Black Cloud

If I'd only remembered...

I'm reasonably certain we're going to have to hit the snooze button on the move to NC. We simply won't have the funds in time.

My brain feels like it's overheating. I'm so very deeply frustrated to discover this.

My initial plan was to fund the move through two key sources of income: a partial liquidation of my 401(k) and full liquidation of my vested stock options. A couple of things have occurred to thwart that plan:

1. I'd forgotten that 401(k)'s are set up to protect you from yourself. Because you're getting the privilege of a pre-tax retirement account, the US tax laws also prevent you from withdrawing ANY of said account, while you are still under the employ of the company that originated it. This means I would need to have my new job established before I could even think of moving. The logistics of that become highly complicated when you tie in that my apartment complex requires 2-months' notice to break the lease, so we'd have to have a new home established before we could cut free of the old one...which isn't possible without the above-mentioned funds. My current paychecks are barely keeping us in food, and our savings has been going toward Les's injection therapy (which appears to be working, so I won't let him begrudge how it's draining our first spare dough in like, ever).

2. Our stock has dropped, thanks to this crappy economy, Congress, and an abysmally dry summer at the office. Websites are literally trickling in right now, and they doubled our team in anticipation of the company's growth (and the fact that they're hanging onto the newbies is an indication of a strong business plan for the near future, but still.....). But having double the editors means we're scrabbling on a daily basis for sites to keep our paychecks in the pink. Meanwhile, the stock plummetted back to its old value of 9 months ago, which means I'm breaking even on some options and making only a seriously modest profit on the cheaper ones. It's simply not enough of a nest egg to realistically draw from at present.

3. I've started applying at staffing agencies, but my skills aren't meshing too well with what an average staffing agency looks for. There's an excellent chance I could apply and apply and still be jobless come October, given how poor the economy is right now. I need to secure some contract work elsewhere, edit my book, and submit it to publishers on the side; and Les needs to come out of hiding and look for part-time work here.

Can't move without securing a job, can't secure a job without moving.

I'm so bloody frustrated...it feels like my brain keeps short-circuiting and needing a reboot. 4 years ago, we weren't ready and now, we STILL aren't ready? That's so bloody unacceptable, I'm having trouble recognizing it's reality. I'm going to the bank today to see about acquiring a credit card for emergencies, and I'll ask about the possibility of a loan. But a loan would probably require collateral, and the car isn't even in our names yet. And any APR probably isn't worth throwing the entire move on a credit card, even if I could get a decent credit limit. We're still going up there this weekend, to scope out the area and visit my mom and Lil Sis. But there's a lot of thinking to do in the meantime.