Another Day 53: Life Goes On

 

Holidays and weekends don't count, so today marks 36 days unemployed. Considering I'm getting paid, am I really unemployed ? I guess so. It's going to continue to be a scary place until I have a job and unless the Accenture job comes through, I don't know when that's going to happen. For now, I consider this time off to be an extended vacation. I haven't been unemployed since 1985, so this has been a difficult adjustment.

After yesterday's thunderstorms the weather has cooled. It's 74 now (at 9:42 am) and the forecast high is only 78. It's still humid, so it feels a bit warmer but it is definitely comfortable ! What I love best about summer is being able to have all the windows open. Today there's a little breeze blowing through the house and I love it !

I'm trying to do little things each day to keep the house in shape. I'm vacuuming the carpet every day since I discovered Minnie had fleas. I'm also taking care not to bring any more in from outside ! I'm sweeping off the back steps each morning to ensure I don't pick up any tiny fleas or their eggs when I feed the stray cats. Today I had 6 customers to feed as it seems the females are in heat and a couple of extra males have shown up. I haven't seen any of the kittens lately, but they are very skittish when I do see them. I worry that I'm contributing to the population growth by feeding the cats, but the alternative is letting them starve and I can't do that. So as of noon today I'd vacuumed the downstairs and cleaned the litter boxes. 

Since it's possible I may not get a job, I created a spreadsheet to outline my monthly expenses. Not counting medical insurance, I need about $2700 to pay my bills each month. If I factor in cash withdrawals, I'd go with $3000. With $78k in the bank, I could pay my bills for 26 months without touching my IRA or pension. However, as of 12-1 I will not have medical insurance so I'll need to start paying for it if I don't have a job. That will be a big expense and could push my monthly expenditure closer to $4k - which means my $78k would only last about 20 months. I will have to start using my savings in August, so 20 months would bring me to roughly April 2026 - 16 months shy of turning 65. I could opt to start collecting my pension or start taking an income from my IRA. I guess I'll cross that bridge if I get to it. Hopefully I will find a job ! My calculations figure in $3600 in cash withdrawals for the year and $1000 a month for insurance and that may be too high, but I'd rather plan for more than is needed. In looking at my National Grid bill history, my winter heating costs were a good $100 a month less thanks to the siding. I kept the thermostat on 70 much of the winter and this coming winter I plan on setting it to 68 and perhaps 65 at night. I can use a space heater in my bedroom at night and wherever I'm sitting during the day. My heat struggles to maintain 70 when its super cold and if I have the thermostat set to a temp it can't maintain, it just runs constantly, so I need to see what I can do to keep those costs down. Our winters have been milder, so that's a big help too. All in all I think I'm in great shape for retirement. I really hope to find a job that can bridge the gap for at least the next 3 years. I'd be happy to retire for good at 65 unless I'm in a job I enjoy. A few years back I didn't think I would have financial security when it came time to retire. I am so grateful that my financial life turned around, though I'm sad Mom's passing was a big factor. All I can do is be a good steward of what she left me.

So it's been 2.5 weeks since I last heard from Kurt and I'm still going with "no news is good news". If he'd received a final NO to the proximity exception I think he would have reached out to let me know, especially considering he basically asked me to hold off on pursuing any other jobs. I held off for 2 weeks but right now I'm going to continue applying to any job that seems like a good fit and has a decent salary. I saw today that the applications for the Thomson Reuters job are open until October, so that appears to be a new role they are developing and if they are interested in me it could be a while before I hear anything. I do still have an open application with Infosys, so that is still a possibility. I did check the Accenture jobs and they haven't reposted the job I'm trying to get.