thanks Sam... we're just hanging in there, depressed and resigned to more time without significant progress.

i suppose there is some stuff going on, mainly in the form of shifting our assets. our liquid assets weren't doing much for us, so i stuck to the plan and paid his student loans. with my next paycheck, i'm paying off the credit card to ditch that monthly payment. focus will shift to repaying ourselves instead of companies, and we won't be paying interest on debt. (until my subsidized loans come out of grace this spring.)

i just hope he finds gainful employment by this spring- by living on my income and sending his to pay off my educational debt, we could be free of it in maybe half a year. then we would start the funding of specific goals.

he's expanded his job search to a major city about 45 minutes away- in the case that he takes a job there, we will also need to replace his car. we're looking at a very fuel efficient car with a current market value in the $6k range. but this is so far purely speculation.

Hey galactic,
I don't have much to say except keep your chin up. My fingers are crossed for your hubs to find a job in his field somewhere!
I agree with you on paying the loans/credit card. If you can, no sense keeping it around just to have it. *hugs*

peachy- we're workin on it. just feeling really battered by this economy. frustrated by the job openings posted but not actually available, etc.

I've just been catching up on reading through your thread. So let me just say first:

YEA! YEA! YEA! on your new degree. Let me gush here a little because is a huge milestone and very few people have the grace and tenacity to get through it all. You have earned the title.

Keep posting if it helps to sort things out and just vent if you need to. I enjoy your posts tremendously--watching you work through good bad and ugly and care about the outcomes. You are a smart, well practiced problem solver and I have faith in you.

Be well.

thank you, ellie, for the very kind words. they brightened my mood

unfortunately, i was not smart when it came to paying the rent

i worked 35 days in a row from late Sep to early Nov. i realized through my utter exhaustion on the 5th that i did not take the rent check to the property manager. today i got an $80 late fee statement. arghh! i have never done that before.

when it rains, it pours. geez.
Why are you working 35 days in a row?
Do something nice for yourself.

biomedical research requires the occasional long stretch without a day off. it's just part of the life i've chosen... it's far better now than when i was in grad school.

with this month's paycheck, i got us all caught up again. late fee from last month's rent, my husband's doctor bills, etc. and the credit card payment is scheduled. repayment to ourselves goes right out like any other bill, and we're not paying anyone interest. having almost no savings after all this is a little nerve-wracking. but we've got a decent tax refund coming which will help rebuild.

my husband has shifted to entertaining himself at the library 2 miles from home. it's a nice, healthy, cheap habit. sadly, there have been no breaks in the job search.

another vacuum cleaner finally gave up the ghost on us, and the cost to fix it is greater than what we paid for it. we've bought at least 5 (maybe 6) vacuums in 7 years, and they all live ~1 year with weekly use. we tried the cheap kind, the mid-range kind, and a higher-end kenmore that cost us about $250 and lasted until the warranty ended. we don't like having purchased and thrown away that much stuff. we're looking into a roomba. it's more compact and easier to pack for moving, and they sell replacement parts for reasonable prices. (and yeah i admit, i want something to do the vacuuming for me!!!) we could buy one with our christmas gift money. for now, the carpets are getting dirty.

ready to round out 2009 and start fresh again, leaving the tough times of this year behind us.

husband has signed up with several temp agencies. one has an opening once the company starts back up after the holiday season. he has applied for several jobs in his field within about a 50 mile range, and had a couple of interviews, but no call backs. (yet? keeping those fingers crossed...)

he is more stressed out over the unemployment situation than ever. consequently smoking a lot of our money away. he wants desperately to quit, but something always sends him back. we got some money for xmas, and our gift to each other is a nicotine vaporizer for him. (it's a gift to me, resting easier about his health. for him, a way to step down the smoking with 4 levels of nicotine cartridges and still getting the feel of smoking.)

we accomplished a lot this year. my phd, his associates, a cross country move, a new job, knocking out one set of student loans and finishing it off with my deferred subsidized loans as our only debt. we have a lot to be thankful for. if only he could get a job in his new field, i dare say we'd be happy and fulfilled people.

let's hope next year has some good things in store for us.