Signing a Contract

Yesterday, I signed my contract at the new district. I had forgotten about all of the decisions that had to be made. It was a little easier for me since I have been teaching and thought to bring a pay stub with me. Some of the new applicants had to take home the insurance to look it over, I was able to sign up for what I already had.

It is very different going from a large district with 43, 000 students to one with 18, 000 students. The admin building is much more "user friendly". When I was signing up for insurance, I got to talk one on one with someone instead of being herded into a room and sort of left on my own to figure out what I wanted. I had a question about what would happen with my 146 days of sick leave, I got to speak to the person in charge and get my questions answered. When I got home I called  my old district about the sick leave, I got to talk to someone on the phone that talked to me in a rather terse voice and didn't really answer my questions. It is also going to be nice to work right where I live, the admin building is 5 minutes away if I have to drop something off, I don't have to figure out how I am going to get there in time.

So far through this process there have only been two negatives 1) My daughter and I will have to go a month w/o insurance unless I want to pay the premium out of pocket. My pockets are empty, so we will have to be careful!  2) Since my old district was on a semi-year around schedule, our pay schedule doesn't meet up with the new districts. I get my last pay check from OKC on July 30. I'm not scheduled to get a check from 

Mid-Del until Sept 25, yes you read that right. Yikes!!!  It's times like these I wish I had inherited my dad's financial genes. Fortunately, they do offer the option to let you get 13 checks instead of 12 the first year so you can get a check on Aug. 25.  I'll be getting less on each check, but I don't have any other options at this time, but I am glad it is an option. : )

I decided I am  going to try something new with Delaney. It may sound weird, but I think it will save me money and be a good lesson for her. I am going to start giving her $20 -$25 a month when I get paid. she will have to budget that money for all of those little extras she asks me for when we go to Target, etc... 

I remember when I was in college, a financial guy came and talked to us and this was one of the things he talked about...helping children become fiscally responsible. So when she gets her money, she has to set aside some for church and some for savings, the rest she can spend or save as she chooses. She is very excited about doing this. When we went to Texas, I gave her some money to buy school clothes. I found out, she is much tighter with her money than she is with mine! hahaha