Hey buddy! Can you spare a six figure income - part two?

The days of wine and roses have come to an abrupt end. And just when my "OMG! I'm getting old and need to start saving as much money as possible for retirement (HA!)" alarm went off.

The good news: I did get a new writing gig, very close to home, with an oil company.
The bad news: It pays $20,000 a year less than what I usually make. Bad time for my "must save money for retirement" alarm to go off.

Employers are up to their old tricks again. The economy takes a shit, companies lay off thousands of people, and they low-ball the people who are now hitting the pavement to find another gig.

Competition is seriously stiff around these parts. I expected to be unemployed at least a month or two. Fortunately, it only took me about three weeks to find another gig. But the thousands of people who have flocked to the Houston area in the last several years because of the booming economy here, and who are now laid off are waking up to the ugly realities. You cannot pay your mortgage on your McMansion and your new Lexus and send your tiny child prodigies to private schools from the measly paychecks that you get from unemployment.

Those people, like me, who have had to accept a much lower income, will most likely have to make some tough decisions in the next few months. I have no idea how long the low-balling of salaries will continue here in the Houston area, but it's definitely going to affect the economy here (I know, DUH!) in several ways. Some negative, some positive. People who will have no choice but to sell their McMansion, or walk away from the debt, will be the losers in this deal. Some of the other people who have enough borrowing power, or simply have the cash to spare, will be able to pick up some good deals on said McMansions.

I did get approved to receive unemployment benefits from TWC (thanks Obama!). I got my first payment the day after I received the good news that I landed the writing gig from the Friday the 13th interview. Lucky, lucky me.

Still waiting to hear what my start date will be and really looking forward to loving weekends again. When every day feels like a Saturday, and there is no payday on the horizon, it kind of takes the fun out of things.