Brief update

Wow, it's been a while! I've missed March and April's budget/net worth updates, plenty of government financial insanity, Swine Flu panic, and plenty of other blog-worthy subject matter in the interim. But, rest assured, I have not been sitting around doing nothing. No! Here is what I/we have been doing these past two months.

I have been substitute teaching. A lot. I feel like I work, work, work.

I have been teaching voice lessons as well. This does not take up a whole awful lot of time, but it is nonetheless a weekly time commitment. More will be added this summer when some of my students from the school will be taking private voice lessons.

I traveled out of state to help my dad in a craft show that my mom was unable to go to. Not a lot of traffic but a very good time with my dad and a few bucks to show for it.

I started another part-time job. I teach at a well-known test-prep company. (I always knew those ridiculously high test scores would pay off). The pay is actually pretty good for a part-time job, plus I get paid for out-of-class time I spend preparing for each class. And by pretty good, I mean better than my mom's job that she's good at and has been at for several years. Too bad it's only about 15 hours a week.

Outside of work, we rescued a 1-1/2 week-old kitten, bottle fed her, weaned her, and are now litter-training her (she's now about 8 weeks old). We've made some inexpensive improvements to our apartment to make it more home-y. Currently, we spend a lot of time researching, choosing, and driving by homes for sale in our area that are in (what we believe to be) our price range.

I've fallen off the bandwagon a bit as far as couponing goes. I've been working so much and had been spending much more time looking for deals than I really should have that I put it on the back burner for now.

This post is not really very meaty, but I wanted to give everyone an update and mini-explanation as to why I've been so silent before abruptly jumping into more intense subject matter.

Posts may continue to be somewhat spotty for the next few weeks as the school year winds down, but once summer hits, look forward to more consistent work. I look forward to reconnecting with my readers.

Unemployed no more!

My husband just walked in. The first thing he said to me was "I have a job."

There are no sweeter words to a wife's ears.

CrackerBarrel... Yum. Neither of us have ever worked in food services before, so it will be a new experience. There's a temptation to feel dejected because, after all, he has a college degree! However, we're just happy to have a promise of a source of income. He was really mostly looking for something part-time, and they can likely give him close to 40 hours. He also might be leading music very part time at a church for a pretty decent amount of money. I'm very optimistic about having a full-time teaching position of $40,000+ by the fall, so by then his income will be gravy.

I have it worked out so that if I continue to do the things I've been doing (subbing, plasma, voice lessons), I should make enough money to pay for March's bills by the time they arrive. I've also applied to work at Kaplan as a teacher (I had insanely good test scores in my day). Plus, I really need to get going on my jewelry business that I've been letting slide for the past two months.

Now that Lubby (my nickname for my husband-- Lover+Hubby) will be working, we can get back to living more of our normal life without dipping into our cash reserves and start paying on our car again.

Oh, and by the way, I gave the plasma thing another shot. Everything worked out this time and I made $40. I plan to go tomorrow and make another $60. (They're running a special; next week and the weeks after it will be $20 and $40).

Coming later, either tonight or tomorrow, is a revised, bare-bones budget for February and March. We have a lot to cut out, and a lot of catching up to do if we want the car paid off by June or July.

A couponing test

So, I've finally bitten the bullet. After years of subscribing to various 'coupon-maximizing' sites, I went to the store today and bought two Sunday papers. I've devised a plan to visit the local drug stores and buy a few things I need for next to nothing and a few things I don't (but will eventually use) because they will actually *make* me money in store credits. I don't want to give too many details yet, but rest assured that I will keep you posted on my deals and steals!

In other news, my husband and I are contemplating donating plasma for a little extra cash this month. I don't know how I feel about it-- selling your blood for profit seems almost demeaning. However, I am a firm believer in doing what you have to to provide for your family (provided it's legal and on the moral up-and-up, of course). If we both do it twice a week, we can make enough to pay March's rent. That's nothing to sneeze at, especially since the work I do next week as a sub won't pay until March 23rd.

Any thoughts on the above? What do you do in a financial crunch?

Substituting-- All in a day's work

To date I have performed two substituting jobs: one in high school speech and one in first grade. I must say, substitutes do not get paid enough. More have been available, I just haven't taken them.

To those of you who may think otherwise-- substituting is *hard* work! In my opinion, it is easier to be the regular teacher than a sub. This is not what I originally thought. I thought subbing would be great:

• no grading
• no planning
• no pressure to produce

However, I have found that sometimes the lesson plans are difficult to understand (or even read!), or the students are openly defiant and disrespectful. I had one tell me to my face that he was going to "tell them it was the crazy sub. You'd be suprised how often that works." Geez!

But, as many people start to feel the crunch of 'recession' and are looking for work, I can tell you from experience and from all of the teachers around me who keep telling me, they are always looking for substitutes. If you have a degree, you'll get paid better, but even without you could be paid about $60/day. That's the going rate around here, anyway. Degreed/certified teachers are paid up to $80/day (that's the highest I've found) and up to $110/day if you're in a long-term position. Hourly it doesn't break down to much, but it's better than nothing!

I don't want to give up on substituting, since I think spending time in a classroom regularly will keep me sharp and give me an edge on the job search. Plus, hopefully the more I do it the better I will be.

So, for all of you job searchers and stay-at-home-moms (SAHMs) out there, you might give substituting a try. Just don't take my jobs, please! :)