The apartment is mine!!!

Today Pat and I went and looked at the apartment again, and then I put in my application, and guess what? I was approved on my own, without Pat cosigning :D I have to give them an extra $300 refundable deposit as security, but I can go it alone! So, that means that on Wednesday I can send them the first $300 to secure the apartment in my name, and then the weekend after this coming weekend will be my move-in day :D

I've been running my budget out all the way until July of next year, just to make sure this is gonna work. It is going to get tight in the immediate future with all the move-in expenses and missed work during the holidays, but after the holidays are over with it should steadily get better. Here's how it looks.

Breakdown of known expenses:
$955/mo rent
$102/mo cable (TV, Internet, Phone)
$120/mo power & water
$40/wk gas = $172/mo gas
$30/mo cell phone
$150/mo food
$120/mo entertainment
$100/mo spending money (this is my primary fudge buffer, since I've already over-budgeted for both food and entertainment, this is pure gravy)
--------------
$1749/mo expenses


Breakdown of income:
$15/hr for 40 hours = $507 direct deposited every Wednesday


Short-term budget for the move-in:
$100 as of Sunday the 15th
+$405 pay (because of that sick day)
$505 as of Wednesday the 18th
-$300 deposit to secure apartment Wednesday the 18th
$205 as of Thursday the 19th
-$150 van maintenance on Saturday the 21st
$55 as of Monday the 23rd
+507 pay
$562 as of Wednesday the 25th
-$300 move-in deposit Friday the 27th
$262 as of Saturday the 28th
-$100 paint Saturday the 28th
$162 as of Monday the 30th
-$154 rent as of Tuesday the 31st
$8 as of Tuesday the 31st
+$507 pay
-$45 power as of Wednesday the 1st
$470 as of Thursday the 2nd
-$75 cable installation on Saturday the 4th (this may be free with my package)
$395 as of Sunday the 5th
(from here on all necessary moving expenses are out of the way)


Long-term budget through June '07: (this assumes $0 starting money, as that $395 will probably go to furniture and other apartment stuff)
+$2028 pay in November
-$1749 expenses
$279
+$2028 pay in December
-$1749 expenses
$558
+$1521 pay in January
-$1749 expenses
$330
+$2028 pay in February
-$1749 expenses
$609
+$2028 pay in March
-$1749 expenses
$888
+$2028 pay in April
-$1749 expenses
$1167
+$2535 pay in May
-$1749 expenses
$1953
+$2028 pay in June
-$1749 expenses
$2232


So, there you go, it's public, and the math is right, and it's all based on a worst-case scenario. I assumed that I would have no income over the holidays, plus I started with $0, plus I assumed no nights/weekend part-time job or anything.

I'm so excited, I'll post pics of the apartment as soon as I can, as well as paint colors I'm thinking about. One that I definitly want to try is a steel blue... we'll see what I can find at Home Depot. Anyway, it's freezing in this apartment, I'm gonna go snuggle under my Boeing fleece blanket with a Stormy on my lap and a book and enjoy this gloomy rainy Sunday :D