If you lose your job as I did, you should not panic.
Although being unemployed can be devastating, it is not the end of the world.
Of course, you will have to adjust your finances until you get another job. You
will also have to file for unemployment benefits so you will have enough to get
by. According to a report by outplacement consultancy firm Challenger, Gray
& Christmas, “US job cuts hit a nearly four-year high in July” as the
military and the technology sectors announced layoffs. In addition,
Hewlett-Packard also announced in September that it would lay off some 10% of
its workforce, or 28,000 to 33,000 workers.
Four Things
You Should Do With Money
Here are the
four things that you should immediately do after you become suddenly
unemployed:
1. Take
stock of your resources.
This is the one thing you should immediately do. Look at the amount of your
savings, and then ask yourself, how long can I make it last? If you can get
unemployment benefits, would they be enough for you to live on, and how much
would you have to add from your savings in order to get by? In addition, look
over any alternate sources of income you may have.
2. Create a
revised budget.
Now that you are unemployed and have no regular source of income other than
unemployment benefits, assuming that you qualify, you need to downsize your
standard of living. Look over all of your expenses and consider areas in which
you can cut down. Start by removing the small luxuries you used to take for
granted, such as eating out weekly and having a daily cup of coffee from the
local Starbucks. Then look at all your other expense categories and look for
other areas where you can economize. For example, you can look for cheaper food
options without sacrificing nutritional value.
To make your budget more effective, you might want to
do it on a weekly basis rather than the typical monthly. Since you no longer
have a monthly paycheck to allocate, making a weekly budget allows you to take
tighter control over your expenses and stretch your money.
3. Look
into your health insurance options. Although it may seem that health
insurance is an unnecessary expense when you have no regular income coming in,
it is actually more of a necessity than ever. Although you may be healthy now,
you cannot rule out the possibility that you might suddenly get sick or be in
an accident that would require you to seek medical care or even be
hospitalized. Under the Affordable Care Act, unemployed individuals and
families can look for a Marketplace plan which may qualify you for savings and
credits that would substantially reduce your premiums and Medicaid for those
with limited incomes. In addition, if you have children, you may qualify for
the Children’s Health Insurance Program based on your income.
4. Prioritize
your expenses.
Now that money is scarce, you should
also make sure to pay your most important bills first. The five most important
spending items that you should prioritize are your mortgage or rent, your utilities,
food expenses, health and other insurance and medicine.
However, one thing you should not do is spend precious
money paying down your debt. Even though you’ll be debt-free, being unemployed
means you’ll have trouble getting additional credit when you need it. Instead,
call your creditors and tell them that you’re jobless and enter into an
agreement with them for you to pay the minimum amount to service your debts.
Surviving
Unemployment
There are signs of hope in the economy. The
unemployment rate recently hit 5.1% and there were 173,000 new jobs in August. A
senior economist at Principal Global Investors said that the US job situation
is still “moving in the right direction”. But it can still be very difficult to
find a new job. So it is very important that you follow these tips to manage
your money until you’re gainfully employed again. In fact, these techniques can
even ensure that you don’t have to accept the first job that comes along and
you might be able to wait until you can find a better opportunity or even a new
career!
About the
Author
Bill Achola is a personal
finance publisher who owns a fast-growing, dynamic and innovative investment
blog that empowers investors to make the right investment decision. To learn
more, visit http://traderushreview.us.com
