Budgeting

So I was just thinking tonight a little more about how much money I can put away each month saving up a nice cushion for fun and emergencies. I think my finances from Purdue should be promising for saving up! I got a pretty sweet deal on rent and utilities (especially because I went with a room mate) and I am going to be living so close to campus gas money will be almost no factor at all! One thing I want to do is to fax the extended repayment request form to Sallie Mae in order to lower my monthly payments for my student loans. If that is successful then I will have absolutely zero stress about money issues which is rare these days for anybody. I have the simple form signed and dated, just need to fax it now. I also need to either mail in my check for first month's rent to Riverwalk or maybe just make an initial trip early next week to hand it in in person. While I'm there I can bring a smaller amount of things to move in, I can make a trip to Starbucks like I wanted in order to get to know the employees I'll be working with a little better, and I can make the call to the energy company to set the date for when the juice up the apartment! I realize it all sounds like a lot to do, trust me just typing this all out made me feel like it's a lot to do but when I really get down to thinking about it, all of this can be taken care of in a single day potentially! Once I realized that I settled down a little bit and got back to concentrating on work.

Speaking of work I have one more shift left at the Starbucks at the mall tomorrow! A short 11:15am to 3:15pm shift, basically the glue holding the morning and evening shifts together. Not only is it a short shift at a good time of day, I get to work with just about everybody one last time. I have a full paycheck tomorrow as well and this is where my budgeting skills and future planning came into play. If I put this entire check towards my student loan payment for July, once I get the half paycheck coming to me two weeks from now (just before I start the new job) I can make the loan payment with some cash to spare for food and maybe some fun before the new job starts. Rent is due no later than the 5th of every month and by my calculations the latest I would get my first paycheck from the new job would be on the 5th so no worries there. If all works out then the first paycheck of every month will be enough to cover rent and utilities for the next month and then some. Then when that second paycheck comes in it will cover the loan payment (especially if I get that lowered monthly payment)! whatever is left over is my money for food, fun, and saving! I think it all sounds like a good plan. Again, all I have to do is get by this first month. If I get through August and all is working like I planned then it's smooth sailing the rest of my lease. I already confirmed I am getting 40 hours a week every week and I also confirmed my wages and what a net paycheck would be after taxes using some nifty apps on my iPod. My preparation is complete budget wise, I just need to do it now and I'll be alright! It's not like me to be this well prepared for anything, especially financially!

Introduction and Last Days at JP

Hello everybody! My name is Jonathan McAfee, you can call me Jon. I decided to create a blog so y'all can follow me as I take the next step in my career and life as I move back to Purdue University to take on a new job at the Starbucks store I got my start at almost 6 years ago! I figure posting a blog entry on a regular basis will kind of keep me sane and give me an outlet for any negative thoughts, any doubts I may have during this tumultuous first year getting things going. It is also an outlet for my triumphs and joys I am also sure to find along the way! I am 24 years old and a proud graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in Communication. I am currently single and living in Fort Wayne, Indiana (at least for another week or so!)

I Made the decision to start this blog right at the tail end of my time here in Fort Wayne where I currently reside, and the final days at the Starbucks I have been working at for the last year. Unfortunately I did not start it quick enough to write about my uncertainty throughout the multiple interview process. I also did not have a chance to write about how nervous I was after I actually got hired! I had to immediately set a start date, find a place to live, then sign the lease and everything (something I have almost zero experience doing). As I write this I am pleased to report I signed a lease already with Riverwalk Apartments with a room mate named Jeff. I already know Jeff fairly well thank goodness, so having him as a room mate will be comparatively easier for me than rooming with a stranger.

Riverwalk Apartments is a very nice complex just across the Wabash River from the Purdue University campus. It is a 3 minute drive roughly, it is also a walk-able distance for me so I will be finding a route for both driving and walking I can assure you. Directly across the river from my apartment is a nice little entertainment area called The Landing. It has a movie theater, lots of shops with books, food, etc. I'll make sure to post pictures in some later entries so I can give a better idea of how great a place it is. Now that I have given a back story I will jump right in. I wanted to say a few things about dealing with my last couple days here working at the Starbucks here at Jefferson Pointe mall.

It has been almost a year since I first starting working at this particular store. I started just a couple months after graduation so I did not have a whole lot of down time to relax before saving up to start paying back those student loans! At 23 years old at the time of starting I had already worked for Starbucks a total of 5 years. I worked at the Starbucks in the Purdue Memorial Union part time while I earned my degree. My last day at this Starbucks in Fort Wayne is this Friday, July 1st (almost exactly a year from my starting date). Throughout this very fast year I made some pretty cool new friends in my co workers. I also got a chance to get to know customers better than was possible at Purdue. Regular customers were skeptical of me at first because I was the only guy working at the store but they all warmed up to me pretty quickly. It's always the one biggest draw back of leaving a store after a length of time such as this, you have to say goodbye to the people you get to know and start caring about! That is what this last couple days is all about. Working hard and saying my good byes.

I'm sticking around a while longer after my shifts are done, however, before headed to West Lafayette. The week directly after work is going to be a week of moving furniture down to my apartment. I don't have a whole lot to move so it will be fairly easy to do. I am splitting the moving process between a couple days just to make it even less physically and emotionally exhausting. After the move is complete (hopefully by Friday July 8th) I have that weekend and the week of the 11th to settle into the new place and get used to campus again. I am also using the opportunity to head into the store just about every day to get to know the students I will be supervising the rest of summer and next school year. My new job commences on July 18th so hopefully I will feel ready to start by then. I think that's plenty of information for this initial entry. I promise the future entries won't be this long unless something really exciting happens! I look forward to seeing who subscribes to this blog and look forward to sharing this journey with you guys. Any comments are very welcome if only for words of advice, encouragement, introductions, etc. Thanks for reading!