August Check In

I’m late! So much has been happening and I decided to give myself a break from blogging for a week or two until things settled down.

I ended up passing all four of my Florida Teaching Certification Exams the first time (truly unexpected, even for how much I studied!) and that immediately opened up a lot of decisions that had to be made quickly. I had to narrow down my focus since I am now licensed to teach K-6 grades and apply to jobs, I’ve had two interviews already and I’m waiting to hear back from my top choice school for a kindergarten teaching position, even amidst the multiple overlapping conflicts of school budgets, COVID, and my nerves about being a first-time public school teacher in the current climate.

In the middle of all that, my birthday was on August 4 and my partner and I had booked a condo on the beach so that we could try to enjoy the ocean while having a safe place to escape to if we felt that it became too crowded and we weren’t able to appropriately social distance, but Hurricane Isaias had different plans, so instead we had a very lowkey time at home. I drank way too much champagne and splurged on lots of meals out, but after the past few weeks of my life, it felt much deserved.

The Perseid meteor shower is supposed to hit its peak this Tuesday and Wednesday, August 11-12 and we are heading up to a more rural area to view it (weather permitting this time). Originally I had booked a camping spot on a U-Pick farm I was really excited about through Hipcamp (like the Airbnb of camping) but as the weather in North Central Florida has become almost unbearable (swelteringly hot and humid whenever it’s not raining) I chickened out and booked a little A-frame Tiny House cabin near a national park so that we can get all the benefits of being out in the country but with a roof over our heads and access to AC and a toilet. Especially after the disappointment of my birthday, I just really have my heart set on a comfortable and relaxing getaway for a couple days. Another upside to the cabin is that is has Wifi and as I am awaiting a time sensitive call about a job offer, I was nervous about getting too off-the-grid for 3 days.

July really tested me as far as my budget was concerned. It convinced me that I was using my goals as a way to mentally escape my circumstances, and using the positive reinforcement of paying off debt to avoid how scary and uncertain these times are for everyone. I still want debt payoff to play a role in my decision-making but budgeting/frugality are more central to my core values, and I’ve decided to shift my focus now to building a bigger emergency fund in my savings account. Experiencing a COVID outbreak at my job really scared me and I realized that even though I had more in my savings account than I ever had before, it wasn’t enough to last me longer than 2 months of no income, and I need a bigger buffer to feel secure in making decisions about my health without fear of missing out on a few paychecks.

If I get this new job my income will significantly increase and I can hoard more savings while paying off bigger chunks of my debt. Until then, I’m going to focus on keeping things at least even on my credit cards, not spending more than I make, and building that emergency fund. That is what’s going to make me feel the most empowered to follow my gut about decisions that might literally mean life or death, or at the very least, health or illness.

I splurged on myself for my birthday and I don’t regret it. I received some money and gift cards from family that has already gotten my savings account up to $2500 which was a goal I had set a while ago and then abandoned in favor of that satisfying debt payoff. Buying myself some good food and drinks and now this cabin in the woods has been good for my spirit after this crushing last month and all the fear and cancelled plans and hard work I put into my teaching certificate. It’s so hard to plan for the future with so many unknowns. It’s scary reading these news reports about school districts that have already reopened and how badly things are going already. But the reality is that a public school teaching position comes with more money, recognition, healthcare, sick time, and concerned parents and citizens. I teach preschool right now with no health care, 2 hours of sick time accrued every two weeks, no standards on PPE or screening, no children wearing masks, no hazard pay, and absolutely no recognition from anyone about how messed up that is. I spend my entire 9 hours at work full of fear.

Reading about New Zealand having 0 cases for the past 100 days has done nothing to decrease my wanderlust and dealing with the reality of having a useless passport now is hard. I wish that I had the financial resources to make a permanent move to another country now, but I will learn all that I can from these times to ensure that I never feel so helpless again.

Learn and grow. Adapt, survive, and thrive.

Savings as of August 1: $2225

Credit Card Debt Paid Off (July 1 – August 1): 1%