Two month (and change) check-in

The job change has had me more scrambled than I expected! I'm loving the new role, even though the commute is still pretty rough. (Hurray for audiobooks from the library!) 

I've not been doing my monthly check-ins mostly because I thought I didn't have online access to my old 401(k). (Turns out I did have access, and I was finally able to initiate the rollover on it this week! There was about $2k not vested, but I don't think my mental health was worth sticking around just to vest that extra 40% of the company contribution.) 

I was also finally eligible to sign up for the 401(k) at my new job - I thought it was 90 days, but it was actually after three months with one hour of service, which was July, August, and September - so I'm signed up as of October 1! My first deduction will be on this coming Friday's paycheck. We have access to both a regular and a Roth 401(k), so I spent some time waffling on which to put my 4% into (salary match is up to 4% - I'll increase it once I pay off my credit cards). I asked my brother his opinion, because I was leaning toward splitting the difference, and he suggested to just put it all in the 401(k). I decided to do that because I believe I'll be in a lower tax bracket once I retire, plus I appreciate the lowering of my current tax bill.

One of the other things distracting me was trying to figure out how and when to move. I need to make some cosmetic updates to my current place in order to sell it for the best price, and I have too much crap in general. I debated between a personal loan and just saving up for a few months, and finally decided my credit score can't take the hit of a new loan if I want to get a good interest rate on my next place. So I reworked my budget, and all of the money above my credit card minimum payments is now going to be diverted to a savings account (~$1,100, plus another $265 from my still deferred federal student loan payment). I should have about $7,500 saved by the time I ready to pull the trigger in about 5.5 months. (Side note: I have enough equity in my current place that even after my next down payment, I'll have enough money to pay off my credit cards immediately.)

An upside of waiting means I have more time to declutter my place. I'm still determined to work on it daily, but it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming with the longer timeframe. I can also maybe do some of the cosmetic upgrade stuff myself, like painting and some minor repairs. 

A downside is that my credit utilization is still a bit high - it's currently sitting at about 41%, and ideally should be 35% or less. Aaaand I just fixed that by requesting credit limit increases on three of my balance transfer cards - one was approved for a $4k increase and two for a $2.5k increase. Love technology! That puts me at just a touch over 35%, which will decrease further when this month's payments hit. The increases should also help with those individual cards' utilizations as well. 

The final thing I need to do is switch my daily spending to a card with a higher limit - the current card's limit is only about $2.2k, and I usually spend about $1.5k per month on it. I have another card with an $8k limit (Chase Sapphire) that will work much better. I like the $2.2k card because it's Southwest Airlines-branded, but the $8k card has Chase Ultimate Rewards, which can be transferred to Southwest if I want. I've requested some of the credit line from my Chase Amazon card be transferred to the Southwest card, but I'll still move my recurring payments to the Chase Sapphire card. (Why am I not requesting credit line increases from Chase? Because their FAQ says I have to send a secure message with the amount I want to increase, and that they're going to pull my credit report to evaluate the request. Hard pass, given my future mortgage application!)

My Experian FICO score yesterday was 721. Wells Fargo's FICO 9 score says 699 as of 10/1. I want to get up to 760 or better by the time I apply for my next mortgage. The WF details say that I have too many inquiries in the last year, but the only hard inquiry I'm aware of is from applying for my latest balance transfer card in April. (I checked my credit reports yesterday - I stupidly got distracted while getting the last one and the session timed out and wouldn't let me re-access it. Luckily during the pandemic we have access to our free credit reports weekly, so I'll do a better job next weekend getting all three.)

This feels like a good stopping point for now. I'll try to put together a September net worth update shortly!

First day at the new job!

Today was my first day at my new job! The commute was less bad than I was expecting - about 45 minutes in the morning and I think would have been the same in the afternoon, but we were sent to another facility about 30 miles north of the office, so it was only about an hour fifteen total. I could have done it in an hour if I'd taken the first toll road, but I wasn't in a hurry.

I was a little stressed this morning trying to get out the door - one of my cats went out for his daily constitutional and stayed out much longer than I expected, and when I finally convinced him to come in, the other one decided today was a great day for one of her twice-monthly excursions and shot out the door as he was coming in. Luckily, she came in just as I was ready to leave. I had already set up a bed outside and food and water under the assumption she would just have to chill outside until I came back. 

Anyway, because I was so frazzled about the dang cats this morning that I forgot my gym bag! I had everything all packed and ready, too - I even remembered to get socks this morning when I forgot to pack them last night. I know myself really well and I knew that if I came home I wouldn't go to the gym... and sure enough, I did not. Instead I ordered pizza to celebrate my first day! I regret nothing.

I have some other stuff I want to post about (I forgot my June net worth update - but at this point I may just wait for July to be over - and I went on a last-minute trip to Boston last weekend and want to break down my spending), but for now this is good.

Two weeks' notice

Well, I did it. Last week I put in my two weeks' notice. It was bittersweet - my job has been insanely stressful (my blood pressure has been creeping up the last two years), but I really love (almost) all the people I've worked with. And as I mentioned in my last post, they had been very pleased with my performance (even though I personally don't think I was working up to my potential). I've been ready to move on, though, and hopefully to a position with less stress.

Where am I going? I got a job in an industry I'm very excited to be joining. It's a pre-IPO start-up doing some amazing things. They met my salary ask without negotiating me down (I had intentionally over-asked assuming they would), and I'm getting stock options. They also agreed to let me have a week off about one month in (vacation doesn't usually start until 90 days out) in exchange for me starting on the earlier of their two proposed starting dates.

However... I messed up a bit. I didn't negotiate to cover the bonus from my soon-to-be-former job, and when my old company mentioned a retention bonus, I didn't get a number from them to take to the new job. Live and learn! I was very ready to just get everything over with. Sadly, this means I won't be paying off my credit cards as soon as I wanted/expected, but the pay increase I'm getting will be going toward my credit cards. My current projection is that they will all be paid off by the end of June 2022, but I'm making a lot of guesses about my net pay and budget with the new job. 

Another minor bummer about the new job is that it's on the opposite side of town from me, which means I'll have a heck of a commute. Luckily, I love audiobooks, and once I get past downtown, it will be a reverse commute. My gym has a location on that side of town as well, so the tentative plan is that I'll go work out after work, which will give traffic time to die down. I had offhandedly mentioned an off-peak schedule to the hiring manager on my way out from my interview and he didn't immediately shut that idea down, so that could be a possibility as well.

I am considering moving to that side of town next year, if the commute really gets to me. My condo is enough of a disaster that I wouldn't be able to get it on the market in the next couple of months, and if I moved now, my housing expense would basically double, which would cut into my credit card repayments. A one-year delay, though, gives me plenty of time to declutter and make necessary updates (new flooring, for example) without having to stress too much. Even if the housing market cools off, I should still make a tidy profit on this place.

Current job update

Well, apparently I hate my job but it doesn't hate me. I had my annual performance review last week and hot damn was it good. (My company's fiscal year ends June 30, hence the mid-calendar year review.)

During this pandemic, I have definitely not felt like I was doing my best work. I love working from home, but I need a little more accountability than I currently have. Apparently though, I'm still doing well enough that I was ranked in the highest bucket (now three out of my four years), which resulted in a 17% raise (which brings me up to the salary I've been asking for in interviews - time to up that number!) and a TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR bonus.

Sorry about the all caps, I'm just unbelievably stoked about that number. I've never had a bonus that large before - I think $5k for professional licensing was the biggest bonus I've ever gotten previously. Last year's bonus was just $3k.

I have a relative who works in HR who told me that I can negotiate for a signing bonus from any companies in the offer phase to still get that amount of money even if I leave before the bonus is paid out (which would be September 30, presumably to keep people from quitting). 

Based on my last bonus's withholdings, I'll net about 2/3 of the gross amount, roughly $15.5k. Even that amount of money is staggering to me. I've already figured out that at the time of payout, the bonus amount would be enough to pay off the rest of my credit cards entirely and leave me about $1,500 to do with what I wish. 

Y'all, I know not to count my chickens before they hatch, but I'm already so relieved at the idea of having my cards paid off a full year earlier than expected. At my current rate, it was looking like June 2022 for full payoff. Once my cards are paid off, I can finally start saving heavily for early retirement and travel and all of the fun things I've been avoiding because they're too expensive (like scuba diving!). 

May net worth update

May was another good month. The Affirm loan was finally paid off, and I both went on vacation to Universal Studios and paid off both the package and incurred incidentals. Taking the vacation meant I didn't keep making progress on my debts, but after not having traveled in over a year (with the exception of a couple of road trips to visit my brother, which barely counted since I drove straight down and just stayed in his house hanging with my nephew), it was a welcome respite. 

Here's my introduction post where I broke down my net worth in January 2021, and here's a link to my February, March, and April updates.

Here's where my net worth stands now as of 5/31/2021:

• Checking: $3,822.66 
• Short-term savings: $4,908.61 (This is several savings accounts: car repairs, car insurance [paid every six months], cat savings [I have two approaching-senior cats, and their vet bills are always a kick in the teeth], and vacation)
• E*Trade: $537.35 (this is literally just a few shares in one stock that I've had since I was probably 12 or so?)
• Vanguard brokerage account: $200 (I've gotten antsy with credit card paydowns and wanted to start investing again, so I gave myself $50/month to start doing so - this is my seed money from a savings account that I will put toward a share of VTI once I have enough in the money market fund)
• Retirement savings: $31,841.73 (Roth IRA) and $39,424.77 (401(k) - I'm also not fully vested yet, but the unvested amount is maybe $1k)
• HSA: $1,370.28 cash, $8,458.91 invested = $9,829.19 (my HSA requires at least $1,000 in cash available to pay for expenses - anything over that, I just haven’t invested yet)
• Condo: ~$120,000 (A recent listing for the same layout unit - but more recently remodeled - was listed at $198k.)

Total assets: $210,564.31

• Credit card debt: ($19,558.78) (so stoked to be under $20k! These are due to be paid off by September 2022)
• Student loans: ($21,339.72) (mostly federal, and payments are suspended until September 30, 2021 - roughly $5.1k is private, so that's where I'm focusing my efforts) (private loan due to be paid off December 2022, and federal loans April 2023)
• Car loan: ($457.89) (due to be paid off August 2021, at which point that money will be diverted to a sinking fund for a car replacement)
• Mortgage: ($35,922.12) (due to be paid off November 2038 - before grad school, I made 8 months of principal-only payments that were the same amount as the mandatory principal+interest payments [not including escrow for taxes and insurance] and it cut 2.5 years off the life of my loan, which still blows my dang mind)

Total liabilities: ($77,278.51) 

Net worth: $133,285.80

My prior month net worth was $129,584.90, which means I've had about a $3.7k gain in the past month! This time it was mostly a decrease in liabilities, which I'm totally fine with - the less debt I owe, the less interest I have to pay.

In June I plan to continue paying down the Chase Sapphire and to purchase one share of VTI.

Job hunt update

I'm frustrated.

I've applied to what feels like 20+ jobs at this point, and I've had several interviews, but nothing has come to fruition. I'm getting ghosted a lot post-interview, too.

A particularly demoralizing point was last week, while I was on vacation, I went back to my hotel room in the middle of the day to have a phone interview with a CEO, and it ended with him telling me that the recruiter would be in touch in the next day or two. Well, it's been over a week, and I haven't heard anything from the recruiter, but on Monday LinkedIn was kind enough to notify me that there was a new posting - for the same position at that company.

I can usually tell exactly when things go wrong in interviews. Usually I give an answer that doesn't frame me in the right light, or I say something in a particularly annoying tone of voice. The problem is, knowing when it's happening doesn't help, because I can't undo it. 

I thought with my most recent interview Wednesday that I did a really good job. There were a couple of the traditional "asking about a weak spot" questions where I answered honestly and also mentioned how I had overcome those weak spots. I didn't say anything in an annoying tone of voice, either. It's possible they could still get back to me. I would like the position a lot, it's remote and the duties seem well within my wheelhouse.

In the meantime, though, I'm going to continue applying to anything I seem even remotely qualified for. Hopefully someone finds my work history appealing!

Update: Yeah, that job from Wednesday rejected me shortly after this post was published. Cue further frustration and discouragement.

April net worth update

Another great month in April! The Marriott Amex is officially paid off, and balance transfers have happened for the Chase Sapphire. 

Here's my introduction post where I broke down my net worth in January, and here's a link to my February update and the March update.

Here's where my net worth stands now as of 4/30/2021:

• Checking: $5,702.53 (This includes my most recent stimulus and a small bonus from work equal to one week's pay, received on 4/30.)
• Short-term savings: $4,428.20 (This is several savings accounts: car repairs, car insurance [paid every six months], cat savings [I have two approaching-senior cats, and their vet bills are always a kick in the teeth], and vacation)
• E*Trade: $524.61 (this is literally just a few shares in one stock that I've had since I was probably 12 or so?)
• Retirement savings: $31,572.24 (Roth IRA) and $37,911.31 (401(k) - I'm also not fully vested yet, but the unvested amount is maybe $1k)
• HSA: $1,310.92 cash, $8,359.14 invested = $9,670.06 (my HSA requires at least $1,000 in cash available to pay for expenses - anything over that, I just haven’t invested yet)
• Condo: ~$120,000 (A recent listing for the same layout unit - but more recently remodeled - was listed at $198k.)

Total assets: $209,808.95

• Credit card debt: ($21,985.11) (due to be paid off by September 2022)
• Student loans: ($21,495.22) (mostly federal, and payments are suspended until September 30, 2021 - roughly $5.4k is private, so that's where I'm focusing my efforts) (private loan due to be paid off December 2022, and federal loans April 2023)
• Car loan: ($609.42) (due to be paid off August 2021)
• Affirm loan (I desperately needed a new mattress last year, as my 15+-year-old one was causing problems for my back, and Affirm was offering 0% and no fees for a 12 month loan of the purchase price): ($109.23) (due to be paid off in May 2021)
• Mortgage: ($36,025.07) (due to be paid off November 2038 - before grad school, I made 8 months of principal-only payments that were the same amount as the mandatory principal+interest payments [not including escrow for taxes and insurance] and it cut 2.5 years off the life of my loan, which still blows my dang mind)

Total liabilities: ($80,224.05) 

Net worth: $129,584.90

My prior month net worth was $122,704.82, which means I've had an almost $7k gain in the past month! Once again it was almost entirely asset growth. I'm still pleased at the progress I'm making with my debt paydown.