THESINGLEFRUGALTON

I apologize for having slacked a bit on the posting. I haven’t had as much internet time this past week or so like normal.

Did you take advantage of some of the freebies today? Reusable shopping bags are a great way to reduce the amount of plastic bags that are littering the planet. I already owned a free one -one from Albertsons; then I also owned one from Walgreens ($.99). Today I picked up a free bag from Walgreens using a coupon they sent in their weekly deals email (and yes, I did buy a few pieces of 75% discounted Easter candy, chocolate and peeps!)

Tom Thumb (aka Raliegh’s and Safeway) has a coupon in their flier this week for a free reusable bag -ending today. I probably won”t pick that up though. I have a $3o gift card from transferring a prescription there a few weeks ago, plus a coupon for $5/$50 purchase — so I’m waiting to see if the deals are any better this coming week before heading over there.

Okay, unemployment update. After over two months from the time I first filed for unemployment, numerous attempts to reach someone by phone, one successful attempt on my end (i.e. reached someone when I called), and three emails …. the money has been released! Now I am waiting with bated breath for my debit card to arrive.

As soon as that happens, I will be running to Chase to transfer the money into my checking account there, then a few days later (to make sure its cleared completely) will transfer it to ING (the bank I really use.)

Once the money is in my ING account, I plan on celebrating by going out to eat at IHOP. Small splurges are nice sometimes.

On the job front …. In 8 weeks I sent out numerous emails in response to job listings. Maybe 10% of them replied in one way or another. At least 3% of them smelled fishy.  A few others turned out to just not be right for me once I learned more details. I had a total of 6 interviews, of which, one job I really would have liked.  No offers however (4 of  the 6 were polite enough to send me an email informing me they had found someone else.)

A few weeks ago one of the people where I have been working part time (as an independent contractor) since August gave her notice. I was given first choice of what hours I wanted. So, as of this week, I will now be getting at least 36 hours a week.

I can manage on that. Just barely.  By using the money (backdated) from unemployment, plus the money from my job, I can handle my day to day expenses without having to touch savings until at least September, possibly October. By October I plan to have downsized quite a bit and move from my apartment and rent a room located near my work. This should cut my expenses enough that I not only will not have to Use savings for everyday living, but I may be able to start ADDING to my savings again.

This is all very good for a number of reasons. First of all, my job is one where you have LOTS of time on your hands. So, that translates into LOTS of time for working on my Master’s degree. This means that I could possibly finish the program in one-year.

Secondly, I may need most of my savings to pay for tuition. I am looking into scholarships and grants and such, but if I’m not able to get any of those, I still will be able to go. It just won’t leave me with much of a cushion when I’m finished.

Third, just having regular access to a washer and dryer is almost good enough to give up a bit of privacy for a year or so.

Fourth, I almost forgot … but I have my hours worked where I have one weekday off each week. So, on that weekday, I can volunteer at my local library branch - thereby getting real world experience in a library, and perhaps be able to accomplish a bit of networking which will be helpful when it comes time to find a full-time job in a library.