Loyalty Programs for Gas and a New Budget

As soon as I retire, I will have to start buying diesel for my car myself. Goodbye having the perk of the company paying for all car expenses and car lease!

So, I decided to look for loyalty programs and ease of use of major gas chains. Ideally, I would like to be able to pay for gas without having to get out of my car. 

There are so many campaigns, perks whatever that I started feeling dizzy and to my chagrin, none of them are so great. I guess, I will keep on using the two stations closest to my home and get out of the car to pay.

BTW, we do not have any Self-Serve stations in this country. 

Nevertheless, I will keep my ears and eyes open because, sometimes credit card companies may have campaigns and I can take advantage of those.

I also have to draw up a new budget. My income will be significantly lower so, I must lower some expense categories such as clothing, eating out and etc. My passive income covers all my living expenses. When I get part-time projects and make money, that money will be spent for travel.

So, I sat down today to figure out how much of an Emergency Fund I must have sitting in an easily reachable savings account. The rest of the money will be in savings accounts earning more interest. The economy is going downhill here in this country so, I have taken some precautions to protect my money.

My sister and I have also discussed our family assets and income and knowing that the youngest child born to this family is now 43, we think, we do not have to worry about the future. It is more my issue than my sister's. She is totally cool about it. She says "whatever will be, will be" and when and if push comes to shove, we will figure a solution out. She has a point.

The Weekend

I had a peaceful weekend. On Saturday mom and I went to a farmer's stand to buy our weekly groceries. This guy has the best tomatoes ever. After we were done, we had a small lunch at a place we like.

Then we drove home and put away the groceries. Watched TV and surfed the net in the evening.

Sunday morning, I woke up with a sore throat so, I rested most of the day. We had pre-made meals so, neither mom nor I had to do anything except for fixing salads.

The sore throat is gone today so, it is a good thing but I have this persistent dry cough for a while now.

I have 15 business days left. Yay!

I no longer have mixed feelings. I will miss my people but, hey that's life, right?

Today, they have sent me the amount I shall receive, as I exit the company and I happily realized that it is a bit beyond my expectation. Nice!

Important Things Change Over Time

The other day I was thinking about my 30 year career and realized that, what was important to me back when I started work have changed very dramatically over the years.

When I was a Business Administration student, I used to think, I wanted a very well paying job and my focus was mostly money. As I started looking for a job, I have realized that the job itself was almost as important as money.

In my early years, I have come to the conclusion that, training, possibility to grow into different roles and moving up the hierarchy were important.

As I went up the hierarchy, I was more focused on work-life balance and pay-responsibility-authority balance. I have also started to pay attention to the people who were working for me, their growth both at work and as people, their well-being and their happiness.

When I became a consultant, I wanted to see good implementation of my guidance and when the customers had problems implementing change, I first became upset but then I have quickly realized that change must come from within. Someone in a particular organization must lead and sponsor the change. If that does not happen, no matter how good you are, you cannot be successful. So, a consultant sometimes has to shut up, deliver the work, get paid and not be upset about the outcome.

When I finally joined my current company as the second in command, I felt very responsible for work outcomes, the general day to day requirements, the happiness of the people and the contentment of my boss. I was being paid very well but that was not the sole reason that motivated me.

So, over the years I became more people oriented and my return on that investment is the outpour of love and respect from my team. That, I will not trade for anything.

A trip to Michigan?

The other day, I was talking to my friend whom I will stay with during my time in the US. She said her daughter will go to College in Michigan and we might end up driving her there late August. That's quiet nice actually since, I love road trips and I am sure, we will have a good time.

Today, I was talking to my dad's cousin and she told me that her niece is now a sophomore in Ann Arbor, Michigan and she will be going with her in August to spend some time. Wow! What a coincidence! I am not sure if our dates will match and we will get to see each other though.

I love road trips and drives through country roads especially in the US. My favorite part of the country is New England in the Fall. Love, love, love all those rich colors and the anticipation of upcoming holidays. I miss that very much.

I had a long meeting with my replacement today and I am exhausted.

Last milestone

My replacement started work today. This is the last milestone for me till my exit. We spent a good deal of time over a list of subjects I made.

I believe that the transition will go smoothly. Today, I did not attend the Technical Team Meeting and left her with her new team. She seems like a hard working and serious person. She will have her plate full with the upcoming projects.

I can see the tremendous workload waiting the new management and I am almost sorry for them. I wonder if they will know what hit them.

I am ready to move on and I keep counting the days. Looking forward to my vacation.

I held a kitten!

I am an ailurophobe, deadly afraid of cats regardless of the cat being a Bengal Tiger or a small domestic kitten.

Recently, someone brought a small kitten to work and everybody started petting it and feeding it. Ehem... I meant her.

For some reason I felt like I wanted to touch and pet the kitten. I did that while other people held her last week.

People at work insisted that I should hold her even once to experience what a warm feeling that is. I had doubts about that but today, I held her! I could feel her little heart beating and she was warm and soft and for the first time, she meowed!

I am amazed at my courage. This by no means is a sign that I am not afraid of cats anymore. Their sudden movements still make me jump. But, I have also learnt that, cats do not scratch or bite people for no reason. That was today's lesson.

How many pairs of socks does one need?

My sock drawer is so full that I have difficulty closing it. It looks like socks are coming out of my ears. How did that even happen? I have to sit down and put that in order. It is driving me insane.

Why do people do this to themselves? Honestly how many pairs of socks are enough?

I also found that I have way more nightgowns and pajamas than I need. I always keep a couple unworn ones just in case I need to be in a hospital. Other than that, how many do I really need? There are two drawers full of them. Yikes!

Every time I sort through them, I end up keeping most because they are broken in and comfortable. I must confess I still wear a couple with holes in them. So, the new rule is: If one does not go away, another one is not coming in.

I do need to check out all my clothing items and donate and get rid of all that I do not need. Someone else may be in need of them and it is not right to keep them.

Cleaning out my desk at work

Before the company changed hands, I had cleaned out my work area and carried some stuff home. Couple of weeks ago, I did another round, getting rid of junk. I now have only a few things that I will need to take home. My replacement will have to share my work area for four weeks while I walk her through what she has to do.

I cleaned out my desk completely today. I will just take my fountain pen, my notebook, and my laptop when I finally walk out this place.

They will be leaving this current office by the end of August, moving to a plaza. This place is very nice with a large garden, fruit trees and picnic tables but, it has many infrastructure problems too. Also, it will not be sufficient for more people to be hired.

It will be the end of an era completely by then.

When my replacement starts working, I will cut down on the time I spend at work gradually so, she can be more comfortable.

I will also take her to meet the team in Ankara early August. The plan is, to take my mom back to her home to Ankara on the 11th, do her shopping. Most likely my uncle will come to Ankara to spend time with mom while I am away. Then he will drive her to Antalya where he spends most of his time. On Monday the 13th my replacement will fly to Ankara in the morning, meet me and the team at the office and later in the afternoon I will drive us back.

That will be my last week. I am getting pretty excited and finding it really weird because I am usually very cool. When I was being sent to the US for the first time at the ripe age of 22, to live on my own for the first time, to go abroad for the first time, to be on a plane for the first time, I did not feel any excitement whatsoever. I was cool as a cucumber. It must be about aging.

Tick tock! to Retirement

I have 24 work days to go and I am starting to feel excited. I am making a list of things that I want to do more of when I retire so that, I have a new purpose in life. There are business related subjects and personal and health related things I want to do more of. I need structure and discipline in my life, otherwise, I may become a couch potato very easily.

Yesterday, the car was ready for me to pick-up. So, I left work around 2:30 p.m., called mom to see if she wanted to go with me to pick up the car. She agreed. I parked my company car in the gated parking area in my apartment complex. Since, it is a small place, every apartment is allowed to park only one car in that space and it is not even sufficient for all apartments. So, we park on the street which is not busy.

The friend who helped me buy the car came to give us a ride to the dealer's. As we were waiting for the last few things taken care of, we were offered coffee and mom was able to sip her coffee looking at the nice, shiny black Mustang GT that she loved. Lol!

I had my insurance broker issue the insurance policy before I took the car out of the dealer's. Then I drove to the nearest bank where they have the easy-pass stickers. It will be on auto-pay tied to my credit card. So, I am all set.

When I came back, I parked my new car in the gated parking lot and drove the other one out just to be nice to my neighbors. Needless to say, not all of them are as considerate as I am.

I want to go through all my clothing items and donate all that I am not going to use, leaving only a handful of work clothes and jackets for part-time work.

I have to do this after I take my mom to her home because if I start, she will want me to finish on the same day whereas I like to take my time. It will also be a good exercise since, I will know exactly what I need to buy while I am in the US. I do not see myself needing much.

I have gone through my shoes once but, I think I should do that one more time.

And my cell phone now plays "It's my life!" by Bon Jovi each time someone calls me :)

Water

I have doubts about drinking tap water in this giant city with very questionable bureaucrats. So, I always get my water delivered and use that even for boiling spaghetti.

Whenever I am out and about and when I get thirsty, I grab a bottle of 0.5 lt bottle from any small place, gas station or even Starbucks.

Just recently it hit me how much I am spending on those small bottles.

Last time I was in Starbucks, I grabbed a bottle at 2.50 TL. What!? I get 19 lt. bottles from the guys who deliver my water for 12.50 TL. So, today I asked them whether they also deliver 0.5 lt. bottles. In fact they do. The 24 pack 0.5 lt. bottles cost 16 TL. I ordered my usual two big bottles and a 24 pack.

Then it hit me again that I could just fill up stainless steel water bottles at home and save even more. 2,5 TL vs 0.66 TL vs 0.33 TL!

I am sure I will forget to do this or grab a small bottle when leaving home but, that's OK. I know I will eventually get into the habit before I leave home.

May be I should just stick a note on the door that says "Water and resuable grocery bags!" to remind myself.

A partnership not meant to be...

I have not talked about this here before but, a friend of mine and I was wondering if we could get into form of partnership with an American company. We would use their methodology to provide consultancy services here. I had lined up two meetings with the company during my US visit. My friend would split my travel expenses with me.

Lo and behold, she backed out and I cannot do this on my own. Too much initial investment. I am not upset with my friend because she has solid reasons and I completely understand her.

Now, I have two weeks visiting my friend in NY. I looked up plane tickets to SC to plan a visit with my other friend too but with the TL having depreciated against USD significantly,my friend no longer splitting the travel costs and buying a car, it would not be wise. So, I sent her an e-mail explaining the situation with a promise to make it up to her. Thankfully, she understands.

I am hoping to see her next year and I will plan a much longer visit.

Why an SUV? The Decision Process

I never thought I would buy an SUV in my entire life. So, what got into me? Linda asked me my criteria and since it took me a lot of research and quite some time, I decided to share my decision process.

First of all I started looking for small cars on the market. The selling price is a factor but I concentrated on total cost of ownership in the long run. There are many variables affecting that, such as gas per mileage, yearly tax, routine service, cost of spare parts, cost of new tires.

In this country diesel is cheaper than regular gas so, the car needed to be a diesel. The yearly tax is based on the age of the car plus the engine size. I checked the tax table and decided that the car should have a maximum of 1600 cc engine. For Americans that is not even an engine I know, but the gas prices in this country are 3x what they pay.

Then I looked up service charges at 15,000-30,000-45,000-60,000 etc. kms. along with spare part costs. It was such an eye opener to see how small cars were not necessarily inexpensive. Tire costs vary due to size. (My new car is expensive in that respect.)

At that point I became skeptical about small cars especially in the gas/mileage department.

Then I decided that I need an automatic car. I can drive a stick shift but as I age, it is so much easier. At that point I realized that there are not many automatic small cars with diesel engines. Then mom said she hates to get in and out of cars because they are so damn low. She even brought a thick pillow to the VW Passat, my company car that I am driving. She sits on it. I do not think it works well because after all, it is a pillow.

Mom is 75 and is getting old. So, the travel we can do together is somewhat limited to perhaps the next 10 years, may be less. I want her to be comfortable.

This way,, I started looking at crossovers and SUVs. I do not need a 4x4 since they tend to consume more gas. However, all the available options were beyond my budget. I decided that I could buy a gently used, new-to-me car below 50,000 Kms.

After looking at used cars every night online for quiet a while, I found that Nissan Qashqai, Renault Kadjar, Jeep Renegade were possible options. I found a couple of cars that were worth looking at and sent the links to a friend of mine who is very knowledgeable and who has quite a network of technicians and car salesmen. He researched the cars and told me that the new Ford Kuga (Escape) has a better 1.5 TDCi PowerShift engine. Since Ford sells many cars in Turkey the spare part industry is pretty good and this engine is fairly new with pretty good gas/mileage. The routine services are very inexpensive compared to most cars.

This way, I added the Ford to my list and started following sales ads. That is how I made my decision.

Due to a change in tax law, since this car was a 2017, the yearly tax is lower than the same exact car that is a 2018. With about 6,250 miles, it is practically new. That was my bonus. It is the simplest version. For instance, it has parking sensors at the back, none in the front. It has a screen and bluetooth but, the screen is not a touch screen. However, all the standart features are pretty good and I will not miss anything.

My bank account is lighter today...

This morning, I wired the rest of the payment for the car to the dealer and looking at that particular bank balance, I am feeling "OMG!"

I will be able to put back the money in the same account later in August. So, that's ok.

As a budget nerd, I have several spreadsheets, charts and etc. to follow my finances and when my savings line on a chart nose dives to a new level, it makes my heart ache.

I do not calculate my Net Worth including my assets. For me that is a meaningless number.

My ultimate goal in life is to live on my passive income, keep my savings at their current level and earn a little bit for travel and fun till I am 60 or so. When I reach that age, depending on my health, my family's situation, I may sell my current apartment and move somewhere else.

That is when my assets will become important. Shall I sell that apartment or this one? Shall I upgrade this car or that one? Do we still need two cars? Depending on our health, shall I live with some of my family members or not?

As I type this, I am stuck in a process meeting where I have zero interest and knowledge. Whatever...

Bought the Car

Mom and I really liked the car so, I decided to buy it. My friend had haggled for me so I knew the final price. I told the sales lady that I have an interest bearing account which will mature on Friday.  She agreed to wait. I paid a small sum with my credit card which I will pay in full when I receive the bill. I collect flight miles with that card so, that is a bonus.

I gave power of attorney to one of their employees to handle the sale of the car. I only will have to go pick up the car on Monday. Meanwhile, they will deep clean the car and check it out before handing me the keys. It was pretty clean anyway. I am happy with my choice. I was hoping to spend way less money but after writing down my criteria, I had to go for an SUV type car. The price was reasonable so, I will consider this a once in a life time splurge.

While we were in the showroom, mom decided she liked the Mustang GT best. If she wins the lotto, we may buy it. After all, dreaming is free.

I am glad I did this. I will hand over the company car mid-August as I leave for good.

I get to keep my laptop and my health insurance policy till it expires in June 2019. Not bad.

Today, my replacement is coming to meet the team and we will have a barbecue at work.

Will be interesting to see this.

Mutual Termination of My Contract, A Likely Car Purchase and stuff...

The GM sent me a draft of a mutual termination contract yesterday. I reviewed it, made some changes and sent it right back. He accepted all my terms so all is good. For now anyway.

Today, mom and I will go see a new-to-me car. I wasn't going to rush but, I have been told this is an exceptionally nice car gently used at just 6,250 miles on it. The friend who looked at the car told me there wasn't even a scratch on it. It is a 2017 but, it was put to use in early January 2018. It is being sold as Ford Escape in the US. Here it is called Ford Kuga. The price is good but a bit at the higher end of my budget. Thinking that I will use this car for at least 10 years, I think, what they offer is a good price. If I were buying brand new, I would be paying an extra USD 7,000. The taxes on cars in this country are outrageous so, I am definitely not buying brand new knowing that the car will depreciate several thousand TLs as soon as I drive off the seller's parking lot.

As for work; I will be leaving mid-August and going on vacation to the US. When I come back, I will rest all through September and head to my sister's for a week or so. Then I will drive down south to meet High School pals and may be spend a couple of days with an old colleague. Then, I will drive along the Mediterranean to meet up with mom and uncle. I will spend some time with them and take my mom back to Ankara for our routine cardio appointments.

And then what? I don't know.

All I know is:

- I will not have to do my grocery shopping over the weekends when the traffic is real bad and the shops are crowded.

- I will not have to drive to and from work eating up more than two hours of my time each day.

- I will not have to get upset about things at work.

- I will have more time to take care of myself, be with family, read, write, relax, volunteer, socialize...

- I will not have any excuses for not exercising or eating healthy. (Yeah! This is a good one)

- I will be happy!

As I start living the new life, I will expand this list I am sure.

Wish me luck!

Broke the news...

Yesterday, I told my team that I would soon be leaving. Some of them were kind of expecting it. Some of them were shocked. I received some nice e-mails one of which made me cry. Showed it to mom and she cried too. She told me she was very proud of me. That stll feels nice even at 52 (almost).

I also met the new COO lady yesterday night at dinner. She is 10 years younger than I am. Seems like a nice person but time will tell. I treated her very kindly and told her that till my last day, I will support her and make her transition smooth.

I think the GM is very afraid that I would tell people, the company is no longer a good place to work and that more people will leave. What a poor judgement of my character!

I want the people I leave behind to be happy. I have spent so much time with them. I have told them and will keep telling that the company is now growing, there will be new opportunities for the ones who want to grab them. The only key to grow at work is to work hard and put in a lot of effort. I will not see them every day, but I will be there when they need to talk. They are good people and deserve the best that this company can offer.

I feel very relieved and happy and content.

30 Business Days To Go

After today, I will have 30 business days to go before I am free. I am looking forwrd to announcing my leaving next week. That will lift a big weight off my shoulders.

If the ex-boss walked in today, he would not recognize more than half of the company. So many people already left. Today, another person is leaving who was very well liked by all of us. I am going to miss him but I am glad he is taking on a new and better role.

After my last post, I am truly thankful that I am leaving because, I just do not want to deal with this chaos for which I am not responsible.

If they ask me to come back part-time, I do not think I will accept it.

I am looking forward to my two-week vacation in the US. After I come back, I will relax all through September and in October, I shall visit my sister, spend three days at a resort with my High School pals, then drive to visit my uncle who will have probably brought mom to his home in Antalya. By the end of October both mom and I have cardiologist appointments. So, before I know it the winter will be right around the corner.

I am casually looking for a new-to-me car, but I am in no rush.

Feeling content and excited.

Don't Know What To Say

Today I have been informed that a headhunter is looking for a technical specialist for our Ankara Office. I did not ask for this. Neither did the Technical Team Leaders in either of our offices. Naturally, it is very disturbing for them since "someone" is looking for a person who will supposedly be reporting to them. How stupid! How unprofessional! I wonder if my replacement is aware of these. If so, I am going to be very sorry for the people I will be leaving behind.

It turned out that the new GM has asked for these. What is he trying to accomplish by disturbing the people? There is no such need and yet, he is hiring. People are very uncomfortable and they come to me. I have no answer to give them just yet because I have to wait to announce my leaving till next Tuesday. What a mess! Thank God, in a few days I will anounce my departure and will not have to deal with this chaos anymore.

Meanwhile, they have hired a Pre-Sales person already without properly giving notice to the Sales Leader at the same office.

What a poor way to treat people! I am absolutely furious.

Tell me your friend, I will tell you who you are

This is an old saying in Turkish. The other day, I was thinking about that. I have a bunch of young people working for me and as I observe how they interact with each other, whether they are friends outside of work too or not, this old saying came to my mind.

People change after they befriend someone who is toxic. A normally cheerful, self-motivated, hard-working individual may turn into a self-depreciating, depressed person if she/he spends enough time with such a person.

I have seen this pattern in our company several times.

Sometimes a friend can be intellectually challenging and you strive to keep up with her/him. You start learning about different things, you widen your interests and these type of friends uplift your mood and help you become a may be not better but more interesting person.

We cannot choose our families but we surely can choose our friends. I am not saying that we should abandon people who are going through a bad period or suffering in any way. As good friends, we definitely should stand by them and help them any way we can. I am talking about an entirely different type of personality. The one who always complains, who always looks for the negativity in anything and everything, who gossips about people, who constantly digs into other people's personal lives. I also cannot stand materialistic people. They will never be happy.

I treat everyone nicely but, I decide on the distance between us. Life is too short to be in pain. Every day is a gift and I am determined to live it happily and peacefully.

Wing it!

When I am cooking, I almost never stick to a recipe. I add and subtract things as I wish and the outcome is always palatable. Cooking is not like baking where you have to measure ingredients and be careful about the recipes.

The other day, I made a stir-fry dish of some vegetables on hand and mom and I had it for dinner. The leftover portion became part of a frittata.

My soups are always loaded with things that may not be in the original recipe. If I have to use up something, I will.

Trying to stick to a recipe is tiring and frustrating since sometimes they call for ingredients you may not have on hand at all times. Besides, I do not like to buy something which will be used just once and most likely go bad before being used a second time.

The other day, I was watching a cooking show with some obnoxious contestants. They visit each other's homes for dinner and grade the cooking. They say things like, "such and such does not go into this soup or casserole or whatever". Who says? And Why?

The other day I put carrots and potatoes I had to use in lentil soup and mom said she had never seen someone putting those in lentil soup. I think she watches that show every day. Lol! I said, a soup is a soup and anything can go into it as long as it is tasty. The soup is gone already so, I must have been doing something right.

When I leave work, I will try to focus on cooking healthy and fresh foods. I generally like cooking but cleaning up aftrwards is a chore I hate.

Beaming!

Mom says I am beaming with relief. So true!

Next Monday, I will meet the new person and on Tuesday, I will tell my team about me leaving and another lady replacing me. On Friday, there will be a barbecue party to introduce her to the company.

She will start on the 23rd of July and I will be around only till the 18th of August. Enough time to walk her through what she needs to do.

Then, I will be off to the USA for my two week vacation. When I come back, I will be free!

I am planning to relax till the end of October or so and then start working on a couple of projects I have been contemplating. I am not in a rush to get part-time project work.

My current company may ask me to work part-time but I do not know if I want to. Not yet anyway. We'll see.

I have been looking at cars. They are so darn expensive in this country. I do not want to rush. I have a 2010 Nissan Note in Ankara which my uncle uses for himself and mom. I will take that to Istanbul till I find myself a new-to-me reliable SUV type car. My sister has an identical car that she also keeps in Ankara unused. Uncle and mom will use that while I look around. Both are old cars with only about 90,000 miles. We had bought them new and we are sure they are reliable so, we do not want to sell them at very depreciated prices. This way we can fly or take the fast train to Ankara and use our cars there saving lots of gas money.