I know in my last post that I said it wasn't all about the money. And life definitely is not, especially eternal life. Yet, money helps- fo shizzle. And a lot of my preparations for Chile are all about the money because I will need it to live there!
On Saturday I had my first day back working at the golf course. When I took the job here in Wyoming I negotiated my salary so I would have just enough to live off of. Unfortunately I didn't plan my budget quite well enough because when my first student loan payment came due just three months later my monthly income fell about $100 short to cover all of my expenses. So I got a second job at Starbucks! It was really early mornings but free coffee and I mostly enjoyed it. It also covered the rest of my bills. Then I went to Chile for the first time for six weeks and they fired me (the first time I've ever been let go!). I guess you're only allowed to take extended absences for sick leave. They said they would hire me back when I returned to the states but my manager had started talking to me about the (in)flexibility of my schedule and I got the impression that unless something changed with my full-time schedule at the church, that Starbucks was no longer a viable option.
But God provided when I returned from Chile. The first weekend I was back a parishioner approached me and said her daughter was the manager at the snack shack at the golf course and she wanted to know if I knew of any teens who needed a job. Well I wasn't a teen but I was interested! I started in the snack shop the following weekend. By that time (due to a raise) I barely needed a second job to cover all my monthly expenses. But now I had a boyfriend in Chile who I wanted to see and this extra income helped me save for my first plane ticket to visit him (my generous father also provided some frequent flyer miles- thanks Pops!). I took the winter off- because of the snow on the ground- and then was back last summer and now I'm finally back this summer!
I was only scheduled for one day this weekend but I think from now on I'll be working every Saturday and Sunday. This is great because I really need the moolah for my move. It was quite windy this past Saturday and so we weren't as busy as we might normally be... but guess how much I made in tips? $40! That plus my base pay will all go into the Chile fund. Thank you Lord and thank you S. the golf course manager. Show me the money!
It's not all about the money, but it certainly helps to make life easier. I've seen studies that show money improves happiness up to a certain point (I think in the U.S. it was like up to earning 60k a year) and then once your basic needs are covered, happiness stayed at the same levels even as earnings continued to go up.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are making money to be able to fund Chile! Seba and I were so dirt poor when we first got married I remember that he got a job for about 300 dollars a month and we thought we were BANKING!
Wow! Well I'm glad to know that you are seeing better financial times! I'm assuming Andres and I will be starting out pretty similar to that- unless we win the lottery which I never play.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Can't wait to see your pictures of Andi's wedding! I started following her blog after your first photo shoot of her in Santiago. It's crazy how the internet/blogging makes these connections.