Looking Forward to Autumn

 Hi Friends!  

It's been such a long time since I have been able to blog! I hope you are all doing well.   My new job has taken up so much of time time. It's a very difficult job. I definitely only plan to work here for a max of 10  to 11 years.  The hours are killer and I don't want to be working 12 to 14 hour days everyday in my 50s and 60s. My goal is to retire from this job at 48 or 49 and take a much less stressful job until retirement. (Unless I get fired or demoted.) 

The job does pay well and definitely has incentives to encourage people to work hard. In my first 7 months of employment I have received almost $8k in bonuses. I don't expect my bonuses to be anywhere that high in the future. So the plan is to really work hard for as long as I can and invest/save that money to push myself toward early retirement. 

Right now my roth and my brokerage account have about $95k total in them.  I have 5 more months before I am able to participate in the firm 401k. The stock market has not been cooperating with me over the last few days so my balance has stayed pretty level over the last few months despite continued contributions. I am pushing towards that $100k mark.) 

My car is completely paid off, in less than one year! My savings account is back over $10k.  

Financially things are going okay.  I need to be a little more strict with my finances and track things a little more carefully.  I haven't been as diligent since taking this job due to the time constraints.  

I can't wait until Fall officially arrives.  I am looking forward to less humidity and cooler weather. I just love Halloween. 

I hope you all are staying safe and healthy!

Updates!

 

Updates!! I have not blogged since March! The last few months have been a whirlwind.  Last I left off, I updated you all that I had been offered a promotion.  It's a lot more work and very stressful, but I like it.  I'm always busy and I think that helps me function better. My base salary is now $150k a year.  That feels unreal. 

I haven't had time to do much else.  I have been working like crazy.  My investment accounts Roth and brokerage are just shy of $90k. That was my old yearly salary at my former firm.  I loved investing in my Roth, but I can't do that anymore.  I need to look at backdoor Roth options. For now, I am just contributing to my brokerage account.  

My car, I did purchase a car in August of last year.  I financed almost $12,000.  As of today the balance is down to $3,975.  I will be paying it off in the next month or 2. 

My savings account is up to about $6,400.  (I had taken most of it out in August of last year to put as a down payment on my car). My plan is to get it up to $10,000 before saving for anything else.  I should be there soon as I will get a $5,000 bonus in August.  I will also likely qualify for a smaller productivity bonus in August as well ($500 or so).

I have been paying extra on my mortgage.  It is now down to $174,831. 

I am now qualified for the office health insurance so I no longer have to pay $700 a month for health insurance through the marketplace.  Yay!  That change has really helped over the last month.  I cannot wait to see where I am at the end of the year. 

I miss you all.  I am still reading your blogs in my spare time so I can keep up to date.  :) 

More Changes- Feeling Lucky

 

This is just a quick, short post. I have been at my new job for 1 month and I am now getting a promotion. I'm happy and overwhelmed at the same time. I'll find out all the details on Friday. Everything is confidential for now.

Long story short, last week I got a call. I figured it was a spam call.  I was busy working.  About 10 minutes later, I saw a linkedin invite from the "big boss".  I thought to myself, "how cute, his assistant is linking all the new people". I kept working and responding to emails in order.  I then thought maybe I should accept the invite now.  I did and I had a message from him asking me to call him.  I was a little freaked out. I picked up my cell phone and I had a text from him. I also had a text from my immediate supervisor telling me that the "big boss" was gonna call. I got super freaked out. I called him immediately and was extremely stressed.  He was super chill and asked me if I would be interested in the promotion.  Whew!

Ya'll I was about to have a literal heart attack. I was trying to figure out how I could get fired in 1 month of employment. 

I have no other details but have a call with him on Friday to discuss the details and the salary.  He said my new salary will be "much more" than my current salary. 

Changes & First Week of Work

 

I have just completed my first week at my new job.  It's very different and also, somehow the same.  It's litigation and that definitely makes things challenging but it is also keeps things familiar.  My boss is very responsive and pays attention to detail.  I've not had that in a long time. 

My first week was busy, lots of trainings and some hardware issues.  Everything is getting easier with each passing day. I did get some billable time in and that was nice.  A whole 6 hours on Friday! My cats keep me company during the day and working from home so far has been nice. 

It's been so long since I changed jobs.  Almost 10 years.  It feels so weird and there is so much to figure out and consider.  My goals for 2021 will change but I won't be able to figure out the changes until I settle in a little bit more. 

I need to find a short term ACA plan for 45 days until my new health insurance kicks in. Normally, I would not worry about it but with COVID, going without health insurance makes me nervous. 

My dental and vision policy from my old firm is still in place.  I will pick up those premiums and keep it in place until the dental and vision policy from my new firm kicks in.  It is through the Florida Bar and not through the old firm. 

I know I still intend to pay off my car (less than $10,000 to go!).  I will increase my retirement contributions. For now, the rest will go to savings and at the end of the year I will make a determination as to how much to pay as a lump sum on the mortgage. I would love to have a paid off house and then never have to worry about that for awhile.  If I ever decide to sell it would be nice to have a paid off house and have all that cash go to my new home. 

Even if I don't like this new firm or if things go sideways, I plan to be pretty conservative with my money so that I will have a lump sum if I need to run (or get fired). 

I've never made over 6 figures before and it's fun to dream about how my future will look.  I hope I make all the right choices and exponentially increase my net worth. I hope I made the right choice by accepting this offer and I hope that I like this job (or that it is at least tolerable). It is definitely going to be more work.  I have close to 30 cases.  One of the other attorney told me that he had 50 at one point and he was struggling to keep up.  They have added several new attorneys and the workload is okay for now. 

 I do have a client that was interested in continuing to work with me and hopefully I will get some work from him.  If I do get a case from him I will receive an origination fee of upwards of 5% of every invoice paid.  If anyone else in the firm gets a case that falls under the umbrella of that client, I will get the origination fees from those as well. That is so cool to me.  I accidently brought in a client at my old firm, an insurance adjuster who knew me told her friend at another insurance company to use me and we ended up with those cases.  I did not receive any fees for those cases. 

This is truly a whole new world! 

 

Looking Forward - Update

 

This is updated.  I had some emails inquiring about more details. Updates are in all caps. 

I did it, I quit my job.  I will begin my new job in less than 2 weeks.  It's scary jumping ship and I am having a lot of anxiety. I hope this all works out.  It's going to be a lot more work and more accountability.  I'm always so nervous about change. 

Quitting was more emotional than I thought it would be.  My bosses were shocked.  It was crazy.  My male boss (direct supervisor) called me in tears. It made me so sad and I got all choked up.  He did ask me to change my mind and stay.  It was crazy and sad. What a mess. This place can be a circus, so I guess that's what I should've expected.  My female boss was a little more angry, at first, but she sort of reigned it in and has been being nice.  I also left my assistant a card and some cash and she called me in tears, too.  Otherwise, everyone has been nice and supportive about the change.  MY BOSS DID OFFER TO MEET THE SALARY OFFERED BY THE NEW FIRM.  HE ALSO SAID HE WOULD WORK ON GETTING A RETIREMENT PLAN. I TURNED HIM DOWN BECAUSE I ALREADY HAD THOSE BENEFITS WITH THE NEW FIRM AND HE DID NOT OFFER ME ANYTHING EXTRA.  ALSO HE LIES A LOT SO I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT HIS PROMISES WOULD COME TO FRUITION. 

I have already received most of the equipment for my new job: monitors, computer, wifi booster, webcam, etc. I ordered a new desk and still have not received all of the parts necessary to put it together (I hate assembling furniture).  This has been a super frustrating process, but it was $1,500 cheaper than purchasing an almost identical desk from a furniture store. I have a brand new office chair and some office organizers. 

I have a friend who is also in the running for a new job with a $45k or so pay increase so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  She is the most deserving and loving person.  I really hope she gets the job.  

I'm super ready to start my new job and make more money.  Come on, early retirement! 

Head hunted - new job!

 

I have a new job!  Just today I accepted a new position with different a law firm.  I feel so overwhelmed and strange.  

I was not looking for a new job, I had resigned myself to the thought that I would just work at my current law firm until the firm shut its doors.  I was unhappy, but comfortable.  Then, last Thursday, I was contacted by a former co-worker.  She sent me a text just asking if I was available and I was.  She called and strongly advised that I meet (virtually) with her and the managing attorney. To be honest, I was somewhat resistant to the idea of an interview or changing firms.  Then suddenly, my mind changed and I said..."why not?" I agreed to set up a virtual interview for today. 

I was pretty nervous about the interview.  I don't know why.  I have a job and I am comfortable, if I did not get the job it just didn't matter. I make $90,000 a year and closer to $95,000 when I receive a bonus. Sooooo....I decided that I wanted a $125,000 offer if I went with the firm.  That was a $35,000 increase over my current salary.  However, I knew I would take anything over $110,000.  

I attended the virtual interview and it went well. I felt very comfortable.  When asked I told them I was looking for a salary in the $120,000s.  About 20 minutes later my former co-worker called me and told me they would offer me a shareholder position for $128,000 a year. That does not include year end or quarterly bonuses.

I still feel stunned and shocked.  I still am.  

My bosses will be angry when I let them know I am leaving and they will be angry to know I was head hunted by a former employee. (The former co-worker also head hunted a staff person from the South/Central Florida office). I hate that I will hurt their feelings, but I cannot turn down a $38,000 a year salary increase.  

I am equal parts excited and worried. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Dividends $$

 When the stock market dropped on Monday, I decided to purchase a few additional shares of one of my favorite ETFs. 

While in my account I decided to check out the total dividends I received in 2020.  I was surprised!  I had received $1,713 in dividends in my roth and $180 dividends in my taxable account (tax efficient investing ya'll!). I read a lot of personal finance blogs, follow several personal finance twitter accounts and a few personal finance Instagram accounts.  I tend to see many people  posting about how they plan to live off of their dividends from their retirement accounts. It is amazing how much money some people have invested and how much they receive in dividends every year.  I cannot wait until I am collecting $20,000 + a year in dividends, too! 

 

Let's Go! 2021 Goals!

 To be honest, I don't really have my heart set on many goals for 2021.  2020 was just so rough. I struggled mightily to come up with some goals and here is what I came up with: 

1. Contribute $12,000 to retirement with the goal of having $90,000 by the end of the year.  As it stands today I have approximately $71,000.  I did wake up and contribute $207 to my roth this morning!

2. Pay the mortgage down into the $160,000s. As of today the mortgage is down to $179,760.

3. Pay off my car by September.  You heard it here first, I finally bought a new car.  More details on this later. I have a 0.9% interest rate.

4. Contribute $600 to charity.  My goal was $500 last year and I increase by $100 every year. I actually contributed more than $600 last year. 

5. Increase savings to $2,500. My savings accounts were depleted by the purchase of the new car.

6. Increase EF to $15,000. As of today is is sitting at about $14,139.

What goals do you have for 2021?