So that was it then, I had dinner with Julia and I never saw her again... Until one month later when I asked her to go bowling with me. Admittedly, my curiosity got the better of me. I did enjoy her company. Sure, I knew that nothing would come out of seeing her. She did have a boyfriend afterall. But as long as I enjoyed my time with her, I was using her to have fun. I made it a point to see her once a month and over five months, we went bowling, saw a movie, went skateboarding, and visited a local park. By the third time or so that I saw her, I was starting to get emotionally attached. It was a terrible mistake on my part. I already had more than I asked for. I needed to stop seeing her and by the time October rolled around, I had a good reason to.
Back at work, our boss gave us an update that the government agency was reevaluating our contract. The agency was choosing between three or four companies to administer the program. Eventually, it was narrowed down to just our company and one other. Over the summer, we got this update but it would take several weeks before we got any final decision. During October, we had a staff meeting and Rob told us that the agency selected another company to administer the program. I knew what this meant. I would be out of a job soon. When I heard the news, I was absolutely elated. I was sitting in my chair and I was just trying to hold back a smile really badly. I didn’t really enjoy my job. It had been frustrating, boring, and painful throughout the year. The only problem was that I couldn’t let myself quit while there was still money to be made. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t turn down the chance to make money. Now, the decision was made for me. I would be free again. I did feel a little sorry for my coworkers. Sally had a husband and a child and Cliff was recently expecting a baby. I was in a great financial position for a 24 year old guy. By October 2011, I had saved up almost $20,000. I could be unemployed for a few years and still be okay.
Upon hearing the news, the next question we had was how much time did we have left? Our boss was able to negotiate an eight week extension after October 31st to provide us with work almost until the end of 2011. After October, we would be processing no more invoices, applications, or following up with volunteers. At that point, all we could do was redirect volunteers over to the new company. Over the course of eight weeks, we had one objective. We had to pack up all the physical files and paperworks and mail it over to the new agency. It only took us about a week to finish the job. Afterwards, we filled up our days with a whole lot of nothing.
Those eight weeks were some of the easiest paychecks I ever collected. I would arrive at 8:30 am and surf the internet for hours before going home at 5:30 pm. During that time, I decided to check out the competitors website. Although, when I saw it, I saw a statement that was somewhat disturbing. According to the competitor’s website, there was a news update in August stating that they had been awarded the government contract. Upon reading the statement, I had to wonder if my boss knew about it ahead of time? Was he kept in the dark or was he keeping us in the dark as a form of damage control? It really made no difference at this point in time. The end of December arrived and we all parted our separate ways. At the end of December, I had saved up a total of $22000. After work was done, I wanted to see Julia one last time.
July 2011
For July 2011, I spent a total of $641.38. I was disappointed I exceeded $600 again for this month. My insurance premium was $166.40. I spent a total of $183 on gas by filling up 6 times. I only filled my tank up 5 times. I filled up my friend’s tank once. One of my friend’s wanted to go to the beach before the summer ended however he didn’t want to spend a lot of money by paying for lodging. I decided to tag along and we spent 6 hours driving one way. We enjoyed the beach for the day and then we spent 6 hours driving home all in one day. Since we took his car, I offered to pay for his gas on the way back. I spent $100.77 on 14 visits to fast food restaurants. I spent $42.45 on groceries. I spent $38.42 eating meals with my friends on two different occasions. Lastly, I spent $38.42 on a pair of skate shoes.
August 2011
For August 2011, I spent a total of $580.20. I was happy again to not break $600 for the month. My auto insurance renewed every August and February and thankfully my premium went down to $147 monthly. I spent a total of $158 on gas by filling up 5 times. I spent $78.22 by eating fast food 7 times. I paid $23.76 on 4 quarts of oil. I bought two six packs of beer for $14.50 for a party that I was invited to. Another $21.39 was spent on a pair of jeans. I spent money twice this month having meals with friends. I spent $32.58 getting pizza and beer with my two best friends. I also spent $13.86 on Mexican food when I first had dinner with Julia.
September 2011
For September 2011, I spent a total of $556.95. I did very well for this month. My insurance premium was $146.80. I only spent $129 on gas by filling my tank up 4 times. I spent $89.80 by eating fast food 10 times. I spent $52.76 on a 20 pound weighted vest so I could make pull ups even more challenging. I spent $39.94 on groceries. I also spent $37.94 on clothes. Skateboarding really tears up my pants so I did my best to buy jeans every so often. I spent $19.99 on a prepaid phone card that gave me 120 minutes.
October 2011
For October 2011, I spent a total of $561.16. My insurance premium was $146.80. I spent $163 on gas by filling up my tank 6 times. I spent $72.94 by eating fast food 9 times. During this month, I started spending a little more money eating out with some friends. Even on the weekends, I would go to a local bagel shop for breakfast. I even spent a little money to go bowling with Julia. I spent over $40 on beer. I even spent over $30 on dvds. This may have been a result of getting the update that my job would be ending in a few months.
November 2011
For November 2011, I spent a total of $669.80. This month, I had some unique expenses that pushed me past my target of $550. My insurance premium was $146.80. I spent $140 on gas by filling up my tank 4 times. I spent $72.91 on fast food by eating out 10 times. In November, I always need to get emissions done and pay for my car’s tags. The emissions cost $17 and the tags for my car cost $72. In November, I decided to go into sales and try my hand at selling financial products. As an independent contractor, I had to spend $125 on a background check on myself before I could work for the company. I spent some time with Julia by spending $30 on movie tickets. Since I bought the tickets, she bought the meal we shared together afterwards. Unexpectedly, I saw Julia again this month and I tried to teach her how to ride a skateboard. After she got battered a bruised at the skatepark, I paid for the meal of pancakes of $23.63 that we shared together. When the weather gets cold, I found myself buying coffee more and more. There were several times this month where I paid about $2 for a cup of coffee. 
No comments:
Post a Comment