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A Wednesday Post April 28, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI, job , 1 comment so far

Wow, have I been busy at work! The graphic designer quit the day before my first day last week, and as part of my job, for the next year I’m taking over a bunch of someone else’s duties while she’s on maternity leave – so right now I’m juggling 2.5 jobs worth of tasks. One second I’m dealing with sponsorship requests, then I’m editing graphics and uploading to the web, then doing a photo shoot, then putting together spreadsheets and sales reports, then putting together marketing packages. My tasks are so diverse and I have to keep going from one train of thought to another. It’s a lot to get used to – especially in a new work environment, but I like the challenge.

Anyway, enough of the job. That’s all I seem to talk about these days. Which is the reason why I haven’t been posting as much as I usually do, so for that I apologize. I have flashes of ideas for posts at such random times during the day, but by the time I get around to writing them, I’ve forgotten about them. So I’m going to start to try quickly typing them in a memo on my iPhone.

In other news, I did not get a single dollar from my unemployment benefits during my 6 weeks of unemployment. I *should* have gotten 1 week of benefits (according to 3 weeks of severance and a 2 week waiting period). But for some reason, they calculated my last week of pay as an additional week of severance (so they thought I got 4 weeks of severance and then a 2 week waiting period). And for whatever reason I didn’t catch that? I should have. It makes me angry that I missed such an obvious error and now I’m past the 30 day window to dispute. So, that sucks. But it would have only amounted to maybe $450 anyway. Good thing I had my Emergency Fund … and that will be my priority to rebuild once I get my first pay cheque (Friday).


Approved for EI March 23, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI , 22comments

Well I am happy to report that I have been approved for EI. I am still living off of severance pay up until April 3rd. Then I have a 2-week waiting period where no benefits will be paid out. Then starting the week of April 18th, I will be eligible to start earning benefits (I think that’s how it works – will be calling tomorrow to confirm). Meaning, I will be okay. Insert huge sigh of relief now. :) I might have to dip into my EF for a couple of weeks, depending on how prompt the payments are. As some of you know, it took 11 weeks to get my first payment the last time I was on EI.

Anyway, I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off of my shoulders. I won’t need to get a PT job anywhere, and I can focus on my job search. I haven’t applied for any jobs since last week. There just isn’t anything out there right now, but I’m checking the job boards twice a day, so my fingers are crossed that there are at least 3 or 4 jobs I can apply for by the end of this week.

You know, I remember 3 years ago when I was unemployed, I debated whether to even go on EI. There was just a stigma surrounding it, and I wasn’t certain if I was comfortable taking money like that. I had some money saved up, so I didn’t really NEED it. But in the end, I decided to go on it because that’s what it’s there for. I spend my entire career paying into it, so why not use it when I can? And this time around, there was no question that I’d go on EI.

How about you? When you’ve been unemployed, have you applied/received EI? Or did you decide not to, and just live off of your savings? Or … did you get denied unemployment benefits?


What if I don’t get approved for EI? March 18, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI , 11comments

So as for my severance pay, I have about $2,000 to work with. I have $400 of that earmarked for the stove that we just bought. Other than that, it looks like I have $1,600 to live off of while all this EI stuff gets sorted out. $1,600 will last me 1 month of my normal budget, so I’m thinking that in unemployment-mode, it should last 6 weeks? Hopefully by then I will be receiving regular EI payments.

If for some reason I don’t get EI payments, my contingency plan is to get a normal job somewhere. Like in a grocery store or retail or something along those lines. I do have my Emergency Fund that I could live off of, but is it really a true emergency if I’m able to work? I think what I would do is take a part-time job somewhere, then draw small amounts out of my EF. That way I would still have time to search for jobs and go on interviews.


Running & my EI Claim March 18, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI, fitness , 8comments

So today I ran 5km in 26:32, which gives me an average pace of 5:16 per km. It’s not a great time, but it’s where I was expecting to be at based on my laziness and crappy fitness level right now. My goal by the end of the summer is to run a 10km in less than 45 min. Which really should be doable, since I used to run a sub-40 min. 10km back in the day.

I’m thinking of buying a gym punch card to the local recreation centre. I know I shouldn’t be spending the money (it’s about $45 for a 10x pass or $50/month), but it would really be nice to get out of the house. And it’ll be just until I find a job (fingers crossed that won’t be too long). Plus, I like running in a controlled environment for now. Especially when I start running in my VFFs. We’ll see. Maybe I just need to kick myself in the butt harder and really focus myself to workout at home. It worked when I had a job, but I was also out of the house every single day.

I’ve also filled out the necessary paperwork for my EI claim and have gotten instructions mailed to me. Although, it says on the website that just because I’ve received the instructions in the mail, it doesn’t mean I’m eligible for EI. Not really sure when I know if I’m eligible? I seriously think they purposely make it confusing and annoying to apply for EI. The website doesn’t make sense at all. But, it looks like based on my claim information, I’d be eligible for up to 45 weeks of EI at a rate of $457 per week – which is the maximum allowed. I’m going to give Employment Services a call tomorrow sometime to find out if I’m eligible and when I can start my claim (I have 2 conflicting dates on my instructions that were mailed to me, and on the website).


The first day of unemployment March 9, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI, job , 16comments

The last time I was unemployed, I came home and applied for every single marketing & communications job I could find on the internet, in some sort of blind rage. Which resulted in about a bazillion interviews and turning down a lot of crappy, low paying job offers. It was super stressful but at least everybody it seemed was hiring. I ended up taking a job with a non-profit organization in Vancouver. It was a good job in terms of networking, but it really wasn’t the right fit for me. I just wanted a job that would look good on my resume, and would be a good starting point while moving to a new city. So I took it. And I’m glad that I did because I made a lot of good industry contacts, and I made 2 or 3 friends there that I still hang out with.

This time? It’s totally different. I’m less stressed out. Yup, it totally sucks getting fired. But I believe in myself. I’m living with BF, and I have minimal expenses (aside from car and cell phone everything is variable). I can easily live off of EI benefits while I look for a job that suits me. I just won’t be able to save any money. Which does suck, but it’s the best-case scenario because I (hopefully) won’t be losing any money either. That is, if I’m eligible for EI. I applied last night and am waiting for my paperwork to be mailed to me. On EI I can receive a maximum of $457/week (or $914 bi-weekly). Which is less than half of what I was making before. It is what it is, right?

What am I going to do today, my first official day of being unemployed? Probably eat cookies for breakfast. Then go deposit my last pay cheque, pick up ingredients to make BF a pumpkin pie (and chicken enchiladas tonight) … mail off my ROE for my EI claim … and then probably attempt the No More Trouble Zones DVD again. Orrrr maybe not. I’m feeling just so out of it. I don’t even have the energy to look at the job boards because I know I’ll just see my stupid job posting and it’ll get me angry. I also noticed yesterday when looking at the posting that the starting wage is significantly lower than what I was making … so they’re looking for someone who is more skilled than me, but are willing to pay less!? Good luck to them!

***EDIT***
I couldn’t help it. I applied for one job today. It’s with an organization I’ve had 2 interviews with in the past, and 1 job offer. This is a huge organization with pretty much unlimited room for growth, and seems like a really good fit for my personality. So we’ll see.


EI overpayment November 13, 2009

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI , add a comment

Urrrggg. So apparently when I was on EI (way back in late 2007), I was paid out for an extra week. The letter went to my parents home back in September (I was living in their basement suite when I was on EI), so I didn’t actually get the letter until 2 weekends ago when I went to visit. I checked back in my paperwork, and yup. They’re right. I did get paid out for an extra week. But it was so long ago that when I moved to Vancouver, I didn’t even think to update my EI account with my new address.

Now I owe $426 plus some sort of $212 penalty for not paying that amount in a timely fashion after I was issued the letter in September (30 days). I called in, and they told me I should write a letter and dispute the penalty amount – because I didn’t actually get the letter until not too long ago – and I called in right away to inquire about it anyway.

So, I paid the $426 today and will be writing in a letter to see if I can get the $212 removed from my account. If not, I’ll have to pay for that too. I wonder if that was my paperwork error or theirs, but I guess it doesn’t matter now, since it wasn’t my money to begin with.


Time to get up-to-date with my finances February 10, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI, health care, sidebar totals , add a comment

I filed my very last EI work report yesterday, as I am now working a full-time job. In retrospect, I should have waited to file it until after my payout gets deposited in my bank account, just in case by some weird chance, this has screwed up the system. There’s nothing I would hate more than to have to try and get my money from them again.

This weekend I bought new glasses. They were a little more expensive than I had anticipated spending, but I really like them and I’m going to make sure that I don’t lose them. I ended up paying about $289 for them, after a $100 off promotion at the store. Yes, it’s a lot of money to pay, especially when they could be covered in 3 months by my medical … but I needed glasses now (legally not allowed to drive without them). Plus, I justified the more expensive frames by telling myself that I’m getting a large tax refund, and I’m getting my EI payout … which I know isn’t really a good enough reason, but what’s done is done and I have new glasses that I love.

This evening I’m going to sit down and get my finances up to date and in order. I got the last of my paperwork from my old place on the island, so a few hours should get me all up to speed. I’m nervous to really see how much money I have, but I’m also excited because then I can move forward and figure out where I need to be. And that means updating the sidebar totals. So by tomorrow, you should see an accurate picture of where I really stand, money wise.


Dear Employment Services: thank you. finally. February 8, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : EI, emergency fund , 1 comment so far

OMG, I just checked Employment Services online, and I’M GETTING PAID OUT FOR MY EI!!! I can’t believe it! Finally, 10.5 weeks later, I’m getting a grand total of $2,681 deposited into my bank account on Monday. That’s amazing.

I have some charges to pay off on my credit card from the past few weeks due to the move to Vancouver, but the rest of it is going straight back into the EF. I would imagine I’d be back around the $2k mark with the EF after it’s all said and done. Right now I’m down to around $200 (which is pretty darn scary to know that I’ve basically used up my entire EF) b/c I had to pay a $300 deposit & $600 for my 1st month of rent.

I know, I should really update the sidebars. I just haven’t had time to sit down for a few hours and really dig through my finances and get them up-to-date. This weekend is a no-go because BF and I are going back to the island. I’m thinking next week I’ll be able to get it done. I’ll have to block off a few hours after work one evening, and get my hands dirty. I really need to get this done, because I’m starting to hide from my finances again.