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Archive for March, 2007

Exploring Consignment Stores

March 31st, 2007 at 11:40 pm

Back when I lived in the next town over, there was a nice consignment store that I used to shop routinely. But that store burned down 3 years ago, and then I moved. I haven't bought very many clothes in the past couple of years, but what I have bought has been primarily Lands End clothing, bought at Sears when on sale.

Last week, my friend Anne & I were talking, and she told me about some stores that she knows in another nearby town. Today we went, since Anne is shopping for some new outfits for work. I'm not particularly in "need" of anything (other than of 1. losing the 12 pounds I gained recently to fit better into most of my clothes and 2. a warddrobe update--lots of my dresses and skirts are over 10 years old and work outfits that seemed fine in my early 30s doesn't feel appropriate to my mid-40s), so I looked at what was available. I found two sweaters (identical style, different colors), a scarf, and a pair of earrings, all purchased for $39, that work towards the "wardrobe updating" goal.

Now that I know about these two stores, I'll chek them out a few times a year as I continue updating.

And tomorrow I officially launch a diet to see if I can lose the 12 pounds by summer.

End of First Quarter Net worth report

March 31st, 2007 at 05:07 pm

Net Worth 12/31/06 $153,979
Net Worth 3/31/07 $169.871
Difference $15,892

Looks great, but most of the increase is from the estimate of my house's price on Zillow.com, which took a big hit a few months ago and is just rebounding.

Retirement accounts are up $1743, of which $180 is my contribution and the rest is interest.

Retirement contributions are low because I have been focusing on rebuilding my emergency savings, which I wiped out when Henry had his surgery last October. That is now up to $2213, an increase of $1478 over the end of last year.

Debts are down $1416--$1000 of that being loan forgiveness from my mom, which I'll take.

Good news, but I'm furious about it

March 23rd, 2007 at 10:56 pm

The good news is that I have a full-time job offer for next year--when I'd presumed at the beginning of the year that I'd be patching together part-time adjunct teaching positions.

I began to suspect that I might get another full-time offer when in February, the department decided that they had a "failed job search" and would have to search again next year (the academic job-hunt calendar being what it is). Of course, that job was in a different specialty than my own, so I was hopeful but not certain. Then when a colleague announced her resignation the beginning of March, I felt certain that I'd get an offer.

This type of thing has happened to me 3 times previously on this job--what began as a one-year replacement position in 2003 has been continously renewed through circumstances of either resignations or failed searches.

Each time previously, however, when they offered me a one-year contract, there was a nominal salary increase (the 3% college average). This time, however, the position was offered to me with a 23% pay CUT--and a corresponding demotion in title down two ranks. This will have me earning $12,000 less than I am earning this year--significantly less than they started me at in 2003.

No explanation has been given--only that the alternative is that instead of hiring me full-time at this lower salary, they could hire me part-time for about half the cost. It's a decision by the Financial VP who's decided to save himself some money--but it certainly will reflect poorly on my CV. The demotion in title has nothing to do with my performance, but is so that the lower salary doesn't bring down the averages for my rank in the salaries reported each year in the Chronicle of Higher Education. If I had any other alternative source of income for the fall, I'd turn it down because of the insult. But I don't.

I've spent all day trying not to be furious, but I'm spitting-nails angry. I try to focus on the positives--guaranteed income and benefits until August of 2008, health insurance, free tuition--but the RED FURY is overwhelming everything at the moment.