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. 

Next credit card to pay down: Chase Sapphire

The Chase Sapphire card is the next victim on my credit card paydown list, with an interest rate of 15.24% (the same as the Amex I just paid off - I basically flipped a coin on which one to pay first). As of two days ago, it has a balance of $7,566.89, including the previous billing period's interest. 

Here's how I'm dealing with it: Balance transfers! I qualified for a new credit card from Citi (Citi Preferred Diamond) with a $4,100 credit limit, and also finally realized how I could get a new balance transfer on an existing Citi card I already have (Citi Simplicity, $2,700 limit). 

The Simplicity transfer processed two days ago as well, so my current balance is $4,945.53 (there was also a 3% transfer fee). I have to pay the Simplicity card by March 1, 2022, so I plan to pay $270 per month for the next 10 months.

I'm waiting for the Preferred Diamond card in the mail still, which I think is why the transfer hasn't processed yet. That one will bring my balance down by another $3,980ish (I'm not sure of the exact amount) to under $1,000! This card has an 18 month 0% period, so I'm going to be paying $227.75 per month on it. I expect to be able to pay it off by June 2022, because at that point everything else should be paid off! 

I'm currently budgeting $1,315 for credit card paydown (ugh, I hate that number), plus $265.78 from my federal student loans. It's being allocated as follows:

Card	Monthly payment
Chase Sapphire	$231.80
Chase Freedom	$50.00
Chase Amazon	$110.00
Wells Fargo CC	$82.00
Discover BT	$500.00
Citi Preferred BT	$227.75
Citi Simplicity	$270.00
Affirm	$109.23

(Affirm is due to be paid off in May, at which point that money will be reallocated to the Chase Sapphire.)

The remaining Chase Sapphire balance will be paid off by July! (I'm counting it as paid off even though most of the balance has been transferred to 0% BT cards, because then it's no longer accruing interest and digging me in deeper.)

After the Chase Sapphire is paid off, next will be the Chase Freedom, which should only take a couple months given that it's a relatively low balance (currently only about $1,000). The Discover BT will also be paid off at the same time as the Freedom. (The Discover balance was previously on the Marriott Amex.) 

I'm really excited, I finally feel like the end is in sight for this damn credit card debt. It's been hanging around my neck since I graduated grad school at the end of 2016, and I'm finally in a financial spot where I can make significant progress with it.

March net worth update

March was a great month for me! I got my third stimulus check, which I allocated to a vacation 

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

Here's where my net worth stands now as of 3/31/2021:

• Checking: $4,503.83 (I have two checking accounts - more on that to come!)
• Short-term savings: $3,848.80 (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: $512.45 (this is literally just a few shares in one stock that I've had since I was probably 12 or so?)
• Retirement savings: $30,288.86 (Roth IRA) and $35,856.26 (401(k) - I'm also not fully vested yet, but since I don't intend to leave my current job before I fully vest, this is the full amount in my account)
• HSA: $1,132.43 cash, $7,999.52 invested = $9,131.95 (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 (Zillow estimates my place to be worth $173k, which is so unbelievably comical to me. I don't even know if it's worth $120k, but that seems like a more likely number than $173k.)

Total assets: $204,112.15

• Credit card debt: ($22,651.74) (due to be paid off by September 2022)
• Student loans: ($21,649.34) (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: ($760.19) (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): ($218.50) (due to be paid off in May 2021)
• Mortgage: ($36,127.56) (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: ($81,407.33) 

Net worth: $122,704.82

My prior month net worth was $118,215.51, which means I've had an almost $4k gain in about 4 weeks! It was almost entirely an increase in assets - my credit card debt stayed steady because I put an upcoming vacation (funded by my stimulus) on it. I did consider upping my estimate of my condo valuation because Zillow has increased the value by about $6k, but I decided it wasn't time yet.

Marriott Amex - officially paid off! Next steps...?

I'm so stoked! Last night at 10:30 pm, I was looking at my GoodBudget app, and I realized I could pay the last little bitty chunk of the Marriott Amex (while borrowing a bit from the next pay period's envelope loading/the "unallocated" envelope). I have officially paid it off!

So technically, I did make three additional purchases on it this month, primarily because I didn't have my main credit card with me. I bought a bottle of kirschwasser and a bottle of whiskey at the liquor store, I paid for a massage with it (that money came out of my stimulus funds), and I ordered some (much-needed) leggings from Old Navy, so I'll be on the hook for all of that (about $300) when the billing cycle closes in April. 

My federal student loans are frozen because of the pandemic, so I've been using that money (about $265) to pay off this card. That $265 plus the $97ish in the regular mid-month budget will more than cover the last chunk of spending, and I will be ready to move on to the next card, the Chase Sapphire with about $7,500 (ugh) on it.

I've already been paying slightly more than the minimum payment on the Chase Sapphire (I set all my cards up with a fixed payment instead of just the minimum because I hated having to adjust my budget every month). The current minimum payment is about $150. With the Marriott Amex paid off, I'll be able to put $680 ($150 min pymt + $97 Amex mid-month amt + $168 Amex end-of-month amt + $265 fed student loan) each month toward it! I'm expecting to have it paid off by November of this year.

I'm also planning to apply for a 0% interest balance transfer card in a couple of weeks to use for at least part of the Chase Sapphire balance. I do have an offer from my current Discover card for a balance transfer, but I need to find out how they apply payments, because I don't want to get stuck owing money on an older balance transfer if they're applying payments to the newer transfers. That is a problem for future Tex to figure out!

Job hunting update

As I mentioned last week, I've started applying for jobs. I'm trying to be a bit judicious in only applying for things that sound interesting to me and for which I'm qualified. (I am allowing myself to stretch some, since apparently it's much more common for women to only apply for jobs they definitely meet the criteria for, while men are more likely to apply for jobs they don't quite have the qualifications for.) 

So far I've had two phone interviews that have gone really well, and the salaries in the market are going to be such a boost to my debt payoff plan and future investing plans. I'm looking at a minimum 20% boost by moving from my current job.

One of the things I struggle with is imposter syndrome, which is wild because I absolutely have the experience that these job posters are looking for, and I'm very open about where I have drawbacks (but also that I love to learn new things).

I am a little bummed because the first job I applied to two weeks ago rejected me, but I was already ready for that to happen after I opened the cover letter last week and re-read it - good grief but it was terrible. It was a good start, but I definitely missed some critical language that would have better conveyed my enthusiasm and suitability for the job. I learned my lesson and have crafted better cover letters in the intervening time. 

It's interesting how different job hunting is this time around. A decade ago, when I was fresh out of undergrad with a liberal arts degree, I was not a top candidate for anything (and to be honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do). I enjoyed where I ended up, but it was not very well-paying in the grand scheme of things, which prompted my going to grad school. I took on debt in grad school, both student loans and credit cards (frivolous spending, sigh), but I'm so thrilled at the opportunities that my master's degree has presented me. I'm in a career that challenges me mentally and is decently necessary to the economy as a whole, so I have skills that are transferrable and in demand. That means that I can command more in salary and also find a job that suits me, rather than feeling pressured to take whatever was offered because it was the only thing on the table. I'm excited to see where this next step takes me!

Whoops

I haven't been keeping up with my spending journals. I could make excuses, but I don't have any particularly good ones. The project I was on at work wrapped up last Tuesday, and I just sort of fell into a funk. I think I suffer from depression (I was diagnosed as a teenager after my dad died, but I haven't seen any sort of mental health professional since then) and/or seasonal affective disorder, so I tend to spend a lot of time working on my mental health, but occasionally I slip and anything that's not an absolute must-do (basically, food and work) falls by the wayside. I just showered for the first time in four or five days, for instance.

I've also bought some stupid stuff in the last two weeks that I didn't really want to confess to. I bought a customized Yeti, coffee beans from a local roaster, a lot of pizza (I think it was like 5 places in a week), a slightly spendy dinner out with my sister-in-law when she came to town (socially distanced on a patio), and I blew my $1,400 stimulus on a trip to Universal Studios Orlando in early May. I decided not to feel too guilty about my trip, though, because: 

• I spent my last two checks paying down my debt
• I'm on track to pay down the Marriott Amex by April as planned
• I have not gone on vacation in a year and three months (as of now) and by the time my trip rolls around it'll have been almost a year and a half
• I got my first vaccine shot last week, so by the time my trip rolls around I should be fully immunized.

The package I got was about $840 for four nights at an on-site hotel and a three-park four-day ticket. I paid for my flight with points on Southwest, although I did splurge for the Early Bird check-in, so that was another $51.20. I earmarked about $200 of my stimulus to get a massage on my upcoming birthday, and the remaining $300-ish will be spent on the trip itself.

This morning I spent a few minutes during a work webcast catching up on my expense tracking in GoodBudget. Honestly, the damage wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm dying to put the next chunk of change on the Marriott Amex, but the billing cycle is due to close today, so I'm leaving it alone until tomorrow at the earliest. 

I've also started applying for jobs! I'm trying to apply to only things I think will be interesting and that I want to do.

All in all, I am making progress and mostly good decisions, even if I'm not reporting it.