Debt Reduction 101

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Today is a gloomy day here in Minnesota, but I cannot complain because the light and intermittent rain that has been falling over the past few days is washing away our snow. Sure, the grass underneath is dead and our yard is going to turn into a muddy mess, but I am optimistic thinking of future days of sunshine and warmth.

Today is the last day of my unofficial vacation – I’ve been spending time trying to organize the office in our home, start some grants for a friend of mine and today I’m going to be putting an order in for a blueberry bush that is specific for container growing. That’s right – it’s time to start seedlings of vegetables and herbs and to start planning our garden in general.

Regular readers will know that I have the best intentions when it comes to gardening – hence I container garden. There is little to no weeding required. I have a tendency to start projects and then abandon them. Luckily, I’ve had some luck with tomatoes in years past and I’m hoping to get lucky with blueberries.

This spring, my husband is going to build me a raised garden bed – my ultimate dream is to grow enough tomatoes to can them, make salsa and all of those fun harvest tasks. In years past, I’ve been blessed by having friends who share produce with me – I’m hoping to be able to return the favor this year.

Gardening and self-sufficiency are an interesting facet of frugality. Obviously, the more that I can grow in my garden will mean less money spent at the grocery store, but beyond that gardening is a rewarding hobby for me. I also want to keep getting better at it so when we decide to have kids, we’ll be able to be more self-sufficient.

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In other news … I start my new job tomorrow. I am really psyched. I am looking forward to a fresh start and am committed to working hard and avoiding office politics.

Also – I get my new, more energy-efficient fridge today. I can’t wait!

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I figure the best way to do this is to be truthful … you know how I’ve been talking about my job search and all that fun stuff? Well, the reality of my life is this: My last day of my former full-time job was last Friday. I took a leap of faith gave my three-week notice shortly before Valentine’s Day and intended to do some freelance work writing grants while picking up more hours at the cab company to make ends meet.

Of course, Plan A was thwarted when the company that I was interested in working with called me with a potential job. Later in life, I’ll probably tell you more about my thought process (I suck at self-discipline … the idea of me working at home? A little problematic, even though I had some other interesting options that became available when I quit my former job.), but suffice it to say – when this company offered me a job this morning, I jumped.

I’ll write more later. I have a lot of thoughts percolating in my head. Just wanted to thank everyone for the well-wishes and the advice … you guys are the best!

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This is me multitasking. I am at home this morning, blogging with you fine people, working my cell phone and waiting for a web page to load. What exactly am I trying to accomplish? Today is the day that the appliance stimulus program started in Minnesota. The rebates became available on the State of Minnesota website at 8 a.m., Central Standard Time. It is 8:24 a.m. The website has already crashed and when I call? “Your call can’t be completed at this time, call again later.”

I fully realize that I am part of the state’s problem. With 11,000 rebates available and a little over $5 million available in stimulus money, everyone and their uncle are clamoring this morning to replace their aged Frigidaire. But COME ON Minnesota …

I’ll keep you all posted … in the meantime, free cell anyone?

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First off, thank you for so many wonderful comments regarding my current life slump. For those of you who are in the same situation, I will have good thoughts for you guys to regain your moxie and to figure out what way is the best one for you to find happiness. For my friends who emailed me personally to encourage me – thank you very much.

Secondly … I got a haircut. Yup – that was my Friday event – a $8.99 cut at Fantastic Sam’s that I coupled with a brow wax. You didn’t want to know about the brow wax, but considering the last time I had one was before my April 2009 wedding, I don’t feel like it was a ridiculous expenditure. (Incidentally it was $9. And now my brows look fantastic.)

On the job front, I had to take a test this weekend to show my acumen when it comes to PowerPoint and Excel – I feel like I did relatively well. And that’s a precursor to a future panel interview.

While I’m not excited about the prospect of meeting a bunch of strangers and trying to wow them with my sparkling personality and my grasp of the sales and marketing world, I’m also not too nervous (yet). While I don’t go out of my way to find myself in situations where I’m constantly meeting strangers, I’m also an ex-journalist. I used to talk to strangers all the time and I know how to get my point across and how to be an active listener and an active participant in a conversation.

This is my process of dealing with situations like panel interviews and job interviews in general:

1) I bought a new blouse – it was on sale for $15 and it’s going to freshen up the black suit that I’ve had for the past 10 years. It’s not too trendy, but it’s not too bland either. The men reading this are rolling their eyes, but I view it as a fifteen dollar confidence booster. And it’s a piece that I will incorporate into many future outfits.

2) I have familiarized myself with the job description that was provided to me and I’ve made a mental list of questions to ask if the opportunity arises. I hate it when you’re in a job interview and the person asks “do you have any questions of me” and usually I draw a blank. Then I think of about a dozen questions later when I’m driving home in my car.

3) I remind myself very sternly that I need to remember to not ramble, to take time if necessary to gather my thoughts before answering a question and to remember to BREATHE. Yes, sometimes when I get nervous, I forget to breathe and I end up gasping at the end of a sentence. I am also very conscious of what I’m doing with my hands when I’m in a job interview situation. Typically, I tent my hands, I read somewhere once that it was a zen-like move that will restore a sense of calm. I don’t know if that’s true, but it stuck with me. And it keeps me from leaving sweaty palm prints on the table.

4) It may be the world’s biggest cop-out but my mantra in life has been a variation of “what will be, will be.” That doesn’t give a person an excuse to sit on a couch, watching the Food Network and waiting for life to happen, but when I look at the jobs that I’ve gone for and the opportunities that did not come to fruition, I see reasoning and I see a path that has led me to where I am right now. Before I walk into an interview room (and usually when I’m psyching myself up on my drive to my destination), I remind myself of all the cool things that I’ve accomplished and what I have to offer as an employee. Yes, my desk looks like some paper dragon spewed forth its contents onto every available surface, but I’m very good at making deadlines. Yes, there are times that I like to work independently, but I’m also a good team player. Sometimes I am not as assertive as I should be, but I’m not afraid to pipe up when I need to. I am a contributor, I am a hard worker and I am present.

What about the rest of you? What’s your process when it comes time for job interviews? Any advice on my upcoming interview?

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I have a lot of things going on in my life right now, a few of them that I’ve only shared with those who are in my inner circle. (And no, family members and friends who read this blog – I’m not pregnant.)

There are a lot of days where I end up feeling very sad and defeated. I have this strange little uplift that comes to me at about 5:15 p.m., when I’m pulling into the driveway of my home, to be greeted by the men in my life – the Cat tries to trip me on my way into the door while my Hubby is the one with the verbal and aural capability to understand that most days haven’t gone my way and that it’s taking a great deal of sense and maybe the grace of God for me to not reach for hard liquor or my emergency stash of dark chocolate that I have hidden from my husband and is to be cracked into during the direst of situations. (Wow – the “hard liquor” comment makes me sound like a drunk and the other comment makes me sound like a real winner … sigh!)

What I’m trying to tell you is that I’ve had more bad days than good lately and I can see the effects all around me. First off is my hair – it looks terrible. Worse than terrible – it’s in bad need of a cut and it’s being a bastard and parting down the middle, then feathering back in a fashion that wasn’t even popular in the 1970s. Secondly – my house is a terrible mess. It can be made presentable in about a good hour’s worth of cleaning, but that hasn’t happened this week – there have been a couple extra circumstances that have made this week particularly challenging.

And finally, since this is a financial blog – I can tell that depression is socking my finances. I haven’t bought anything extravagant lately, but when I’m sad, I like to cook and that racks up our grocery bills. It also does no favors for our waistlines.

Yesterday was a bad day – more frustration at work, the joy that my other job opportunity is moving forward, so many other things … so I wrote my husband:

Me. “i’m tired, sad, feeling slightly defeated …”
Him: “i know, but it’ll be ok. you’ve got moxie.”

That comment brightened my day immensely. I haven’t had anyone say that to me since I was a rookie reporter … there was this particular story where some guy – if memory serves, he had been a state employee or something like that – he got caught downloading child pornography on his work computer and was facing some pretty serious charges from the federal government. A quick search of my phone book listed the guy’s name and not even thinking, I picked up the phone. The guy answered, I identified myself and asked him if he had any comment regarding the allegations against him.

There was a long pause at the other end of the phone. “No.” Click! Just as I was hanging up my phone, my editor came around the corner and I mentioned that I had tried to get a hold of the guy.

“You what?”
“I called him,” I answered.

My editor smiled broadly at me – yeah, calling people and asking tough questions was part of my job, but I was also only a couple years into journalism and still needed guidance from time-to-time when I didn’t want to get my ear ripped off by some angry would-be felon.

“You’ve got moxie, kid!”

What is moxie? According to Dictionary.com, moxie is defined as “1. vigor; verve; pep.; 2. courage and aggressiveness; nerve.; 3. skill; know-how.”

Moxie is what made me a decent reporter – I wasn’t great, but I was decent. I wrote some good stories, I met some amazing people and I had the nerve to ask some difficult questions which I used my skill to turn into narrative.

Moxie helped me pay off my credit card debt. There truly was nothing “peppy” about my debt reduction journey – towards the end, it truly felt like I was dragging my very considerable bulk along a desert floor – it was tedious, time consuming and seemed endless at times, but I kept being aggressive at paying down my debt until I am where I am at right now. I have a lot of freedom to pursue other avenues in my life and I couldn’t do that with a gigantic debt monkey on my back.

I am a 31-year-old sedentary being with really bad hair and a poor outlook on life right now. I think it’s time for me to summon up some of my moxie and rediscover my fabulous self – the one that uses a hairdryer, the one that was eating really well a couple weeks back and losing weight, the one that doesn’t bitch so much about their life. It’s better for my health, it’s better for my wallet, it’s better for my marriage and let’s face it – it’s better off for you, my dear readers.

I can’t help but wonder though – is there anyone else out there that’s in a slump right now?

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For those of you who follow a Christian church calendar, we are now entering the season the Lent. Or we have entered it … however that works. When I was growing up, we never gave up anything for Lent. I don’t know if that was my parents, if it was my denomination, if it was the hippie-ish pastor who liked to play his electric guitar in church … all I know is that while my friends gave up stuff like chocolate or soda, I stuck to my normal routine.

The other day my friend Dacia decided to give up Facebook until Easter. Forgetting that Lent was nearly upon us, I immediately posted a message on her page. “Waaaaaah!” Followed by “Why????” Then she told me she was giving up Facebook for Lent and she was excited to discover how much time she had after ridding herself of the time suck known as Facebook.

That got me thinking … while I don’t see myself quitting Facebook anytime soon, I’ve noticed that I’ve become less enchanted with social media. I used to be a freak for Twitter – when I first started using Twitter, I built up a circle of like-minded cyber friends. We advised each other on our recipes, gave each other “hugs” when needed and sometimes conducted “Tweet-a-longs.” (That’s like a sing-a-long, but in 140 characters or less.) I’ve been busier in my personal and my professional life lately and I’ve noticed that the number of “mentions” and direct messages from my Tweeps has fallen down from when I was devoted Twit-head.

This has led me to wonder – what would happen if I stopped using social media? Google just came out with their version of Twitter, which is called “Buzz” and to be honest. I think it stinks. And when I was totally engaged in Twitter, I loved it, but now that I don’t use it as often – I feel very “meh” about it.

Time is money. The time that I’m not Twittering or Facebooking, I could be cleaning my extraordinarily messy kitchen. I could organize my vast clippings of recipes that have accumulated over the past 10 years. Gasp! I could actually draw up a budget.

I’ll let you know what I decide, but it’s interesting to think about the possibilities that one has when they set aside mindless entertainment. Books instead of TV. Actual letters instead of thoughts spewed out in 140 characters or less. Games of cards played with loved ones instead of Farmville. I’m not sure what I want to do …

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Job Front: Still waiting to hear back from the new job opportunity. I’m still optimistic and very hopeful.

Personal Front: I have this weekend off. The world is my oyster and I’m excited about the possibilities. I’m not sure what I’ll be up to, but I’ll probably be away from social media. At least for a little while …

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I’d like to say that there was something familiar about the face of the guy Jeff who interviewing me. But there was really nothing recognizable about the dark hair and the other features. But then he mentioned that he had a little brother who went to the same college that I did and that’s when I looked at the business card sitting in front of me. There was only one guy who I knew in college who had a similar last name.

“What’s your brother’s name?” I asked, politely.

And as soon as Jeff told me, we had one of those odd “kindred spirit” moments. Not only had I gone to college with Jeff’s baby brother, I had worked with his brother for one summer in college at an amusement park. I had spent a couple nights on his brother’s floor when a huge storm knocked power out in the area where I was living that summer. I could say unequivocally that Jeff’s brother was one of the best people that I had known in college and that wow – wasn’t it a small world?

So we’ll see … I felt rapport even before the brother bombshell, so I’ll keep you guys posted! In the meantime, I thought I’d share a couple of things that I’ve been learning recently from my forays into the job search world:

1) Appearance matters. That’s why I hauled out the blow dryer yesterday morning to try and tame my haystack into something presentable. Sure, I could have let the air dry my hair like it had been for the past, erm … year? But I’d rather look a little more polished – more like someone they can see representing their company.

2) First impressions also matter. Five minutes late to a job interview or five minutes early? It may seem like a little thing and you might get some reprieve by having your interviewer be wrapping up a conference call when you arrive, but the receptionist might notice. And that person might say something to your would-be boss. So first impressions … very important. I learned that first hand through this particular experience – I had actually interviewed there for another job and seemed to really have a good rapport with the marketing director. Although they ended up filling that job with someone who had been recently displaced in their company, I received a really nice email from this person that said she would keep my resume on file and that she sincerely hoped we could work together in the future. Two weeks later, I got a call from Jeff at the same company. I came highly recommended from my interview with the marketing director. SCORE!

3) Honesty is always the best policy. Don’t build yourself to be something that you’re not. I’m probably honest to the point of blunt when it comes to job interviews. My favorite question? “Would you say that you’re organized.” As always, I stuttered a bit when that question came up yesterday, but then I was honest: “I’m very deadline oriented and I have my own organization system, but if you were to view my organization system, you probably wouldn’t be able to make sense of it.”

4) Thank you notes can’t hurt … in fact, when I got my current job, I had promptly sent a thank you note to the person who interviewed me. I forgot to do that for the marketing director, but I won’t forget with Jeff. It’s a little touch, but it might be that one thing that would separate you from the rest of the competition.

5) Sit up straight and don’t forget your manners! (I think that’s self explanatory …)

I’ll keep you apprised as I keep moving along … I hope that you all have a wonderful day!

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Well, I have a job interview today and although I searched high and low, I could not find my usual pair of staid, black lace up shoes that I typically pair with my black pants when I’m trying to look “formal.” Although I felt myself in a slight panic, I grabbed my other, more casual – oh let me be honest – they are black, leather tennis shoes that are supposed to be “trendy” with some cream colored laces and some piping. They don’t look terrible, though they have terrible traction and I think my black pants are long enough to cover anything that screams that I don’t really have any fashion sense.

Luckily, when I got to work this morning, I realized that not only do I have a pair of black flats hiding under my desk (terribly uncomfortable, only hauled out when clients come), but I have a very safe pair of black loafers that I keep intending to throw out (I paid two dollars for them more than five years ago – the lining is gone, they tend to smell when worn for more than three hours at a pop).

It will be a good day indeed.

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There’s something dangerous about hitting “send” on what should be a perfectly innocuous email. My reliance on email has made me relatively lax on some stuff when it comes to personal correspondence – just ask my husband when the last time was that I actually used capitalization and punctuation in a missive to him. When it comes to business, I utilize the skills that should just be second-hand to this English major.

Recently, I’ve been trying to grow a base of business using my freelance writing skills – specifically, working on grants for non-profits, working on stuff through my cooking blog, etc., and I’ve been using my personal e-mail accounts more as business accounts. And at the bottom of all of my outgoing e-mail messages I have links that direct people to my various blogs and how you can follow me on Twitter.

When I’m communicating like people from the Minnesota Council of Foundations or even an acquaintance that I don’t know very well, I usually take off my email signature. I just click, swipe and POOF! Those links disappear conveniently.

At least that’s what’s happens on a good day.

I have been seeking different employ lately and because I cannot have my cell phone with me at work, I told the HR recruiter person to just send me an email so I could schedule a future job interview. And while I had been good during the three previous emails at taking out my email signature, I forgot to do it the last time when I jotted off a quick “that’s perfect” to an inquiry she had sent to me.

And that’s when my stomach sank down to my Sketchers. Automatically, I searched my memory banks to check and see if I had written anything remotely offensive lately. I went to my personal blog. The only thing of note lately had been a picture of my offensively fat cat and maybe a link to an article about how Cindy McCain supports gay marriage rights and my liberal take on that news blurb. I also eulogized Robert B. Parker. In my cooking blog I hinted that I’ve been kind of sad lately and that a recent healthy eating kick was derailed by quote: “work kicking my ass” and how healthy eating got booted to the wayside by a cure of Chinese takeout and Seagrams mixed with Sprite. OK – that makes me look slightly suspect. And you guys know what I’ve wrote in my debt reduction blog. Just my usual natterings about this, that and the other thing.

Long story short – I’m just hoping with my considerable heart that my email signature is buried at the bottom of my email to my potential employer. (And if not, hello potential employer! I’m a prolific writer … please do not hold that against me.) And if it’s not … well, it goes back to what everyone has ever told a person about social media and the Internet. Don’t write or post anything that your grandma would have a heart attack over reading, don’t say anything that would get you fired and act with care when sending out emails. You never know who is going to be reading what you write.

I’m not ashamed that I write – I try to educate through humor and share my experiences in the hope that other people don’t screw up as much as I do. However, some of what I write is pretty darn personal when it comes to some of the frustrations that I have had with work. Given that in a job interview situation, everything you present is supposed to be thoughtfully hunky dory, I don’t know that I really want an interviewer to know that there have been days that I’ve thought about blinding myself by thrusting a dry-erase marker in my eye. That is just a little … odd. I do admit that.

This “oh sh!t” moment has been brought to you by the letter B for BONEHEAD!

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Can I let you in on a little secret about me? Here it is: I really suck at being frugal. Sure, I shop the sales rack and Savers for my clothing. I do clip coupons, I do sign up for rewards at my favorite retailers whenever possible and I am credit card debt free. But start waving around a “holiday” of little or no significance, I feel this awareness growing in my psyche … who cares if I know that my husband loves me and that he demonstrates his love for me daily? This woman needs flowers that will eventually die or some sort of bauble that will be worn religiously for about a week and then relegated to a deep, dark corner of my jewelry box!

*Big sigh.* Glad I got that off my chest.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day. I love heart-shaped Sprees (no different than the red ones that come in the regular candy box), I love heart-shaped Snickers bars (no different than the regular candy bars that you can get anywhere), I love the cheap, little Valentines cards that remind me of my childhood and I really, really, really love flowers. Screw jewelry – I love flowers.

Here’s the rub – I’ve spent most of my life as a singleton and I married a guy who sees Valentine’s Day for what it is – a holiday that’s been bastardized by the greeting card industry to drive up sales after the Christmas season. And while I don’t doubt that my husband loves me, I have this weird feeling that there’s something wrong with us if we don’t somehow celebrate Valentine’s Day. And while he thinks this means pizza from our favorite restaurant, I get misty eyed whenever I see Kay Jewelers commercial where some schmuck reads sentiments off of those sugary candy hearts and then presents his lady with what looks like a lame necklace. (Since I rarely wear jewelry, I find myself wondering why I get misty eyed …)

Last night, between episodes of “Mythbusters” and while being assaulted by yet another Valentine’s Day jewelry commercial, I asked my husband what he wanted to do for Valentine’s Day and we agreed that we’d have a nice meal (pizza from our favorite spot and molten chocolate cakes concocted by yours truly) and exchange cards. But I have to be honest – I could just skip the entire month of February for the temptation that it brings. The days leading up to Valentine’s Day usually leave me feeling like an asshole for wanting things that I don’t really need and looking for symbols of love in a relationship that is already solid.

Another *big sigh.* What about the rest of you? Am I the only person who is in this conundrum? How do the rest of you celebrate Valentine’s Day?