Pickles & Dimes

It’s really happened. After being unemployed for one full month, I am starting a new job on May 14th. No longer will Shauna and I have to worry about how to pay the mortgage. No longer will we have to wonder what we can afford at Target for our bi-monthly trip. No more NOT going out to eat and watching every penny we spend.

To celebrate our newfound fortune we will be visiting Buffalo Wild Wings, going to a movie, going to the Twins game, doing some golfing (18 holes, not just 9) buying plants for our yard and catching up on some CD and DVD purchases. This may be over the next couple of weeks, but we plan on doing each and every one of the items above. We plan on catching up on life.

All kidding aside, it’s been a rough month and a half. It took some time to make sure we were making the right decision, with me quitting a job that I was unhappy with without another job lined up. The stress of the daily routine of searching for jobs and sending off resumes was tiring. The hoping and praying for the right job to reply was exhausting.

The fear of not making ends meet is no longer an issue. The worrying about qualifying for unemployment can be put aside. The decision of when to put “Plan B” into place by taking on a part-time job while interviewing no longer has to be made. The question about how much money we will have to pull out of savings is no longer an issue.

The answer to that last question is ZERO.

I am extremely lucky to have found this new job. I am just as lucky that things worked out the way they have for us. Most of all I am lucky to have had my wonderful fiancee Shauna by my side the entire time. Not once questioning if we made the right decision; she was always positive that things would work out. (Maybe she had a little doubt, looking at her last post. She embellishes for effect, folks.) Shauna has been great and I cannot thank her enough. I consider myself lucky to have her in my life.

Now I can enjoy one week off before starting my new career (maybe not a new “career” – I am still in the same field as a Shipping & Receiving Manager.) I am very excited to start my new job, and just as excited to have a week off without having to worry about being unemployed, not to mention the prospect of getting a solid paycheck.

Finally, we can get back to wedding planning without worries. I am really going to enjoy these next five months.