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More Money!

May 23rd, 2015 at 03:48 pm

Remember that 2nd job? Well I have been extended until the end of June! Yes the long days are tiresome and some days I feel like quitting, but given all the financial/legal matters that have popped up this year the extra money has been a blessing. The job was supposed to end mid-March, but they extended me until the end of April because half the team had quit because they found full time jobs with benefits. Even though I am only part time I was trained on all of the products and my process speed is high so it was cost effective to keep me. Well then the only other team member who knows everything I know went out on family leave and will not be back until July, so now they really cannot afford to let me go.

Random Ramblings

March 14th, 2015 at 04:52 pm

Ok so maybe my progress train has derailed a bit or maybe I am over thinking it. Here is the rundown of what has been going on.

1) Day job... It is terrible. The work itself is boring, not challenging, and despite what I was told in the interview process I am not actually using any of the skills I developed in my graduate program although they are paying me for those skills. My boss hates me and has made it clear she is not impressed with me or my work. I am doing exactly what my colleagues are doing and yet they get raves from her. There just do not seem to be any great options to try to make the situation better without winding up in a her versus me situation and her longevity winning. I am still in my probationary period and cannot afford to just walk away so I am trying to tough it out, but am also keeping my eyes peeled for other options just in case.

2) 2nd job... In February there were more hours available and we lost some team members so I expanded my schedule a bit. The extra money is good, but this on top of my day job and everything else is just tiring and made me realize that I do not want to work like this until I retire. I think for the longest time I just assumed I would have no choice but to work like this, but with my career change it will not be necessary since my earning potential has increased. March has slowed down which is nicer.

3) Spending... I have not gotten out of control here likely because I have been working so much. I am still eating out more than I would like due to the long hours, but my new cookware has arrived so hopefully I can change things soon. I have also treated myself to tickets to a few upcoming performances and arts related events, but had no problem saying no to shows that I thought were just way too expensive.

4) Expense Tracking... This I have totally slacked on. I have pretty much all of February’s receipts to enter and those from the beginning of this month. I know I did not go over budget because there is still plenty of money in my checking account, but I miss the organization of seeing everything on the spreadsheet. LOL! There is something I never thought I would say.

5) Debt Repayment... Ummm I have not done anything here since paying off that payday loan. I did call to take care of the second one, but their system was down so they could not process it. Then I just got too busy to call back during their business hours. I just feel kind of directionless in this area, but maybe I am just tired. I keep having the strangest thoughts..... What will I do when all the debts are paid? Of course I could use that money for other things. But what other things? What if I run out of other things? Maybe that sounds stupid.

6) Savings... I have slacked off on the 52 Weeks Savings Challenge and adding to my EF. There are plenty of funds sitting in my checking account, but I have to move them and I just do not feel like it or that could be me being tired again. Sometimes I feel as if I cannot remember why I wanted to save in the first place. This could be because I did not outline a purpose for the 52 Week money and because the things that would normally be emergencies that would create debt I am now able to comfortably afford.

7) Surprise!... A minor legal matter has popped up and no it is not debt related. It is something I expected to have to deal with at some point and apparently that time has come now. Thankfully I can handle the matter myself and will not need to hire an attorney. It will just be a pain to have to go down to the courthouse to get everything squared away. The fees are a bit more than I expected so I am considering pausing my debt repayment to take care of this. Or maybe I should pause my saving? I do not know.

Through with Taxes

February 15th, 2015 at 04:39 pm

I am continuously amazed at the advancements in technology. I filed my taxes online on the 1st and my federal refund was deposited into my checking account on the 6th. I remember when I first started filing I would not get a check until April lol. I ended up owing the state under $100, which is not terrible, and I have already sent the payment to them. After some thought I think I have finally decided to divide my refund over a few things:

New cookware
I have so much hatred for my cast iron set I do not even want to bother cooking, which so far has meant spending more money eating out. I would like to change this.

Secured credit card
This is on my 2015 goals list and I like the idea of doing it now so I can spend the whole year benefiting from it.

Debt repayment
I am going to pay off one of my smaller debts in full.

Emergency Fund
I am going to put a little in here to keep the momentum going.

Something fun
I needed a change of scenery so I took a day trip yesterday and had a blast. It was mostly walking around and enjoying free stuff so the expense was really gas and food, which was not much.


Not a bad mix of things I think.

Benefits Break

February 15th, 2015 at 04:14 pm

I have only been at my new job a few months and I find I am still getting used to all of the HR and payroll related things. I nearly had a heart attack when I got my paycheck and saw no deductions for my medical, vision, or dental. I know human error happens, but I did not want to deal with a false cancellation which would likely be really annoying if I actually had to use my benefits. Well it turns out my company has so many pay periods in the year that if they deducted the premiums on all of them we would be overpaying. So they just pick a couple to not deduct from and we get to enjoy the extra money. Would it have killed them to put a little blurb on our paystubs as a reminder?! Geez!

Several Snippets

February 1st, 2015 at 04:56 am

Wow January is over? In expense tracking related news, things are still going well. I have about $36 unaccounted for which is annoying, but not the end of the world. This could be vending machine snacks, gas, cash tips, or something I bought and forgot to ask for a receipt for. Regardless I just noted it on my spreadsheet as “I have no idea” so it would balance out lol.

In income related news I got a cost of living raise at my day job, which is good because that means more money toward debt and necessities. It just caught me by surprise because normally those adjustments are so low I do not notice any difference in my net income, but this time I definitely do. My 2nd job has cut hours due to less work and even though that is extra income it is still sad to see smaller checks. They are expecting work to pick up in February, so I am crossing my fingers.

My car insurance is up for renewal and will go down a couple bucks. I also reviewed my coverage and learned that there is no deductible for just liability/uninsured motorist coverage. All this time I thought I would have to pay a deductible if I got hit by someone with no coverage, but apparently not. My car is worth less than 3k and the mechanic says I should be able to get another 2-3 years out of it so I will continue with the same coverage.

I also was able to add that class I wanted to take for professional development purposes and I must say it was kind of exciting to just pay cash for the tuition and books. I could have used this money to knock out some more debt, but in the long run this will lead to more income and it was a way to celebrate getting rid of that title loan. Normally I would celebrate by going out to dinner with my family, but I did not tell any of them about that loan because it was entirely too embarrassing. Advancing my career is an even better celebration =)