This is what I have to remind myself.
DH nonchalantly shared that there are more departmental changes going on at his place of employment. Essentially he and his boss will be added to a large pool of financial analysts who will then be reassigned to dept but all report to Finance (DH is presently in Operations). He tried to read his direct boss (who he worked for at previous job), but couldn't figure out should he be concerned or not.
I was OK until he started singing "I'll be home for Christmas".
I have a plan in place when/should he become unemployed. I know his severence will be two months. We can get insured through State Farm at a policy which makes sense for us for about $350 a month. My student loan can go into deferment. My kids' tuition can be covered by a hardship grant that is available through their school.
The obvious thing here is it does me no good to worry about the situtation. However, as someone who has worrier tendencies, this is easier said than done.
My questions to you all are:
(1) Should I suspend the contributions to 401K - this is nonmatched and is about $400 a month? (Our EF is presently at $10K)
(2) Should I keep $1,200 I have accumulated ($470 from state tax return, $252 unexpected from dress resale, $400 check from DH's second job) into the EF or dump on a credit card? Presently we owe about $10K. I also have $200 cash in my sock drawer.
"Do not panic."
October 28th, 2009 at 06:25 am
October 28th, 2009 at 06:34 am
Do you mind saying? --- How old is your husband? I'm asking in regards to how near he is to retirement age.
What are his chances for re-employment if he were to get laid off? Would you guys be willing to relocate for employment? Agism shouldn't play a part in the hiring process, but it does.
For us it seems that Hubster's unemployment was about 2/3rds of his old salary. Can you meet your monthly obligations on 2/3rds?
Tell more about the CC debt you have for a more specific answer. To me, this is about cash-flow. How much are those CC payments? Will the money you have available to put on them be enough to wipe some of them completely out? enough to lower your minimum payments to fit under that 2/3s loose guideline?
Could you call your state unemployment agency and ask what he'd likely be able to draw if he is laid off? That would go a long way in helping you figure out a possible budgeting scenario. Each state is different on their unemployment benefits.
Plan for the worst, pray for the best!
October 28th, 2009 at 07:21 am
DH is 40, so I think his chances for re-employment are decent. We wouldn't relocate for a job, simply because all of our family is here and his background is a BA in accounting plus several years of success in sales. And I could always return to work to supplement things. I don't think our situation would be truly grim if he is unemployed.
The credit card debt is $5,000 at 0% until 8/10 and $4,700 at 2.99% for life of the loan. These payments minimums are at $250 a month, though I'd like to pay $1,000 per month if I ever am able to (lots of things keep popping up preventing that from happening) and I haven't completely caught up from the $6,200 new roof and just got the last of the property taxes paid.
I will definitely call the state unemployment to get some rough numbers to work with.
This little incident has just reminded me that I am not immune to unemployment woes, but my plan gave me a false sense of security.
October 28th, 2009 at 09:43 am
I would say just cut your spending and pay the miniums. I would then aim all that to the EF. I would also talk with your husband. Tell him how you feel and what you are thinking of doing. He might be trying to protect you and it seems to be having the opposite effect.
Good luck.
October 28th, 2009 at 09:44 am
Does you husband keep an eye on the job market? Could he be looking for another job?
October 28th, 2009 at 01:32 pm
Let me just say that even for us with no CC debt and no car payments, just w/utilities, mortgage, house taxes & insurance, food and general living expenses, it's been a really tight year. Now that the mortgage is gone it would be much easier.
October 29th, 2009 at 05:38 am
If there's valid reason to think a layoff could be coming, yes, stop making the 401k contributions and yes. If it's 0% until next summer, i would just make the minimum payments to maximize cash on hand. But once the rates kick in, I would accelerate the payoff quickly becus i'm guessing the rates are north of 12% and it will drain you when you least can afford it, should your husband in fact lose his job.
I'm a worrier, too, but i find that the more advance planning i can do, the more in control i feel, and it looks like youre' doing that now. Why don't you create a spreadsheet and begin tracking your monthly expenses to the penny, starting Nov. 1 if you don't already have a good idea of what you spend each month. Not a guess, but a really good handle on actual expenses.
Then you can calculate actual expenses vs. how far unemployment comp will cover you by going to your state's DOL website. Here in CT, the max is $519 before taxes, $475 after taxes, every week, which is pretty good.
See how much you'll be short each month after comparing income and expenses. That's what I did before my layoff, so there weren't too many surprises, financially.