During March, I was called in for some sort of invoicing position at a shipping company. It was international shipping as the cargo fit into steel shipping containers that floated over the oceans. It seemed like the job required a lot of communication with vendors. It would be important to make sure payments were received on time, cargo went to the proper destination, and cargo arrived on time. The woman interviewing me looked at the application that I filled out and noticed the requested salary was $36000. Immediately, she asked if that salary was negotiable and I said yes. The position was only going to pay $30000 per year. It wasn’t a position I was excited about and the commute was over 25 miles. I recall the lady from HR was talking about her son being stationed in Alaska for some reason but I couldn’t care about anything she had to say or try to build a fake connection with her.
About a week later, I was called in for an interview in the accounts payable position at some different company. I slogged my way through it.
After talking to my parents, they were kind of asking how come I hadn’t gotten hired yet. It had been about 10 interviews so far. Surely they would have expected anyone to get hired after that many interviews. I told them that the US economy was in the toilet, good jobs are hard to comeby, and they market is hyper competitive. As a nation, we elected a socialist as a president. It wasn’t 1950s or 1960s America where GDP grew at an average of 4% per year. No, after the turn of the century, GDP growth was only half of what it used to be. My parents meant well however they were very out of touch with the labor market. They had been working on their own operation ever since the 1980s. Well, at least I was doing everything I could on my end.
Towards the end of March, my unemployment benefits were about to run out. I had only about a month worth of benefits left to collect. For a little while, I started considering other options. Some people recommended joining the military. The benefits were numerous and you could save a lot of money if you lived on base. There was just the downsides of having the risk of death and always having someone yelling in your face. It wasn’t an option I considered seriously. There were other government options though. The government had a program where volunteers would go overseas to help with projects in poor third world countries. This would mean digging wells, building houses, planting crops, and taking care of the sick. While I didn’t care about helping the poor or assisting third world nations, I did however consider the benefits. Should I decide to go abroad and pass some peace, my food and lodging would be taken care of. We would be living in the same conditions these villagers would be living in for a total of 27 months. This would be 27 months where my expenses would be cut down to practically zero dollars. The website also stated that volunteers would receive an adjustment bonus of almost $8000 upon successful completion of the assignment.
February 2013
For the month of February, I spent a total of $600.04. My premium for car insurance was $192. My rates decreased slightly. My premium for health insurance was $41.91. I spent $96.08 on gas by filling up my tank 3 times. I spent $40.07 on fast food by eating out 12 times. Each time I ate fast food, I typically just ordered off the value menu. I spent $35.90 at restaurants eating out with some friends. I purchased a phone card for $30.74 on a 120 minute bundle. I spent $30.59 on groceries. I bought some clothes for $10.69. I spent $15.67 on motor oil.
March 2013
For the month of March, I spent a total of $482.46. It was the first month I ever kept my expenses below $500. My premium for car insurance was $191. My premium for health insurance was $41.91. I spent $88 on gas by filling up my tank 4 times. I spent $55.78 on fast food by eating out 13 times. I spent $24 on restaurants by eating with some friends. I spent $23.53 on groceries. I spent $26.46 on clothes.
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