Let's start with the biggie: I got a promotion at work and we moved again! Probably right around the time that I last posted, my company advertised a position in the Louisville office (about an hour and half from where we were living). I immediately put my name in the ring even though it would have been a lateral move professionally. Moving to Louisville would get us in the same city as my family, a larger and more active market for S' work, and a more metropolitan lifestyle that we were used to having. Over the course of the conversations with my bosses about possibly moving, the manager of the Louisville office turned in her notice. So the conversations turned into a promotion opportunity rather than a lateral move!
The negotiations took the month of August and we spent the month of September moving. Meanwhile, my workload increased quite a bit and I have been really overwhelmed by the new job... hence the lack of posts here even though there are a TON of things going on in our financial and debt world. I would love to report that the majority of these financial things have been positive but that's just not the case. I'll do my best to summarize what's been happening the last three months but the truth is, I've been so busy and overwhelmed at work and with the move that the finances are a bit out of control right now. Now that we're settled in it's time to get our financial house back in order.
The big positive financial impact is the promotion which puts an extra $360 in the budget each month plus a phone reimbursement and some moving expenses. There is also the expectation (built into the offer) that there will be an additional increase after 6 months on the job. On the flip side of the move, we decided to overlap our rental houses by a month to give us some breathing room on making the move. I received some moving expenses but only enough to cover the actual move so the cost of having two places plus utilities for both for a month was on us. And since we still haven't replenished our emergency fund the cost for the overlap (around $1,300) was financed.
Another factor of the promotion is that I was immediately in front of clients on a daily basis and the atmosphere with the Louisville clients is more business attire than my past office. In the past I could get away with a couple dressier outfits and just dress nicer on days that I would be meeting with a client. Now I need to dress nice everyday so my wardrobe needed some immediate upgrading. I went ahead and purchased a few essentials, spending around $200, to stretch the more casual wear I have and will be adding a piece or two to my professional wear each month for the next few months.
Another big financial item we have been dealing with for the past few months is vehicle repairs. One of our cars started shifting very poorly and we were concerned the transmission was going out. Thankfully it is not the transmission but instead a number of smaller repairs plus some general maintenance that needed to get done. The price tag on all these repairs is approaching $1,500, all of which has been on the credit card. Additionally, I was rear-ended on the way to work right before the move by a hit and run driver. Since we don't have comprehensive the repairs to the bumpers (back where I got hit and also front where I was pushed into the car ahead of me) will be out of pocket if we decide to get the car fixed.
I was fortunate to get a nice bonus this past week so we were able to replenish the emergency fund, put a bit aside for some upcoming one time expenses, and pay off some debt. But it wasn't enough to pay off everything so we're ending the year slightly more in debt than we were last year. I'm trying not to be too disappointed, the past 6 months have been pretty crazy and I think we are in a very good place to make some serious progress in 2016.
I'll post again soon with our year-end finance report and our new budget going into 2016.
Another factor of the promotion is that I was immediately in front of clients on a daily basis and the atmosphere with the Louisville clients is more business attire than my past office. In the past I could get away with a couple dressier outfits and just dress nicer on days that I would be meeting with a client. Now I need to dress nice everyday so my wardrobe needed some immediate upgrading. I went ahead and purchased a few essentials, spending around $200, to stretch the more casual wear I have and will be adding a piece or two to my professional wear each month for the next few months.
Another big financial item we have been dealing with for the past few months is vehicle repairs. One of our cars started shifting very poorly and we were concerned the transmission was going out. Thankfully it is not the transmission but instead a number of smaller repairs plus some general maintenance that needed to get done. The price tag on all these repairs is approaching $1,500, all of which has been on the credit card. Additionally, I was rear-ended on the way to work right before the move by a hit and run driver. Since we don't have comprehensive the repairs to the bumpers (back where I got hit and also front where I was pushed into the car ahead of me) will be out of pocket if we decide to get the car fixed.
I was fortunate to get a nice bonus this past week so we were able to replenish the emergency fund, put a bit aside for some upcoming one time expenses, and pay off some debt. But it wasn't enough to pay off everything so we're ending the year slightly more in debt than we were last year. I'm trying not to be too disappointed, the past 6 months have been pretty crazy and I think we are in a very good place to make some serious progress in 2016.
I'll post again soon with our year-end finance report and our new budget going into 2016.
