Monday, June 22, 2009

Part Time Jobs

Recently I got a postcard in the mail from one of the little stores I shop at regularly . Apparently, they are hiring. This is a food store that I purchase things from fairly often and I got the card because I'm on their mailing list.

At first, I was pretty interested. As I have written here before, my part time work really dries up in the summer. I thought it might be a great way to pick up a few extra dollars, and maybe even get an employee discount. Then I looked at the hours - they are open only Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. Since I work at my day job 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the only time I would have been able to work was Saturdays, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wouldn't work...

In reality, I think my chances for being hired would be pretty slim. Oh, I'd be good at the job, but even though the work was part time, I am guessing they would want someone for more than just Saturdays. But supposing for a moment that they did want a Saturday person and they did decide to hire me, what would that do to my life?

The part time jobs that I have now I do after work. Sure, that makes for a long day, but if I schedule it right, I can still have my weekends free. Or, if I chose to pick up some weekend shifts, they are only a few hours out of a day, I still have the rest to work on the yard, clean the house, or just relax with a good book. Working 10-6 would be like adding another full work day onto my week.

Plus, if I was working every Saturday, it would be almost impossible to get over to my cabin. Even if it wasn't my favorite place in the world, I need to get up there every so often just to take care of the lawn! It is a little over an hour away though, so going up for just one day isn't a great option.

Would I give up all my free time to keep myself out of foreclosure, if I had to? Sure. I could temporarily knuckle down and work every hour. However, my whole goal going into this process was to find a way to get by without resorting to that. I've been successful so far. My budget now will pretty much take care of itself. I still need extra income, but not at the sacrifice of everything else. So, I looked at the postcard, made a wish that someone who really needed it would get the same card and land the perfect job, then I slipped it into the recycle bin.



Photo by: Zervas

7 comments:

Simplelivin' said...

Yup, money isn't everything...you have to keep your sanity and have some down time if you can afford it.

Kristy @ Master Your Card said...

I used to feel that I needed to work all the time in order to get ahead. What I realized for myself was that no matter how much I was making, I was still spending more then I earned. The lesson for me wasn't that I needed to work more, but that I needed to spend less. Still, I've been there where I've just worked myself silly with three jobs. I'm not sure I could casually do so again. If I had to in order to survive, then yeah. But, as a general rule I don't even want a second part-time job outside of my writing. It's very draining. I'm glad you decided to keep your weekends free. Everyone needs a little downtime.

Dawn said...

Simplelivin' - I agree. And while I would be willing to temporarily work all hours possible, I also know that is a short route to burn out.

Kristy - Thanks Kristy! I think you are right. A little downtime is the best way to make sure you can function over the long term. I wish I had more time for my writing, though. Ah well, my time will come.

Bouncing Back said...

As much as I have complained about the reduction in hours for my weekend job, I will admit that I like the down time. I'm getting some long over due chores done around the house, I get to sleep in past 6:30 AM, I am re-connecting with a few people. I'm refreshing my brain for the next go around.

HowtoBEaCOOLoldLady said...

sanity is very much worth it! And what would be the point of the cabin if you didnt get to go there

Dawn said...

Getting stuff done - that was my thought exactly! I pay an awful lot for my cabin, it wouldn't make sense to not be able to use it!

Dawn said...

Bouncing back - I feel the same way. As much as I miss my PT income... I am really enjoying being home at night. I guess the only things we can do is find the silver lining in each situation.