So with that said, I've been feeling a bit stressed lately, but in what I would say is healthy in the short-term and ultimately beneficial for my/our personal growth. In a quick assessment, I would say that my stress level is elevated above my average (which is usually quite low) for the following 3 reasons:
1. New job, with performance expectations that exceed my current performance level. I've been learning at an incredible rate, but knowing that my current speed is below what the company desires in the long-term, I can't help but feel a bit anxious wondering if they're going to kick me to the curb. I take some issue with how the current performance expectations don't match what was described to me upon my hiring (they knew I was green to CNC in a commercial environment), but I am hopeful that I'll be in the clear (performance-wise) within the next couple of weeks. So until then, a bit of anxiety.
2. Financial responsibility for 2.5 (sorry Charlie, you're just not a full person yet!). As of my last budget break-down, our little family spends about $30-35K/year to get on with life. My income has not been terribly predictable as of the last two years, but on average over the past decade I'd say I'm accustomed to making between $45-$60k/year before tax. Take roughly 25% of that away for taxes (Social Insecurity/Medicaid, Federal Income, State Income), then take another 10% out for IRA contributions (when working steadily, I've normally put 10%/max in my IRA, and 10% in my 401(k), but as of late I'm just doing IRA max, and up until now Aimee hasn't made any retirement contributions). So after tax and retirement contributions, $60,000/year becomes $33,000, then that $33,000 gets eaten up by our life expenses. So yes, we're putting away money for retirement that we could be spending on Amazon (or by traveling to the Amazon), but I don't really see this as an optional sort of thing. That said, I have deferred my IRA contributions until the end of the tax year instead of putting in auto-deposits each month (as I'm trying to keep our bank account from bouncing from unexpected or non-monthly routine expenses), and I haven't had a 401(k) I can make contributions to since I left Un-Cruise Adventures in 2015.
But regardless, we're running pretty god-damned lean compared to what I was used to as a single fella. Every dollar that comes into our household is earned by me, and I'm trying to throw every spare dollar at reducing the amount of student loans we take out for Aimee's education. Her undergraduate Bachelor's of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences holds a $30,000 debt cloud over our heads currently (payments are deferred until she completes graduate school, but interest keeps accruing on the principal), and her current 18-month Master's Degree in Speech Pathology (which will set her up as a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, or SLP) is going to add just over $70,000 to that bill, rounding us out probably around $110,000 in student loan debt in the spring of 2018. So it's imperative to our financial success that I make as much as possible right now, and that as a couple we spend as little as possible, to minimize the expansion of our debt. We have allotted $100/ea/month to our personal bank accounts for personal/fun spending, but otherwise drained our personal accounts into one joint checking account that handles all of our joint expenses like food, rent, healthcare, gas, insurance, etc. After Aimee graduates we'll still hold to the same fiscal diet, but 100% of our combined additional income in excess of our living costs and retirement contributions will be focused on student loan repayment and potentially home loan payments. We may not look to buy a place immediately, since we're somewhat undecided on where life will take us in the long-term, but once we find a place to settle for 5+ years or better, we'll probably buy (instead of rent). Owning a home for a short amount of time isn't a smart idea as closing costs and other related costs nullify the "investment" potential of a property, unless there are epic property value increases.
So when I combine the facts in #2 to the situation in #1, life suddenly gets a little bit less puppies & rainbows....but at least we still have the Unicorns!
3. Making food, having fun, and getting laid. Important things for any person, these required items require further time outside of our already busy lives. I'm currently working 50hrs/week (five 10's, M-F), I make all our Monday-Friday breakfasts and lunches on Sunday, and M-F I wake up at 4:45am and get into bed at 8:30pm. Sunday meals start getting made around 4pm, with normally two hours of meal planning and shopping preceding that. Shopping is a bitch later in the day (because everybody at Pete's Fresh Market shows up at 5pm-ish), so have been making Sunday morning/afternoon into my thrift-store and can't-doo-during-the-workweek period, ending my route with a stop at the grocery store before returning home by 4pm. The house smells great by 7pm, and by 8:30pm I'm hopefully showered and snuggled in my bed, two alarms set for redundancy.
But about that other stuff...like fun! Aimee and I normally treat ourselves to cocktail night mid-week at one of our local neighborhood bars (walking distance), or maybe even combine it with dinner and a movie (last week was wine, Italian food, and Dr. Strange), and each weekday night I've got about 3 hours of free time to do whatever I want before heading to bed. Aimee is normally at school most days, leaving after breakfast and returning just before dinner. And then leaving to the library or to study at a classmates house until 8-9pm. So it's not like she's going to keggers and driving to the mall in a Cabriolet her parents bought her. Charlie, on the other hand, is a total lazy bastard. He sleeps most of the day, including when I leave to work at 5:30am. Aimee takes him out at breakfast, and I take him out when I get home from work, and one of those outings is typically to the dog park that is located 3 blocks away from our house. He likes chasing after tennis balls (but not just any tennis ball, he has to taste/smell the right one) and laser beams, so it's not terribly difficult to get him his dose of physical exertion each day (and this helps him sleep better, which means we sleep better). Speaking of physical exertion, there is a gym where I work that is free, and while lately I've been coming straight home after my 10hr day, I'm hoping the learning curve at work will settle down to a point where I can take 30 minutes to do some reps before heading home (which helps me sleep better). Also vitamin D is an issue where I work (in the winter, generally, but it is a nearly sunlight-free workplace regardless of season), so I've done some vitamin D research and it looks like Wild-caught salmon, herring, halibut, pasture-raised chicken eggs, and vitamin-D fortified products will be factored into the weekly winter menu as well.
Anywho, back to the fun: I'm actually pretty sated by my hobby room, youtube learning (NYCCNC, SmarterEveryDay, Haas Automation, PeterSripol, and others), and the occasional journey outside the house. That may sound lame, but I'm obsessed with machining/CNC, so between my kick-ass (ass-kicking at times) job and my free time, my brain is well-immersed. Aimee is pretty damn busy with school, but she yearns for some better (local) friends, as her joy in life is typically fed more by social interaction than mine is. So our near-future goal is to build a friend base (difficult when you're as busy as we are) to help feed our free-time social needs. But that requires time and energy, and schedules that align....so progress hasn't been exceptional to say the least. We used to go to Meetup.com groups, but it would be really handy if we had cool neighbors (we don't) or people nearby that had relatively flexible or similar life schedules. The hunt continues.
ANYWHO: enough about our life stresses: I want to talk about achievements!
1. I didn't get shit-canned at work this week, but my 2nd-shift counterpart did. Phew. 1st round survival achieved.
2. I've learned a shit-ton about g-code and have grown more comfortable with the Fanuc 15-M machine controller (which, BTW, has a CRT screen).
3. I've purchased some quality tools for work, and I always love obtaining quality tools (Mitutoyo Dial Indicator, Mitutoyo Depth Micrometer, Shaviv heavy-duty deburring tool).
4. I've been cooking like a badass, using recipes primarily from BudgetBytes.com. Chicken Tikka Masala, Lemon Blueberry Cornbread Skillet, Zucchini-Bacon Frittata, baked candied almonds, Coconut Curry Lentils w/rice, Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Frittata, slow-cooker Jambalaya, and Chicken Tortilla Soup. Today I'm going to finish a spaghetti squash recipe, make some sammiches, and maybe a lite soup or chili. I'm also interested in doing some Polish food, as there is a strong polish culture in Chicago and I've never tried any Polish cuisine. I feel great, cooking good, healthy food, and not having to make emergency stops to fast and/or take-out food joints throughout the week. We've also found some good coffee sources, so we're not buying coffee buy the cup but on the rare occasion ($$$).
Well, recipes must be selected, I need to find a lunchbox and rubber bed frame feet (ours has wheels, and is constantly sliding away from the wall), and I should probably take Charlie out to the dog park: so thanks for reading about our lives, and have a great day!
Danny, Aimee, and Charlie.
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