For the last ten years, our financial plan for the family has been pretty simple: I would make as much money as I could, and that would be enough. As this year started, we hoped to add to that, with Jackie looking to get work in the second half of the year. My job at Farmers was already more tenuous than one would hope, but I did not plan to leave. Then things changed.
Now, we will have less income this year than we did last year, although not dramatically less if I can keep working. But what we hope we are doing is building a foundation that will make us better off in the future, maybe as early as next year. If it works out, I will almost certainly make less money again next year, but again, it doesn't have to be a lot less. If Jackie can find work too, we could have more income than we ever did.
So far, the rebuilding plan is where you would want it to be, though we're in the early stages. For me to break into consulting, I needed to get through the barriers to get that first assignment. As a result, I took something that pays a bit less than I would like and didn't last very long -- without an extension it would have been eight weeks, now it's ten -- but I got my foot in the door. The second important thing was to make a good impression on that first client, and that seems to be going well. They extended my stay, a nice sign, but also the person I work for has said good things about my work, even seemed a bit amazed by it a couple of times, and importantly, she has said positive things to Robert Half. Next step is to keep the ball rolling after this contract, so I have already updated my resume to include my current work and begun to contact firms who might have the next opportunity available.
As for Jackie, she started the year needing to finish her coursework, pass her final exam, pass a national certification test, then get a job in a field in which experience is highly valued and it's tough to get started. She has done all those things, although the job she has is a non-paying externship, but she is really happy with the experience she is getting, and she should get a good recommendation out of it as well as the chance to say she has experience. They seem to like her as well, offered to increase her (unpaid) hours if she wanted, but she is finding that going to work every day is not all joy and goodness, so she declined, for now. Still everything she has done this year is setting up for the future, laying the groundwork for a new career.
Like most rebuilding plans, it is not guaranteed to work. But if it does work even close to the way we hope, we could be better off than ever soon.
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