I don't understand God -- but He's awesome.

I've been hoping for a raise, bitching about needing a raise, and worrying about not getting a raise -- but I've not prayed very much about it. This isn't because I don't pray about what I need/desire but because I'm much more concerned with my mom's financial situation. Yet i know others (my mom, Beth and many more I'm sure) have been praying for me to get in a better financial situation.


The situation. Well, I live in about the cheapest rent apartment that exists and I'm too stubborn to get a roommate and move somewhere better. I've got medical bills and copays from my emergency surgery in August that I just can't pay. It's not that they're even that much -- but a dollar might as well be a million when you don't have it. So those have been one by one being sent to creditors. Obviously, my credit score is plummeting. And most who are close to me and have payed attention know I don't take my vitamins. (which will pretty much eventually kill you when you've had most of your intestines bypassed). They're too expensive to buy. I even had to stop going to the psychiatrist because I can't afford the copays anymore. And it's not like I buy things - the only store I ever see the inside of is the grocery store on my weekly trip.


I finally reached the point where I need to seek another job. This is where I was on Wednesday. I spoke to the supervisor of another department about applying for an open position and perhaps hiring in at a better pay. He explained that my chances were slim but I could apply -- but I had to tell my supervisor about it. So I went to my supervisor and explained what I was planning to do. He was shocked and asked why I'd want to transfer -- I explained that it was money. Money isn't the most important thing in life -- but when you don't have it, it becomes the most important thing. I could hire in as a supervisor at Target (my old place of employment) for more than my current salary.


Then he let me in on a secret. Apparently they had just that day had a meeting about me -- they being my current supervisor, my old one, the man I work under, the head of the department and probably HR. They met to discuss my situation and raising my pay. All my friends at work know that I'm struggling, but I never took it to my higher ups -- I guess it just made its way there. My supervisor highly recommend "holding tight" and not applying for another job.


Yearly raises are in May. They range from 2-5% of your salary. I need 20% of my salary. I explained this to him and he said he'd speak with them again and see if he could get some numbers. So I told the manager of the other department that I would not be applying and I trusted my supervisor -- he's a great guy and I know he wouldn't tell me to wait if he didn't have good reason.


Then Thursday (the next day) my new supervisor (not the one I was speaking to -- me being under him doesn't happen until next week -- called me up from lunch to talk to him. It didn't sound good. It especially didn't sound good when he led me to a conference room and sat me down. I was kinda freaking out -- I thought this was about the current work I was doing. He handed me a letter. For a second I thought I might be being let go...

But it was a RAISE.

I did seek a raise when I became permanent last May -- but they only gave me 2%. THIS WAS THIRTY-THREE PERCENT!


I ran to tell my friend I work with and then went to the man who told me to hold tight to thank him -- he couldn't believe I received it so soon -- he was also under the impression that it would be May when the regular raises were given out!


My cell was dead so I had to borrow someone elses and go hide in the bathroom for privacy to tell my momma. She was on the verge of tears! She can't believe it and I certainly cant either!


I'm still hesitant and waiting until I see how much my paycheck net pay will actually change. I just can't believe I'll be living easier soon. I can't believe I'll be able to MOVE. And soon! I can't believe I'll be able to buy everything I NEED and still maybe have a bit extra to pay off my debt. I'm going to be afloat again!


It's all tempered by how sorry I am that it wasn't my mom who got this blessing -- but God is awesome. Here's a praise for undeserved blessings and love.


Life honestly gets better every single year!



6 Comments:

Blogger Chad said...

this is amazing news, I'm so happy for you!

12:27 AM  
Blogger protomech said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:58 AM  
Blogger protomech said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

9:00 AM  
Blogger protomech said...

That's awesome, Karen :) You're right that money isn't everything .. but if buying vitamins is a problem, you're in a bad way. I would guess that your net pay will go up about 28-30%.

DRS has been under-paying you for a long time - the unfortunate lot of the degree-less employee. Once you graduate, you'll be looking at another LARGE bump in pay and probably a change of title as well.

Sorry about the past two deleted comments .. blogspot seems to fuck up links somewhere between the preview and publish step. If financial suggestions are not butting in, shoot me an email and I'll reply back with what I was trying to say :) Otherwise, don't worry about it.

Congratulations!

9:03 AM  
Blogger Karen said...

Michael, the links didn't show up here -- but they did in the emailed version.

You're right, the more I think about it, the more I think I want to stay here a while. I'll probably sign a 6 month lease here in April and then re-evaluate in October.

Getting my high interest debt payed off won't take long -- It's not that the totals are very high it's just that I can't pay much more than the minimum payment right now.

And i guess it is kinda butting it -- but damn, I can't resist a cypher LOL

11:39 AM  
Blogger Cricky said...

Awesome!
Congratulations. And I'm pretty sure God knew what you needed even before you did.

4:42 PM  

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