Possible Interim Budget (if I take the new job)

So what's making me anxious this Wednesday morning?

Two things. This now pending job offer and housing; as well as the fact that the two people I was most looking forward to connecting with on Facebook didn't respond to my messages.

Job offer and housing
Well, Monday I received a verbal offer of $120k for the Big Pharma Job. Yay!! It really is a win even if I'm not totally there yet. However, things have stalled because I asked for a $9,100 sign-on bonus.  That would potentially make my compensation for the year about $129k. That's amazing right!

Let's take a moment and pause here. I was very nervous to ask for this; it's not as easy for me as others make it seem. They originally told me the job was at $115k, so the fact that I'm even angling for $129k is HUGE. Normally, I'm pretty meek and would have just accepted that the job was $115k and been done with that.  What helped me is having an inside source sharing their salary experiences; my obsession with personal finance and budgets and spreadsheets; and a year of rejection that also gave me insight into what the general market was for this type of role.

My goal all along was to increase my income by 30%. But it's hard to put a number on that because I can't remember my starting point - my original salary in 2015 ($41/hr), the salary I left at Call Center 1 in 2019 ($45/hr), or my current salary at Call Center 2 ( $100k/yr or ~$48/hr) - since I made that goal at the start of the job hunt in early 2019. They're all pretty near each other.

In my cost of living comparison spreadsheet, I had marked $130k as my target income. But having been provided different ranges in my search last year (2019), I got a little confused on what to expect or ask for.  The $130k was my target income because at annual spending of $34k, it would allow me the potential to save about $62k/yr which would allow me to reach my FIRE number of $500k in about 5 years.

I think I had always just focused on the base salary because at Call Center #1 the bonus was unpredictable.  And while my colleague who works at Big Pharma Job has gotten her target bonus the last 3 years, I think in my mind it's not something I want to rely on. Case in point, my current job has cut bonuses and raises this year in light of COVID 19.

I think I just figured out my anxiety regarding the offer. I don't want to count on the bonus in my total compensation, but it's difficult to ignore. So I think I just need to refocus on the base salary that was offered.  Am I willing to accept $120k for this role?

Woosa... 

See, this blogging thing helps because I can iron out my thoughts...

Ok, so moving forward, just focus on the base salary and count anything else as extra or the "bonus" it actually is.  Le sigh.

So to recap, Big Pharma offered me $120k on Monday.  Because my target base salary was $130k, I'm a little bit disappointed. That's all.

All things considered, it's a good offer and it's 20% more than what I currently make. However, it's potentially more than 20% more work than I currently do.

It's a yes, still for me, because even with the increased cost of living, I can still potentially reach (not increase) my current savings goals.  For me, it's not how much you make, but how much you can save.  With the new job, I can potentially save as much as I'm currently able to potentially save now.

Here are some numbers I ran yesterday..

	Original 2020 Projection	2018 Numbers	NC-Townhouse	Death Budget	Big Pharma Job estimates (sans housing)
Annual Spending target	$26,000	$34,000		$20k (up to 25k, as needed)	$45,000
Monthly spending	$2,167		$1,889	$1,667	$3,750
Housing (incl utilities)	$1,100		$822	$822	$TBD
Carrying NC House			--		$822
Everyday Expenses	$400		$400	$400	$400
Student Loans	$530		$530		$530
Tithe	$137		$137
Other		$8,000
Remainder - monthly				$445	$1,998
Total			$1,889
Death Core (mon)				$1,222
Death Core (yr)				$14,664

As I mentioned yesterday, my current plan is to take the job and rent an apartment out of state for 6 months. I was running these numbers last night to see how much I could afford to spend on an apartment.

With a targeted annual spending budget of $45k, my monthly spending is about $3,750. After I subtract out my recurring expenses (incl keeping my house), I'll have about $2k per month to spend on housing and other incidental expenses in my new Big Pharma life.

I included my Death Budget just to remind myself why I'm holding onto the house - it's the best deal I can find so far for my own place.

What am I looking forward to? 

Today, a new season of a Netflix show I watch drops. I'm going to try to wait to watch it on the weekend so I'll have something to do.

When the dust settles, I think I'll be excited about the new job. I used to like new adventures. My pending Death Date hasn't squelched that just yet. Note to self - the goal is not to accelerate death; it's just to accept the death of the life you'd hoped for and slowly ease out of the life you were given.