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Another quick update - there is nothing at all exciting happening yet, I don't imagine the really exciting stuff will start happening for at least a month or so, if not a little more. Until then, I'm keeping this 'diary' updated for myself as much as for anyone else.
I've spent the last several days working on my car and beginning the packing. First, the car -
The last repair quote I got on my car was about $1600. That was several months ago and I couldn't afford it at the time, or didn't want to afford it. I, stupidly, let my car sit idle all the time between then and now. I'm really lucky I didn't have a bunch of seals dry out and so blow the engine the first time I started it up. I've since taken it in and gotten it repaired, everything on the previous list and then some. If you know car repair tell me what you think of this deal. I got all four struts, full front disk brakes, rotors and calipers, rear drums retooled and new pads, full tune-up including new wires, all fluid systems flushed and replaced, and four new 40,000 mile tires for my 93 Olds for a total of $2100. I'm sure I could have saved a ton if I knew anyone mechanically minded enough to do some of that for me. Alas...
My major decision when facing a car repair bill that size on a car of that age (though only 120,000 miles on it) was whether or not to just donate the thing to charity and buy a new one. I did some investigating and all of the cars I found for sale for about $2000 were junky rusted out trucks or crappy cars that wouldn't pull the Uhaul trailer I'll need to pull to Vegas. My car is a beast and I feel that with good maintenance going forward there is no reason I shouldn't be able to drive it for another 120,000 miles or more. Either way, that decision has now been made and I'm not going to fret it anymore. At the very least, it is in a good condition for resale if I decide to try to trade up or trade it in for something smaller once I get to Vegas.
I've planned out my trip and done most of the math on what it will cost. Getting a hitch installed on my car and renting the trailer for a week is going to run about $500; there is a small chance I can resell the hitch on the other end. I'm doing the trip in three legs. The first is from here to Albequerque. I'll leave here Friday and stay there for one night. The next morning I drive to Prescott, AZ. I'll stay there, at my Dad's, through to Sunday and use that time to try to arrange more interviews for jobs and potential roommates. Late Sunday / early Monday I drive the last leg to Vegas. Figuring 1100 miles total, a very conservative 15 miles per gallon and a hopefully conservative $3.50 per gallon the gas and room should run me about $310 or so. I suppose to be safe I'll budget $500. Yeesh...
Once I arrive I've given myself two entire whole days to drive around and meet some potential roommates and move in. I'm budgeting $1000 for first and last month's rent and a small deposit. If I can't do it for that I'll broaden my search to some more expensive rooms and just cross my fingers that I start work soon.
I'm planning the rest of that week for both job interviews as well as a few incidentals - opening a bank account, registering my vehicle and getting a local driver's license etc. If things work out as I hope I'll knock one of those interviews out of the park and start work pretty quickly. If things go badly, and that is why I'm budgeting extra for rent (so I'm paid ahead and my new roommates don't fear so much that I'm not working yet), I'll broaden my job search to anything that will put some money in my pocket.
So, I've expensed the move nearly entirely and I'm budgeting a fair amount for rent. By my rough math I'll have roughly $1000 left over to live on until I start getting some paychecks. That will have to pay for gasoline, food, car registration, odds and ends I find I need for living 'on my own' again, and potentially half of a new wardrobe. If I end up getting a nice job in a nice place that requires ties and such I'll probably have to drop a few hundred on new clothes. Ick.
Now then, the hopefully silver lining. None of these calculations include what I hope will be a very sizeable tax refund. I'm filing my taxes for the last seven years, all at once. My accountant has assured me that I should get refunds for the last five years and that there should be no penalties associated with late filing. Penalties are only assessed if you ended up owing money. I'm calling her later today to try to get a total on that. If I'm lucky I get a few hundred or a thousand back and I'm all straight with Uncle Sam. If I'm really lucky I get more than a few thousand back and I suddenly have a much better cushion for living off of and/or my seed for my poker bank.
I'm cautiously optimistic right now.