I could have had a totally shit day yesterday. On route to work, my car started gurgling and wincing and all kinds of other things it shouldn't be doing. This is a two year old car mind you, so I was not prepared that it was a transmission issue. My cell phone battery died to the point it can't hold a charge, so here I was stranded on a busy two lane highway, barely any shoulder, and steep declines down into a ditch. After about 30 minutes, a nice man stopped and let me use his phone, and helped get my car to a slightly safer place. He left, and about 45 minutes later, roadside assistance came. At that same time, the man came by again, back the other way from his earlier appointment and stopped to make sure I was OK. the car got towed, it is under warranty, and DH got me a loaner. Nice people going out of their way is a god send in today's world. Bad odds that my car breaks down when I have no cell service, but I was back in commission by 10:00 a.m.
I am off today and tomorrow, switching up my days off to take advantage of a school break for DD. Unfortunately, I have a project due on Friday, that I just got the scope on Monday. A colleague in another agency, who has a shared responsibility, took on drafting the report yesterday, which meant I could just review, add, and correct, saving me hours. There are a few more hiccups, and she is going to do one more review, send my ways, and I'll only have to do a final review and edit tomorrow morning. Good colleagues are also a treasure. I still will have to log in and do work on what should be a day off, but compared to how I was feeling walking into the office yesterday, loads were lifted on this project by the time I left.
I stayed late at the office getting my parts of the project done, plus trying to leave things in good shape. I'm wearing two hats right now, and me being out is like two people being out of the office. I carefully crafted my "Out of Office" message with some FAQ's. Several times in the day, I had to switch back and forth between data systems, each one taking extra minutes, each one sucking minutes from my day, but I managed to clear my voice and e-mail some how. I was hungry and tired by the time I got home, but fortunately, I had frozen ham left from DD's confirmation, ready to throw in the oven potatoes, and corn to steam, and we still had dinner by 7:30, and not take out or frozen pizza. DD handled other chores, DH took the whiny pup for a walk, and we still ended up with a stress free night considering all the craziness of the day. Having a working freezer, working oven, and an adaptable family are all good things. I admit though, yesterday took all my resiliency not to have a break down, and I felt tears well in my eyes as I waited by the roadside, as I was trying to make sense of the project, and as I was on a longer than needed phone call, and could hear two others ringing in at the same time. .
With my four day weekend, my plans are simple. We have housework and the norms of laundry. I'm hoping to get to a few more house projects, more purging, and some painting of a piece or two of furniture for our room or one of the extra rooms. DD and I want to have a poke about in a couple nearby towns; she calls them wander days. I'm going to get a good deal of baking done over the next few days. I need to try out Anne's Pumpkin Muffins. I may start a book, or at least pick up a favorite and reread. I ignored the debate last night. I know what is crap in the world, and I don't trust either to fix it. I have more faith in those around me to make the world a good place. My faith in fellow members of the community was bolstered yesterday, on a day I truly needed to be uplifted.
I knew it would eventually come. Either one or both directors that took my former position would ask for my help. It was a very complex job, and yes, a job that really was a two person job. I had offered the opportunity to answer the occasional question, and support the transition. You can't work somewhere for 21 years and totally not care, particularly when you remain in the same field and it is mission based work. I have received many calls and e-mails from my former managers, but I think under the radar, perhaps without the new directors even knowing they needed help. I should start by saying I was on very positive professional terms with both of these women, as we are a small, close knit field. One of whom I have a friendly out of work acquaintance with as well.
She Facebook messaged me last night wondering if I possibly had any time on the weekend to walk her through some of the past budget things I had developed. I could tell by her message that she was really stuck and not tying pieces together and had a meeting on Monday morning about the project. I'll admit my first thought was to ignore that I had ever seen the message, but then that would have meant I needed to stay off Facebook for the weekend, and I like to "like" or comment on a good post as much as the next person. I did schedule a brief call, walked her through the documents, and answered any questions she still had. It took all of 15 minutes, and she was genuinely appreciative. I felt a little schmucky with my first reaction.
I can get pretty catty when I feel stress, or jealousy, or unappreciated. The devil in me holds this little dream that there would be this epiphany at my former work place that every adverse action my way was wrong, and the CEO and COO would come begging me to come back. That is more unlikely than me running for governor. I am glad maturity and dignity won out. I do not wish failure for my replacements, or even hardship. The fact didn't escape me that she was already feeling the need to be working on the weekend. I wish I had given her a little friendly unsolicited advice, and suggested she not make bringing work home evenings the norm, because it can become the expectation really fast. I ended the call having pushed the schmucky, catty, devil aside and remembered that I have moved to a good place, physically and emotionally.
I'm on my last weekend before I give official notice that I am jumping out of the race that my job has become. Through all my financial calculation hoops, in the long run, the change will be net neutral. In the here and now it means a nearly $1,000 a month cash flow change. Time to scan the web and blogland for serious frugal advise. My new frame of reference for 2015, and I must mean it this time, is living life well on a dime. I need to do this without setting aside long term, or even sooner plans to travel, spend time with family and enjoy hosting friends. I recognize even with this change, financially we are better off than most, and through no shortage of help and support by others along the way, so having time and money in our budget for giving is a priority.
In my post back in September, I shared my aspiration to live in the UK some day. That translated into subscribing and following many bloggers from across the pond. While I enjoy the frugal tips, and the stories of others that have successfully downsized, much of the advise can't apply to me in the US. We have different health care systems, different ways utilities work, and very different community structures in terms of where you can source food, clothes, and other necessities. I've been following a local blogger, and do enjoy her ideas, articles, and tips to all the best shopping and family entertainment deals. Twin Cities Frugal Mom However, we are in different life stages-she with still young children, and me with partial empty nest, needing to get one more through college as we also near retirement. Those of you with the young ones need to check her site out. Recommendations of where you get your frugal ideas are appreciated.
Twenty-something years ago, I came across the Tightwad Gazette series of books. Originally published in a newsletter form, the author Amy Dacyczan put together her collection of the best tips into three different books. Based on the ages her children were when the last book came out, and when the newsletter stopped in 1997, she very well might be a grandmother now, whose own children are raising their families with the skills she taught them. Copies of her book are still in print and used copies can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and Alibris.com. Here is an interview I found with her from a year ago on the Simple Dollar. Interview with AmyDacyczyn, the author of the Tightwad Gazette
When I had young children, before DD#2, and before I had moved into the management ranks, money was even tighter than it will be now even with this income drop. We had very little savings after having moved into a new house, not a large house, but with twice the mortgage of our tiny little 650 square foot starter home. Neither of us was doing anything towards retirement yet. While I honestly can say many of her ideas and thoughts made me a bit squeamish and I didn't have the patience or aptitude for others, the principles and discipline she instilled were admirable. I used what I could of her ideas, but to admit to being frugal, or worse, be accused of being a tightwad, did not fit the go-go 90's and the dawn of the new millennium. We made some poor financial decisions on the spending front, and let money slip like vapor from our wallets when we got caught trying to keep up with the wants of others. That changed in 2008/2009 and many families, ours included, are trying to recover. I think there is more realization that money should just be a tool to life's goals, not the goal itself, and like me, are opting to get off the merry go round, in favor of a calming swing. We are paying our retirement savings first, so I feel pretty confident that we will retire comfortably, where we want to, but need some belt tightening on our daily living. Frugality is now in fashion.
This weekend will be a financial house cleaning and a walk down memory lane. I'll do a good pantry and cupboard sort, and start some meal planning, making sure we don't waste anything in the house. The sorting will include kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room, all areas where money vapors seem to impact. I plan to dust off my Tightwad Gazette books, and while a bit antiquated since more than two decades have passed, I am sure I will find some regained inspiration. It will be like reminiscing with an old friend.
