I got 2 very good bits of $-related news yesterday.

1. I learned my contract job is up Sept. 2, not in July, as I'd thought. What was the cause for the mix-up? Well, I was told it was a 10-month assignment, but the agency tracks your time according to hours worked, not weeks. So all those holidays I fretted about because I couldn't work them, and all those smaller paychecks also due to the the half days BEFORE the holiday I didn't work, and a times I took a few hours off for a doc appointment, well....I will earn all that money after all.

It's really just 1 extra month, so I don't know why I'm so happy about it, but I am.

Also, I had a meeting with my boss today and she asked me, IF there was an offer of a permanent position, would I be interested. I said yes, absolutely, you don't have to ask!! Everyone at the bank has wanted an in-house writer for a long time, she said, confirming what others have told me.

I'm just afraid that, what if they do what another contract employer did, decide they should advertise the position outside the bank to make sure they were getting the very best? I HOPE that wouldn't happen. There have been a number of other contractors who got perm offers at the bank, so fingers crossed.

I've also heard that usually when they hire a contractor, your salary DROPS compared to what you were making at an hourly rate, because they argue that you're now getting full benefits, paid time off, etc. I'm not thrilled about that, because I feel I'm quite a bit underpaid for the industry, my years of experience and this part of the country....I'm making $35/hr, which is about $72K a year. I feel I should be making around $85K.

I hope they wouldn't drop it below $65K, but who really knows?

2. The other good news I got was that, after working 6 months at the bank, I'm now eligible to get on the health plan offered by the recruiter agency that found me. I got the PPO paperwork this week, and after the agency chips in roughly half the monthly premium, I will have to pay just $175 a month!!! It's an Aetna plan with a $5K deductible (mostly all I ever use a plan for is the usual stuff that's 100% covered now anyway, like a physical, mammogram, gyno) and co-pays of $25 for PCP and $50 for a specialist. It covers meds. For other stuff, it covers 80/20%. I will be fine as long as, say, I didn't need surgery or some expensive procedure, because 20% can be quite a lot of money.

Anyway, I can't wait to get on the plan. Compared to the $404 a month I'm paying now, $175 will feel like nothing! I'll be effective May 1.

Now that I know I'm working til Sept 2 at the least, I anticipate having to repay about $1400 to the IRS when I file my taxes next year, to pay back the subsidy I got for Jan - April. Sometime in the fall, my earnings will exceed the income limit for the subsidy, which is about $46K.

I am doing well on my retirement savings plan (see sidebar, bottom). I aimed to save at least $800 a month toward my retirement, and I've already saved $6,100, not $3200, for the first 4 months of this year.

So I am finally loosening up the purse strings, just a little, paying for lunch when I was out with Mike last weekend, an occasional lunch at the office cafe, and some clothing and vitamins.

Now I can daydream about how wonderful it would be to get a perm job this fall. Even with a pay cut, I can easily live while making $60K-something, without a mortgage. Heck, not too many years ago, I lived on a $50K salary while I still had my mortgage!

So, knowing that, I would immediately max out my 401k, including the catch-up contributions for age 50 and above. And then I would really look forward to some paid vacation time, an excellent health plan and still a very reasonable work day. A lot of people leave there right at 5pm and at most, some stay til 5:30 pm. No workaholics there!

Today after work I had an optometrist appointment. I only went there because I want to get a new pair of eyeglasses. I've had my current frames for just 2 years, but I NEVER liked them. The problem is that I'm very near-sighted and really couldn't see them that well when I was trying them on. So my eyes didn't change much. I will take the prescription to Costco at the next opportunity (maybe Saturday).

I also hit Trader Joe's tonight.

Tomorrow is errands day, including major house cleaning cus on Sunday, Mike is coming over, we're doing a big hike somewhere and then we'll be at my place for a light dinner. I won't feel like cooking after a hike, but I plan to make a wheat berry salad tomorrow with celery, apple chunks currants, and orange zest. It's quite good. I'll pair that with some yummy tomato soup from TJs and some great croutons. For starters we can nibble crackers and guacamole. And I bought some Hawaiian beer to try as he enjoys drinking beer.

Tonight I'm really pooped and am glad I can turn the alarm off for tomorrow.