I might be able to take home a grand total of $6000.

Basically, I'm f*cked. Well, perhaps I shouldn't say that. I need to look at student loans this week (assuming work doesn't completely run me into the ground), and see how much the government will give to yokels like me.

It's frustrating. You save and save and save and resist spending and hold fast and do without... Only to discover it amounts to a truly insignificant and pathetic figure in the long-run. I think I may have to completely suspend my entertainment budget for the time being. Forget those changes/additions I mentioned last week.



Sigh. I can hack school. I think I can do it. It's the financial stuff that's going to drive me into a very early grave.
-Cril

This looks familiar, vaguely familiar
Almost unreal, yet, it's too soon to feel yet
Close to my soul, and yet so far away
I'm going to go back there someday

Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls
Is that a song there, and do I belong there?
I've never been there, but I know the way
I'm going to go back there someday

The Great Gonzo - I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day