My husband had an interview at a placement agency that used to be in our town but is now located about an hour away. (They consolidated and the new office handles a significant territory.) The recruiter was very impressed with him and he aced all of the various tests and showed excellent software proficiency. They had already filled the position he had applied for, but she's keeping him in mind.
In the meantime, she told him that for the average job opening, employers are receiving, on average, about 400 applications.
Holy cow! That's a LOT of competition.
I figure that very few of the 400 average applicants are a threat. They either won't know how to write a resume, won't put time into a cover letter, or won't be qualified for the position. Most of the out-of-work people I know are applying for everything they can and stretching their background to try and cover it.
Still, it leaves many, many potential workers who are skilled, who have experience, and who are hungry.
In the three weeks he's been unemployed we've sent out well over 40 resumes. He's had three interviews.
The first went well, but they found someone with experience with their software.
The second was for the placement agency. I have hope that if anything in our area opens up, they'll consider him.
The third is where he is at this very moment. My fingers are crossed. Prayers have been said.
No word on the bankruptcy front. And no news is good news. I'm assuming they were able to notify Capital One and hope that nothing is going to happen to screw up the discharge.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Alright, what else?
We were playing outside. Frisbee and hula hoops. We were having a lot of fun.
Hubby noticed that the fan on the A/C was spinning more slowly than usual and it started to make an odd noise.
A little later we went back outside to check on it. It made a terrible sounding noise (we both stepped back from the unit) and the fan slowed to a halt.
I was due to be somewhere, so I left him instructions of who to call and what to do. I took my leave and throughout the evening found out:
- Companies can come out immediately, day or night, as advertised, but the service charge is VERY inflated for them to do so.
- It was very likely the capacitor.
The next morning we awaited a call from the company whose number was on our unit. Turns out they did not contact us "first thing the morning" and hubby called them to find out what was going on. Apparently this was not the company that serviced us after we purchased the house; they had the old owner's name in the system. They'd be out "sometime in the afternoon".
We found our company's number. They had a tech there within a few hours. Turns out the compressor shorted out and took the capacitor with it. We'd known that if this happened we'd be SOL. The unit is 10 years old, a 10 SEER system, not supported anymore, and very hard to find parts for. We'd learned this from our home inspector as well as the A/C checkup/maintainer guys last summer.
We had figured we had a few years. The unit was doing okay, though the air handler inside was clogged with mold and dust and rust (which hubby cleaned up as best he could, not having the $800 to pay for them to do it). It ran. It cooled. Our average electric bill was about $160.00. One of the goals we had after filing was to save up money towards the A/C.
Nope. Caput. Done. He showed hubby a few things that made sense to him as far as it being truly broken and not just a sales technique. A new part, should they even be able to find it, would cost about $2000. It made sense to get a new system.
And, best party, they could install a new one that afternoon.
We called the office manager who checked with their financing company. Hubby was turned down. (I, of course, could not apply.) I was shocked. He has really good credit, even great. It was good enough to get a good rate on the house, we've made every payment, he has no other debt except for student loans. They couldn't tell us why. She offered to try their secondary company, and I agreed.
I also ran upstairs to log into his BOA account (with his permission). He has a credit card that we don't use. In fact, when he got the new card in the mail after the old one expired, we snipped it right up. No more CCs for us, no siree. Well, we might need it, and I had no idea even what kind of credit limit he has.
$5500 at 16.9%
For those who haven't bought a new A/C lately, they are rated by SEER. Higher SEER levels indicate higher efficiency, and there are tax credits from FPL as well as the government. 13 SEER is the least expensive unit and the least efficient currently available. (This is all based on very limited research and may not be entirely accurate.)
A 13 SEER system (a huge improvement over our old system) for our house was $3918.00. That includes installation, removal of the old system, a 10 year warranty, and one year of service.
We could have gotten a larger system; we certainly have enough room on the BOA card to do so. However, we decided to get the most basic system.
Was that a mistake? Ask me in a few years. We only knew that we have a senior citizen with a bad heart living downstairs and a 2 year old living upstairs. For us we could do a few days without A/C to price shop. For the other family members, there's no way. We got what we could "afford".
Yeah, yeah, we don't have income right now, so we can't "afford". I should say, instead, that it was the most affordable option.
I called the office manager back after getting the card number off the statement (hubby called and begged for the expiration date). Turns out we qualified for the financing.
At 5 years the payments were just over $100/month at 17.9% financing. This was a percent over the credit card, so we didn't go with that.
4 years had an APR at 14.9%.
3 years had an APR at 13.9%.
If hubby gets a source of income, we can swing the $133.00/month payments over the next three years. It's not an ideal solution, but it works.
If he does not get a job, it's still covered, though it gives us less for food.
By 4:45 we had a brand new A/C system and $4000.00 more in debt.
I have a Feeling that something's going to happen to/break down in the older car in the next few weeks. You know how "when it rains, it pours"? Yeah. I have a Feeling.
Hubby noticed that the fan on the A/C was spinning more slowly than usual and it started to make an odd noise.
A little later we went back outside to check on it. It made a terrible sounding noise (we both stepped back from the unit) and the fan slowed to a halt.
I was due to be somewhere, so I left him instructions of who to call and what to do. I took my leave and throughout the evening found out:
- Companies can come out immediately, day or night, as advertised, but the service charge is VERY inflated for them to do so.
- It was very likely the capacitor.
The next morning we awaited a call from the company whose number was on our unit. Turns out they did not contact us "first thing the morning" and hubby called them to find out what was going on. Apparently this was not the company that serviced us after we purchased the house; they had the old owner's name in the system. They'd be out "sometime in the afternoon".
We found our company's number. They had a tech there within a few hours. Turns out the compressor shorted out and took the capacitor with it. We'd known that if this happened we'd be SOL. The unit is 10 years old, a 10 SEER system, not supported anymore, and very hard to find parts for. We'd learned this from our home inspector as well as the A/C checkup/maintainer guys last summer.
We had figured we had a few years. The unit was doing okay, though the air handler inside was clogged with mold and dust and rust (which hubby cleaned up as best he could, not having the $800 to pay for them to do it). It ran. It cooled. Our average electric bill was about $160.00. One of the goals we had after filing was to save up money towards the A/C.
Nope. Caput. Done. He showed hubby a few things that made sense to him as far as it being truly broken and not just a sales technique. A new part, should they even be able to find it, would cost about $2000. It made sense to get a new system.
And, best party, they could install a new one that afternoon.
We called the office manager who checked with their financing company. Hubby was turned down. (I, of course, could not apply.) I was shocked. He has really good credit, even great. It was good enough to get a good rate on the house, we've made every payment, he has no other debt except for student loans. They couldn't tell us why. She offered to try their secondary company, and I agreed.
I also ran upstairs to log into his BOA account (with his permission). He has a credit card that we don't use. In fact, when he got the new card in the mail after the old one expired, we snipped it right up. No more CCs for us, no siree. Well, we might need it, and I had no idea even what kind of credit limit he has.
$5500 at 16.9%
For those who haven't bought a new A/C lately, they are rated by SEER. Higher SEER levels indicate higher efficiency, and there are tax credits from FPL as well as the government. 13 SEER is the least expensive unit and the least efficient currently available. (This is all based on very limited research and may not be entirely accurate.)
A 13 SEER system (a huge improvement over our old system) for our house was $3918.00. That includes installation, removal of the old system, a 10 year warranty, and one year of service.
We could have gotten a larger system; we certainly have enough room on the BOA card to do so. However, we decided to get the most basic system.
Was that a mistake? Ask me in a few years. We only knew that we have a senior citizen with a bad heart living downstairs and a 2 year old living upstairs. For us we could do a few days without A/C to price shop. For the other family members, there's no way. We got what we could "afford".
Yeah, yeah, we don't have income right now, so we can't "afford". I should say, instead, that it was the most affordable option.
I called the office manager back after getting the card number off the statement (hubby called and begged for the expiration date). Turns out we qualified for the financing.
At 5 years the payments were just over $100/month at 17.9% financing. This was a percent over the credit card, so we didn't go with that.
4 years had an APR at 14.9%.
3 years had an APR at 13.9%.
If hubby gets a source of income, we can swing the $133.00/month payments over the next three years. It's not an ideal solution, but it works.
If he does not get a job, it's still covered, though it gives us less for food.
By 4:45 we had a brand new A/C system and $4000.00 more in debt.
I have a Feeling that something's going to happen to/break down in the older car in the next few weeks. You know how "when it rains, it pours"? Yeah. I have a Feeling.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Financial Details
This is what I figured out.
"Gift" Income: $500
Disability Income: $644
Total = $1144
This will cover our mortgage with about $50 left over.
Unemployment @ $275 x 4 = $1100 + $50
Insurance:
Health Insurance $475
Life Insurance $55
Car Insurance (Paid for six months)
_______________________________
$620 remaining
Averaged FPL bill ("Budget Billing") $160
Water/Sewer $130
Phone/Internet/Cable $155
Medicine $40
________________________________
$135 remaining
(Sidenote: I realize that the internet and cable are both luxuries and that we can drop them if need be; I have a feeling my mom will pay this bill if we have to drop it. I called and got another $10 customer retention credit per month over the next 12 months by telling them about our situation.)
EDITED: A/C Payment $133
That gives us a whopping $2.00 a month left over for gas and food.
I know that doesn't seem like a whole lot, but figure that since he got 2 weeks of severance we won't "need" to touch the unemployment and can roll what would be "extra" in our normal budget to go towards food and gas.
It helps to know that we won't be losing the house or having the lights shut off.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
One Week Later (Than "Oh Crap")
It's been a long week, but it's also gone by quickly.
My daughter has absolutely loved having daddy home. As have I. I almost feel guilty because there have been so many times I've wanted a long vacation or wanted a break from being the 100% stay at home parent.
There are many opportunities right now.
I've gone into super-focus mode and have revised both of our resumes (two versions for me), looked through every single job available on three websites (jobfocus.com, monster.com, and craigslist.org), copied anything even close to what we qualify for into a document, set up new emails for both of us that are more professional, and sent out resumes and coverletters to each of those opportunities. I've also looked for new entries the past few days as well.
Thus far? Not a single interview had been scheduled. It's been less than 72 hours, though. We waited until Monday to start sending them out. Sent out a bunch Monday afternoon and evening, more on Tuesday, and a handful today.
Really, this couldn't have come at a better time. Because we don't have to worry about my debt anymore (assuming that the discharge happens, and I have no reason to believe there will be issues) we've got more wiggle room.
Options:
- We both find full time jobs and put the kid in daycare.
- One of us gets a job and the other stays home.
- We both get part time jobs and share "stay at home" duties. (I really like this option.)
- We both try to freelance and make ends meet while we look for jobs.
- We both apply for as many jobs as possible, but I get a retail job ASAP just to get some money coming in.
- We win the lottery. (Lol.)
I'm not giving up on our financial goals just yet, but right now survival might be the only goal we can focus on.
My daughter has absolutely loved having daddy home. As have I. I almost feel guilty because there have been so many times I've wanted a long vacation or wanted a break from being the 100% stay at home parent.
There are many opportunities right now.
I've gone into super-focus mode and have revised both of our resumes (two versions for me), looked through every single job available on three websites (jobfocus.com, monster.com, and craigslist.org), copied anything even close to what we qualify for into a document, set up new emails for both of us that are more professional, and sent out resumes and coverletters to each of those opportunities. I've also looked for new entries the past few days as well.
Thus far? Not a single interview had been scheduled. It's been less than 72 hours, though. We waited until Monday to start sending them out. Sent out a bunch Monday afternoon and evening, more on Tuesday, and a handful today.
Really, this couldn't have come at a better time. Because we don't have to worry about my debt anymore (assuming that the discharge happens, and I have no reason to believe there will be issues) we've got more wiggle room.
Options:
- We both find full time jobs and put the kid in daycare.
- One of us gets a job and the other stays home.
- We both get part time jobs and share "stay at home" duties. (I really like this option.)
- We both try to freelance and make ends meet while we look for jobs.
- We both apply for as many jobs as possible, but I get a retail job ASAP just to get some money coming in.
- We win the lottery. (Lol.)
I'm not giving up on our financial goals just yet, but right now survival might be the only goal we can focus on.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Capital One
I received an email from my paralegal's assistant. Apparently the address I pulled off the bill from Capital One for bankruptcy notices was incorrect. (I may have copied it wrong onto the piles of paperwork I filled out or they may have inputted it incorrectly.)
If a company cannot be notified then it's likely that debt won't be discharged.
So you better bet I was on the phone within a minute of getting that call. I got a different address (different state, even) from C1 and emailed that back to them. I also included their regular address for correspondence, figuring it can't hurt to have them send a notice both places.
If a company cannot be notified then it's likely that debt won't be discharged.
So you better bet I was on the phone within a minute of getting that call. I got a different address (different state, even) from C1 and emailed that back to them. I also included their regular address for correspondence, figuring it can't hurt to have them send a notice both places.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Oh Crap.
One week and one day after my 341 meeting I got a call from my husband. It was 8:03 in the morning. "I'm on my way home. I've just been laid off."
Monday, July 26, 2010
Budgeting Experiment
I know that most people who visit my blog are looking for bankruptcy-specific things, so if you're not interested in my own experiments in budgeting, please feel free to skip this one. I'm trying to keep us out of debt again in the future so it's relevant to me.
I recently switched my way of budgeting as an experiment. Instead of spending $140 a week for the three of us (including all household items, food, and eating out) I spent $20 a day. Yes - $20 x 7 = $140, so it's not a difference in amount, rather in timing.
The first thing that changed was that I was shopping almost every day. Now, I'm out and about town and the grocery store and fruit stand are pretty much on my way home from everywhere, so this wasn't a big deal in regards to time or gas. (Though I did notice the kid expected a cookie at Publix every time we went. There were some tears involved.)
One of the rules that I made was that I could buy two days worth of food if I was some place like Whole Foods and did not want to make two trips as it's out of the way. So I might spend $40 on Monday, but it would cover Monday and Tuesday. Three days at a time was my max, and I tried really hard to buy for each day.
The second rule was that I could not borrow ahead. If I wanted a super special meal or to eat out or something like that I had to wait until the money was available. I couldn't use Tuesday's money to pay for Monday's food.
One of the things that I noticed was that I got a lot less food. I've changed my eating habits some recently, so this didn't affect me a huge amount, but it did make me feel a little pantry-paranoid. I've been a big fan of thegrocerygame.com and using coupons and stockpiling. Suddenly I wasn't coming home with $60 worth of free food after spending $100. I was spending $20 and getting $20 worth of food.
The reason for this is two-fold. One, it's harder to use some of the coupons I've gotten used to. The Albertson's ad comes in the mail and often has a $5/$50 coupon. Publix takes competitors coupons. Two, the things I'm buying are much more whole-food and don't usually have as many coupons.
I should add another reason. I'm not getting the best price per ounce. If I only have $3 left to buy salsa, for example, I'm not going to get the big jug that will last us for weeks and weeks. I'm going to get the small jar that only lasts a few uses. (We love salsa and went through the stuff I made really fast, so we're back to buying it until next tomato season at the local farm.) Another example is when buying training diapers, I'm not buying the giant pack and saving $0.05/each. I'm buying the smaller pack which costs $10.99 or $8.99 if on sale.
I was, however, eating much healthier and I was excited about all the different things that I could get. Instead of making a menu for several days, I would figure out what I wanted for supper and plan on leftovers for lunch the next day. I'd get a few different snacks. We made the switch to grass-fed organic meats. They taste better and are healthier for us. We switched over to only organic dairy and local grass-fed organic milk. Both these things are more expensive. (Though the milk is only $0.70/gallon more at the fruit stand than regular Publix milk is at Publix.)
I'm not eating grain right now (that's a whole other topic, not one that's really relevant, I don't think) so I didn't stock up on things like spaghetti and crackers and bread and rice and popcorn like I normally do. My pantry is a little bare right now. That makes me a little nervous.
The experiment was exciting for a few days. More like a week, actually. But then things like cat litter and diapers needed to be purchased. Suddenly I had to figure out how to eat on only a few dollars a day and do it on my new diet guidelines.
I decided to keep my budget at the $140/week but to go twice a week, roughly $70 every three days. This is somewhat where I'm at now, though I'm not as strict about it. I was getting pretty anal about the $20/day. We compromised on the grass-fed beef and decided that whenever possible, we'll go that route. However, if we're not able to get enough other nutrient-rich foods with our budget, we'll get regular meat. (We've looked at buying 1/4 to 1/2 a grass-fed local cow, but we don't have the money saved up right now.)
I recently switched my way of budgeting as an experiment. Instead of spending $140 a week for the three of us (including all household items, food, and eating out) I spent $20 a day. Yes - $20 x 7 = $140, so it's not a difference in amount, rather in timing.
The first thing that changed was that I was shopping almost every day. Now, I'm out and about town and the grocery store and fruit stand are pretty much on my way home from everywhere, so this wasn't a big deal in regards to time or gas. (Though I did notice the kid expected a cookie at Publix every time we went. There were some tears involved.)
One of the rules that I made was that I could buy two days worth of food if I was some place like Whole Foods and did not want to make two trips as it's out of the way. So I might spend $40 on Monday, but it would cover Monday and Tuesday. Three days at a time was my max, and I tried really hard to buy for each day.
The second rule was that I could not borrow ahead. If I wanted a super special meal or to eat out or something like that I had to wait until the money was available. I couldn't use Tuesday's money to pay for Monday's food.
One of the things that I noticed was that I got a lot less food. I've changed my eating habits some recently, so this didn't affect me a huge amount, but it did make me feel a little pantry-paranoid. I've been a big fan of thegrocerygame.com and using coupons and stockpiling. Suddenly I wasn't coming home with $60 worth of free food after spending $100. I was spending $20 and getting $20 worth of food.
The reason for this is two-fold. One, it's harder to use some of the coupons I've gotten used to. The Albertson's ad comes in the mail and often has a $5/$50 coupon. Publix takes competitors coupons. Two, the things I'm buying are much more whole-food and don't usually have as many coupons.
I should add another reason. I'm not getting the best price per ounce. If I only have $3 left to buy salsa, for example, I'm not going to get the big jug that will last us for weeks and weeks. I'm going to get the small jar that only lasts a few uses. (We love salsa and went through the stuff I made really fast, so we're back to buying it until next tomato season at the local farm.) Another example is when buying training diapers, I'm not buying the giant pack and saving $0.05/each. I'm buying the smaller pack which costs $10.99 or $8.99 if on sale.
I was, however, eating much healthier and I was excited about all the different things that I could get. Instead of making a menu for several days, I would figure out what I wanted for supper and plan on leftovers for lunch the next day. I'd get a few different snacks. We made the switch to grass-fed organic meats. They taste better and are healthier for us. We switched over to only organic dairy and local grass-fed organic milk. Both these things are more expensive. (Though the milk is only $0.70/gallon more at the fruit stand than regular Publix milk is at Publix.)
I'm not eating grain right now (that's a whole other topic, not one that's really relevant, I don't think) so I didn't stock up on things like spaghetti and crackers and bread and rice and popcorn like I normally do. My pantry is a little bare right now. That makes me a little nervous.
The experiment was exciting for a few days. More like a week, actually. But then things like cat litter and diapers needed to be purchased. Suddenly I had to figure out how to eat on only a few dollars a day and do it on my new diet guidelines.
I decided to keep my budget at the $140/week but to go twice a week, roughly $70 every three days. This is somewhat where I'm at now, though I'm not as strict about it. I was getting pretty anal about the $20/day. We compromised on the grass-fed beef and decided that whenever possible, we'll go that route. However, if we're not able to get enough other nutrient-rich foods with our budget, we'll get regular meat. (We've looked at buying 1/4 to 1/2 a grass-fed local cow, but we don't have the money saved up right now.)
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