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!