Neurotic Finance

That title search/examiner job that I talked about interviewing for in my last post? Yeah, well I got “the call” Thursday afternoon last week, and I’m still having a hard time believing that I got the position!

Woohoo!

Man, does it feel great knowing that I’m not stuck in customer service hell anymore. No longer do I have to answer back-to-back phone calls from ungrateful customers who are upset with me because they don’t know how to drive. No more having to adhere to a closely monitored, by-the-minute schedule, where if a customer decides to talk my ear off for an additional 10 minutes over my scheduled break time, I’m penalized for it. No more processing insurance claims.

Er, well… I mean, not really.

So, this new job — the exact opposite of the emotionally draining insurance job that I’ve had for the past three years. The two biggest differences are that it’s entirely autonomous (I can start work at 4:00 AM if I feel inclined to, or run to the store or the gym whenever I feel like it), and there’s absolutely no talking to customers! Pretty much my entire day is spent processing property documents, something that not only can I do with my hands tied behind my back, but also something that I’m looking forward to!

Ah!!! I’m just… so relieved and happy!!!!!

But to get back to the “not really” bit — I’m actually thinking that I’m going to keep my emotionally-draining customer service job as well, at least for a little while. The hours are a bit different, so I can make it work.

The reason? Double paychecks. I make $38.6k with my current job, and with the new one I’ll be making $34.3k. Put those two salaries together, and I’ve got a pretty nice chunk of change coming in, in one of the lowest COL areas in the US! So, I figure what better way to pump up my savings and achieve FIRE even faster than to suffer at least for maybe a few months? At the very least, until the beginning of next year so that I can cash in on that sweet, sweet yearly paid time off.

It’s gonna be hard, no doubt. But, I think it’ll be worth it, especially when I’m able to finally purchase my 2nd rental property.

In the meantime, I’m also still working toward getting a few AML/BSA certs, because later down the road, maybe I’ll want to go that route… or, perhaps I can trade in my insurance hell customer service job for a second job in AML/BSA Compliance. Wishful thinking, but hey, whatever. I already dropped the money on them before I got the job offer. Never stop working on yourself, right?

Oh! There’s one other thing that’s going to be standing in the way, at least temporarily, of snagging my 2nd rental property — and that’s the search for a place for my S/O and I to live. We’re actually looking at a certain place right now. But, that’s a story for another post.