Another Layoff Round

 My company chose to layoff several thousand more co-workers last week.  I wasn't let go but given the state of the economy today and Dom not working, it has me more concerned.   I really don't feel very secure and the latest layoffs have me further on edge.    I'm feeling extra stressed since everything is falling on me financially.   If I lose my job we'll be in trouble.   

I already have some expenses that I need to deal with.   Dom is wanting more money for more pre-order doll stuff that's coming in.   I've already had to pay over $1400 for his crap.   That part is very frustrating since it's not a need.   Also I was hoping the money we lost from the hack would be credited.   But I found out that the investigation could take anywhere from 30 - 90 days and then our balance would be credited. So in the meantime I won't be able to make an extra payment for the mortgage.    So that puts me a month behind from the goal I had to pay off the mortgage.

I have a couple household expenses that I need to pay for as well.   One for a leaking sink and another for a garage door that won't close properly.   I also need to start paying for the new fridge we had to get.   I'm very stretched right now.

I usually plan a birthday trip but I haven't planned anything and it's probably a good thing.  I really can't afford to spend more money for a hotel and flight.    It's good at least we did Mackinaw Island this year though now I have to hear how Dom wants us to retire there...LOL.   He's insane.   Plus he doesn't understand the concept of saving money so I don't know how he plans on paying for it.   That's right, I have to.   The hell I do.   But that's another rant.

But yeah I'm struggling financially and sadly I may not be able to pay my credit card balance in full this month.   My total balance is over $3200 already and I still have 9 days left on the billing cycle.   I'll have to pay interest fees for the first time since 2023 if I can't pay it off.   I may just have to dip into my dwindling savings which is now below $12K (and sinking).   

It's depressing to think about.   But all I can do is pray and hope I can hold on to my job.   And maybe win a small fortune...LOL.

Just Another Sad Dom Song

 Our joint account wound up getting hacked last Thursday.   I put an alert for Centier to send me an alert if the joint account balance falls below $120.   I've had it go off several times since I've set it up.    But I was peeved when the alert came out last Thursday.   I was almost home from work when it came.   I was expecting my balance to be over $600 since I transferred some cash over in anticipation of paying the mortgage which was due the next day.

I was thinking the worst of Dom not believing he spent over $500 for something.   I asked Dom what was going on but he said he only spent $70.    I decided to log in and check out the transactions to see if my transfer came through.   I confirmed that it did indeed come through but so did two fraudulent entries, one for $250 and another for $400.   The entries were from something identified as Gemini which we later learned was supposedly crypto transactions.

I immediately called the bank who of course had to speak to Dom since the transactions came from his card.   We had a similar incident happen less than a year ago.   What annoys me is that Dom makes so many purchases related to his doll hobby.   It's likely one of the sites he went to may not be 100% secure.  I have a hard time making heads or tails of his purchases.   

At the end of the day it's his hobby.   But I wish he didn't spend almost his whole paycheck on it, which right now is nothing.   He seems to have given up on finding anything.   He did apply for unemployment but I sill question if they would pay him or not.   He mentioned it would be $300 something though I'm not clear if it's every week or every other week.   I believe I was collecting a paycheck once every two weeks for only about $300 - $400.    

We would have to go to the bank to get the disputed transactions removed from our account.   We did that this past Saturday even though it doesn't come off right away.   We also both decided to get new bank cards.   I really didn't need to get one since I only use my card to deposit cash at the ATM whenever Dom gets the balance below $120.

 I checked today to see if the Gemini balances were credited to our account and it's still not.  The saving grace is that I deposited an extra $600 for Friday that originally was supposed to be the extra payment but wound up being my primary mortgage payment.   Otherwise we would've been late for the mortgage.

I have to wait for the fraudulent payments to be cleared out so I can get the original $600 back so I can then put an extra payment on the mortgage like I had originally planned.

So when looking to see if the transactions were removed, wouldn't you know Dom is already using the new debit card for doll purchases.   Some things will never change but I can't believe that he's still buying frivolous stuff when he's not collecting income.   I can see it now, his unemployment will be spent on dolls and maybe a few groceries...LOL

I said it before but choose your mate wisely.   They'll either work to help build things up or they'll try to bring you down with them.   I do love Dom despite his ways but if I knew I'd be dealing with this drama,  I may have had second thoughts.   The saving grace with Dom is that he's a good person with a good heart.   I still wish he picked up some financial sense along the way, though.   But I'll have to be that person for both of us.

I know I've complained about it before.   I felt awful because I even complained to my boss briefly about it in our one-on-one but then felt bad.   I guess I needed an outlet.   

Squid Pro Quo

 Netflix released a Korean series called The Squid Games on September 17, 2021.   The premise of the series is that there is a secret island where players who are extremely down on their luck (i.e. owing creditors millions of dollars or needing to cover expensive health care for an ailing child) are offered the opportunity of a lifetime to win up to 456 million dollars.   It's a million dollars for each player and in the end it only goes to the last man or woman standing.

The show itself wound up being one of the most watched and talked about series of 2021.  I myself was immediately hooked once I started watching.   I was vested in the stories of the various players and still remember the shock after that first game where folks were shot and killed if they did not successfully complete it.

I remember I was working at Amazon at the time which was in a way my rock bottom.  So the series resonated with me.  I remember the anguish I felt when favorite characters were killed and crazily enough the glee when unsavory players got their just dessert.

Netflix at the time didn't realize how big of a hit it would become.   They scrambled to make merch based off the series, including Halloween costumes wearing the uniforms of either the players or the guards, the latter of which was explored in more detail in the next season.    There really wasn't a second season planned either until the overwhelming response of the show.   That's why it took almost three years before the final season was released.

One of the items that was created was a collectible Squid Game Building Set from Mattel.    I knew nothing about this but found out about it from yours truly.   Dom knew of the series because I couldn't stop talking about it and other folks that he knew watched it.   However, I could never convince him to watch it for himself.   He's not big on watching violence on TV and Squid Games definitely has it share.

So Dom knowing how much I enjoyed the series decided to buy the set for me about three months back.   It comes with 1735 pieces (that are kind of like Lego blocks and other shapes) that you have to put together to rebuild the classic multi-colored hallways that the players and guards go up and down the stairs on.   There are two huge manuals that come with it that shows pictures of all the steps that need to be taken to put it together.   It even has some mechanical parts that you can wind to move the players and guards around.   It's something that will take some time to put together.

It's a pretty cool set and it was so sweet of Dom to think of me.   I wasn't thrilled though to find out that he spent $130 on it.   But Dom was so excited about it and he took pictures of the box and the various manuals and pieces that are divided into individual bagged sections.   The steps have all the pieces from a particular step that is needed and then the other pieces add on to the base.

So far I've completed 4 steps.   There are several dozen more steps to go.    But I'm taking pictures as I complete the sections and sharing them with Dom.   He ultimately wants to publish all the pics into his personal site.    So in a way it's like a project that we're working together on.   So maybe it's worth it after all.