Sunday, March 3, 2013

Time For A Change?

I am one of those people who don't like their job.  I am also one of those lucky people who can do something about it.  My job is ok on most days but there are some days when the people are just unbearable.  I keep at it because I want to have more money saved before I try a career change.  I have always dreamed of earning a living with something more artistic but I haven't found my niche yet.  I thought that having my nephew to take care of would make me stick with my job even more in order to give him those things that money can buy like trips, toys, lessons, etc....  But I find my desire to quit my job has grown as it conflicts almost daily with activities that I could be doing with him.

Take last week, for instance.  He asks me, "Are you going to my soccer game?".  No, I have to work.  The school says I am supposed to volunteer 10 hours a year.  Maybe I can take vacation time for that.  I took 2 half days of vacation the week before in order to go to court and to teacher-parent conferences.  I take him to Boy Scouts and fret about all the things I should be doing at home because I have so little time to do anything after work.  They had middle-school awards last Wednesday at 10am.  Parents were invited.  I didn't go and I found out later that he got an award.  It snowed last week.  So much that the late bus was cancelled and he had to take the early bus leaving me scrambling as my boss demanded a presentation by 5pm and I had to call a friend to go get the freezing boy at the bus stop. (Really wish that bus stop was closer so he could walk).

I think about my sister, my nephew's mom, who died at such a young age and I think about what I am doing with my life.  So far I am sticking with a job I don't like so that I can get more money.  My father has dementia.  He worked hard all of his life to have a nice retirement and now he can't do any of those activities that he loved like fish, read or just enjoy a conversation with his wife. I wish I had more time with my father when I was young.  If I died or became ill today, the thing I would regret most is not spending time with people when I had the opportunity.  I would never say I wish I had worked longer hours.  (I would say I wish I had saved more money though).  I find myself more frustrated and less patient when I work all day at a job I don't like and then have to come home and do chores and help with homework.

Next week my boss wants me to go to our Mexico plant.  Although I enjoy seeing the people at the plant, I don't like getting up earlier and getting home later.  This will make getting my nephew to school and home even more complicated.  Plus, I can't get any of my work done down there so the trip is just on the whim of my boss.  I am seriously contemplating telling him that I am looking for a new part time job.  I wonder what he would do?

My plan is not as great as it could be.  I can get organized and sell my surplus of stuff for the first couple of months.  Once my house is rented, I will need $600 more than the rental income in order to pay my bills.  If I can't earn $600 from selling my things (or when I run out of things) and some pet sitting then I will need a part time job.  I'm thinking one of the big stores within biking distance would work.  One of my biggest bills right now is gas.  I hope that my nephew gets in to the high school with the closer bus stop but I can't count on it.  It would be great if I could think of something to make and sell.  I've always wanted to do that.  I tried making fish out of polymer clay back in 1997 but back then the only way to market them was to go to craft fairs and I didn't have a car.  With the internet, I have a lot more marketing opportunities.

I have $10,000 in my emergency fund.  I could live off of that for a year if I had to but I would rather not touch it except for real emergencies.  The one thing that keeps me from quitting is how much I hate looking for a job.  I don't think I will ever make as much as I do now and I don't even make that much, around $40k a year.  My fall-back job would be Geico, the insurance company because they are always hiring and start out at $13 with good benefits.  The bad part is the job is talking to customers on the phone, one of my least favorite things to do.  But then the motivation to create my own job would be really high, right?

I don't know what I will do.  I try to get through one day at a time, one week at a time and so on.  Perhaps I should have a goal like if I save $20k then I can try my plan.  If I had $40k then I could make it 4 years without a job and my nephew would be in college.  I'll see how this week goes.

9 comments:

Lizzie@her MFW Homeworld said...

You should do it. He needs you now not in a few years. How about checking out a few blogs where people sell their crafts? Some of them seem to do okay. Moyra sells portraits http://get-stuff-done.blogspot.co.uk Carla sells lovely stitched things http://halfdozendaily.typepad.com. I am sure you can do it. Its not like you needs millions to live. See what is trending on pinterst & etsy?
Good luck

Lizzie@her MFW Homeworld said...

And another thing (just whist i am here!)read what you wanted in 2007!
Its time!
http://www.myfrugalfreedom.com/2007/07/about-me.html

Daizy said...

Yes, I have wanted my own craft business or part time job for my whole life I guess. Maybe I finally have enough motivation.

The Executioner said...

I know exactly what you mean about feeling like your job is keeping you from your life. Still, you should be proud that your diligence and hard work has gotten you to this point where scaling back to part-time work is even an option. So many people have no choice in the matter and must keep working or face financial ruin.

If you are absolutely certain that you are going to look for part-time work, have you considered asking your current employer if they could accommodate you somehow? Maybe they would offer you some flexibility. It sounds like your boss geniunely likes your work, based on your prior posts. If faced with you working only part-time or not at all, they may decide to help you for a few years.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Dave said...

I agree with The Executioner. I had the leverage to change to part-time work in 2001 which was enough to cover my expenses. From what you have posted, you have enough rental income (albeit somewhat shaky rental income) to supplement a part-time job income and cover your expenses. Your emergency fund would cover you for small gaps in rental income.

And you would get the time to do all the things you complained about not being able to do such as school activities with your nephew.

Daizy said...

Executioner, my boss probably would offer me part time but I want to be in a position to walk away before I bring it up. I'd rather make a clean break because I don't like the stress of my job. Most likely, I will end up at least training my replacement for a few months. My boss doesn't really know what I do.

Daizy said...

Dave, I think I would only consider part time at my current job if they hired someone else to do the other half. I can see them saying, ok, half the hours, half the pay, same work load. That won't work.

Anonymous said...

Daizy - You seem incredibly handy. What if you could hire yourself out as someone that you would like to hire to do things for you? Does that make sense? If you could provide a couple of hours of some sort of "work" for someone else when they are busy with working their regular job, maybe that would bring in enough to supplement. You mention petsitting, so you must have contacts. You could offer other services of the nature you mention that you need for yourself - like driving someone to school, picking up packages, running errands of any kind . . .

Daizy said...

Those are good ideas, dorrieanne. Maybe pet sitting would open up other doors.