I'm in the 5th week of my furloughs. The "noise" coming from the company sr mgmt seems to be getting less negative. They are rumbling that the bottom of the cycle is near, however the rumors are flying that more furloughs are necessary next year (upto 10 weeks). So, I put our odds of one of us being laid off at ~50%. Spouse's job seems to be going well so far, she is in her 3rd week and she is making calls and doing software demos.
Before the 2nd layoff day at my place, I had my 3rd qtr PMP review. That seemed ironic considering what could have happened the next day. But my lead tried to put me at ease. He explained that our role will be changing some what next year. We may be doing more spec gathering and writing next year, as opposed to programming. I told him that was fine with me, but my sr peer may have issues with that. He only likes doing technical work. I feel better about my chances next year since the "pup" wasn't laid off either.
Spouse and I are busy moving her 401(k) to V. I think I have a reinvestment plan set up. She is getting an inheritance in the 4th quarter that we'll also need to invest. Being on furlough is causing me to spend more time than I should looking at our investments. The "instant-on" ability of the internet is dangerous that way. When I was constantly busy at WSU and Cargill, I let our investments go on overdrive. But, I think I have made some good choices the last two years to lower our tax liability and our costs. I'm debating on what to do with the new money. I may ask for some help. Not sure who to ask.....
It feels good to spend some money around the house. Our job situation has encouraged me to buy appliances, flooring, and countertops. We also have a couple of maintenance items (hot water tank and insect treatment) that I don't need to put off any longer.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
still employed...
Where we're at:
dow: 9995
s&p: 1087.68
10yr: 3.41%
vix: 21.43
s&p P/E: 19.45
equity: 35.8
bond: 31.3
cash: 32.9
1 yr: 8.67
As rumored, the IT layoffs (2nd round) happened on 10/9. I managed to escape getting laid off. My lead knew most of the victims and told me yesterday that they mainly supported "mapper" and other load (I think) apps. One was canned for "political" reasons. He kept telling me that I did not need to worry, but I told him that without positive feedback from mgmt, you don't know what your status is. He says he'll pass that up, but I don't think it matters. The culture is
ingrained to only tell people what they need to know to do their jobs on that particular day.
I also had a PMP review that went ok, ironically the day before the layoffs. For 2010, we're rumored to be furloughed for up to 10 weeks. Not sure how my senior peer will react to that.
Spouse's job seems to be going along fine. She is catching on and they are going to let her start selling next week. We are moving her 401(k) proceeds to where the rest of our investments are to save on costs.
The dow touched 10,000 this week. It seems "too far, too fast". I'll continue with the plan to only add to retirement accounts and not taxable, for now. Since we're both still employed, we are going to spend some money on the house in 2010. Mostly on things that I have wanted for awhile, but also on some new appliances.
dow: 9995
s&p: 1087.68
10yr: 3.41%
vix: 21.43
s&p P/E: 19.45
equity: 35.8
bond: 31.3
cash: 32.9
1 yr: 8.67
As rumored, the IT layoffs (2nd round) happened on 10/9. I managed to escape getting laid off. My lead knew most of the victims and told me yesterday that they mainly supported "mapper" and other load (I think) apps. One was canned for "political" reasons. He kept telling me that I did not need to worry, but I told him that without positive feedback from mgmt, you don't know what your status is. He says he'll pass that up, but I don't think it matters. The culture is
ingrained to only tell people what they need to know to do their jobs on that particular day.
I also had a PMP review that went ok, ironically the day before the layoffs. For 2010, we're rumored to be furloughed for up to 10 weeks. Not sure how my senior peer will react to that.
Spouse's job seems to be going along fine. She is catching on and they are going to let her start selling next week. We are moving her 401(k) proceeds to where the rest of our investments are to save on costs.
The dow touched 10,000 this week. It seems "too far, too fast". I'll continue with the plan to only add to retirement accounts and not taxable, for now. Since we're both still employed, we are going to spend some money on the house in 2010. Mostly on things that I have wanted for awhile, but also on some new appliances.
Friday, October 02, 2009
spouses's last day at old job...
Where we're at:
dow: 9478
s&p: 1024.38
10yr: 3.18%
VIX: 28.27
s&p P/E: 18.31
equity: 34.6
bonds: 31.9
cash: 33.5
1 yr: 1.79%
When this was written, our 1 year performance turned positive, however; the market has been down 6 of the last 7 days, so it won't last. Spouse ends a 17+ yr run at old co. today and starts new job on Monday. So today we are packing up her "office" so she can take it back and finish her day out. She is excited about her new position and it sounds like a good fit, so I am optimistic.
I am finishing week 4 of my furlough and have been fairly productive. I spent most of the week learning a new Oracle dev tool (APEX). The rumor mill says that we will learn about the next set of IT layoffs on 10/9. My gut still says I'll make it. I hope so, I'd like to spend a little money again around the house.
I found out today that her 401(k) provider takes a 1% yearly fee to administer the account. In the past they have been able to "hide" the fee in the account gains. That's been hard to do since the market has performed poorly the last two years. So we made the decision to rollover her account to another provider.
dow: 9478
s&p: 1024.38
10yr: 3.18%
VIX: 28.27
s&p P/E: 18.31
equity: 34.6
bonds: 31.9
cash: 33.5
1 yr: 1.79%
When this was written, our 1 year performance turned positive, however; the market has been down 6 of the last 7 days, so it won't last. Spouse ends a 17+ yr run at old co. today and starts new job on Monday. So today we are packing up her "office" so she can take it back and finish her day out. She is excited about her new position and it sounds like a good fit, so I am optimistic.
I am finishing week 4 of my furlough and have been fairly productive. I spent most of the week learning a new Oracle dev tool (APEX). The rumor mill says that we will learn about the next set of IT layoffs on 10/9. My gut still says I'll make it. I hope so, I'd like to spend a little money again around the house.
I found out today that her 401(k) provider takes a 1% yearly fee to administer the account. In the past they have been able to "hide" the fee in the account gains. That's been hard to do since the market has performed poorly the last two years. So we made the decision to rollover her account to another provider.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
