Yes! They are F-ing with my money. By F-ing I mean Furloughing, cutting my hours by 20%, cutting my pay by %20 🙁
Many of you know I am not a full time blogger. I have a day job. That day job is for the Federal Government. The same Federal Government that has been the subject of spending cut and sequestration talk all over the news. (I am just a lowly worker bee with no knowledge of anything important so don’t bother emailing me about anything Governmental) Talk of cutting our hours by one day a week. Talk of F-ing with my Money!
I guess you can tell I’m not pleased. Would you be pleased? I think not!!!
Good thing I have an obligation. I have an obligation to myself and an obligation to you readers, to ,keep Chasing Joy. I mean someone F-ing with your money can really throw a wrench in the whole joy thing. But I can’t go out like that. So here is my They F-ing With My Money But I’m Still Joyful Furlough Plan.
- Look on the bright side.
- 8 less hours per week with the few co-workers that I consider to be Joy Thieves.
- I will get to sleep later and get off work earlier as I go from a 10 hour day to an 8 hour day.
- I will have more time for blogging and having social media fun with you guys.
- I will have a big incentive to live within my means.
- I will have a built in excuse to not go to things I don’t want to. “I’m sorry my pay was cut because of the Furlough and I can’t afford that right now”
- I can read more blogs and books.
- Have a plan to cut expenses and boost income.
- I can reduce my eating out to only 1 meal per pay.
- I can cut back on what I spend on gift giving (sorry family) and charity.
- I can cut my cable down to basic.
- I can be more conscious of utility use in the house (lights left on, turn down heat, use less water)
- I can decrease the amount I am paying on my debt.
- I can plan my meals and grocery shop more conservatively.
- I can plan my driving routes to not waste gas.
- I will look for more paid blogging opportunities.
- I will sell more tickets to the Chasing Joy Brunch & Learn (though I’m sure you’ve all already purchased your tickets, Right? Right??)
Hopefully our leaders will come up with a more reasonable plan that will put an end to this Furlough talk. But, if they do start F-ing with my money at least I have a plan that will keep me Joyful.
Have you ever been Furloughed or Laid Off? Were you able to stay positive and Joyful? If so how did you do it? Did you see it coming and already have a plan in place? If you will be impacted by the sequestration and Government worker Furlough do you have a plan in place? What will you do if they start F-ing with your money???
Good thing I have an obligation. I have an obligation to myself and an obligation to you readers, to ,keep Chasing Joy. I mean someone F-ing with your money can really throw a wrench in the whole joy thing. But I can't go out like that. So here is my They F-ing With My Money But I'm Still Joyful Furlough Plan.
I like how you found the positive in less hours. It helps put things into perspective.
I'm also a government employee, 911 dispatcher for the city and county. A few years ago we were furloughed and made to take so many days off in a three month period without pay. It hurt the wallet and I hope to never have to go through it again. With that said, I'm glad to still have my job and it was a teeny bit nice to have the days to do other things besides work.
I am really sorry to hear that you have been furloughed because that really sucks! But thank you and kudos to you for sharing your joyful outlook on the situation as I'm sure many people can relate and hopefully take some of your notes and put them to practice. My husband and I had to adjust when I decided to leave my FT job, but where there's a will there's a way, and that way will get better.
Getting houes cut is never cool. I remember going thru this back in 09 when I had to weigh out the pros and cons of staying with my employer. It was one of the hardest things I did. I am sure your pro/con list will lead you to the right decision.
I have not been furloughed, but I have experienced a loss of income when my clients lost jobs, hours or income and as a result I lost their business. So I understand how you feel about your money being messed with and having to find ways to cut expenses. It is not fun.
So sorry that may be on your horizon. I left a corporate job a few years back because the writing was on the wall. I had already taken the 10% pay cut but I knew with all the other layoffs that my turn would come eventually. So I took a HUGE pay cut to teach first grading in our local district and loved it….only to be "downsized" after 4 years because of state funding cuts. *SIGH*
Now, I work P/T from home so I can be with our youngest before he heads to high school and then on to college. I prayed about it and looked at the bright side. Nobody was gonna "steal" my joy!!
You have the right attitude! Found you today on the MTM mixer and will gladly follow your blog and other channels. Hope you'll find time to do the same.
Happy Friday!!
Penny at Green Moms and Kids
http://greenmomsandkids.wordpress.com
Being Furloughed or laid off is something that is probably we all have anxiety about…especially in the past few years. I love your plans for remaining joyful and remaining financial stable! Your plans are great!For many, Its hard to prepare for such things if you're not making descent living wages to begin with. Many prayers and blessings to you.
Well to be honest…being an ex government employee since 2/1 of this year…I totally understand where you're coming from. We knew it was coming. Working for the dept of labor…many more jobs will be cut. Im making the best of my furlough…not upset…I prayed on it!! All of the things that I wanted to do and miss doing im doing and I love it!!
I have so much joy doing what I love to do. So many opportunities!! I missed my family (kids , fiance) im traveling, speaking, motivating and much more! Im not looking at this as a bad thing…I was given a long awaited blessing!! 🙂
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There's a story about a man that decided to give his life completely to the Lord. He was so happy and felt better than he'd ever felt in his entire life about everythig. Then all of a sudden, the bottom dropped out; his wife left him, he lost his job, his car was repossessed, he went from seeing his children everyday as a family to visitation hours. He then became angry and wanted to know what the hey was going on here. He had renewed his faith and totally given his life to the Lord, and all these terrible things happened to him. So he said, "You know what, if this what happens because I turned my life over to the Lord, you can have this religion thing, I want no parts of it. After a while, what he finally realised was that, he had not lost a thing; all these things that he viewed as so terrible turned out to be great blessings. He was holding on to things that were actually a burden in his life and didn't realise it. As he began to rebuild his life with a renewed faith everything came back to him and some, in a way that was more prosperous than he could have ever imagined. I shared this because I found myself living for the world and not living my real purpose so that I could receive ALL that was due to me. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off in my little "professional arena" and not givint due diligence to my Lord. Reminders are a good thing, and I hope that it was ok to share. Thank you for sharing as well. I learned a lot from your sharing.
Wow. I'm so sorry hon. You are the second blogging friend I know who has been impacted by the sequester. I love your positive take on what is otherwise a not very positive situation. The Washington Post actually ran an article on federal employees who will be impacted and how some are using this as an opportunity to spend more time with their kids, travel, write that novel, etc. Hopefully Congress will get its act together and stop the nonsense soon. (((hugs)))
I Love this article. It caught my eye at the mention of Chasing Joy talking about "They F-ing with my money". Great way to grab your reader's attention. The article itself was very realistic, humbling, and funny! Great way to put a positive spin on what I know has to be a tough pill to swallow for you and many other federal employees. I have never been through a F-urlough or a lay-off, but I know what's it's like to have to work a tight budget, make adjustments, etc. Awesome read Ms. Lady! keep'em coming!
JaniceH.