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Catherine Gacad

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Job Loss Update

Dean has been interviewing non-stop for the past couple weeks: phone interviews, in-person interviews, recruiting calls.  I interned at Cisco so I’m always pressuring him, “Have you looked at the Cisco site?  Let me know if there’s anything interesting.  I know people there!”  He hasn’t had a chance to look at their web site.  He’s been so focused on hot leads from very early on in the process.  Dean is the only person I know who has interviewed this rampantly during his unemployment.  And it’s only been three weeks!  So the guy is really impressing me.  I am totally proud of him.

Also, we got our first unemployment check in the mail today so….wooohooo!…..we’re in the money.

As a couple, we have cut back so much, I find it startling.  More so because our cutbacks aren’t draconian.  We don’t go out every night like we used to, but we still manage happy hours and cheap eats a couple times a week.  On weekends, we opt to go out for brunches instead of dinners.  We’re perfectly happy with all our Costco supplies: Cup O’Noodle, bulk lettuce and veggies, an assortment of salad dressings.  And we still drink a bottle of wine every night.  Seriously, we like our wine!  The cutbacks have shaved several hundred dollars off of my monthly credit card bill.  Maybe up to a grand a month.  I know it’s crazy.  I live within my means, but my means are pretty high.

When there are leftovers from team meetings or group lunches, you better believe all that comes home with me.  “Guess what, honey, I’ve got enough dim sum for the next week!”  There’s zero tolerance for waste when you’re in our situation.  Every bill is scrutinized.  Reimbursement forms are filed immediately. 

I always give when it comes to presents.  In fact, I have a vendor on-point who sends cute packages to friends when they have babies.  I know so many people now having babies, I’m not necessarily spending $35/baby package.  A former coworker just had a kid and in normal circumstances, he would have received a package.  Now, I decided against it.  I just can’t afford all these babies!

We’re still waiting for an offer, but the prospects are good, and we’ve learned how to cut back in this recession.

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02.02.10

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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