Laid off--Support thread

[kathianne]

I've noticed several other posters here who are either recently laid off or will be laid off soon. I thought we could start a support thread here, where we could all share our experiences, tips, suggestions, and support.

We found out last week that dh is being laid off this Friday, he gets two more paychecks and that's it. No severence, no insurance subsidy, nothing. He does qualify for unemployment, but that's about 1/5 of what he makes, still, better than nothing.

At least we had some notice so we're gearing for it as best we can. We've been down this path before and can weather it, I know it will work out. I'd like to start this thread for a source of support and suggestions for those in a similar situation. Sho who's in? Not that its a club you would care to qualify for, but could help to join.

 

[TiggerMomNine]

I was laid off at the end of August. I've been looking for a new job since then, but nothing yet. I had been with the same company for over 5 years, but the mortgage business is not what you'd consider a good prospect these days.

 

[kathianne]

I was laid off at the end of August. I've been looking for a new job since then, but nothing yet. I had been with the same company for over 5 years, but the mortgage business is not what you'd consider a good prospect these days.

Good luck to you, I'm afraid the holidays are a slow hiring time. I'm sweating how we will provide any type of Christmas for our kids.

 

[LoriZH]

I can't believe I am part of this thread, but I too have been laid off as of Tuesday after 4 plus years of dedicated service to a small business because they couldn't control their spending and the boss paniced. I am trying to stay positive and would love to help others get through this insanity. I don't understand how laying people off helps the economy it should be the last thing on the list not the first. My bosses are on golf vacations and expensive sales meetings right now and all the while it could have saved my salary.

So...to all of you with selfish bosses or companies that tried very hard to keep you but just couldn't, it's NOT your fault and I pray for all of you and hope you all find employment quickly, espcially if you were the bread winners of the home. BIG HUGS to ALL!!

 

[LoriZH]

Good luck to you, I'm afraid the holidays are a slow hiring time. I'm sweating how we will provide any type of Christmas for our kids.

Kathianne, I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear that you lost your job and pray you find something fast. I've already told my kids it's going to be one slim Christmas, Santa's on a budget! They understand, they're such good kids and I'm sure that whatever type of Christmas you provide for your children the fact that you're altogether, healthy and happy with lots of love to go around will be the best Christmas ever

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

I'm joining. DH was blindsided last Friday at the end of the day with a lay off. We are alittle nervous about it because in his line of work this is the slower season so he can't get work anywhere until early Spring. For us the money isn't our biggest issue, it's the health insurance. We loose that at the end of the month unless we want to pay over $1,000 per month for Cobra
We will be tightning up the budget even more now. I thought I was cheap before, but, I'm even better now.
Land line has been reduced to the basic.
Cable has been reduces as well.
Monthly paper products have been eliminated completely.
Just with these 3 things I will save approx. $60 per month.

On a better note.
Thankfully we live simple and don't use our cc's. I am a stockpile shopper/cook. Fridge, Freezer, cabnets are stocked to the brims. Wood is already stocked for the winter, oil tank is 3/4 full. We are healthy, happy, and love each other. There is someone always worse off.

So, chin up everyone, We will all get through this. For those that need to cut back on spending, please, please watch here on the Budge Board". I can't say enough about how much I've learned from here over the years. It has definetely change alot of the way I think. Even my DH will say, "hey go check the Dis and see how to make this or how to do that". He too is sold, just won't admit it.

to everyone.

 

[kathianne]

bumping this up.

My dh and I are signing up for Cha Cha, also something called Yahoo Notes, I don't know too much about it except its like Cha Cha so I will look into it.

I started doing a WAH job about a year ago, just for part-time cash, now I just need to schedule more time, which is quite flexible, I've already earned $500 this week and have a week to go in the pay period.

So lets get practical
I'm looking for a cheaper electric company, we currently pay about 16 cents KWH!

I might change care insurance but will NOT lower our deductible, actually, I might increase our deductible from $1000/vehicle to $500/vehicle. If something happened to both cars we'd be more able to come up with $1000 than $2000.

Of course, everyone brown bags it, but I found out dd was buying snacks in the school cafeteria which just about doubles her cost. Also the snakcs they sell are not very healthy--chips, fries, ice cream, etc. she says she's hungry because the lunch tray isn't enough, which I agree. So we went to Costco last night and I let her pick out what she wants for snacks, also for lunch. There's $30 in her lunch account, she might as well use it but we go over the menu every night and decide which days she wants to buy lunch and which days she wants to pack it, also she packs snacks every day. So that's a savings. Also dh drives her to school on his way to work to save me a little gas. I stay awake late (about 2-3 am) doing my WAH job so I appreciate sleeping in a little

Our cats needed their rabies vaccines so instead of taking them to the vet and spending about $50/cat we took the bunch to the local Humane society. they offer rabies shots for $5 per animal

I'm already a fan of thrift stores. Yesterday I got dd a brand new with tags on coat for $5, just in time for cold weather.

I needed a perscription refill so I transferred it to CVS and got a $30 gift card, which I used for the perscription and got $10 to spend in CVS, bought some essential items, on sale with coupon.,

Well, looks like Im just duplicating much of the budget board here. Perhaps we could share our job search tips, I especially like the one about updating your resume on Monster, etc every Sunday, even if you just change one letter, it bumps it up. I will definitely use that one, thanks!

 

[kelleigh1]

Hubby is getting laid off at the end of the year.

The positive is that he gets a severance and a bonus and if he stays through Dec. 31, they'll cover the COBRA for 6 months. I was recently promoted at my second job which came with a slight pay increase. He's getting 10 hours of overtime until further notice, so at least he can put that away for the rainy day.

The negatives: we're already down to just 1 car. We've both been working to pay off debt, so losing a paycheck hurts bad. He doesn't have a "career", so he could have a hard time finding something since he's worked in a few different industries. His part-time job informed him yesterday that they are cutting back on hours.


He's submitting resumes on a regular basis, so we're keeping our fingers crossed, but no bites yet. His company is working with them to provide assistance with unemployment and job searching. So things could be worse, but I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel which is the scariest thing.

 

[mom2faith]

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Although at this time DH and I are in secure postions, I will not say that I am confident about that statement. Earlier this year, things were very different in SK, Canada, and we bought a house that increased our mortage payment significantly. But at the same time we sold a house and paid off all of our debt, I mean everything. It was the right move at the time, but in 8 short months everything around us has changed. Although things are not what they are in the US, there is certainly some panic out there.

As the fears of recession begin to set in, I realize that we too need to make some changes. I love the tips from everyone, and have started making some changes to our budget as well.

We are NOT set at ALL if either of us were to lose our jobs. We woud infact be in big trouble very quickly. I am working hard to get that 3 month buffer in the bank, and we have changed our minds on a few mini-home renovations we were going to do. Once we have that 3 month buffer, we will continue to add to it and ensure that we are as secure as possible.

My big thing this week has been Kijiji, which I beleive is similar to Craiglist. I have made over $400 in one week selling items from our garage that we no longer needed after the move. We have lots more to sell, we just have not listed it all yet. We are doing it every weekend in parts.

Another area where we are selling things is my daughters toys. She has SO many that she has outgrown. We were keeping them "in case" #2 came along, but we have decided even #2 does not need that many toys. On Kijiji many people pounce on used toys and often pay more than the asking price. DD makes the packages and we put the money form her toys in our vacation fund for that next trip (if it will happen - we cannot commit to it now with the cost of flights and the exchange). Either way, that money will be for something for her.

Good luck to everyone. I hope you all stick together and make the best of this bad situation. We are all lucky that we have a outlet where we can get support and ideas. Again, my thoughts and prayers are with all of you!!

 

[snowman1035]

I work for a title company and hours have been cut from 40 to 28. We knew it might come to this, but is sure does hurt right before the holidays. Our boss even took our paid holidays away, which no one is happy about! I am trying to find something to make up for those hours I am losing, but there is nothing out there. Thank God, DH is a truck driver and hauls cars. He gets paid pretty good so we have just decided that we are going to cut back on alot of things. We have cut out eating out. We are cutting wood to use the woodburner to help save on the electric and we had to tell DS that there is no extras (like for skateboard parts, etc.). I'm also cutting back on the snacks, only shopping for main meals. I am thankful to come here and read alot of what others are doing, that has helped me alot. I know Christmas is going to be tough, but I had decided to try to make all of our gifts for family and just buy for DS, DD and DGS. They know it is going to be a very slim Christmas this year. I wish all of my DIS pals luck in finding jobs or getting their hours back that we all lost.

 

[maiyasgram]

I am going to jump in on this thread as I was layed off last Friday. The upside of my layoff is that I recieved a severance package. 6 mos of continued health benefits and salary. I realize that I am in far better shape financially than many. Emotionally, thats another story. I have joined a local food co-op, supposedly you can get great savings. I will see when I go to the distribution site tomorrow.
Cherie

 

[SCQ86]

Job was eliminated...thank goodness I get a nice severance check....trying to budget myself for the next year!

 

[kelleigh1]

Oh yes, before this even happened, I'd been selling some stuff on ebay. Now I'm listing on craigslist. It's helping clean out the house and with no fees on craigslist, and the current economy, hopefully I can make some extra $$ to add to our savings for that rainy day.

I figure there will be a fair number of people shopping on craigslist with the current economy, so I think that's where I may list some of my clothes that are still in good shape, but either don't fit or I just don't wear them.

 

[daleswife]

My Cousin is being laid off from the Chrysler plant in Delaware. She's worked there for at least 20 years.....Sad.....I am sorry for all of you who are losing your jobs and I will say a prayer for you.

 

[mum4jenn]

My dh might be in this situation shortly. He works for Cooper Tire and this month because of Hurrican Ike the hours were cut drastically. And it was on the news the other night that they will close one Cooper Tire plant after a 90 day study. I feel like it will be our plant and that will be a loss of 1,300 jobs. Dh has been there for over 15 years and that would be a major blow to our income. This month has been very very tough but if the plant is closed I don't know what we will do.

 

[eclairemom]

I was working 25 hours a week and my job was cut back to 10 hours a week. I qualify for partial unemployment but it will only work out to be about $60 a week but every little bit helps. I've got several applications out and my old boss called me because he got an email for a Reference and wanted to know if I'd be willing to work for a girl on FMLA so I said yea. The kicker it's 40 hours 3-11 Wednesday - Sunday. DH is not at all happy, but he needs to understand we can't turn down the opportunity for the extra money at this point. DD is almost 5 and doesn't like to have her routine changed and she was hysterical for almost an hour last night at the thought of me not being home to tuck her in bed. My heart is broken

I wish everyone else the best with their unfortunate situations.

 

[D&DDisney]

Just here to lend support. We were in this position 2 years ago and I know how tough it is.

Thoughts and prayers are with you all!

 

[MRDUCKIE07]

I was laid off on October 8th. Trying to keep my head up and just living one day at a time.

 

[twinklebug]

{{HUGS}} to you all. I've been through 3 layoffs - myself once and my xDH twice. I know it's easy to say this, but DON'T let it effect your self esteem. Layoffs are not a reflection of your work or personality, but rather a business decision to help the company keep going. Just hang in there, and make yourself your own best friend and be determined that *you* ARE a great employee and sell yourself as a product they can't live without.

Programmers:
My company in Boston is hiring mid to entry (or re-entry for us SAHMs who want to get back to it) level VB programmers with some DB experience and a good understanding of the windows environment. We're a great team and right off the T. If you or someone you know needs this job, please PM me. I'd love to see it go to a local who needs it and who would love the opportunity.

 

[punkyb87]

I was laid off a few months ago. It has been a long process of finding a job and no hires. I FINALLY GOT A CALL BACK lol like 2 days ago for sams club.... I'm really happy to finally be getting a pay check. Not the greatest job in the world but right now it is I just applied for it this week too it is so weird. They really need some people. I did my application, 3 interviews, and drug test in just this week lol. My orientation is next week. God has really blessed me during this time. My mother has been of great help.
TIP: a lot of retail stores will be hiring this time of year. Check out circuit city, jc penny, etc.
I don't like retail so much but it is certainly great for now. Im so looking forward to start back working. This job and the other retail positions will more than likely be seasonal.
Also if there is a Fedex Express hub operations near you guys check them out. They are always hiring and it is part time permanent.