A Moment to Ponder

Considering how many employees' names I have to learn, the names of schools, where they are/how to get to them, the work order system, the timesheet system, and the layout of the city, you should understand that my flashes of brilliance don't occur as frequently as they used to.  I think I had one yesterday, though (and that was after a day of apartment hunting).

I had been worried how I would pay this month's mortgage.  I have enough money in my ABQ checking account, but writing a check that large would take it under the monthly minimum, then the bank would charge me.  (I've never understood the logic in charging people who don't have the money in the first place.)  My unemployment support has been cut off, so there will be three weeks before my first paycheck (I hope).  Then, when my first check arrives, it'll be an actual check, not a receipt for money deposited into my ABQ checking account, so that won't help me.  Or will it?

I think what I can do is take the actual check to a bank and open a local checking account.  After I do that, I can ask the bank to cut me a check for the mortgage payment.  Then, if my payroll and computer and what-have-you access gets straightened out at work, I can submit a request for direct deposit of future checks into both checking accounts.  (I also can write a smaller check, from my ABQ account, and send it to my mom, whom I'm afraid I'll have to ask to pay my credit card bill this month, but the money I send her should offset most of it.)

Of course, there's the matter of how much I'm going to be paid.  I might have figured that out, as well.  I took my intended salary and divided it by the number of pay periods in a year, to determine the base pay.  Then I subtracted 15% (hopefully an appropriate or too high a number) for taxes.  Since I won't have benefits deducted yet, the resulting figure should be approximately how much I'll see on my first paycheck.  That amount is enough to enact my tentative plan.