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Mar 30, 2018    |       6 comments

Starting The Month Off Right

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Talk about starting the month off right! March is a 3-paycheck month for me (anyone else?)

In the past, we’ve been able to put the entire extra paycheck toward debt. But right now we’re still in a situation where we’re totally out of money before the month is over, and scrambling to pay bills that are due at the beginning of the next month. We’re still working on budgeting, in general.

It’s very stressful and not very fun. So I decided that with my third paycheck, instead of making extra debt payments, I’d create a bit of a buffer in our budget by pre-paying some of our bills that are due in early April. It may not be the most fun way to spend extra money, but it makes me feel good to be starting off April on the right foot!

I logged into my bank account’s bill pay center and paid for our phone (due 4/1), Citibank credit card (due 4/4), Wells Fargo credit card (due 4/5), and childcare (due 4/10).  I’ve also set a chunk of money aside because I plan to mail a large check to pay the remaining balance of our 2017 property taxes (payment must be post-marked by 5/1, but I’m planning to make the payment on 4/13).

The third paycheck month is coming just at the right time to help create some breathing room in our budget, especially with our property tax payment coming due. Usually, I get a lot of satisfaction out of making those extra debt payments, but I think this time the money is well spent in creating a bit of a buffer for us. It reminds me of when we used YNAB to live on last month’s income. It took awhile to build up the extra, but it helped alleviate so much stress due to budget and/or income fluctuations. I think this will be a goal we’ll have. Trying to get back to living on last month’s income again.

Was March a 3-paycheck month for you? What do you typically do with your third paycheck on 3-paycheck months?

 

Mar 22, 2018    |       14 comments

Promotion!

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Guess what, friends! I got a promotion!

Here I am, signing my new contract!

 

Woo!!! The promotion doesn’t come with a raise. Actually – remember when I negotiated my giant raise last year? At the time, I’d asked for this promotion and I was told that I would be put up for the promotion but it’s a long process. First it’s voted on by our departments’ faculty (which was approved this past August), and then its sent off to the college, and finally the provost for approval. It was a long process, but I finally got approval so I received my updated contract with my new title/position! It took over a year in total, but that’s academia for you! Ha! Nothing changes fast!

At any rate, I was pretty pumped just for the official title change (my raise went into effect in August, so I technically already received the increased salary component).

And more good news – remember when I mentioned a big career opportunity back in January? I got that too! I’m now officially the recipient of this big (to me) faculty fellowship. It basically means more work, but I will receive additional compensation and a course release, and I’ll be working on a bit of a passion project so I’m super excited about that! The announcement was made at a conference last month, but an official email announcement was sent out to the faculty community today. I’ve already had several meetings about it and am planning all kinds of fun things related to the fellowship in the coming months and academic year.

For those who have known about my mental health struggles, this has been a huge boon for me. I’m still not where I want to be psychologically speaking. But my spirits have really been buoyed here in recent months and I am beyond grateful for the successes I’ve had at work. Especially as an early career faculty member, I do not take these things for granted.

Thanks for sticking by me on life’s wild ride! Here’s to knocking out some more debt along the way! 😉

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