By my work December 16, 2008

All Spending Shopping & Eating Out on hold until further notice

Well, it happened. I wasn’t sure it was going to. I thought maybe we’d just get a smaller holiday bonus this year but it looks as though there won’t be any at all.

While at work this morning the boss called in and informed me that he would be cutting my {already part time} hours {along with another employee’s} back to three days a week starting in January. He assured me that I will continue to receive my health insurance though, which is a relief because any woman in her baby-making years knows ~ it’s very expensive.

Two other employees have been cut all together but left with an “as needed” basis …most likely to work at art fairs. Or maybe he just threw them a bone.

I think we all had a feeling this was coming because business has been much slower since June of this year. The phones have not been ringing as often. The addition of new art to our web site and the other 10 or so sites we are a part of slowed because we were buying less. All art magazine ads have been cut. Compared to 2006 when I designed two different catalogues {Jim Dine, an artist we represent and a Photorealist catalogue}, ads for magazine placement, post cards for art fairs, not to mention doing almost every art fair that popped up rather than just the two that we were involved with in 2008, it seems as though business has almost come to a complete stop. This year we’ve even decided to send out a holiday email blast instead of our yearly card I get to design. And the above listed are only the creative/advertising department. My department.

This post is seemingly difficult to write because I have mixed emotions about the situation and my brain is scattered.

3 DAY WORK WEEK! Good. PAYCHECK CUT BY ALMOST 40%! Not so good.

While I am upset, it could be worse. Way worse. Luckily my husband and I paid off almost 30K in credit card debt {my debt} by the end of 2007. We don’t have a mortgage or any little mouths to feed other than the doggies. Needless to say, 2008 has been debt-free and we have been good little savers. Yes, we were saving for a house but with no end in sight to this recession, it would be dumb to buy a house right now {in Los Angeles anyway}.

I know this must be very hard for our employer. He treats us like family and to have to get rid of more than half of us right before the holidays must just be eating away at him. It’s a difficult situation to be in. And I guess if I had to choose, I’d rather be the one getting her hours cut than the one doing the cutting. Besides, now I’ll have even MORE time to blog.


LA native & lifestyle blogger Maegan Tintari writes daily at ...love Maegan.com sharing beauty & style secrets, including fashion DIYs, how-to nail art manicures, hair tutorials, recipes & home decorating ideas, as well as a look into her personal life, her journey & battle with infertility & recent relocation to the mountains by a lake in search of a better life with her adorable French Bulldog brothers, Trevor and Randy.

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