irony
Now that I have more time on my hands and no place to be early in the morning, it figures that going out more often, being more social, and seeing more friends more often, would be an easy feat. I should, because between withdrawing from the world to study for the bar and holding on to my extra dollars in order to pay off debt, very few of my friends have seen me, and even then, not often. I feel isolated, and it’s been about a year since my social life was normal.
Not so. ‘Cause I don’t want to spend money on anything besides necessities or savings.
Perhaps a budget would help? Hmmm… I’ll think about it.
***
My dad and I were talking, and he told a joke about he and my mom finding me in a Cracker Jack box ("We’re not your parents!"), and I laughed, saying, "I know you didn’t find me in no Cracker Jack box, ‘cause the stuff in Cracker Jack boxes is all cheap, and I am not cheap."
Silence followed.
Then my dad fell out laughing. Sigh. Reluctantly, I followed his lead, although really, that wasn’t funny. Humph.
as it stands
I have fallen into the habit of calculating my net worth after my last paycheck and my last run of paying bills of the month, so here it is:
Well, I’m not as happy about that big increase in my savings as I would be under other circumstances. It’s due to severance pay I’ve received from the elimination of my position. I’m on the hunt for a job. I’m still current on all my bills. I’m still eating. I’m not panicked. And I don’t anticipate being unemployed for a long time. I rolled over the retirement amount from the 401K to an IRA, and saving for retirement is probably going to go back on the back burner until I start working again. My game plan is to try to get through being unemployed without needing to spend my savings, and that way I can use it for my house down the road. (This is why although my new house savings balance is reflected in my bar graph, I’ve thrown in the word "tentative" to show that that money can and will be raided if I need to do so.) If I can hold off though, I’ll be months ahead on my savings plan.
I’m not happy about my credit card debt and other debts increasing by even small amounts. But I will be paying the credit card off in January (that balance reflects Christmas presents). My first plan was to pay minimums on the "other debts," which is a loan I used to pay off old credit card debt. However, I hate the idea of paying minimums and letting interest take bites out of my payments. If it’s possible, since my savings is so high, I will probably pay amounts above the minimum. This is going to put me months behind on my debt reduction plan. But the minute I get a job, I’m knocking that debt out.
pendulum
It’s funny how one day I’m feeling up, the next day I’m down, and the next day, I’m right back up again.
I got my severance pay and my first partial unemployment payment today. The next two weeks are going to be so tight! It’s discouraging. But I’ve got something good going for me. First, I’m a saver – I already had a little money before I got paid in my checking account, and I have some money saved in two different ING accounts. (Have you seen their new interest rate? I’m really feeling Boston Gal’s advice to start comparing interest rates. Especially since…) I put my entire severance (plus $10 to make it a nice round number) into my "My Own Home" savings account. I now have over $5,000.00 in savings that I will try my best to not have to use.
You know how this makes me feel? Like getting a job! I just calculated my expected unemployment benefit amounts against my mandatory monthly expenses, and I see here on paper that I can make it without a shortfall. But oh my gosh – if I was WORKING?!?! I would put my bills to shame! My savings would grow so rapidly! I would be a BEAST!
Anyway, the other great thing I have going for me is my honey. I’m glad that we pared down our expenses by moving in and splitting bills. Paying a portion of the bills here is much cheaper than paying all of the bills at my old place by myself. And if I need a little help with my share, he can handle it for a while if we choose that option, since at one time fairly recently, he was paying bills here all by himself, anyway. That said, I am committed to holding my own around here, not because I have anything to prove, but because I know that if the shoe was on the other foot, my honey would not use unemployment as an excuse to stop helping to support the household if he had the means to contribute. It’s nice to have a teammate.
You know what I’ve been wondering? Whether or not I should continue paying off my debt. I’m tempted, ‘cause I was so close to finishing with my old credit card debt when I lost my job, and I’ve gotten so used to attacking debt that paying the minimum payments just feels so foolish! One thing about "doing right" is that after you start, "doing wrong" just doesn’t feel normal anymore. What do you think?
help is on the way
I spent a little yesterday – I sent a package of presents to my honey’s family, ‘cause we won’t see them this holiday. I’ll also spend a little today in order to send four Christmas cards. I usually send several dozen, but this year, I’ve pared it down.
I changed my mind about traveling for Christmas yesterday – it won’t be the same for me without spending it with some elders, so we’re tackling the highway the week before Christmas to be with my folks. This means tackling the expense of gas. I’ve been trying to conserve gas lately – it’s a little tempting to use more, since I have more free time on my hands to go places, but part of the reason why my life is so affordable right now is because I don’t usually use my car, and that shouldn’t change.
Good news is that my unemployment claim has been processed and income is on the way later this week. Other good news is that networking and agency interviewing may mean my job search may not have to last for a long time.
no spend weekend
Saturday I ran away from home.
Even though I wake up to look for work every day, I’m still at home. On Saturday I woke up frustrated. It was my honey’s turn to do the dishes and he hadn’t. I’d had a bad dream. The walls were closing in on me. I got dressed quickly, told him how I felt (he is SO understanding) and I left home for hours. Hung out at my girlfriend’s house where I vented and her husband made us lunch. Then I hung out at my family member’s house (she’s out of the hospital!) where my cousin bought us dinner. After eight hours away (interesting – the same amount as if I’d gone to work that day), I came home happier than I’d been in days. Lesson learned? Get out of the house more often and use somebody else’s Wi-fi.
Other than the bridge toll charged to my EZPass, I didn’t spend a dime, but the reward for leaving home was immense.
Over the weekend, I postponed the decision to pay for a service that will let me apply to employers directly, instead of applying through job postings by agencies that screen applications, acting as a ****-blocking middleman. It’s about $30 a month. Being unemployed, I don’t want to add another bill. But I hear that this expense may be totally worth it. I didn’t want to think about anything career-related over the weekend, so I postponed making the decision (and paying my first $30), and now I’m still chewing on it. I will probably give the service a shot…
Christmas shopping complete!
I went $83.70 over budget. It would have been $33.70 over, but I just had to get this other thing for my honey. So there you have it. I messed up by $83.70. But you know how I get down – I am not about to beat myself up. If I had it to do all over again, I would still buy each and everything I’ve purchased for my loved ones, and that’s how I know that there’s no point in feeling horrible about it. I’ll pay the card off by the next due date, and it, along with my other cards, will remain balance-less until I snag some permanant employment.
On the income note, things are looking alright. My unemployment claim has been processed, and that money will be what I use to pay bills and expenses while I’m looking for work. My severance pay, on the other hand, will go into my savings account and hang out making interest for as long as possible, and hopefully I won’t have to use it. If I secure income before I wind up having to use the severance, then it will make a wonderful start to my downpayment savings – depending on when I start working, it’ll actually put me ahead of schedule on saving! I’m applying for jobs, networking, circulating my resume, and feeling pretty good about January. My expenses pretty much consist of food, bills, household expenses, and car expenses – same as before, except I don’t have to pay for bus tokens and lunches for work. I’m making it, folks!
Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!!!
budget buster
I initially set up a $200 limit for my Christmas shopping. I’ve got $64 left in my budget. I want to get my dad a gift certificate for a store where he can get himself some tools to replace the ones that were stolen from him recently. $50 is a nice round number. One problem: I haven’t gotten anything for my grandmother yet, and I can’t leave her out. She asked for something in particular that I just can’t afford, so I’ll have to get her something else, and it’ll have to cost less than $15. Ouch! I could adjust the amount of my Dad’s gift card, but I don’t want to – tools are expensive!
Today I’m finally getting the car inspected so that I can avoid the month-end rush. When I get my car back, I’m going to pick up my dad’s gift card, and find something nice for my Grandma. I know myself – if I see something that I think is a great gift for my Grandma that’s over $15, I’m going to debate and debate and debate… and then get it. Come on, it’s my grandmother.
And then another thing… I asked my honey what he wanted, and he told me, and I bought it. But I want to give him at least one surprise. I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for some nice surprise. I already have something in mind – something that I know he wants that he hasn’t asked for. I’d love to see his face when he’s surprised by it.
So I’ma tell you now. Don’t be surprised if I bust my holiday budget by about $50. Given that my income isn’t what it was, I’m going to try for some discipline here. But I love to give. I love to give to those I love. And I love when folks get good gifts and are happy with what they get. And despite my circumstances, I’m in a generous mood. I’ll be careful, though.
live from the couch
I am so tired. I spent all day yesterday with my family member who’s ill with cancer. She’s doing okay, but she’s dealing with the symptoms of her treatment. The hospital let her go home too early, and she wound up having to go back to the hospital. Believe it or not, that took all day yesterday. I’m trying to step up more with helping her since I’m not working right now.
In case you didn’t see it in my comments, I started the rollover process for the 401K I had with my job. It was easier than I thought it would be. First I opened a Traditional IRA account. Then, I filled out a termination form for my 401K that listed my new IRA as the beneficiary of the funds. Pretty cool.
Next on the horizon: I’m going to finish reading this book by one of my favorite authors, I’m going to finish this scarf I started knitting when I was with my family member yesterday, and I’m going to keep sending out resumes and looking for holiday party networking opportunities to attend. I keep meaning to go finish my Christmas shopping, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. There’s something about having lots of time to do something that’s helping me to drag this shopping thing out (that and indecision about that to get my dad and my honey – why are men so hard to shop for?)
off the teat
One of the things about having a job with benefits is that you get stuff rather effortlessly. Anyone who’s ever had to get medical care while unemployed can relate to this. Your employer stops paying for your coverage and you have to either go uninsured, try to find a coverage you can pay for on your own (with no steady income), or use COBRA. During the times I’ve been unemployed, or a full time grad student, I chose to go without insurance and bank on either having good health or being able to pull through whatever minor health problems I’d encounter. That’s the route I’m choosing to take now. As I’ve written before, I’m going to make sure I get whatever I need from the doctor before my coverage runs out in two months.
One thing I really was glad to have was disability insurance. But now I’ll need to get my own, if I can afford it. I’m going to do some comparison shopping for disability insurance today. If you don’t know what it is, disability insurance gives you income to replace your regular income if you get disabled somehow and are unable to work. I am young, and I’ve invested a lot of time and debt into preparing for my career. One accident involving nerve damage, memory loss, or the inability to read, write, or communicate effectively could make me unable to support myself doing what I’ve been trained for years to do. It just so happens that Wise Bread recently posted an excellent article about disability insurance that’s a great primer for someone about to stop for this type of coverage.
The other thing I’ll be considering is professional liability insurance. Just like doctors who need malpractice insurance, lawyers can use some of the same. If I work either under my own supervision, as a contract (temporary) worker, or for a company, and I make a bad judgment call and someone is adversely affected, I could be liable. I can’t just pay someone out of pocket if I accidentally cost them $20,000.00, and an "Oops, my bad," won’t cut it. I need to explore my options on this type of coverage.
I took some time out yesterday to check out my options on the $300 or so dollars that I had withheld for my 401K. If I wanted to try to roll it over, I’d have to roll it to a Traditional IRA. I’ve been doing so much reading on Roths, I’ve forgotten what I knew about Traditional IRAs. If I take the money, 20% of the payout would be withheld for taxes by my former employer, and then I could do whatever I wanted with the other 80%, including putting it into an IRA. I’m actually very annoyed that all I have to work with here is about $300. I don’t even know if I can open a Traditional IRA with that kind of money. That’s more investigation that I have to do.
Those of you who have suggested it may be happy to hear that I submitted a claim for unemployment today. My state says that their claims take about 4 weeks between filing of the claim and payment, and since my severance pay should last me for about two months in the possible absence of income, if I need the unemployment, it should start coming before I run out of money. I’m doing pretty well right now. I got my last paycheck yesterday and after paying bills, I picked up a small 2008 calendar and some resume paper at an office store, and I’m picking up some $20 business cards (for networking) today.
Speaking of which, it may seem counter-intuitive to be looking for ways to spend money (on insurance premiums and office supplies) since I know that my income is indefinite right now. But this is not a time to be fearful to the point of paralysis, ‘cause that won’t get me anywhere. I heard a quote from Arthur Ashe on Rev. Run’s show last night: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." That’s right. That’s absolutely right. I’ve been on the phone a lot, I’ve got networking appointments already in my book, and I’ll have resumes and business cards at the ready when I get my networking on. When you’re off the company teat, you do what you can.
Where’s that copy of "Who Moved My Cheese?" Oh that’s right… my cheap butt never bought it, I just read it in the store. Guess I need to go on back to the bookstore…
business cards
Things I’ve learned over the years about business cards that could one day make you some money:
Hold on to them. Get them from employers (who will one day become former employers and professional references), as well as from people you interview with, meet at professional networking events, and from random people you meet, even if you think you won’t have a need for the card. Write things on the back that will help to remind you of who you got them from, and what interests you about them, and how you may be of assistance to them. Call the numbers every once in a while or shoot some emails. Keep them all organized in one place so that they’re easy to find. And have your own simple but professional cards on you at any event where you think someone might hand you their card. Don’t run around out there in the world empty handed.
