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| Sat, 03-05-2005 - 8:39am |
Hmmmm..........glad food for thought isn't fattening.....I have a lot to chew on.....
I got the official offer finally from one job, Company A . The current place I am working as a contractor, Company B, extended me an offer, but then they finally realized that they couldn't meet the offer from Company A, so I think that it's almost certain I will not be working as an employee at Company B. (Company B is trying to guilt me into working for less....they keep saying that they don't have enough experienced people to do the work now, but that's not MY fault!) The contracting company wants me to stay at company B probably because they are getting a pretty penny for me, and so they are trying to come up with a counter offer......but I have to make a decision by Monday, and they haven't been able to get an offer on the table yet(has to do with another outside company that helps to manage the contractors....Is this just too complicated or what???).
Well, I am operating this weekend on the assumption that I am going to work at Company A. I am looking over some of the information I got from them and have found online concerning transporation to work, and I am a bit concerned. Gettng to work is going to be complicated and/or expensive. I'm not so sure I'm so gung-ho about this position now....I'm really working on trying to decide if it is really going to be worth it. I was shocked by the price of the bus passes and parking lots.
oh, my..................
I am thinking I could stay there long enough to learn a peticular skill I wanted to learn on this position and then look for something else in a year........
Well, the name of the game has been healthcare insurance.......and I can get that at the new company. oh, just gotta think..........
But related to debt, I need to know that I will have healthcare insurance as my COBRA ends soon, and I'd hate to be stuck without it. I also need to know I can continue to pay my bills and not spend my savings. I just think it rots that I am going to have to pay out so much money for transportation that I could be using towards debt. I hate thinking I'm going to have to work a couple weeks' worth just to PAY to go to work.
Littlesbigs

Oh, yeah, those transportation costs can really kill you, if you have to pay for parking. Ugh. I remember those days.
BUT, think of it this way. Your insurance will probably be paid partially by the company, so you will be saving money there. Plus, sounds like you're getting a raise, so that helps too. And don't forget that if you're buying bus passes, it will save you money on gasoline--so it might even come close to evening out on that end, especially with gasoline so high. I know when I rode the bus to work, it was $50 a month and it saved me two tanks of gasoline a month. At current prices, that would be nearly $50 anyway.
However, if you're doing bus passes, don't buy the monthly pass right off. Try it out for a while and see if you like it. Also, add up how many times you'll be riding it and see if it's actually cheaper to buy the monthly pass--it might be cheaper just to buy a ticket each morning. I bought a monthly pass right away, and ended up hating it because the buses would sometimes come *early*, and sometimes as much as an hour *late,* and so to catch the bus reliably, I had to arrive half an hour before it was due to arrive, and would sometimes be there for an hour after its scheduled time--meaning a total wait of up to an hour and a half!! And that was without a shelter of any sort or even a bench to sit on, in December, and I was pregnant. It sucked big time. I called and complained and was really upset about it, but all they did was send me free bus passes--and all I wanted was to get my money back from the pass I already had!!
Anyway, hopefully your system is more reliable than ours.
Good luck in whatever you decide, and take care.
Heather
Dear Heather,
Thank you for the wise advice! I will "audition" the bus service....fortunately the park and ride lot sees 6 express commuter buses for my destination each morning, so I hope I don't end up waiting like you were. I'll stop by it this afternoon to see if it has a shelter. Fortunately, the stop is across the street from the building I would be working in, and there are shelters there. I am concerned my life right now may be more better served by me driving in, but I may end up having to do a combo of both....or drive in the summer, bus in the winter......
Well, don't know yet.
This will be interesting, however.........
Thanks again! Littlesbigs