I almost began this post by saying how turbulent 2010 was for me, but considering that 2009 was even more so, I guess it’s actually a somewhat normal year by comparison. Here is a brief summary of what happened in my life.
In January 2010 I was renting a room in a house in Leslieville from a crazy neurotic landlady. She told me when I moved in that we would split the cleaning of the house…what I didn’t realize is that her definition of cleaning the house was a weekly 3-hour scrubbing from top to bottom. I was desperate to leave and find my own place with no crazy roommates, and I found my current abode, a 275sqft basement bachelor apartment off of the Danforth in the city’s East end. I liked that it came with a garden, and a parking spot for the car I knew I would eventually buy.
It was also in January that I received an offer of employment for my current position. I had actually worked for this company part time for three months, but then in October received a full time job offer, which I couldn’t turn down (I was working two jobs at the time). They came back in January, and I was very excited to return, especially because it was in my chosen field. So I gave my two weeks notice, and came back, this time in a higher level capacity.
For the next few months, I studied like crazy to become qualified to reach the next level. I ploughed through the heavy course material all while working full time. The spring and summer were lovely – I gardened all spring and played beach volleyball all summer. It was pretty low-key, with the exception of the fact that I was working like crazy to complete my courses.
Yogic Gardening - that's me!!!
In July 2010, I finally bought my first car. It’s a 2006 Mazda 3, and the total with taxes+an additional 3 year warranty was $14,998. I have it financed at a 7.09% interest rate (definitely not the best…if I had to do it all again, I would take my time, not rush it, and see if I could secure a lender with a better rate).
In August 2010 I completed my courses and was officially registered. I learned the real price of owning a car in the city. My insurance rate is through the roof … I’m under 25 and have never been on an insurance policy. The cheapest I could find was $237 a month, and that’s only because I bundled it with tenant’s insurance for an additional $30 a month. It was going to be $257 anyways, so I figured, why not insure my apartment as well?
I also cropped off my long blonde hair in favour of a more professional chin-length ‘do. I wanted to show the world that I was ready for this next step…fortunately, it complements my bone structure, or lack thereof, quite nicely. Read the rest of this entry »
I know many of you may be scratching your head at why I chose Money Rabbit for the title of my blog. And by “many” I mean maybe my Mom, who knows she has to read my blog because it’s her maternal duty to support my crazy schemes (look Ma, I’m on the internet!) So I figured I’d take a brief moment and explain why I chose the title.
