Today is my first day unemployed. I was not fired, although I left abruptly and on bad terms. I don't think I've talked much about my job but the last 2.5 years have made me pretty miserable and something happened yesterday that was the last in a long line of last straws. I work in a call center, so at least I have a clean conscience as far as not leaving a lot of work undone for others to clean up, etc. (I did a lot of extra projects and things but these were mostly committee-based so it shouldn't be bad.) Obviously quitting a job suddenly is not a very responsible decision so I am not jumping for joy or shouting from the rooftops, but overall I feel relieved and hopeful for the future. I told FH that he hasn't really known me the way I used to be - optimistic and cheerful and I'm really looking forward to our lives not revolving around how shitty and miserable my job made me feel. I am hoping that this is one of those times that we can look back on and say,
Wow, it really sucked at the time, but if it hadn't happened, X, Y, and Z wouldn't have happened. I'm glad how everything worked out. LOL! Maybe that's naïve.
By the way, I worked all day and left work at my normal time, I didn't walk out. And FH and I talked for hours before I made my final decision. I also talked awhile with my mom. We have savings that will see us through for awhile although my intention is to be employed ASAP. The only thing holding me back at the moment is FMIL having a lump in her breast biopsied this week. His dad is in the early stages of what the doctors have called a "Parkinsonian" condition and cannot drive and shouldn't be alone because he can get confused or fall. So, if his mom comes back with a cancer diagnosis it might be good timing for me to be able to stay at the house with FFIL while her SIL takes her to appointments. My partner, our mortgage, and our cats are my first priorities, 1000%. But the result of the biopsy is in my mind, is all I'm saying.
I don't even want to think about the wedding. FH and mom both say we will proceed as planned but it makes me sick to think about spending the rest of the money. My mom has about $1800 real, paid-out dollars in it right now and we have about $1500. To satisfy the rest of our deposits and purchase alcohol, my mom's part is about $3000 and our part is about $4000. I mentioned to my mom about going to the courthouse and she got really upset. And then she said she would still want to have a celebration party for us so it wouldn't save very much money at all, only the flowers and a few odds and ends. Ugh. And beyond finances, I'm worrying over taking time off for my cousin's shower, wedding (I'm a BM), my shower, and my wedding and honeymoon. At my (now former) company you have to be employed 90 days before any time off is given.
Career-wise, I don't know. February would have been six years at this company. I'm 27, and prior to working here I usually kept 2-3 retail jobs although I did a one year stint in HR. So basically a customer service and retail background, with banking (not finance) background and a bit of HR. I haven't completed any education yet. FH is in school part-time for engineering. So our general plan was for me to continue to work in a bonus-driven industry (I planned to leave this company after the wedding and get a similar job for a few years) while he finishes school, and then when he gets an engineering job at a higher salary, to work part-time and go back to school full-time, living off his salary and putting mine into savings. That was approximately a 8 to 10-year plan for us both to be done with school (FH is only taking 2 classes per semester so the progress is super slow) and paying down our mortgage early before building our forever house.
I think we can probably just continue with this plan. It should, knock wood, be fairly easy for me to get another call center job because I was very good at it even though I despised it. I also have two excellent references from my job whom I've already spoken to and confirmed I can use. At the same time, I worry about leaving a horrible situation and heading straight into another one. But with no education I can't really industry-hop at my own leisure! And our savings are not significant enough to support any more than a couple months of job seeking.
We will be immediately cutting back on anything non-essential. We had already canceled cable for a savings of $120 a month, thankfully, we did that last month. Our biggest opportunity is food, so we will be batch cooking and making some of our packaged staples from scratch (black bean burritos my FH buys from Trader Joe's, etc.) as well as focusing on meatless meals and crockpot stuff. I'd love some feedback and ideas for anyone eating on a budget. And hey, I've really struggled with my weight loss this year so this will definitely be a kick in the ass and a form of enforced calorie restriction
Wow, this got really long. I think it has helped to talk some of this stuff out to someone other than my FH and mom. I am sure several users will dress me down for quitting without another job ready, and that's okay. Any feedback and advise is welcome. Thanks for listening, Knotties.
