On the dole
So I haven't been updating here; I have mostly been posting wee sentences on Facebook. And it came to my notice the other day that most of you probably don't know I've been sacked. They eliminated my position at the hospital. I can't blame them, the money was drying up and we were a department built around expansion, so we got hit hard.
For the first time in my life I am on unemployment. I am happy to report that I feel none of the shame I thought I might feel in admitting that. It really doesn't seem like such a big deal to me. I'm accepting some help that I have gladly offered to others when they were down (at least that's the way I think of it). But man, Uncle Sam doesn't make it very easy to get your payments. You have to fill out a little sheet every two weeks that says whether you were eligible to work, if you searched for work, if you accepted any work - that makes sense. You can't mail it until the Monday after that two week period, and then you wait another week for your first check.
If my experience is any example, though, that first check is not for 2 weeks of unemployment, it's only for one week. Several days later you will get a 3 line letter that will tell you that the first week was considered a "waiting period" with no further explanation. So 3.5 weeks after being let go, I have gotten one check for $450. Ouch. I am very fortunate to have a fiancee who is able to do things like pay my half of the rent without too much strain.
I wish I hadn't used ALL of my savings to buy my new car back in June. It's nice to have the lower payments, but it would be so much nicer to have that bit of security backing me up.
Anyway, I post this not to whine and moan, but mostly as a cautionary tale. I had managed to put a few hundred back in the bank, but that's going quickly. You might want to keep enough in the bank to pay your rent or mortgage for 2-3 months should some similar fate befall you.
And now that I seem to have some energy back, I'm going to go cut out some escort cards and the like for the wedding....
Ta ta!
For the first time in my life I am on unemployment. I am happy to report that I feel none of the shame I thought I might feel in admitting that. It really doesn't seem like such a big deal to me. I'm accepting some help that I have gladly offered to others when they were down (at least that's the way I think of it). But man, Uncle Sam doesn't make it very easy to get your payments. You have to fill out a little sheet every two weeks that says whether you were eligible to work, if you searched for work, if you accepted any work - that makes sense. You can't mail it until the Monday after that two week period, and then you wait another week for your first check.
If my experience is any example, though, that first check is not for 2 weeks of unemployment, it's only for one week. Several days later you will get a 3 line letter that will tell you that the first week was considered a "waiting period" with no further explanation. So 3.5 weeks after being let go, I have gotten one check for $450. Ouch. I am very fortunate to have a fiancee who is able to do things like pay my half of the rent without too much strain.
I wish I hadn't used ALL of my savings to buy my new car back in June. It's nice to have the lower payments, but it would be so much nicer to have that bit of security backing me up.
Anyway, I post this not to whine and moan, but mostly as a cautionary tale. I had managed to put a few hundred back in the bank, but that's going quickly. You might want to keep enough in the bank to pay your rent or mortgage for 2-3 months should some similar fate befall you.
And now that I seem to have some energy back, I'm going to go cut out some escort cards and the like for the wedding....
Ta ta!