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

[lisaross]

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with me - it helps alot!

We will be going to Disney as planned and my husband has already got his resume out - doing lots of research on-line etc.

I know we'll make it - even if i have to be the one to go back to work full-time - its not what i want but definitly would do for my family.

I guess i'm also just angry - because he made a stupid judgement call and got introuble for it.

But godwilling, he will not get fired and boy will we have learnt from this experience - i really feel like my life is changed forever!

The best to all of you.................


Lisa

 

[Chickysmom]

And as a little side note for your trip to help with the expense.....stay out of the stores! If you don't go in, you can't bring it out!! What the kids don't see, they won't want!!

Go and have fun.....you will feel refreshed and ready for everything when you return.

 

[Microcell]

We call my DH "The Phoenix Rising out of the Ashes".

He was working for a company where they were writing him up with the statement "Has to be nice" to employees. It stated that he had caused a person to "cry because she wanted to go home sick and he said she would have to wait two hours" (for coverage to come in). She had told him she had cramps from her monthly cycle. The measurement of success on this write up would be his suboordinates report. He was the boss and his employees (who preferred to sit around talking instead of working) would be his judge, jury and excecutioner.

They said it was likely he would be demoted. Pay cut. We freaked! Getting a job at another retailer after being demoted did not look good at all. Thankfully a former coworker recruited him to another company with what amounted to a $8000 dollar raise!

He has had horrible luck and some dumb mistakes under his belt, but he comes back like the phoenix!

 

[Microcell]

And as a little side note for your trip to help with the expense.....stay out of the stores! If you don't go in, you can't bring it out!! What the kids don't see, they won't want!!

Go and have fun.....you will feel refreshed and ready for everything when you return.

That is my motto and DH and I are both gainfully employed!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I spent an hour and a half with an outplacement councilor at my own expense having him review, critique and help me update my resume. It seemed like a lot of money, but I found out that the HR world was really looking at resumes differently than they had 8-1/2 years earlier when I last had looked for a job and even the format that I initially was going to use was obsolete and probably wouoldn't get any attention. After revising the format and making the changes he recommended I felt so much more confident in sending my resume out and I feel that ultimately it got way more attention. That was the best $225 I spent during my job search.

 

[grlpwrd]

I don't know what to do with myself. Let me start off by saying that i've been planning this family trip 1st to Disney for almost a year! Now its almost here and i don't even want to go - but will - its paid for and my kids can't wait! That being said, i am a SAHM - my husband has been at his job for 15 years and messed up and might be getting fired next week - he's now out on suspension - no pay!

Yesterday i went to sign up for a temp agency - and i will do what needs to be done, but i'm so so afraid! What do we do???? I have a mortgage to pay, about $5000 in savings which can go real fast............

HOw will we survive - two kids 4 & 6- don't want them to know anything about whats going on - don't want them afraid upset, etc.

What about health coverage?? i worry about everything (have not eaten in days) i live in NY so i think you can get free health coverage for kids - but what about me and husband? Also, if he gets unemployment, then he can't get a part time job? i know i can but we no back up of family so one of us must be home for the kids afterschool/holidays etc..........

i can't believe this is happening to me at almost 40!!

Just venting

lisa

Well, if he is fired the variables do change regarding collecting unemployment benefits.

My dh has never been fired, but he has been laid off many times, in fact. It is standard in his industry, though. He is a design engineer that works by contract. Even though he signs a contract agreeing to work for so long, the company can still renig. It sucks.

I am glad you all are going. We had to cancel our trip in 2003 because my dh got laid off again. We needed to use that money for other things and it was not prepaid.

Yes, please be careful how you spend, but enjoy yourselves. Then you can regroup and when you return can take action. Best wishes to you all!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Lisa,
When do you find out? Is there already some type of meeting scheduled, or will they just notify DH when they've made a decision? I have to say the waiting must be torture. Thank goodness you had that trip planned...at least it gives you something else to thing about!

 

[lisaross]

the torture is so horrible - so many emotions in 1 day go through my body!!!

Its crazy all i've done for the past 8 months was research Disney - now i'm not even thinking about it!

lisa

i'll be sure to keep you all informed.

Please say a little prayer for us!

THANK YOU

 

[Merriwind]

Best of luck to you and your family! Everything happens for a reason. Hang in there; all will work out! No advice, just pixie dust.

 

[CarolJ]

Thank you for your kind words on my post. As you may remember I was fired without cause 5 days before my Disney trip. I wanted to cancel the trip, but I didn't have trip insurance and would lose everything, also. I agree with the others to go and enjoy the smiles on your children's faces. Instead of staying home and worrying it'll be a vacation from your worries. It will also help your children. I know my teens are very stressed, but are so looking forward to getting away from a tense household.

Please keep us informed- I can't believe they would let a 15 year employee go for one lapse in judgment. Hopefully they just want him to stress for awhile so he doesn't repeat the error. You and your family will be in my prayers.

 

[crisi]

When my kids were toddlers my DH had a "boss from hell." He got put on a performance plan and was told "30 days." I freaked. I have a job, our insurance is through my work, but still - we would be struggling to make it on just my income.

I went to my doctor and was put on sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication...if you are not sleeping, not eating, etc., consider speaking to your doctor. They take a while to kick in, but it could be really helpful. Also have your DH do the same, its very common to fall into depression - and that doesn't make a job search easier or you more appealing as a prospective employee.

Happy ending to our story, my husband was reorg'd on day 27 - into an organization his boss said lodged complaints against him and it turned out had lobbied for him to get re-org'd into it....within six weeks the psycho-boss decided (in a down economy) to "pursue other opportunities." The re-org came with layoffs, but he wasn't one of them.

The other outcome, we started saving more - a LOT more. We got cars and bills paid off, plumped up 401ks so if they need to have contributions stopped in an emergency they can, paid off the mortgage over five years or so. I'd been fairly conservative finacially before, and I'm still not as frugal as others, but this made me very conservative in my committments....not necessarily in my spending, but in my committments.

Oh, by the way, even as conservative as we were, my husband joined me on a business trip to San Francisco during that time. My airfare, hotel and rental car was paid for, so we only paid for meals and his airfare. My company had a policy that if you did a Saturday night stay, if that was cheaper for the company, they'd pick up hotel and food for that period. That weekend was a turning point for my mental health. We'd had two kids in six months, both switched jobs withing the past two years, and now had a one and a two year old at home and a lot of stress.....the mini vacation was worth it.

 

[CherCrazy]

My DH got laid off in April, weeks before our trip home to WDW. I think we were more devastated about cancelling our trip, than losing the job that he wasn't happy about anyway.

We cancelled the trip. I was so worried that we would miss a call from a prospective employer, that I couldn't bear to go. I would have been too worried the whole time. We did get 2 calls from possible jobs during that week, but they ended up not being anything. He is still unemployed.

 

[JKJK]

Its a bit different than the ones I read but I did want to share it.

I am a SAHM and I homeschool my 15dd. My 17dd goes to college fulltime. I plan on staying home for another year, until my15dd starts college. Then I plan on working fulltime. My husband has been self-employed for the past 3 years. We had insurance through the state for our dd's but not for ourselves, they dont offer anything and we couldnt afford a policy.

I had been ill for the past few years, having severe attacks in the night. It started up again a year ago and it seemed to happen monthly....it was awful. This past June, I had 3 eppisodes in 1 week, which had never happened before. I knew something was horribly wrong. I self-diagnosed myself online and spent 618.00 on an ultrasound to confirm my suspisions.

I needed gallbladder surgery to the tune of 20K. We met with the hospital and the surgeon to see if they would give us a break as we had NO health insurance. No one would help in any way. We checked into other hospitals, clinics, even looked out of state trying to find a better price. We never did. My husband was in no position to take a raise. We had hoped to buy a policy and wait the 9 month waiting period and then have the surgery but we couldnt afford it. We could have taken a bank loan, put it on a credit card, or taken a home equity loan. But we had no way to make the payments.

We made the VERY painful decision to shut down his business and apply for welfare. Of course we got medical right away. I scheduled my surgery for mid July and in the meantime, my husband applied for work. We live in a remote area, there are not alot of good paying jobs around here. We have a very strong faith and leaned on that to get us through. Our girls are awesome, they both work and pay their own expenses so it wasnt a issue for them. They always knew what was going on....they are alot older than your kids OP.

Its been 4 weeks since my surgery and my husband starts his new job on Monday!!! He had 3 other companies interested in hiring him. No more welfare, and we will have medical for the whole family!!!

I want you to know that things will work out for your family. I hope you have a wonderful trip and your husband finds work quickly. I wish you all the best.

 

[Kay1]

That's an amazing story, Kerry, and it illustrates how out of control health care costs are in this country. I thought of one other option you could have explored: medical tourism. I've read articles about people who've flown to foreign countries for medical and dental care and they've received excellent, top-notch care at a small fraction of what American doctors and hospitals charge.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I hope your DH gets good news from his work.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

There is so much inspiration here. I have went through many difficult times in my life as well and have come out all the better for those experiences.


I have learned that you just cannot worry about things that you cannot control. All you can do is to try to prepare for bad times, they always come, and live each day.

My heart goes out to those with medical problems especially. It is is hard enough being sick, or having a loved one who is sick, without having to worry about how to pay those horrendous bills.

BTW, I had gall bladder surgery last year and it cost a whole lot less than $20,000 but that is because we had insurance. The odd thing is that it costs MORE when you do not have insurance. We need some changes to our medical system. No one should be bankrupt because they are sick. My sil is having a benefit given for her because she needs a liver transplant.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[Glenn]

How are you planning on getting from the airport to disney? If your staying on site think about about taking the Disney free shuttle instead of getting a car. Yes with 2 little ones it will be a little hassle but you dont have to handle your bags and save on renting a car. Good luck.

 

[JKJK]

Kay1,

Ive never heard of the term Medical Tourism.....very interesting concept. We live close to Canada and that is where I visit the dentist if I need to. The costs are lower and then there is the exchange, although its not as good as it once was. As I said, we looked into going out of state but not out of the country. We had enough miles for 1 free ticket and thats why we considered that as an option.

Slightly Goofy,

You are correct.....it is LESS if you HAVE insurance.....doesnt seem right to me but that is what we uncovered during our searching. The other thing that bothered me was if we had NO income, there was all kinds of help. But because we didnt make a whole lot of money and couldnt afford insurance or any of the other options I previously mentioned, no one would help us. What was so difficult for me was knowing I needed this done and not knowing how we were going to do it. I was concerned about the stress getting to me but as I said before, we really leaned on our faith and thats what carried us through.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I needed gallbladder surgery to the tune of 20K. We met with the hospital and the surgeon to see if they would give us a break as we had NO health insurance. No one would help in any way. We checked into other hospitals, clinics, even looked out of state trying to find a better price. We never did. My husband was in no position to take a raise. We had hoped to buy a policy and wait the 9 month waiting period and then have the surgery but we couldnt afford it. We could have taken a bank loan, put it on a credit card, or taken a home equity loan. But we had no way to make the payments.

Wow, it's a shame they wouldn't cut you a break. As I mentioned, I had back surgery for 5 herniated discs. I would think that would be more expensive than gallbladder surgery. We got a much better rate from everyone involved, except for the lab work, which included Xrays, & MRIs, among other things. The $13,000 we paid was only to the hospital & everything else was extra. Still that sounds like a better price than you were quoted. I'm very surprised that some people are quoted more, because they don't have insurance. We've found it to be the exact opposite.

Anyway, the Lord was really there for us, during this time. My back was in really bad shape, so we searched the internet, asked friends, strangers, & anything else we could think of to find the best surgeon. It turns out the #1 rated back surgeon at that time operated at a hospital 15 minutes from my house. My DH said we were going to him no matter what it cost. It still makes me tear up to think about it, but you would not believe how much this highly rated surgeon charged to do my surgery. He only charged us $500 for the surgery & all office visits. He was a christian man, & felt for our situation. How amazing is that? The surgery completely depleted our savings, but we felt blessed that the money was there. Members of our church were also wonderful to help out.

My sister in NC called every hospital she could think of trying to get us a better rate. We could have actually had the surgery done cheaper there, but I was bedridden 2 1/2 months prior to my surgery & couldn't travel that far. Unfortunately, Medical Tourism wouldn't have worked for me.

When we were in this situation, we had mixed emotions about it. We felt very fortunate that most everyone involved was willing to charge us much less, because we didn't have insurance. On the other hand, it was almost infuriating knowing how much everything is marked when insurance is paying. If they didn't gouge the insurance companies, maybe those who are self employed could more easily afford insurance. It would also help if people wouldn't take their kids to the doctor everytime they got a runny nose or scratchy throat too, but that's a different story for another time.

I'll step down off my soap box now. I'm afraid, healthcare in this country hits a sore spot for me.

 

[JKJK]

Tarheel,

Wow, what an awesome deal from your surgeon. Makes ME want to tear up with you! What a blessing!