I have finished 3 weeks at the new job and am liking it very much. I lucked out a lot with this and am very grateful!

During the time, I have been training & exhausted in the evenings after physical therapy for my hand. So I am just now getting around to updates (in no particular order)

- My severance from my previous employer hit my bank account today and went straight to the emergency fund! Just a little over $9.2k

- My new employer pays up to date, so I got paid one week on my first Friday with them and paid 2 weeks per normal pay schedule yesterday

-We have a lot of savings goals - one being a new to us car for my husband. We plan on putting $7k down and then 0% financing the rest. We prefer to keep savings up for the moment given so many issues this year (job loss/change, major medical bills, etc).

-Medical Fund needs to be replenished. We finally hit the out of pocket max and have about $900 left to pay in medical bills. I payment planned it out just to cashflow it instead of stealing from any other savings. Our HSA accounts have been depleted.

- Our 6 month car insurance bill is coming up. We pay it in full by cashflowing. We already have the funds ready to go and are starting to save monthly for the next one.

- CC debt is at 0% still so we are saving cash and paying down. My husbands card will be paid off by the end of the year. My card might be a month or two behind that.

- I set up a daycare FSA from my new employer. I am sad to say that they do not supplement the funding, but its still tax-free, so we are utilizing it!

- Been back on Weight Watchers and packing lunches and its been good for my waist and my wallet!

- I am part of a professional organization where I received an accreditation. To keep my certification, I need to be a member of good standing. My previous employer paid for the certification, recertification and the yearly fee. My new employer is still getting 'authorization. The organization gives a little leeway, but in case my new employer doesn't come through, I have the funds saved from overtime at my previous job.

-Spent a bit more on new clothes - needed more tops than I realized. My closet was very bare of work appropriate clothing! All cashflowed though!

-Now that I have a full paycheck, I am able to rework the budget. That will be the goal for this weekend!

Current Balances:

Debt:
Spouse Card: 8k
My Card $6.8k

Savings and Sinking Funds:
EF (after severance) $16,797.16
EF2 (different place) $21,000.00
Slush Fund (yearly expenses) $252.13
Home Upkeep Sinking $219.62
New AC Fund (we know this will be happening in the next 1-2 years) $167.47
Medical Sinking $280.62
Professional Fee Sinking $295
Memberships Sinking $13.31
Clothes Sinking $10.26
2018 Gifts Sinking $1285.89
Vacation $800
New Car Fund $6100.20
Daughter Fund (for long term savings outside of 529) $502.86

I have been on a few interviews in the last month. The one that I really liked the job and location of was 2 weeks ago. Still no response, but this is typical for the industry/company. At times, you won’t hear back for 2 months.

Last Thursday, I interviewed at another position with a company that is in a less desirable location. The company is a bit in flux in changeover – they are moving sites from other cities to my state to put all the talent in one area. I was offered the job on Monday. I took it, but am still continuing to look for the right job for me.

Pay is good, Time off is low – 18 TOP days (Sick & Vacation combined). The commute is rough and long.

My last day at my current position is 5/24. I start the new job 5/29. So I will get to bank my severance. That makes me happy.

I am a little sad about taking this position. However, I plan on making the most of it! It’s a job and it pays me and I will not be unemployed! I say that’s good news. Who knows, maybe I will go in and love the job after all.

That being said, I am still looking!!!

Down to the last bit of my current position. I took a break from job searching, but was back at it. I ended up interviewing on Wednesday at a local company 5 minutes from my current employer last week. I had to ask them to make accommodations for me as they wanted to do the interviews (with 2 different managers) on Thursday the 26th, but I already had a medical procedure scheduled for that day.

I really feel the interviews went well, but they had more on Thursday. I hope to hear back in a week or two.

I applied for 2 other jobs, but the business locations are further away. One of the girls on my team had an in with the one company and already interviewed for a different position there and got it. Its a newer company where they don't do remote, strict schedule, etc. I have had it so easy at my current job, its going to be a stretch if I have no flexibility for appointments, etc.

Since I had my procedure on Thursday and took my first vacation day of 2018, I took the Friday off too. It was my birthday.

The procedure went really well and I was able to see a movie (Super Troopers 2) and have lunch on the Chesapeake Bay with my husband on my Birthday.

Its been wonderful to de-stress. And to not work OT this week has been a blessing as unrelated, I have a sinus infection & ended up on antibiotics yesterday.

Good things:
Saving all OT, job interviews, back up plan if not finding a job right away, the little cc debt we have is 0% and when I find I job, will be paid off asap with savings. All of these things are good!

I am just trying to look at the positive as much as I can!

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

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.