Going down south tomorrow June 29, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : investing, job, travel , add a commentI feel a lot of relief about getting the new job, and I am a lot more at ease about spending the money on this trip, and the one to Vancouver next month. I’ll also be able to contribute a lot more into my RRSPs, and I’m going to put $1000 into a GIC with Outlook Financial as soon as I can save that much up. I want to eventually have five 5-year escalator GICs on rotation, so one matures every year. The interest rates are amazing, so I’m excited to invest.
Anyway, at 5:30am tomorrow morning, I’m leaving to go to Seattle. I won’t be back until Monday, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to post during the weekend since the BF took my laptop down with him when he left yesterday morning (we’re meeting down there).
If I don’t get a chance to post, then I hope you all have a great Canada Day long weekend. :)
A new job, and a new future! June 28, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : job , add a commentTHEY ACCEPTED MY SALARY MATCH!!! :)
I’m so excited and nervous about this change in my life. I’m a little scared to tell my boss, but I’m close with a few of my co-workers, and they said that I have every right to be looking for new jobs. Afterall, this is just a 12 month contract. They said I have to take care of myself, and I shouldn’t let a fantastic opportunity like this one slip away.
My new job starts July 16th. There’s no way my current boss will be able to hire and have me train someone in two weeks before I leave (especially with this being a long weekend) … and the chances of someone picking up a 4 month contract is pretty slim. So I’m going to offer to stay on as a contractor, so I can still do most of the stuff … but I will be working evenings, some weekends, and a lot from home. I don’t want to hang them out to dry, plus it means more cash in my pocket at the end of the day. It would mean working 12 hour days, or 7 days a week for a while, but it’s not for that long.
Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. They really helped me stay calm in such a stressful situation! I know this blog suffered a bit what with me only talking about the job front for about two weeks straight. In fact, my RRS feed dropped from 33 subscribers down to 27, LOL! So all of you who unsubscribed, please come back! :)
Job offer and salary negotiation June 27, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : job , add a commentWell, my interview for Job #3 was today, and it was honestly the best interview I’ve ever had. They loved me, and I loved them! And about three hours after that interview, they called me up and offered me the position. :)
Here’s the thing: they offered me exactly the salary I was requesting – no negotiating needed … and it’s the same amount I’m currently making. However, Job #4 and Job #1 pay more. Granted I haven’t been offered a position with either of those two organizations yet, but it’s still up in the air. I could still get either of those jobs, but I would have to decline if I took the offer from #3. The difference between salary is only about $2500/year, but that’s enough to make a difference to me in my budget.
So I asked Job #3 to do a salary match. I explained to the woman in HR that I do prefer the atmosphere of #3 better, but in order to make a sound financial decision for the next few years of my life, and in order to decline the other jobs, I would need to be sure I’m making the right choice. I don’t want to appear greedy or that it’s all about the money, but I do know that I would be disappointed if I took Job #3 and then was offered one of the other jobs next week for a higher salary.
I know the worst thing they can do is say no, and I’ll still definitely want to consider taking the job … but I can’t help but think that I should just be happy with what I was offered.
Second interviews and the waiting game… June 26, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : job , add a commentWell, I had my 3 hr. long interview for Job #4 this morning. I did just okay. Not great, but okay. I don’t think I’ll get called back for another interview though. There are 4 other candidates, and I’m almost positive I’m not exactly what they’re looking for. It’s a great job and I definitely want it because it’d be good experience for me, and it’s exactly what I want to be doing. But there’s so much OT and weekend work involved with the position that I think it would interfere with my part-time job at the arena … and I’m not sure if I’m willing to give that job up just yet. The great part about Job #4 is the salary is more than I was expecting, and would come with a guaranteed 2 – 5% raise each year for the next 3 years, depending on job performance. After the 3 years, it would become a max of 3%/year raise. Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and they said they’ll be in touch by next week.
On my way home from the interview, I got a call from Job #2, asking me to come back for a second interview on July 3rd!
I have yet to hear back from Job #1, but I don’t expect to until the end of this week or early next week.
Tomorrow’s my interview for Job #3!
The job front June 25, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : job , add a commentI got my first PayPal payment from PPP today! :) I forgot about the exchange rate, so instead of making only $10 from one post, I actually made $10.43! It’s not that much of a difference in exchange rates, but every penny counts. The only bad thing about being paid out by PayPal is in order to not get charged a $0.50 service fee (because I’m Canadian), I have to wait until I have a balance of $150 before I send it to my chequing account. Such a pain in the butt!
In other news (are you getting sick of all these job-related posts yet?), I just had an interview for Job #2. I know initially I wasn’t that thrilled about it, but it actually doesn’t seem like that bad of a job, and I think they liked me. I’d get to travel to the U.S. a lot, and possibly over to China because they have an office there too. They offer benefits and vacation, but I forgot to ask about tuition reimbursement. I also asked about a salary range, and they said they were still finalizing it, but it would be “in the 40′s” … and since they’re a smallish sized business, that probably means the lower end of 40. But who knows! They’re interviewing about 10 people and said they’d get back to me at the end of the week to let me know whether I get a second interview.
Tomorrow’s my interview for Job #4! I’m so nervous for it, I might throw up. Honestly.
July Monthly Goals June 25, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , add a commentIt’s unfortunate that July doesn’t really seem like a budget-friendly month. I’m blaming it on the summer.
July 2007 goals:
- Pay more attention at work. Have you ever noticed when you’re looking for a new job, or you’ve found one and you’re about to leave … that you end up slacking a lot more at the office? I’ve noticed that about myself over the past few weeks, and that’s totally not cool. Until I go out those doors for the last time, I have a job to do, and people are counting on me to get the job done.
- Find a permanent, full-time job in my career field. I’ve been going on so many darn interviews lately, I need to get my act together and really ace my interviews. As you know, my current contract is going to be up in just over FOUR months. Ideally, I’d be looking for full benefits, some form of tuition reimbursement, and a starting salary at or above what I’m making right now.
- Make $175 in PPP earnings. Every little bit counts!
- $100 towards RRSP.
- $500 towards Emergency Fund.
- $1000 towards Condo Down Payment Fund. Currently, I have $475 on auto-debit from my chequing account every pay cheque ($950/month). This money goes into my non-registered mutual fund account … anything else I can scrounge up goes into my 4% savings account.
- $150 for my trip to Vancouver for the Ryan Adams concert. Since my accommodation and ticket is already paid for, I really don’t see what else I need to spend money on. So I budgeted $50 for merch, $60 for travel costs ($30 each way), and $40 for food. Considering I’m only going for one night, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Although, I do know someone going to the concert as well, and she’s going alone too … so we might end up going out before or after the concert.
- STOP SPENDING MONEY. Seriously. I’m spending money left and right. And it may not seem like that much to most people – a dinner out here or there, maybe a new shirt or pair of shoes I don’t really need. Just because I’m out of debt doesn’t mean I don’t have financial goals I want to achieve. Granted, I know I’m not exactly being the most frugal person right now, but I don’t want to fall back into my old habits. I must be strong! :) Which brings me to my next few goal …
- Wait 48 hrs. before purchasing anything that is considered a want. Of course, that doesn’t really apply to going out for tea, or whatnot … it’s more for clothing, impulse mall purchases, electronics, etc.
- Bring back the $30 dining out budget. Oh that’s right baby, this budget is back on track! Of course, July 1-2 is excluded because I’ll be in Seattle and that trip was already taken into account in my June budget. Also, July 28-29 is excluded because it’s included in the $150 concert budget.
As you can tell, this monthly goals list is a lot more extensive than previous months. This is due to the fact that I’m mega stressed out right now about the job situation (and the chance that I could be unemployed come November), and because I’ve been too slack on myself lately. It’s great to take time off from the constraints of a budget and enjoy myself, but I have goals that I want to achieve, and I’m not going to get there by spending money at Jacob all the livelong day.
June Goals: My Review June 24, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , add a commentJune Goals (end of month review):
- Don’t go into debt. Check! Although, I did have quite a large Visa bill this month.
- $100 towards RRSP. Done!
- $500 towards Emergency Fund. I was only able to put away $450, but that’s still pretty good. Originally the dentist said my surgery was going to cost about $1300 (which would wipe out my EF completely), but when I was there today for my final appointment, she quoted me something like $800. Wouldn’t that be nice!
- $500 towards Condo Down Payment Fund. I was able to save $1200!
- $300 – $350 budget for my trip to Seattle. Not. Bloody. Likely. My trip is in 5 days, and I can tell you right now, this budget ain’t gonna happen. I’m probably looking at more the $400 – $450 range because we plan on buying good seats to at least one of the three ball games we’re going to … but I’m still hoping to keep costs down to a minimum. This budget doesn’t even account for any clothing I plan on buying when I’m down there. Ugg.
Featured on The Budget Fashionista June 23, 2007
Posted by gmbmfb in : blog , add a commentMy post on different everyday things we can do to save money is being featured today on The Budget Fashionista as a part of the “Being Broke Ain’t Cute Personal Finance Advice Series.”
If you haven’t visited The Budget Fashionista before, go check it out and read all the other articles that are a part of this great PF series! TBF is also a great site that shows how regular woman with a love for fashion can look fabulous while on a budget. It was (and still is) a great resource for me when I was trying to update my work wardrobe with classic pieces.
Thanks Kathryn for including me in this, and welcome to all the new visitors coming through! :)
