Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Prepare for take-off, or
Wait, I'm flying out of LaGuardia. Fuck
So the apartment is sold; I survived SUNYFAP, so why do I still feel vaguely stressed? The relief I felt after the selling the place, while real, was not as strong as I expected. The change is permanent, a structural change I wasn't sure I was capable of pulling off. Of course, I really had no choice. It's easy to stay in a bad situation; you may even prefer it to the potential discomfort over the unknown, but only if you're alone in whatever is happening. I wasn't alone in going through this, and the quality of life of others was put at risk with each passing month, so it had to be done. Still, the process sucked.
After the sale, I looked at my finances and I quickly discovered that my situation hadn't really improved that much. True, I wasn't pouring money down a 425 square foot hole anymore, but I felt that I had to restart contributions to my 403(b), so almost all of the money I was saving was earmarked towards my retirement. I am in control of how much gets taken out every check, and there's a substantial tax benefit for next year, but unlike selling the apartment, the increased deductions have no end either. The sale price of the co-op was another issue. As mentioned in an earlier post, I sold it at a very slight loss, so I was not able to pay down the debt I had accumulated in buying the condo, so even after selling the place, I'm not where I want to be. More needs to be done, and with that I was on the horns of dilemma.
Reducing my spending is a good place to start, but isn't the only step needed. I've been researching something called FIRE, which stands for Financial Independent, Retired Early. The gist is that you save 50% of your income, investing that savings in Vanguard funds, and cut down on your expenses, especially the big three: housing, transportation, and food. Ironically, the first two are already good. The condo costs us $1400 a month each, including everything save repairs, so at our income, it's actually affordable, and FIRE approved. The location is less than optimal because of my commute, but it works really well for everyone else in the house, so fuck it. I own my car outright, and as I only drive Toyotas, eminently reliable, even for me. I still drive too much (and Lyft did not help), but that's the cost of where I live. Food costs are significantly better, as Carolyn is an excellent cook, who packs lunches and breakfasts for me, which is much cheaper (and healthier) than eating out. I still do it too, but not close to years prior.
If I eliminated all of my subscriptions: WoW, gym, storage, etc., I would save $208 per month. It's not nothing, but the real issue is the amount I'm putting into my 401(k) per month: $1089. If I'm not earning more money, then this figure to too close to the $1144 I'm saving per month because I sold the apartment. Once the retirement loan is paid, I'll gain an additional $508 a month, but I owe $23,000, so that will take time. There's more savings to be found, probably much more than I'm comfortable admitting, but the above cuts would be the least painful to achieve. Simple thrift and saving towards FIRE are worthy pursuits, but don't provide the immediate solution to my financial problems.
So knowing that cutting my spending isn't enough, what's next? First, there's the possibility I can have some or all of my student loans forgiven, which would be a huge boost to my finances. I owe around $71,000, so even partial forgiveness would be great. .There's a program call Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which I always knew existed, just as I also knew I didn't qualify. Working for a community college in any capacity meets the public service requirement, but I'm on a graduated repayment plan, so I 'm not paying enough every month to get the benefit. I found out at SUNYFAP that the program has been expanded to everyone in public service, but I have to go through the original process first, be denied, then ask for an override. Yup, sounds like financial aid to me. I have no idea if some or all of the loan will be dismissed, but it's certainly worth pursuing.
I'm treating loan forgiveness as only a possibility, so what else is available? Aside from defaulting on my retirement loans, which would be a last resort with long term consequences, I'll have to fall back on earning more money. Of course, I just wrote nearly 9,500 words over the space of 5 months detailing how I tried to earn more money, and nothing made a serious dent in my situation. What I didn't cover were the other two options I didn't take: waiting tables and working as an EMT.
While I considered talking about why I didn't do either job in a separate post, I couldn't find enough material for a full entry, but the thinking behind the choice is worth mentioning. Waiting tables probably would have made enough money to be worthwhile, while the plentiful EMT jobs could have been better than New Balance or driving for Lyft, depending on the agency and hours available, but I felt that both required a level of commitment I was unwilling to take. I continued to feel that way right up to the point that I examined my finances after selling the co-op. I also wanted to look for other options as well.
Waiting tables is still out, but after much internal debate, I settled on two potential side gigs: either using my EMT certification professionally for Mt. Sinai in NYC, or taking the H&R Block tax preparer's course starting in August, with the hope that I would do well enough to get hired for the 2020 tax season.You have to score 80% or better to get a job with the company, and the class is highly regarded. I work with taxes everyday, so I'm building on knowledge I already have. Between the two, EMS is the better choice in the short-term, but H&R Block is more appropriate long-term. One I can do at 60, the other I probably shouldn't. The EMT job came up in a conversation with one of my students, a fellow tech who works in the field. We'd discussed my joining the ranks before, but only after sharing the details of his new job in New York City and the need for EMT's did I decide to apply. It helps that the starting pay is a whopping $23 an hour and maxes out at $37. I'm writing this on Monday 06/03/19, and I'll know by Wednesday of this week if I got the position. If the answer is yes, then I'll get my re-certification as part of the work. If I don't get the position, and if I don't do well the the H&R Block class, I'll take the EMT refresher course the Fall at the college and look for another agency after I've refreshed my skills.
While the EMT job would start soon, the tax course starts in August, running through to November, and I wouldn't start making money until the new year. Also, the work is seasonal: approximately January 31st to April 15th. Working in early February would be difficult, but the rest of the period is the slowest for the college, SUNYFAP not withstanding. The starting pay is quite low: $12 an hour plus bonuses, the specifics of which I cannot find right now, though the pay increases year to year. On paper, this job comes perilously close to repeating the meaninglessness of my other side gigs, so I have to concentrate on the long term potential benefits, like the option of working for a friend's tax office once I get my feet wet. It's a flyer with high upside and low risk.
PS: It's 10:30pm on Wednesday, and while nipping and tucking this post over and over again, I haven't heard anything about the EMT job, so I can safely assume that I didn't make the cut. Timing is everything, and with the significantly high pay, I imagine the hospital was inundated with applications from people with far more experience than I. I'm crestfallen, but a little relieved as well. With my continuous habit of overdoing things, I probably would have way overextended myself, and disaster could have been the result. On the other hand, this position would have been the best chance to made great strides in preparing for life beyond financial aid. My plan was to work like a dog until my 50th birthday, paying off my retirement loan and trying to find rental properties in Florida. This is the difference between what I was doing last year and now. I had to earn extra money in 2018, but with the apartment sold, I have some choice in what I do - I just can't do nothing. If I can't find anything worthwhile, then I can always cancel certain subscriptions and reduce the amount taken out of my check towards retirement, using that money to pay down debt. I don't want to do that, even temporarily, but I also don't want to waste my limited energy either. For me to be willing to give up my free time, I have to see a long term benefit, and tax preparing or EMT work would have checked that box. There's still the chance the hospital could contact me in the future, but for now, June and July belong to me, with tax class and peak registration coming up behind.
So the apartment is sold; I survived SUNYFAP, so why do I still feel vaguely stressed? The relief I felt after the selling the place, while real, was not as strong as I expected. The change is permanent, a structural change I wasn't sure I was capable of pulling off. Of course, I really had no choice. It's easy to stay in a bad situation; you may even prefer it to the potential discomfort over the unknown, but only if you're alone in whatever is happening. I wasn't alone in going through this, and the quality of life of others was put at risk with each passing month, so it had to be done. Still, the process sucked.
After the sale, I looked at my finances and I quickly discovered that my situation hadn't really improved that much. True, I wasn't pouring money down a 425 square foot hole anymore, but I felt that I had to restart contributions to my 403(b), so almost all of the money I was saving was earmarked towards my retirement. I am in control of how much gets taken out every check, and there's a substantial tax benefit for next year, but unlike selling the apartment, the increased deductions have no end either. The sale price of the co-op was another issue. As mentioned in an earlier post, I sold it at a very slight loss, so I was not able to pay down the debt I had accumulated in buying the condo, so even after selling the place, I'm not where I want to be. More needs to be done, and with that I was on the horns of dilemma.
Reducing my spending is a good place to start, but isn't the only step needed. I've been researching something called FIRE, which stands for Financial Independent, Retired Early. The gist is that you save 50% of your income, investing that savings in Vanguard funds, and cut down on your expenses, especially the big three: housing, transportation, and food. Ironically, the first two are already good. The condo costs us $1400 a month each, including everything save repairs, so at our income, it's actually affordable, and FIRE approved. The location is less than optimal because of my commute, but it works really well for everyone else in the house, so fuck it. I own my car outright, and as I only drive Toyotas, eminently reliable, even for me. I still drive too much (and Lyft did not help), but that's the cost of where I live. Food costs are significantly better, as Carolyn is an excellent cook, who packs lunches and breakfasts for me, which is much cheaper (and healthier) than eating out. I still do it too, but not close to years prior.
If I eliminated all of my subscriptions: WoW, gym, storage, etc., I would save $208 per month. It's not nothing, but the real issue is the amount I'm putting into my 401(k) per month: $1089. If I'm not earning more money, then this figure to too close to the $1144 I'm saving per month because I sold the apartment. Once the retirement loan is paid, I'll gain an additional $508 a month, but I owe $23,000, so that will take time. There's more savings to be found, probably much more than I'm comfortable admitting, but the above cuts would be the least painful to achieve. Simple thrift and saving towards FIRE are worthy pursuits, but don't provide the immediate solution to my financial problems.
So knowing that cutting my spending isn't enough, what's next? First, there's the possibility I can have some or all of my student loans forgiven, which would be a huge boost to my finances. I owe around $71,000, so even partial forgiveness would be great. .There's a program call Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which I always knew existed, just as I also knew I didn't qualify. Working for a community college in any capacity meets the public service requirement, but I'm on a graduated repayment plan, so I 'm not paying enough every month to get the benefit. I found out at SUNYFAP that the program has been expanded to everyone in public service, but I have to go through the original process first, be denied, then ask for an override. Yup, sounds like financial aid to me. I have no idea if some or all of the loan will be dismissed, but it's certainly worth pursuing.
I'm treating loan forgiveness as only a possibility, so what else is available? Aside from defaulting on my retirement loans, which would be a last resort with long term consequences, I'll have to fall back on earning more money. Of course, I just wrote nearly 9,500 words over the space of 5 months detailing how I tried to earn more money, and nothing made a serious dent in my situation. What I didn't cover were the other two options I didn't take: waiting tables and working as an EMT.
While I considered talking about why I didn't do either job in a separate post, I couldn't find enough material for a full entry, but the thinking behind the choice is worth mentioning. Waiting tables probably would have made enough money to be worthwhile, while the plentiful EMT jobs could have been better than New Balance or driving for Lyft, depending on the agency and hours available, but I felt that both required a level of commitment I was unwilling to take. I continued to feel that way right up to the point that I examined my finances after selling the co-op. I also wanted to look for other options as well.
Waiting tables is still out, but after much internal debate, I settled on two potential side gigs: either using my EMT certification professionally for Mt. Sinai in NYC, or taking the H&R Block tax preparer's course starting in August, with the hope that I would do well enough to get hired for the 2020 tax season.You have to score 80% or better to get a job with the company, and the class is highly regarded. I work with taxes everyday, so I'm building on knowledge I already have. Between the two, EMS is the better choice in the short-term, but H&R Block is more appropriate long-term. One I can do at 60, the other I probably shouldn't. The EMT job came up in a conversation with one of my students, a fellow tech who works in the field. We'd discussed my joining the ranks before, but only after sharing the details of his new job in New York City and the need for EMT's did I decide to apply. It helps that the starting pay is a whopping $23 an hour and maxes out at $37. I'm writing this on Monday 06/03/19, and I'll know by Wednesday of this week if I got the position. If the answer is yes, then I'll get my re-certification as part of the work. If I don't get the position, and if I don't do well the the H&R Block class, I'll take the EMT refresher course the Fall at the college and look for another agency after I've refreshed my skills.
While the EMT job would start soon, the tax course starts in August, running through to November, and I wouldn't start making money until the new year. Also, the work is seasonal: approximately January 31st to April 15th. Working in early February would be difficult, but the rest of the period is the slowest for the college, SUNYFAP not withstanding. The starting pay is quite low: $12 an hour plus bonuses, the specifics of which I cannot find right now, though the pay increases year to year. On paper, this job comes perilously close to repeating the meaninglessness of my other side gigs, so I have to concentrate on the long term potential benefits, like the option of working for a friend's tax office once I get my feet wet. It's a flyer with high upside and low risk.
PS: It's 10:30pm on Wednesday, and while nipping and tucking this post over and over again, I haven't heard anything about the EMT job, so I can safely assume that I didn't make the cut. Timing is everything, and with the significantly high pay, I imagine the hospital was inundated with applications from people with far more experience than I. I'm crestfallen, but a little relieved as well. With my continuous habit of overdoing things, I probably would have way overextended myself, and disaster could have been the result. On the other hand, this position would have been the best chance to made great strides in preparing for life beyond financial aid. My plan was to work like a dog until my 50th birthday, paying off my retirement loan and trying to find rental properties in Florida. This is the difference between what I was doing last year and now. I had to earn extra money in 2018, but with the apartment sold, I have some choice in what I do - I just can't do nothing. If I can't find anything worthwhile, then I can always cancel certain subscriptions and reduce the amount taken out of my check towards retirement, using that money to pay down debt. I don't want to do that, even temporarily, but I also don't want to waste my limited energy either. For me to be willing to give up my free time, I have to see a long term benefit, and tax preparing or EMT work would have checked that box. There's still the chance the hospital could contact me in the future, but for now, June and July belong to me, with tax class and peak registration coming up behind.
