A Frugal Miser Plans for the Future

Now that I am transitioning back to the workforce after a 3 month transitional period, I have to reassess some things:

1. My new job is a dramatic pay cut early on (compared to the job I left in August) but has longer-term potential. It is also a longer commute (about 45 miles each way).
2. If the job works out, I have a rental property about 10 miles from the company which I could consider moving into once the current lease is up in April, 2010.
3. I would like to retain as much income as I can from the alternative sources I've used these last three months.

I have a lot to think about. I could probably continue 50-75% of my mystery shopping and merchandising on nights and weekends if I plan carefully and really hustle. On the other hand, I want to give this new position 100% of my energy. Another consideration is my need for income. Until I sell the Bimmer, I will definitely need to earn more outside of this new job.

I also need to consider the transactional costs of moving. Fortunately I will have about 5 months to see if the new position will work out long term before I will be able to consider moving. As I blogged about earlier, most people don't fully consider all the costs of change. For example, when I moved into my current home and converted my last home to a rental property, I didn't realize how much more expensive the property taxes would be on the old home when I no longer qualified for the homestead exemption there. Since it was my first property in a city limits, the taxes are significantly higher than my other properties. The house I live in now is outside a municipality, but the location is good for me besides commuting to my new job.