When a guy lives with his parents for so… very… agonizingly… long… he tends to take certain things for granted.

While I contributed to paying for most of the rent and bills, Mommy would always pretty much take care of the rest. All those basic necessities of life (like toilet paper) would magically replenish itself so I never had to worry about them. I never had to deal with the scum sucking landlord, or the utility bills, or even with most of the cleaning, though I still cleaned my own room and did my own laundry. Other than that (and cooking), Mommy would always take care of everything else.

I didn’t even have to worry about the phone bills until recently either because I was under the family plan. Since I started making plans to move out once my debts were paid, one of the first things I did was to break off from my parents’ family plan so I could have my own account, but of course Verizon completely botched the process by charging me for two lines when I only wanted one.

After I saw my first Verizon bill and realized the error they made, the first thing that came to my mind was, “Ah well, Mommy will take care… … … … crap.”

Yep, for the first time I had to handle my own phone bill, and after numerous phone calls, emails, and talking to maybe 5 different representatives to get things straightened out, I started to realize very quickly just how BIG a buffer my mother had been for me from life’s everyday aggravations and hassles.

Independence does come with a price after all.

Not that I’m completely unprepared for it, but there are some things that I was still going to have to learn about, like say, paying the electric bill, which my Momsie tried to explain to me the other day:

“If your apartment has one you should always make sure to read the meter to pay the electric, that way you’re not overpaying.”

“Sigh.”

Ayup, it’s definitely going to be a weird experience to sit in my own apartment and wonder why the toilet paper was no longer magically replenishing itself, or why the rent wasn’t automatically being paid, or why the apartment just wouldn’t stay clean for some blasted reason, or why there was never any food in the fridge. Didn’t a group of magical elves always take care of all that? What happened to them all??!?

Tags: apartment, independence, living, mommy, parents, phone, verizon, verizon bill
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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I paid off my car loan!      

2 down, 1 to go!  I paid off my credit card last July, so all the remains now is my college loan, which at my current pace should be paid off this 4th of July, of all days. 

I learned a few things today too.  For one, withdrawing a few hundred bucks from an ATM machine is not quite as easy as you might think.  My tax return was finally deposited into my account yesterday, but the account that held my car loan was with a different bank, so I needed to deposit part of my tax return into that account so I could pay off my loan in its entirety.  I figured no problem though, I’ll just hit up the ATM for a few hundred and be on my way.

First I went to the local gas station where their ATM doesn’t give me lame surcharges.  I cheerily walked in, took out my card and…

“Out of Service.  Please come back another time.”

Of course…

So I went to a 7-11 and used the ATM there.

“Withdrawal request exceeds allotted funds.  Please try again.”

For the love of… ok, I’m sure by now you’re thinking why I didn’t just go to my bank directly and make the withdrawal there.  The bank was 20 miles away, and a trip there and back would lose me an hour at least.  By the time I got to the other bank holding my car loan it’d be closed, and I REALLY wanted to get this over with now.

So I took the maximum amount of cash the ATM could dish out, which was $400, then drove to another ATM.  This time I could only withdraw $100.  I withdrew that amount, then swiped my card again to make another withdrawal.

“We’re sorry, you have exceeded the daily limit of withdrawals that can be made.  Please try again tomorrow.”

Huh? 

I tried it again.

“We’re sorry, you have exceeded the daily limit of withdrawals that can be made.  Please try again tomorrow.”

I just stood there, trying to figure out what to do next.  I was still a $100 short, and I needed to find some other way to get it.  Ooooh I know, I’ll use my credit card!  I could pay the difference when I got home too.  Easy peachy!  So I swiped my credit card.

“Please enter your pin number.”

Pin number?  Oh crap.  I had forgotten what it was.  Let’s see, I think it was 1-2-3-4.

“Incorrect PIN number.  Please try again.”

@#$%^!!!

Ok, ok, let me think here, how else can I get cash without using the ATM… … …

Cashbacks!!

I quickly ran into another 7-11 and bought myself coffee.  Swiped my card at the register and waited for the cashback screen to show up:

“Cashback amount?”

I inputted $100, then waited, confident and enjoying my coffee.

“You may only withdraw a maximum of $10.”

Dude… why?

“Is everything alright, sir?”

“Could I like, get some money from your register?”

The cashier stood there wide-eyed.

“No no no, I mean the cashback here only goes up to, you know… uh,  I didn’t mean…, I’ll just take my coffee now.”  I quickly walked out.

Alright, what now…  I vaguely remembered being able to get more than $40 cashback from the supermarket, so I figured my best bet would be there.  I drove a few miles to a nice big honking supermarket and went inside.

Only one thing was going to make all this aggravation worth it.  Bagels!  I bought myself a few whole wheats and some cappy ham, then quickly went to the self check-out.  Swiped the card again, said a little prayer and inputted $100.

“Card Approved.”

YES!  Finally!  The machine started dispensing my $100… in 5 dollar bills, and of course, it had to be one of those nuclear powered cash dispensers where gobs of 5 dollar bills went flying out like a winning slot machine.  I frantically picked up the cash, counted it to make sure I had it all, then hauled heinie out of there.

At long last, after what had to be 5 or 6 stops (I lost count) of putting together the cash I needed, I stopped by my bank and proudly slapped down the money.

“I’d like to pay off my car loan please.”  I smiled broadly.

They gave me a receipt and that was it.  I got into my beautiful ride and took a deep breath.

“Finally, you’re all mine.”  I turned the ignition and sighed happily.

*click*

Ha, just kidding, it started up fine. 

I have to tell you though, during the drive home it seemed like the whole world was literally aiming at my car, almost as if they all knew it had just been paid off too.  Oy.

But finally, FINALLY, this headache was now over with, and with all that behind me my college loan was the only thing left that stood between me and becoming completely debt free.

I can’t wait! 

Tags: atm machine, bank, car loan, cash, cashback, college loan, credit card, debt, financial, independence, money, supermarket, tax return
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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In the due course of history, a man is truly empowered with the capacity for life and liberty when he is beholden to neither men nor entities. These truths are self evident in their own right, that without freedom from debts and liabilities men are deprived in the most profound of ways from pursuing that which would ensure their happiness and well being. It is hereto realized and understood the egregious deception by which principalities have sought to strip us of the very power that has been so rightly bestowed to us by our Divine Creator.

Acknowledging then the oppressive currents of those who have entrusted themselves to the cause of evil, I hereby declare my free and total independence, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence to utilize these newfound freedoms for the noble cause of truth, justice, and charity.

In other words, I paid off my credit card debt.

Tags: credit card debt, declaration, finances, independence, independent, power, rights
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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