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Archive for March, 2018

Doing Math and preparing for my job to end

March 27th, 2018 at 02:07 pm

My last day of work is 5/24, which gives me 4 days into the paycheck period. Each pay period is 2 weeks, which is how I budget the household. This last check will also include 6 days of TOP time that I rolled over from 2017 and 12.5 TOP days there will have been earned & unused in 2018. This will come in the 6/8 pay period and is enough to replace my normal base pay income from the 6/8 and 6/29 pay periods.

My severance should hopefully arrive before 7/6 (if not, we will pull from savings). Then the severance (after estimated taxes) should cover the pay periods of 7/6, 7/20, 8/3 and 8/17.

If we get uber-frugal, we can definitely make that last a LOT longer!

My goal though – is to NOT use up that severance money and hopefully be able to put some if not all of it away. I have the ability to get a contract job within a few weeks of my last day at my current position and have that as my last resort plan, if I do not find a permanent position.

I was way over stressed, but running the numbers and knowing how much we have in savings plus how long the severance will last us makes me feel SO much less anxious.

I really want to BANK that severance, but if I dont, at least I shouldn't have to touch the savings!!

3/16 Payday and Savings

March 16th, 2018 at 01:36 pm


Working in the right direction.

In the last week or so since I posted last, I have attended another professional networking event and informal job fair. I have talked to recruiting companies, beefed up the resume more, etc.

Our industry has gotten weird where right now, most of them do contract to hire jobs. They take on a group of temps for a project, then keep the best of them to go full time. So you’re faced with no benefits for up to 6 months during a contract.

I am in the lucky position of being under my husband’s insurance, but others in my office are single parents, etc. It’s a devastating idea they face.

As for me – I am working OT, but trying to still take care of myself. This paycheck (3/16), I received 37 hours of OT, plus my bonus and this is what I budget as my extra paycheck of the month since March has 3 pay dates for me.

Because of this – taxes were high, but my net was nice as well. I was able to pay some normal bills and put away a lot of savings.

· We put $230.32 to the vacation fund – meeting our family goal of $800.
· We put $1064.68 towards the $2k goal of ‘new to us car fund’
· We put $2600 (the bonus after taxes) to the EFund
· We put $600 (extra paycheck money) to the EFund
· I paid the new windshield bill of $188.33 and $30 Local Professional Group Membership
· We also paid the $581 vet bill for the dog (annual visit plus sedation for a procedure)


New Savings Balances:
Total Emergency Fund: $30,126.79 (Cap One 360 Efund: $6415.79 +MTB Efund $19,703.xx+4008 Cash in Safe)
Vacation Fund $800
Slush Fund (Vet, EZ Pass, Sewer, etc) $116.21
Home Repairs $213.12
Medical $136.57
Auto $39.33
Membership $143.88
Clothing $105.68
2018 Gifts Fund $1067.87 (most of it comes from alternative income – surveys, rewards, etc)
Nephew Car Fund $981.91
Daughter Savings $471.67
Savings attached to checking $500.79

Job Search - resume, interviewing and using transition benefits!

March 2nd, 2018 at 02:06 pm

May 24th is coming up soon. That will be my last work date. I will get a paycheck on Friday 6/8 that includes 4 working days (5/21-5/24) and any unpaid time off earned (I have 6 rolled over days and by 5/24, I will have another 12.5).

The severance will be 10 weeks of pay, minus a higher tax rate at both federal and state levels. This will come on a regular pay period date at least 30 days from when I get some paperwork back to them after 5/24. so I might get the check on MAYBE 7/6 or 7/20.

In the mean time, I have had my resume out there. The job market in my state is very much a microcosm. There are many employers, but they all are in some state of transition. There are hundreds of people looking for jobs in my particular industry right now.

So any job gets a TON of applicants. I have had 1 interview (via a reference from a friend) but the position and I were not right for each other. Still - it was a good learning experience and great practice.

My employer gave us access to a career transition company with options. I chose a 3 month option that lets me call & talk to people, take classes, get my resume gone over, etc. I also have access to a much stronger job posting group. At the end of the 3 months, I still get lifetime access to that group and its a really good deal!

I know I have to be proactive. I am looking outside the box for jobs, been networking, etc. My husband was saying I have made this my 3rd job. In some ways, he's right!

2 weeks ago, I sent them my resume, got feedback, revised & submitted again. Once I revised a 2nd time and uploaded to job search sites, I started seeing MUCH better matches.

I attended a Personal Branding seminar (webinar) last week that was very informative.

This week alone, I have spent HOURs working on the job search/prep. Many of the hours have been paid time as well, which is a benefit in itself. This is the only week where they will hold on site seminars in our building, but it is awesome they did it for us.

Monday - I went to a 3.5 hour local Chapter event of a professional group I belong to. I know many people on the board and I networked my behind off. I would say this was the largest event they had and at least 65% of the room were people looking for jobs. However, it doesn't hurt to keep your face out there, which is what I did. The event also came with free dinner (and they encouraged taking leftovers home).

I also started an online webinar (on my own time) for Six Sigma training - this would be good for my resume. I'm going to keep going on that one this weekend.

Tuesday - My office hosted the Career Transition Company hosted a 2 hour Resume Writing Class (during paid time). I also did a Webinar regarding Networking with LinkedIn (1 hour and per company policy, on their time)

Wednesday - I had the 2nd of 3 in office Trainings - Interview Skills and did a 1 hour Webinar for online networking

Thursday - the 3rd of the 3 in office trainings was - Networking and did a 1 hour Webinar for connecting to jobs via their site.

Today I am going to work on a few action items from the classes, but no more trainings, etc. today. I need a mental break.

I also have a pre-interview call set up with a potential employer on Monday, so this weekend, my goal is to research the company and gather any info on the position as well as put together some info about myself to really align why I and my skills are a good fit.

We know we can't plan when we get job offers, but it would always be ideal to be able to work until 5/24, get severance, and start a new job a week or 2 later. The chances of it happening like that are not as likely.

That being said, at this point, because the salaries in our industry were inflated for a while and because I will go back to a salary position without OT eligibility (I had a special circumstance at my employer), we will be taking an income hit. I hope to not just take a job with a low salary just to take it. I hope to use the time I have left in my current position and my severance (if I have to) to find something in the salary range that we are comfortable with.