1) the reason why I am struggling to make ends meet is because I am unemployed. I was not struggling when I had a job. Once I get a suitable job, this problem goes away (though I hope I would remember the lessons). If I had a job and was hit with the whole Coachella fiasco, it wouldn't be as big of a deal, financially anyway.
2) Like I said before, I'm surviving. I'm not near bankruptcy or anything. I can (normally) pay all my bills but the things I used to do when I had a job (ie, spend money), I can't do now. Which is why I asked for your advice in the last post. How do I adapt?
3) Someone in the previous post mentioned I should move out of Vancouver. That is not the problem and moving out of the city is not an option.
I own my apartment and I will sell it due to problems in the building (that's ANOTHER story) but I'll stay in Vancouver. It's my home, it's my boyfriend's home and I love it. I've lived in other places in the world, small towns (like Kamloops, BC) or big cities (like Auckland, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia) and I'm sticking with my hometown. Besides, I just spent 10 months living with my boyfriend's parents in a faraway suburb. I'm pretty damn happy to be back in my downtown Vancouver condo again.
Where else can you do WHALE WATCHING from your roof??? That's right, there's a grey whale swimming around in Vancouver's English Bay right now and I can watch it from my roof :)
look, I just went up and took pics with my telephoto lens!
Besides, my mortgage (when split with my bf) only costs me $362 per month. Talk about cheap living!!! I paid more than twice that in rent when I lived in a small town like Kamloops.
4) The debt I am in RIGHT NOW is to my mom (who is in debt herself, which doesn't help with the guilt factor but does make for more flexible ways of paying her back). The debt is $250 from both of us. It's not as big of a deal to my bf since he has a job, but I am having a hell of a time coming up with $250. It can and will be done, but slowly... and all the while I'm going to feel immensely bad about it.
If I had my old job back, $250 would be nothing. Right now, $250 is `1/4 of my income and is already allocated elsewhere.
5) So really, this situation at hand only exists until my debt is paid (which will probably be two months). Then the "extremely frugal" alert is lifted and replaced with the "very frugal" alert. The latter of course still sucks and it will suck until I get a job, but I am willing to adapt (well, I have to :P)
and 6) I'm not taking just any job. The government is paying me enough to live (frugally) until December. I am taking advantage of that and using the time to find a job that I actually like and will be good at AND use my god damn degree and experience. Pay isn't as important but I do know now exactly what I'm worth.
I'm amazingly lucky on a lot of levels: I can't afford new clothes but I have so many damn clothes that I don't need new clothes! My dad owns a yacht, so doing sailing trips is a fun and free activity (actually, my favourite activity). My personal trainer is awesome and really understanding with my money situation. I have so much makeup, there's no need to buy any, so I'm lucky there. We have a massive DVD collection, with lots of DVDs I haven't watched yet. I'm up to my neck in books I need to read. I like to cook (and aren't bad at it) so not going out for dinner doesn't really bother me. I can't really afford my car insurance this month but at least my car is paid for and I don't owe anything there. And of course, I have a wonderful and supportive boyfriend who has my back in everything and, also, helps with the bills. Plus, I am getting just enough EI from the government to cover my essential costs each month.
Not enough to cover unexpected costs like I am realizing right now, but this is just a rough patch that I have no choice but to face and somehow find a way out of it.
Anyway, I was taken with many of your food suggestions as listed here and on Twitter and I whipped out this recipe last night. Cheap, good for you and tasty! And easy to make (I used canned lentils).
Herbed Lentils with Bacon - fantastic sidedish, or even as a main!
And as DaisyChain asked in the previous post, do I like tofu? I do, but I have no idea what to do with it. Any suggestions?
Last but not least, here is an ouftit post. I wore this to my boyfriend's sisters birthday dinner in White Rock (courtesy of the in-laws):
Jacket: Target (I got in pre-trip for $30 - love it!); Dress: Karta; Boots: BC Shoes; Bag: Rafe; Ring + earrings: Forever 21; Belt: Vintage
14 comments:
"Pay isn't as important but I do know now exactly what I'm worth."
I think you're worth as much as someone is willing to pay you.
With unemployment the way it is, companies have the choice. Given two equal candidates, they will choose the cheaper one. Thats the smart choice for the company.
If I were looking at two (otherwise equal) resumes and one had spent a year at a job doing something they didn't like, and the other spent the same year on EI, I would think the first one was a harder worker.
There is nothing wrong with taking a job you think is 'beneath' you for a short period of time. Sometimes the only way to get across the pond is by a stepping stone, and a lot of people aren't willing to take a small step and instead fall in.
Well, Anonymous, just to clear some things up here as you seem to be reading a lot into one line, but:
I've done lots of jobs that are "beneath" me (believe me) - AND as such, when I was laid off, everyone (including myself) said "finally, you can take your time and get a job that you really like for once and that uses your skills and education."
And that's what I'm doing.
You may not realize this, but the last job I had, I took because I was unemployed and desperate. Did I want to work in Engineering? NO. But I did it and I "spent a year at a job doing something they didn't like."
So I'm done that, and ready to take my time to find a job that I want to stick with.
That's the right thing to do according to my family, my boyfriend, my friends, MYSELF, my career counsellor, my ex-employer and even the government (as I had a recent meeting with them).
And what you quoted me on "Pay isn't as important" - it's true. It's not. As long as it's not below my EI, as long as it makes up for it by having great benefits, job perks, and room to grow.
I just applied today for a job that pays 10K less than what I got at my old job. So I'm not really sure what you are getting at.
I think it's sad that you feel like you have to explain your money problems on here. Some of us, unfortunately, go through it and I don't think you have to explain it to anyone.
I was laid off a few years ago because the company I worked for went out of business. I was devastated, but super excited I had a new job to go to the following Monday! Until I got there and my "HR job" was teaching people in a warehouse how to use a cherry picker and a forklift. Trust me, my skirt and cute shoes were NOT cut out for it. So I quit. And didn't have a job for three months. Luckily I lived with my parents, but I still struggled to pay for my car, school loans, credit cards, etc during that time. I was on unemployment for a few weeks until the warehouse job fought my unemployment and they took it away from me. (Seriously, I worked there SIXTEEN HOURS and I was screwed out of unemployment. Thanks, Texas!) I finally got a job making way more than I made before and I HATED IT. I can't stress how bad I felt at that job. My boss was terrible and pretty much hated me. I would drive to work every morning hoping someone would hit my car so I could get out of going in. But two years later, I'm somewhere new, living on my own and working at a job I love. And going back to school to get my Masters. All that great stuff.
My point is: this is YOUR blog where YOU get to write about all the shit in YOUR life. I don't think you need to justify any of that to anyone else.
Awww thanks Kayla! What a shitty deal you were handed too but it's great to know you came out on top.
I think a lot of casual blog readers don't really know my life story, they haven't read the archives that dealt with all my shitty jobs, so they just make assumptions. I know things could be worse, which is why I listed things that I am grateful for.
You're right, I shouldn't defend myself but I feel I need to when people get the wrong impression.
BUT you are right. Even my bf just chimed in "Why are u defending yourself?" lol. :)
Well Anonymous I can tell by your post that you don't work in HR. First of all it is rare that you have "two equal candidates" companies now are focusing on hiring for "fit" rather than being completely experience driven, so as an HR person if I have two "equal" candidates in terms of experience and education I am going to choose the candidate that I believe would fit with my company's culture, which tends to be a greater retention indicator.
Also it costs a lot more to hire a "cheap" employee and train them only to have them quit, and have to retrain another employee than it is to hire the "right" employee and pay them a few more grand a year. (Training a new employee costs the company about 60% of that employee's salary. Look it up.)
Furthermore, salary negotiations generally take place after the hiring process, thus Lusty being overlooked due to a salary conflict is unlikely.
In this economy there are many great candidates for many jobs that have been unemployed for a certain amount of time. I would not look down on a candidate for that. In that light I could also be concerned about is that my candidate that has been working another job just to pass the time. The reason for this is that I would then wonder if the job said employee is applying for is just another "until something better comes along jobs" and then I am in the same boat as above having to retrain someone else.
I fully do agree with you about taking a job to get your foot in the door and I believe that Lusty was just trying to state that she isn't going to be going to work at Starbucks, since that is not a career path that interests her. She is looking to get in with an organization that will utilize her skills and expertise to their advantage, and that can lead to a career path that interests her. Also she will be a great candidate for the organizations to which she applies as she is looking for the same thing they are, a career she can stick with.
Have a nice day! :D
Sorry Lusty, but I hate it when people make judgemental comments anonymously... it seems so cowardly.
So true, at least have the guts to put a name, any name. Anon is just wimpy.
Anyways my comment isn't money related! It's about how to make tofu! I like making chinese spicy ma po tofu, or making it homestyle with some ginger, green onions, rice and beef! You can twitter me for recipes lol.
Thanks MizzJ... and Odette!
To ALL MY READERS (and no, I'm not defending what I wrote :P) thanks for sticking by me as I go through this rough patch and thanks for letting me whine and whatnot, even if you secretly think it's nothing worth whining about. What matters most to me is that I can get stuff off my chest.
I know it seems lately that everything has been so negative and frankly, it has been. It's been a challenge to look for the positive in things but I am trying at least.
By blogging about my problems, it helps me deal with them and get a different perspective. And to learn lessons.... I'm struggling right now but struggle is good and teaches us skills for the future.
I hoped this last blog post was a little more positive and "can-do" than my last one and I hope the next one after this will be even more so.
Lusty xx00
Hi there, just found your blog and thought I'd comment under this post since I just love the outfit. The shoes, in particular, are adorable. :)
flnw.blogspot.com
P.S. Btw, I'm in a similar situation...unemployed at the moment and wondering if I should just take a job (any job) rather than sit around waiting for "the one". I haven't decided yet, in case you're wondering :)
I dont understand absolutely nothing hahah cos I dont speak english. But You deserve a good job with big pay. Simply because you are the most beautiful Mike Patton fan in all the world.
Thats all folks.
Cheers from Mexique
Wow. That was just perfect. Ha ha ha
Mexique just made my day :)
I like the outfit!
I think you'll land on your feet, of course it's stressful in the meantime though.
Thanks, I think so too! It just feels good to get it out and work through it, which I am doing :)
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