Leaving to Disney in two weeks and husband might be loosing his job..........

[dzneprincess]

subscribing

 

[musicdude]

Bump.....
So, what's the update?????

 

[lisaross]

So now here are some new questions maybe you can help me out!!

What do i do about taking money from savings vs. credit cards etc.

I have about 25,000 in Mutual accounts and about 5000 in savings. I know this can dwindle fast.

My husband has gone on an interview and is waiting for a call back. I don't imagine he'll be making as much as he did, BUT we do need something for now.

I'm also thinking about refinancing - though i'd hate to i now have about 11 1/2 years left on a 15 year mortgage - thinking of refinancing back to a 30 year mortgage - i know the rates are higher, but it'll reduce our montly bill by about 300.

Also, i'm going to call up my car insurance and drop the insurance down lower - i have alot of insurance out i think 100/300? also, my homeowers policy maybe try and lower that.

What do you all think? I don't want to get into debt - i do have an outstanding credit card balance of about 3000.00 - should i pay it off or call to delay payments. Also pay 140.00 month on a car loan should i just take the money from the mutal accounts and pay that off as well?

I don't want to leave ourselves with no savings either..........

any options

lisa

 

[andychris14]

good luck. I hope everything is working out.
"When one door closes another one opens".
When are you supposed to be leaving? When will they let your husband know?

 

[CarolA]

So now here are some new questions maybe you can help me out!!

What do i do about taking money from savings vs. credit cards etc.

I have about 25,000 in Mutual accounts and about 5000 in savings. I know this can dwindle fast.

My husband has gone on an interview and is waiting for a call back. I don't imagine he'll be making as much as he did, BUT we do need something for now.

I'm also thinking about refinancing - though i'd hate to i now have about 11 1/2 years left on a 15 year mortgage - thinking of refinancing back to a 30 year mortgage - i know the rates are higher, but it'll reduce our montly bill by about 300.

Also, i'm going to call up my car insurance and drop the insurance down lower - i have alot of insurance out i think 100/300? also, my homeowers policy maybe try and lower that.

What do you all think? I don't want to get into debt - i do have an outstanding credit card balance of about 3000.00 - should i pay it off or call to delay payments. Also pay 140.00 month on a car loan should i just take the money from the mutal accounts and pay that off as well?

I don't want to leave ourselves with no savings either..........

any options

lisa

It's probably too late to refi.. They are going to want to check with your DH's employer to verify income and.....

So I gather you know he has lost his last job.

In that case I think the first thing to do is to look at cutting expenese. Raising deductibles is a good first step $100 is pretty low!

I probably would not take your money out to pay off debt yet. I would wait to see what happens. To be honest if he is out of work for a long time you are going to need the cash more then the debt pay off.

Are the mutual funds part of a 401K? If so there are some huge tax considerations and you should wait until you have no other choice to tap them.

 

[lisaross]

i meant my car ins. is 100,000/300,000

Also, what if he lands a new job with less pay -- would you refinance or just wait and see what heppens.

No, we'll probably find out definitly today, but the union said it does not look good, the head of the union is calling today to fight for him again.

lisa

 

[Leigha]

I wouldn't change my liability limits. If you are considering changing your deductibles, ask what the difference would be first. It is a very little change usually on the comprehensive but a little better on the collision. The difference in taking money from a 401K and a regular mutual fund is about 25% is kept with the 401K so check that for sure! Good Luck!

 

[kim35]

I need to tell you that I know EXACTLY what you are going through...
My DH lost his job a month ago. All the same thoughts ran through my head.


Luckily dh has found a temporary job that goes day to day so we never know when he'll work, but better some than none.

We too decided to keep our trip coming up. We would have lost airfare and the trip was already paid for so we agreed that the kids shouldn't have to worry about OUR issues. They were looking so forward to going. We estimate that we really shouldn't have much of an expense due to free dining, and we were just there last year so the kids don't need tons of souvenirs. We'll get a little and just enjoy the time as a family in Disneyworld. It is a MAGICAL place afterall!

I'm praying that everything will work out and that dh will get a permanent job when we get back home. We'll just worry about it then.

 

[lisaross]

Can i ask how old your children are? and do they know anything about whats going on? i didn't want to tell our children, but my 6 year old can sense "things are not normal".

What do you do for health insurance? Do you have alot in savings? I'm sorry if i'm too personal just trying to see what others are doing? Do you work at all?

When will you be in Disney?

lisa

 

[kim35]

Lisa

To answer your questions:

Can i ask how old your children are? and do they know anything about whats going on? i didn't want to tell our children, but my 6 year old can sense "things are not normal".

- my kids are 9 & 7 and Yes we did tell them that dad wasn't working and that we really need to be careful with extra spending. We also told them that when we go to Disney that we we could get 1 good item, but we weren't going to be buyinig all kinds of little things throughout the week. They were fine with it. I am a firm believer that the kids should know what's going on, but I also believe that a child should not have to worry about grown up things like how mom and dad are paying for bills. I heard it all the time growing up and I to this day worry how my parents cope with their day to day lives. Kids should be kids...

What do you do for health insurance? Do you have alot in savings? I'm sorry if i'm too personal just trying to see what others are doing? Do you work at all?

--Health insurance- my husband is in the Union and we hold insurance based on hours worked each quarter. As long as he gets some hours in each quarter (I don't know how much they require) we can continue our coverage. A lot in savings NO! we have a couple thousand, but not enough to last very long. It does help though that I work a full time job. I can't support us, but everybit helps.

When will you be in Disney? --We leave in 17 days and can't wait.

I really hope something works out for you and your family very soon!

 

[ericamanda01]

I'm praying that everything works out for you and your family.

 

[d-man's mom]

So now here are some new questions maybe you can help me out!!

What do i do about taking money from savings vs. credit cards etc.

I have about 25,000 in Mutual accounts and about 5000 in savings. I know this can dwindle fast.

My husband has gone on an interview and is waiting for a call back. I don't imagine he'll be making as much as he did, BUT we do need something for now.

I'm also thinking about refinancing - though i'd hate to i now have about 11 1/2 years left on a 15 year mortgage - thinking of refinancing back to a 30 year mortgage - i know the rates are higher, but it'll reduce our montly bill by about 300.

Also, i'm going to call up my car insurance and drop the insurance down lower - i have alot of insurance out i think 100/300? also, my homeowers policy maybe try and lower that.

What do you all think? I don't want to get into debt - i do have an outstanding credit card balance of about 3000.00 - should i pay it off or call to delay payments. Also pay 140.00 month on a car loan should i just take the money from the mutal accounts and pay that off as well?

I don't want to leave ourselves with no savings either..........

any options

lisa

I wouldn't refinance the house- reducing the monthly bill by 300 now to fix this is going to cost you a lot more over the next 15 years of your mortgage in fees, interest, and payments, than it would if you kept the current rate and found another way to come up with the $300 (like starting an ebay business, or you waitressing on weekends, etc). Your house will be paid off in a few years and that will free up money then- it's just between now and then that needs to be figured out.

Besides, they are going to want to verify his income for a refi, so I don't think most lenders would consider your application right now if he's not employed.

If you call to delay the payments on your cc's you are going to mess with your credit. What's the minimum payment monthly?? Pay that until you have a new budget.

Keep in mind that this is a short term problem that you haven't yet found a solution to. Don't make long term commmitments to your credit/mortgage, etc, by extending payments (or messing up your credit) now when this might all be resolved sooner than you think.

 

[Muushka]

For those on this thread who have lost jobs and have flexible spending (for medical, not sure about child care), PM me. I am not comfortable posting this information.

 

[jeankeri]

lisa, I am sending good thoughts your way, knowing that any decision is probably coming soon. I may (possibly) be in a similar situation soon and know the anxiety you are going through. My boys are 9 & 10, and we have been honest up to a point. We have told them that all our basic bills will be paid, we will always have food and our home, but for a while (and there is no end as of yet) we cannot buy anything we don't absolutely need. They were dissapointed, I won't lie, because their allowance was put on hold. However, they have been troopers in the store, helping me find the best buys, etc. They were so happy when the Lays were BOGO this week!!
What I have done is look at all my bills and figure out which ones can only be paid with cash, and which I can charge. Also, all items like food, clothing, heating oil, can be paid on credit if need be. I did not consider a HELOC to draw on for these things because I did not want to risk my home for consumer debt. I then totaled up the monthly bills I needed cash for, divided my savings by that number, and figured out how long we could make those payments. Any part time work I can pick up would stretch that time frame.
Best of luck to your family.

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

But Like I Said The Park Tickets I Paid For Not In The Pkg And The Airline Tickets Have To Be Used Within The Year I Believe - And I Can't See Going Once We Get Jobs - I'm Sure It Won't Be Easy To Take Off --

Also I Am Such Such A Worrier But I Feel Like I Must Go For My Kids Sake - We've Planned For So Long - For The Amount I'd Be Getting Back, I Think I Just Need To See Them So So Happy That It Pushes Me To Go On With Whatever I'm Faced In The Future.

Like I Said Dining Is Included So There Won't Be Much We'll Have To Pay For Down In Disney - Hopefully

Lisa

Thank You To Everyone Whom Has Shared Your Stories.

Lisa:

Just curious, How did you get the dining plan without a package. I thought that the dining plan was only available through a package. Maybe I am wrong.

Anyway, I just wanted say, that if I were in your shoes, I would go on the trip. I know that it is very hard to see right now, but everything happens for a reason and I am sure that everything is going to turn out ok. MAybe it will end up that he will get a better job, one with less stress, less work, more pay? Who knows? All I am saying is keep your head high.

 

[dzneprincess]

I am sorry to hear things are not looking good. I was hoping that you were going to post that he got off with a warning. I am in a union as well, and there have been some instances where people were laid off, and once there were fired the employee and the union grieved it, it took time but a few people have been able to get their jobs back. Even people who were completly in the wrong. So maybe all hope is not yet gone?

 

[left210]

I do not recommend reducing your liability limits on your insurance policy. I work in insurance and 100/300 may sound like a lot but if someone is injured that really is not much. Granted 100/300 is not the minimum in most states but if you go with the minimum of 25/50K then any accident of any severity will go over that. I would recommend you just increase your deductible on both homeowners and auto to $500-1000.

Also, I know what you mean about being angry that your husband is getting in trouble for making a bad judgment call. My husband is also in a union and it is amazing to me how they can get someones job back that really has a problem and should be fired but yet when someone is doing their job and makes an honest mistake they get fired. Just doesnt make sense to me. Definitely not the way the corporate world works.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I still feel like he might have a chance if his job performance was considered good prior to this incident. Does your DH have any special awards or recognitions he has received that his supervisors should be reminded of? Also, before you consider reducing your auto insurance or breaking into savings funds...sit down with each other and take a good, hard look at your day-to-day spending and see where you can cut back. Do you have cable with premium channels when the basic package would be fine? Can you use the internet at the local libaray for free? Do you use a salon to color your hair instead of doing it yourself? Just little things like that could knock several hundred dollars off your monthly bills. Even doing several errands at once instead of separate trips would help on gas consumption. I really hope you don't have to go to any of these extremes, but start with the basics and then go from there.

 

[lisaross]

to get many more degrees including certificates and his BA.

Believe me, i have already cut down on our cable bill, have not spent ANY money except for food for the house, gas etc. We do need the internet because my husband keeps looking for jobs around the clock.

I also do some typing from home which brings in about 300 a month -- Yes, this will all help so i can take less out from savings..............

I am doing everything possible to not spend any money right now!

keep praying,

Lisa

 

[dzneprincess]

Lisa,
Has he been officially terminated? Or are you all just preparing for the worst? Will he be able to grieve this through the union?