First, the good……
I have some good news. We finalized the cost of my new home today. It is a complicated deal that is being brokered by my father and Charlie. The asking price is $35,000 and that is what we got. Keep in mind that real estate values are laughably cheap here where I live. I put some numbers in the windows calculator trying to estimate my monthly payments. I have not added the interest for a 30 year mortgage. My monthly payment for a thirty year mortgage will be $97 bucks a month. With interest, I surmise that it will be closer to $200. I also have to think of property taxes and home owner’s insurance. The costs are quickly escalating.
The house is a cute little brick house with two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen, and a den. It is very small but will serve my needs. It has a really large front and back yard which I will enjoy. I plan on having a large garden this summer to can food for next winter. My frugal instincts are really coming into to play here. I will have to live on an extremely strict budget and it depresses me. I only have $837 dollars a month to work with. I cannot afford my love and hobby, Model Railroading. I cannot afford to buy new clothes or expensive food. No Abercrombie and Fitch shirts or ribeye steaks. I guess GoodWill will be my friend and flank steak will be on my plate if I can cut it.
I did find out something really cool a few weeks ago. My grandmother left all her furniture to her grandchildren. My brother and sister deferred it all to me. I get some really nice antiques and a very nice Kimball piano. She also left me lots of kitchen stuff like appliances and pots and pans. This will go a long way to helping furnish my new home. I have called and emailed my brother and sister many times thanking them.
The bad…..
I opened the TV application on my computer to check on the hurricane today. I got to channel surfing and the multitudes of commercials got me down. All these things that they are telling me to buy and that I would enjoy. I cannot afford them. I can only afford the most basic of things. I will have to be one, tight ass to make this work. I do not want help from my father as far as money goes. He means well but he uses it as a way to control me. He thinks money can solve or fix anything. I disagree.
I have to get a part time job to really make this work and it scares me. I haven’t worked in over a year other than my short stint as a yard laborer just before my accident. The Social Security Administration is a fickle organization. I am worried that if I start on the Ticket to Work program they will try to drop my benefits. Alaine, who works part time, has had a hell of a time with this. They have tried to cut her off several times.
Vocational Rehabilitation is playing phone tag. I call and get the receptionist and she says she will forward a memo. They call and leave a message but never set up an appointment. They want to talk to me and somehow I am never home when they call. Hell, this is screwed, as I am home almost all the time. I hate it when government programs make things so hard or complicated. It is almost as if they do this to deter a beneficiary. I hate the prevailing lackadaisical attitude in most government run institutions. I cannot complain too much though as SSDI has made a world of difference in my life. You just have to play and use the system carefully.
Well, I will quit bitching. I am going to walk down to West Point and sit by the tracks. A good book and few trains passing by will make me feel better. I have much too much on my mind today and need to unwind.
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