Learning to Live (COMPLETE)

8.6.4

When Ahsoka finally flopped down on the couch, it was nearly ten in the evening. This wasn't very late for Ahsoka but for some reason, she was exhausted. She and Wheeler had stopped by the bank so Ahsoka could figure out how her account worked, and her brain felt fried. At least she was working on a full stomach. It was going to take a fair amount of self-control to not go to Ribsy's every week.

She had written down the number of credits in her bank account so she wouldn't forget it, and she pulled out a fresh piece of paper to try and figure out what she should do with what she had.

Her starting wage was nine credits an hour*, and since she had filled her forty-hour quota that week, with an extra two and a half hour rolling over to next week, she had earned 360 credits for her week of work. It seemed like a lot, but Ahsoka had a feeling that with taxes, bills, food, and other things she needed, it would go quickly.

First up was taxes. Since Coruscant was fighting a war, taxes were higher than they had been 10 years ago. Added all together, 9% of her wages went back to the government, which docked her down to just above 327 credits.

Next were her bills. She had no idea how much her bills actually were since she hadn't had to pay them yet, thanks to Ventress. She decided to set aside 150 credits for the week to save for things like water and electricity. Hopefully, since she was out of the house five days of the week, she wouldn't be spending more than 600 credits a month on bills.

What about food? She set her pen down and walked over to the kitchen, checking the fridge, freezer, and pantry. She had a few days of sealed food still in her cupboards, and they would keep for a while, but she was running low on fresh food, like fruit and vegetables. She had a couple of servings of meat left, but it was going to go bad soon, so she needed to eat it. That would have to be tomorrow's meals.

Ahsoka felt comfortable setting aside 100 credits for food, and she subtracted that from her total. Now, she was down to 77 credits. Not much, compared to what she started with. She was aware that she was overestimating at this point, but for now, she preferred to be safe rather than sorry.

One big advantage that Ahsoka had was that she didn't have to pay for transportation. She didn't have a speeder or ship, so she never had to pay for fuel. She didn't even have to pay for a train ticket or pass, because she ran to work every day instead. That was the only other thing Ahsoka could think of, so she pulled her saving list out from her hiding spot.

She crossed off 'holster' since she had gotten that this week. She still had a safe, tools, medical supplies, a new door lock, and a passport to save for, and looking around, Ahsoka added 'cleaning supplies' to the list as well. She didn't anticipate visitors coming over very often, but she didn't want to be living in a dump either.

Those had to come first. They would probably be cheapest, out of the six things she had written down, and the most necessary. Medical supplies were next. There was no telling when she would have to patch herself or someone else up. Ahsoka wasn't really sure what would come after that and started going back and forth between the lock and the tools. In the end, she decided it could wait, and she pulled out a third sheet of paper to start thinking of what she would need to keep her house looking decent.

Ahsoka didn't have much to take care of, thankfully. Ventress hadn't invested much in decoration, except for the furniture. She had one couch and one bed, but enough sheets that she could wash one set while using the other. The only other furniture was two chairs and the low table in front of the couch in the front room. Did her nightstand count? Maybe it did.

There were a few windows, though. She would need a cleaner for that, and probably a few rags to use for the counters. She had a broom and a vacuum in the closet, so the floors would be fine, as long as she didn't have to replace either of her tools. She was running out of dish soap, though. And what about the bathroom? She had been using a towel and regular hand soap, but that probably wasn't good enough.