LiBan

I am in my final semester of college. After going through high school without any kind of independence or privacy I have held tight to both since starting college. This has made my mother furious. I have done my best to tip-toe around her for as long as I can and to be the best daughter that I can, but I've reached my limits (please forgive me if I sound like another whiny youngster).

My mother and I cannot even seem to communicate anymore. The insults and refusal to consider my position and personal desires for the direction of my life are not being fairly considered. She claims that my memories of verbal abuse from her are all made up. In short, it's a bad situation which has been growing steadily worse. Essentially, beyond a little help from my sympathetic stepfather, I am facing complete financial independence by the end of December.

This is not being forced on me (yet), it is a choice. I do not feel that I can live the life she wants me to live and we have gone beyond the point of civil discussion on the matter. Considering the situation and both our temperaments, the only solution I feel that I have left is to be financially independent as soon as possible.

This means that I will need to be able to pay for car insurance myself as the state I live in mandates that drivers have insurance. I have no idea where to begin looking for this. I do not know which companies are more trustworthy; which have the better services for their cost. Legally, I am only required to have liability coverage, but I am not even sure how much that basic insurance plan would cost. I know that I will also need my own cell phone plan, among other more basic needs which I hope to be able to split with my boyfriend.

I make very little money at a university paid position. It is barely enough to cover the cost of my groceries and gas for the car. I hope to begin searching for a job elsewhere and will consider any job that pays enough to cover my living expenses, even if it is not in my field of study.

I have a small support net (my boyfriend wants to find an apartment with me after graduation) which makes all of this a little easier, but that net is mostly made of other college grads who are barely making it by while they find their footing as young adults.

To sum up this needlessly long post, I am hoping for guidance and advice on matters like car insurance, cell phone plans, and expenses that I am not considering but should. I am hoping that some of you can give me some direction or tips that will help me make the best of a strained, but not yet desperate, situation.

Thank you.