No Longer able to Contribute To 401K

[Barbisi]

Zombie13 can no longer contribute any funds to the new company's 401K because of the permanent pay cut he had to accept in order to rejoin the ranks of the employed.
This company will only match any employee contributions after 4 years of continuous employment. We reasoned life insurance plus death & dismemberment. etc. were more important to pay for, since I have no income or substantial savings and God forbid he were to die and leave our four cats and me alone, we would need that money to start a new life elsewhere.
The 401Ks are supposed to only be used after 70, so struggling to contribute at 56 on an income already reduced by hundreds of $$$ a month is not very savvy. Finding a higher paying salaried job with better PTO and other benefits is.
My fairly frequent medical visits of late are causing turmoil at this job because the anal-retentive boss is monitoring every moment Zombie is away from his desk and reminding him of core hours policy (10am -3pm). Unfortunately most of these tests and procedures do not fall in easy to schedule, outside of these "vital" hours. For example my fasting blood tests are set for 10am next Friday, and the Fibro scan is scheduled at 3PM on a Tuesday, while the CT scan (still not scheduled) requires IV (a formula which always makes me feel a little sick) for contrast and possible sedation, adding to the time he can't be on-site. And, of course there are follow-up visits to the respective providers to discuss what if anything needs to be done next. If he tries to start work at 6am for example, that's extra driving and gas (!) and he is already exhausted by working many nights to 8 - or 10pm, I don't think he can lose much more sleep.
As I said in another post, I hope I don't already have cancer or some other really serious illness...........

[justbroke]

So much to deal with. I hope you both are able to get through the current struggles and come out on the other side sunny-side up.

[Carmella]

Hi Barbisi is Zombie's current job with lower pay (old company) the one giving him a hard time about the core hours? I had trouble following what you wrote. I am sorry that jobs can be like this forgetting the employees are humans. I hope and send prayers that there is no cancer lurking.

I have been on my current job for almost a year. I went from a terrible job where people were being watched/accused/fired (accused meant you would be fired because no one would be found in the clear) to another nursing facility which unknown to me/people in my department were all new...was shut down by the state. Then I found a job that was kind of nice, started off part time because it was the best option at the time and then they gave me more hours, but it was across town through traffic and areas that always had accidents and backed up highways and in the winter it was the snowbelt and in the summer it was orange barrel country. And if that wasn't enough to deal with my hours dropped and I could go between 5 facilities and still wind up with only 30 hours or less. Then a friend called and told me the good the BAD and the UGLY, but it was close to home and nice people in my department--no traffic , accidents to dodge or snow, etc. But it has got totally out of control and while I am making my hours with a good paycheck my mental health is not good. I am too stressed and often feel like a veggie afterwork and not living life like I should.

Well another friend called last week about another job, still close enough to home about a 5 minute longer drive--without the traffic, snow, etc and the place is highly rated with wonderful reviews and my friend loves it. A position just opened up so I am interviewing with a very good chance to get the job. I know 3 people working there who all are great references. I am very excited to say the least.

Why do jobs have to be so terrible sometimes where people can't just work and do the right thing and get along, have compassion when needed and don't punish everyone because there have been some bad apples.

We keep trudging along and are happy to have BK as a distant memory as each day passes. The bad part if a distant memory mixed with the happiness of not being dragged down with debt. I think about you and Zombie13 often. It is nice to hear an update and I wish you both the best while dealing with this thing we call Life!