One of the most important things an individual can do in regard to finances is to know and accept your limitations. It’s fairly straightforward if, say, you wish to purchase a television that is over your budget. In such a scenario your best strategy is to wait and save until you can afford to make the purchase. However, not every situation is so black and white.
As a recent college graduate – particularly one in Michigan where the economy is in shambles – I knew when receiving my degree that my job search would have to cast a wider net than merely my home base. To accommodate such a possibility I had money tucked away should a move be necessary. It wasn’t a lot of money but would suffice for a move, even if things would be tight for a little while afterward. And after months of waiting an opportunity came about that suggested my moving slush fund was a good idea.
An organization in New Mexico wished to fly me out for an interview and, based on what I had gleaned from our previous conversations, I felt that if I made the trip I would be offered a position. There was one enormously small problem: I’m terrified of flying. I suppose I thought given such rough economic times that organizations would be more likely to do a webcam or phone interview than take on the cost of a round-trip flight and hotel. I was wrong.
The first red flag I should have noted came when I frantically begged my girlfriend to come with me, informing her I’d be too afraid to fly alone. She agreed, though her round-trip flight would be a completely out of pocket expense. If that wasn’t enough of a tip that what I was engaging in was a bad idea, I suppose the second red flag involved making a doctor’s appointment and begging for anti-anxiety medication. When the doctor prescribed Xanax, I voiced my concern to the doctor that the medication might not be potent enough.
“Can you prescribe me chloroform so I can knock myself out on the plane? No? How about an empty oxygen tank so I can beat myself into unconsciousness if I freak out? That’s no good either, huh? Can you write a note to the Air Marshall giving him approval to preemptively taze me?”
Though I found it an unfair compromise, the doctor felt the best route would be to stay with the Xanax but give me a larger dosage. I wasn’t pleased with the result but everyone else in the office seemed to be because they all began pointing and laughing at me as I left the office. I knew they were just jealous that their phobia wasn’t as cool as mine.
The day of the flight came and I was, naturally, incredibly nervous. The plan was to fly from Chicago to Phoenix and then hop a short flight from Phoenix to Albuquerque. The problem? The Xanax worked only briefly, and by the time we landed in Phoenix I was white as a sheet and absolutely petrified. It took every ounce of my girlfriend’s strength to drag me onto the plane taking us from Phoenix to Albuquerque.
That night in our hotel in Albuquerque I had several nightmares about flying. Though I don’t remember them, my girlfriend tells me I awoke in a cold sweat breathing extremely hard, and it took several minutes of coaxing for me to return to sleep. When morning came, I broke down. I was shaking as I told my girlfriend I couldn’t focus on my soon-to-be interview and that I could never, ever step on an airplane again. She has since told me she has never seen someone so absolutely afraid in her life, and she ultimately agreed. After my interview we would rent a car and drive 28 hours back to Michigan.
I knew heading into my interview the immense irony of the situation. If I were to fly back, I’d be so distracted by my impending flight I would botch the interview and fail to garner a job offer. However, by cancelling the flight I’d be so relaxed I would do incredibly well in the interview but with one catch: would I be able to afford the move?
My concerns proved to foreshadow events. I indeed did land the job offer but the costs of renting a car (which are astronomical if the rental is merely one-way across the country) and gasoline proved to be too much and my moving slush fund was wiped away. I was unable to accept the offer.
Though this instance was a painful ordeal, I learned more in a few days than I had in many months of job searching. I learned to trust your instincts and accept your limitations – it may just save you a lot of money. But there is one major plus to this whole ordeal: having learned this the hard way, now none of you have to.
This post was written by staff writer Scott Janssen.
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