Christopher had the talk with the boss at work. I was so nervous waiting to hear what he had to say, so I cornered him as soon as he got home.
I don't think anyone from his work, or really anyone I know in real life reads this blog or even knows it exists, so I think it's safe to talk about it.
C's boss says he's made the decision that he's definitely going to retire within 3 years. It'll only be one year if his other income maker (property management ) starts working out better for him. He then went on to say that of the two assistant manager at the store, the one that would best be suited to take it over would be Christopher. He'd said this once before, but had to actually make a case for him to the district manager because the other assist. mgr has been a mgr much longer than C has. However, after this past work day/meeting they had, it's obvious now that lots of people feel that C is well on his way up the ladder. So, what this means is that the boss is going to start teaching C all the store manager stuff that he can teach him, and then when the classes open up in Chicago at headquarters again, he'll go to those as well.
Now, C says in the end that the boss doesn't really have any say in who takes the store over when he leaves, but he has said he thinks C should get it, and that if they need an interim manager between the boss's leaving and a new one coming in, then C should definitely be the one to do that. So, of course, being the interim manager would make an even better case for him getting the store.
I don't know exactly what the future holds at this point, but it's looking pretty good. One thing that's kind of niggling at the back of my mind is that if he's going to go through this manager training thing, what if another store opens up in the meantime and they want to move him. I've just got to hope that doesn't happen, and even if it does, then it'll be withing commuting distance, even if it's a long commute.
While, I can work anywhere in the US as long as there's internet, the girls really don't want to have to change schools now that they're in high school together especially.
It seems silly to want such a great promotion to wait awhile, but it's really how I feel. If everything can just work out that C is ready to take over this store when the boss leaves, but they don't take him somewhere else first... it's all just a lot of crossed fingers and prayers over the next 1-3 years.
In the meantime, he and I have decided we can't just coast through paycheck to paycheck anymore. We've added a lot of "unnecessaries" to the budget lately which we need to cut back on. For instance, we're paying the kids allowance = to double their age every two weeks. So the 16 year old gets $32 every other Saturday. That adds up for 3 kids over a month. So since we were also paying for their phone minutes, we've decided to stop paying for their minutes. That'll save us about $150 a month and make them understand how much things cost and how they will also have bills to pay each month.
I'm also going to try to cut down on other spending, since the largest portion of outgoing seems to be food related. I'm packing C's lunches again (though I'd love for him to get back on Slim Fasts since they were really working for him), and we're going to pack the girls' lunches again this school year.
If we paid for their lunches, it would cost us $6.75 a day and that adds up. $33.75 a week or $135 a month. Now, they have said they're going to be healthier this year, but the prices also went up. If we just had one kid, I'd pay for it with no problem, but 3 really adds up. So, I've got to really keep costs down which making sure they get the basic food groups. One that that I think will really help is realizing they don't want too MUCH food. So, like instead of an apple in each lunchbox, I just cut one apple into thirds and slice them and put into a tupperware container. Same for carrot sticks, cheese cubes etc. But that's another post.
So, yeah, we're staying here, but there's that question hanging over our heads: Will we really get to stay? Will he really get his home store? To get a yes to those questions would be amazing. This house will be paid off in 4.5 years, we'll only have one kid left at home to have to pay for school fees, and school lunches and just feed and clothe daily... and the payraise that comes with being a store manager should be pretty substantial. We could finally get some decent savings in the bank, and we could finally be able to start traveling like we always wanted.
Just got to keep hoping and praying and preparing.
Hope y'all are having a great weekend!
I don't think anyone from his work, or really anyone I know in real life reads this blog or even knows it exists, so I think it's safe to talk about it.
C's boss says he's made the decision that he's definitely going to retire within 3 years. It'll only be one year if his other income maker (property management ) starts working out better for him. He then went on to say that of the two assistant manager at the store, the one that would best be suited to take it over would be Christopher. He'd said this once before, but had to actually make a case for him to the district manager because the other assist. mgr has been a mgr much longer than C has. However, after this past work day/meeting they had, it's obvious now that lots of people feel that C is well on his way up the ladder. So, what this means is that the boss is going to start teaching C all the store manager stuff that he can teach him, and then when the classes open up in Chicago at headquarters again, he'll go to those as well.
Now, C says in the end that the boss doesn't really have any say in who takes the store over when he leaves, but he has said he thinks C should get it, and that if they need an interim manager between the boss's leaving and a new one coming in, then C should definitely be the one to do that. So, of course, being the interim manager would make an even better case for him getting the store.
I don't know exactly what the future holds at this point, but it's looking pretty good. One thing that's kind of niggling at the back of my mind is that if he's going to go through this manager training thing, what if another store opens up in the meantime and they want to move him. I've just got to hope that doesn't happen, and even if it does, then it'll be withing commuting distance, even if it's a long commute.
While, I can work anywhere in the US as long as there's internet, the girls really don't want to have to change schools now that they're in high school together especially.
It seems silly to want such a great promotion to wait awhile, but it's really how I feel. If everything can just work out that C is ready to take over this store when the boss leaves, but they don't take him somewhere else first... it's all just a lot of crossed fingers and prayers over the next 1-3 years.
In the meantime, he and I have decided we can't just coast through paycheck to paycheck anymore. We've added a lot of "unnecessaries" to the budget lately which we need to cut back on. For instance, we're paying the kids allowance = to double their age every two weeks. So the 16 year old gets $32 every other Saturday. That adds up for 3 kids over a month. So since we were also paying for their phone minutes, we've decided to stop paying for their minutes. That'll save us about $150 a month and make them understand how much things cost and how they will also have bills to pay each month.
If we paid for their lunches, it would cost us $6.75 a day and that adds up. $33.75 a week or $135 a month. Now, they have said they're going to be healthier this year, but the prices also went up. If we just had one kid, I'd pay for it with no problem, but 3 really adds up. So, I've got to really keep costs down which making sure they get the basic food groups. One that that I think will really help is realizing they don't want too MUCH food. So, like instead of an apple in each lunchbox, I just cut one apple into thirds and slice them and put into a tupperware container. Same for carrot sticks, cheese cubes etc. But that's another post.
So, yeah, we're staying here, but there's that question hanging over our heads: Will we really get to stay? Will he really get his home store? To get a yes to those questions would be amazing. This house will be paid off in 4.5 years, we'll only have one kid left at home to have to pay for school fees, and school lunches and just feed and clothe daily... and the payraise that comes with being a store manager should be pretty substantial. We could finally get some decent savings in the bank, and we could finally be able to start traveling like we always wanted.
Just got to keep hoping and praying and preparing.
Hope y'all are having a great weekend!