Wow. I have been away form the site for the last few weeks. My hours have been cut here at work so I have been putting the resume and cover letter together. I have also been doing a lot of networking.

More just setting myself up for Q3 or Q4. I have a non-compete that ends June 1st so I can compete directly with my old employer. So now is the time to just start reaching out and networking with some recruiting firms.

There is an old saying "Never burn your bridges." At one time, I had over 35 people reporting into me and most were consultants. I would often deal with recruiters via hiring and firing people. I always tried to be fair and honest with all parties involved.

Now that I am on the other side of the fence, a lot of the firms see my resume and remember how I treated them (even if I don't know who they are). My advice to people especially just starting their careers is to remember always treat people fairly and honestly and you will be remembered. You will stand out from other people.

Anyway back to the update.

My hours have been cut by over 25% and logically my paycheck too. The good news is that I am still living below my means,. I am still on track to max the 401(k). I am also able to save a little.

None of this would have been possible if I wasn't out of debt.

My current goals are to max the 401 (k) and put an additional $30k in my EF. So far I have $3,600 in the 401 (k) which is a great start. I also have almost $6,000 of the $30,000 for the EF saved.

I have also been looking at refinancing my mortgage. I currently have a 30 year at 5.5%. This weekend I just received paperwork for a 15 year at 4.5% with 0 points. My mortgage broker wants to wait because the market is going in our favor. So, I wait.

So at work, they brought all of the consultants into a room. I was thinking "this ain't going to be good." I hear from my friends who got laid off from State Street, Lehman, Fidelity, etc. So I figured they were going to prep us with the first round of layoffs.

I actually wasn't too worried. I had figured I could last through at least 3 rounds. They decided to do a more socialist move that results in my billable hours being cut by 20%. So in essence, I am done to a 4 day work week.

Surprisingly, I was quite calm. I mean I had to tell my wife that it may mean we have to cut new furniture out of the budget. But since I have been on a budget and paying off debt, we can cover all the expenses and still max my 401(k) and save a little. All and all, not bad in my industry.

I think the real thing that since I paid of all my debt, right now, this is an inconvenience and not a disaster. I think this just further demonstrates the risk that debt can have in your life.

As for my goals, I am pretty happy that I have saved $4,204 in January for the emergency fund. I am 14% towards my goal of adding $30,000.

I have also socked away $2,529 towards my 401(k). Or about 15% done with that goal.

So all and all – things could me worse. But if this is as worse as 2009 gets, it won't be that bad.