I could've sworn I left it right here....
It was a bit of a blur, between interviews and getting a new contract (yay! paycheck for a year!), trying to gather tax information (why did I schedule tax appointment for February 1?), and several new bills and obligations (boo...hiss... sigh).
The contract is with a large employer in our city, and is located close to home -- I could take the bus if necessary. The work is... a stretch. I'm having to use long-abandoned skills, and learn new ones, and while the client seems satisfied at two weeks in, I have moments and sometimes days of abject terror, wondering if I'll ever navigate my way through and get up to speed. This is only my second contract, and a major client of my agency, so I really feel pressure to not just do good, timely work, but to impress, maybe to wow.
Spouse maintains I'm my own worst enemy, none of it is beyond me, etc., etc. I have noted, however, that Spouse does not suffer from measured, balanced estimations of loved ones, so I don't find it much comfort. Well-meant, sweet, appreciated in a way, but an unreliable data point. And of course the more pressure I put on myself, the more I avoid proactively taking the actual steps I need to take to perform. Must... Take... Control...
Taxes were filed Friday. As I suspected, the lack of 401k/HSA contributions during the severance period cost us, but fortunately I crammed as much into the contracting company's 401k as I could during my October-December contract. Technically there is a federal refund due -- but we've already promised in the paperwork that it will go to our 2017 HSA. The amount due will cover most of the 2017 shortfall, and though we couldn't have it paid in pre-tax dollars due to the layoff, we can take a post-tax contribution as a deduction. I'll take it as a win: I was very concerned we'd end up with a tax bill. I also should make cookies for our accountant. He is worth his substantial weight in gold for hand-holding and question-answering alone.
We were also notified in January that the tenants of our inherited property plan to leave when the lease ends in April. We've signed the agreement with the property managers to look for new ones, but there will be a substantial fee due when they succeed. And of course any unoccupied time will mean not only a loss of income to cover insurance and taxes, but additional expenses for maintenance and utilities normally covered by tenants. Landscapers don't come cheap, y'all.
And speaking of cheapness or the lack thereof --
Confession: I took another few thousand dollars from our line of credit, for multiple reasons. We limited holiday costs to nieces/nephews, but they were not insignificant; we needed car repairs/maintenance (engine mount, the seal on something I can't recall); taxes came due for the inherited property; we made our first COBRA payment laughably early due to my anxiety over its arriving late; Spouse and I rang in the new year with a lingering virus that insisted we order in chicken soup and Thai food for almost two weeks (seriously: we struggled to get out of bed and upright for less than six hours every forty-eight); the new year also brought us dental work and brand-new dental/medical deductibles to meet; and, I dunno, budget fatigue, maybe? Karma, bad timing, personal moral failure, whatever, it all added up, and our comfortable margin of savings melted away before my horrified eyes. The LOC was my lifeline.
Confession: I took another few thousand dollars from our line of credit, for multiple reasons. We limited holiday costs to nieces/nephews, but they were not insignificant; we needed car repairs/maintenance (engine mount, the seal on something I can't recall); taxes came due for the inherited property; we made our first COBRA payment laughably early due to my anxiety over its arriving late; Spouse and I rang in the new year with a lingering virus that insisted we order in chicken soup and Thai food for almost two weeks (seriously: we struggled to get out of bed and upright for less than six hours every forty-eight); the new year also brought us dental work and brand-new dental/medical deductibles to meet; and, I dunno, budget fatigue, maybe? Karma, bad timing, personal moral failure, whatever, it all added up, and our comfortable margin of savings melted away before my horrified eyes. The LOC was my lifeline.
It's not that there wasn't money earned/due, but none of it got here in time: between-contract unemployment benefits (I used less than four months) are delayed due to budget cuts; the new contract won't generate a check until the end of this week; Spouse is still waiting on a few thousand dollars in payment for freelance work; even our tenants' January payment, while it finally showed, didn't arrive until the last week of the month.
Good things happened, too: Spouse has had a few interviews, which went swimmingly (as opposed to drowningly, I suppose?), and has another scheduled for the coming week. I haven't screwed up horribly at my contract yet. Best of all, assuming we can start bringing in waves of cash instead of sending them out, Spouse is entirely on board with devoting 2018 to righting our financial ship. Maximize 401k and HSA payments. Minimize frivolous and lazy expenses. Pay Down The Line Of Credit. My mantra: Focus on them, Nonny. Focus on them.
Au revoir, January.
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