The change jar yielded $84.83 when the bank counted and deposited it! Our vacation is fully funded and then some. We're going to have a lot of fun in October.

Spoke to AS just now. Her job is getting more and more miserable by the day. More worrisome, it seems to be sapping her energy and confidence, both of which she's going to need if she's going to get a job to match her new degree. (It is a new field for her, but I know she can talk her way in, just not with her self-esteem at this low state.)

We talked about how she may need to get out before she finds a job, so she can lose the negativity and also have more time to devote to the job search. We put almost her entire paycheck toward extra debt repay, so with a few other cutbacks, we could survive on just two checks for a little while. All that would happen is that our debt repay would slow to a crawl, and some of our discretionary spending would have to stop temporarily. Of course we'd have to pay for health insurance and bus passes, but otherwise our necessary expenses wouldn't go up.

We decided to wait a week or two. Layoffs are going to be announced soon, and she wouldn't want to give notice before that. If she gets laid off instead of quitting she'll probably get a nice severance package, which could make this a much easier time for us. I've never hoped for someone to get laid off before, but there's a first time for everything! Anyway, she's putting out some feelers, so there's a slight chance she'll get a nibble from some company before she has to quit. But I'm steeling myself for her quitting, just to be prepared.

It's kind of scary, but overall it's a gamble that I think would pay off. AS has fearsome interview and job-hunting skills, but the barrage of blows to her self-esteem from bad co-workers, an unstimulating yet stressful position, a dismal fiscal situation in her department and a revolving stable of ever-worsening bosses have conspired to weaken her somewhat. I think even just the satisfaction of telling them she's leaving will do wonders! Once she's back in fighting shape, I've no doubt she can find a great job, probably one that pays a good deal more than her current crapfest.