When Unemployment Runs Out

[Bete]

First, kudos for not having credit card debt.

I think it's time to tighten the budget. Not sure what you can do, but reduce your cell phone bill ( get a tracfone, for example) and cable bill, right now. Learn to eat cheap. Don't go to restaurants whatsoever. Cook from scratch. Use noodles to stretch every meal like do a lot of casseroles. Cut back on utilities. In winter, sit with a blanket and turn the thermostat down.

Not sure if your daughter is still living with you, but if she is then ask for rent monies from her if she is working. Even if she is out on her own ask her for monies to help out you guys through this rough spot. Hopefully, you can pay her back sometime. If she's not working it's time she gets a job.

Consolidate all trips to save on gasoline. Learn to shop at lunch hours or right after work while you are still out and about.

Maybe, hubby could do more around the house and you could get more hours wherever you work or get more work someplace.

Maybe, your husband could ask the neighbors if he could do any odd jobs for pay. If he is handy this may really work out.

I agree with previous posters that you may qualify for short term disability. Also, I agree he may have to be satisfied with a lesser job; until, he can get something better.

Our son-in-law was out of electrical engineering work for over three years. They lived in a Chicago suburb; so, you would think getting another job would have been easy, but it wasn't. He was in his mid fifties and he went to work for Fed-Ex part time and he did this job for over a year. He wasn't use to manual labor, but he survived. Eventually, when the market opened up a little he was able to get temporary engineering jobs through the Internet. Some projects would last for 90 to 120 days. These jobs were without benefits, but he was back in his field. He established a network by doing these jobs. Eventually, this network paid off and he now is back to full time and he has done the job for about 90 days now and there is a chance he will get promoted to another job there shortly which will be better paying. It's not an easy road and we are so proud of him. He did help more at home and he did projects at home to improve the place while he was not working full time hours.

 

[bettymae1121]

If you're six years from paying off the house, you should have a ton of equity. Is it possible to sell your home and buy another home for cash, and eliminate your house payment? If you can do that, can you live on your income alone?

 

[Colleen27]

My uncle was Vice President treasurer of a big corporation. They would hire accountants out of college. This conversation with him was in 1961. He said "we would tell them to forget everything they learned. We will teach you the right way"

You don't always need a degree to do a good job.

And that was probably a common attitude in 1961... These days, the degree is a "gatekeeper" requirement - applications without one are immediately discarded without further review by many employers, regardless of experience. More and more I'm seeing job postings that don't even care what the degree the applicant holds in any but the broadest sense (ie, "liberal arts degree" or "bachelors in business or related discipline"). My MIL ran into this when she was laid off. Despite several decades of experience in her field, a degree was an absolute requirement even for entry level positions when she was laid off in '08. Even networking didn't help because the degree edict was often handed down from corporate rather than something local HR could overlook if the experience and skills warranted it.

Freelancing, looking to smaller employers who might have more flexibility or more willingness to hire someone based on a face-to-face rather than strictly credentials, and networking as much as humanly possible are most likely to yield results, but it is very tough looking for a job past middle age these days with a whole generation graduating from college with greatly diminished expectations and a willingness to take pretty much any offer.

 

[crisi]

If you're six years from paying off the house, you should have a ton of equity. Is it possible to sell your home and buy another home for cash, and eliminate your house payment? If you can do that, can you live on your income alone?

On the same lines, refinance so you have a very small payment over the next 30 years. At some time, sell and move to a lower COL area.

If he hasn't, make sure he gets screened for depression. It sounds like he is going through a really rough time, and a chemical imbalance won't make it easier.

 

[tabby1881]

Thank you for all of the great words of wisdom and advice. I'm taking this all in.

 

[wendow]

On the same lines, refinance so you have a very small payment over the next 30 years.

This is what I was thinking as well. May not be the best financial advice but in OP's shoes, this may make life much easier until her dh finds a job and they get back on their feet.

 

[ellochka]

It's harder to refinance if the mortgage is under $160K. The interest is going to be higher, and refi costs will likely be not worth it ($5K or so). If the family is close to retirement and has sufficient retirement savings that can be taken out without a penalty, then it might make sense to pay off the mortgage that way. Assuming the mortgage has $30K left on it, and the refi cost is $3K, then paying it off vs refinancing is an immediate 10% return plus whatever the mortgage rate used to be.

 

[crisi]

It's harder to refinance if the mortgage is under $160K. The interest is going to be higher, and refi costs will likely be not worth it ($5K or so). If the family is close to retirement and has sufficient retirement savings that can be taken out without a penalty, then it might make sense to pay off the mortgage that way. Assuming the mortgage has $30K left on it, and the refi cost is $3K, then paying it off vs refinancing is an immediate 10% return plus whatever the mortgage rate used to be.

Really? I just refied about $75k, for $1500 in closing costs, and got 3.25%.

Right now they need cash and to limit their cash flow MUCH less than they need less debt. They only want to pay off the house if they can do it in such a way that it doesn't impact their cash position - that would likely be selling it and moving somewhere cheaper to a place they could pay for completely with cash.

Which may not be a bad idea - if their daughter has left home, they probably have a little more room than they need. If he had the big income, Massachusetts is an expensive state. Depending on a lot of things, they could possibly sell, move some place with a lower cost of living into a smaller home, and start being semi-retired. They wouldn't be the first set of people to move to Orlando into a condo and get WDW jobs.

 

[buckeev]

nothing much more that I can offer except prayers for a speedy recovery for the "Old Man"!

We're not in your neck-of-the-woods, but the PP's mentioning of sub teachers would be spot-on here...and with school close, now would be the time to try to get in on that!

 

[carmelhp]

They wouldn't be the first set of people to move to Orlando into a condo and get WDW jobs.

That was my thought, suffering through New England winters or go to where you want to vacation anyway.

 

[nunzia]

I hope things look up for you soon! Especially with your DH health..without that, nothing else really matters.When my DH had to be away from work for 6 months last year (hep C treatments were brutal), there was no way to get a temporary disability, so I don't know how to even go about that. We were told temp disability was something we would have to had carried for it to be an option...no chance of a gov't claim. Hopefully after he is seen by a cardiologist things will be worked out and he can be released to work, but if not, it is time to look at disability. I think the suggestions here are great..he can have his own business doing books at small businesses, and also subbing is a great way to make extra cash on his schedule. Don't forget looking at private schools. The one where I work part time (doing books! ) is always needing more teachers in the math areas. You don't have to be a certified teacher, only have the knowledge they are looking for.
Best of luck and hoping things turn around quickly for you!

 

[kbwright]

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I have a lot of experience from a previous and current job here in Massachusetts helping residents cope with anxiety and stress caused by the increased unemployment over the past few years and helping people get back to work.

A lot of my clients were 45+ and had a lot of the same feelings that your husband is probably going through. What area of the state are you in? Around here we are almost double the states unemployment rate so it is twice as hard. The biggest tips I can give:

1) Resumes can always be reworked and should be tweaked for the position that you are applying for. Look at the job description for the buzz words. Esp with online applications if the buzz words/phrases are not in there then it might not even make it thru for consideration.

2) let EVERYONE you know know that he is looking for work and to keep an eye out if any place is hiring. Coming in through a referral is usually a good thing

3) Depending on the area and income, you might qualify for things like fuel assistance for the winter which can be a help.

4) Craigslist and indeed.com were the 2 favorite websites of the members of the Job Club I used to facilitate. Indeed is good bc it pulls from other sites and has more large company positions.

5) try to keep as positive as possible (sounds like you have optimism and are just trying to plan for the what if which is great). Hope and positive thinking do a lot and for morale but also will come across on interviews.

6) If the medical condition is serious, get as many Drs involved as possible and document EVERYTHING. SSDI is tough to get now since so many people have applied but if the medical condition is serious enough to make it where he can't work in any job, get a Disability Lawyer when you apply. They will take their fees when the claim is made but I deal with people applying at work EVERY DAY and can tell you for the one who do it on their own the process can take YEARS. The ones who have a lawyer involved do much, much better in terms of claims being accepted.

Best of luck!!!!!! Take care.

-Kate

 

[kymom99]

He could contact non-profit agencies and see if they need book work done on a part time basis. Might not pay a lot, but it would help.

 

[tabby1881]

Really?
Right now they need cash and to limit their cash flow MUCH less than they need less debt.

This is just the thing that I've been wondering about. I just want to make sure that I understand the above. (I'm not a finance person) So we should be concerned with avoiding more debt as in credit card debt? Right now we have none. I looked at our HELOC. We have up to 123,000 available. We've used 1000.00 of it? Am I saying this right? The interest rate is really low on that. We did it in June 2012 when the rate was good and we had no closing costs.

As for our jobs, DH's job was just a bit more than mine. I have the benefits, too.

Some day, we do plan on moving south. I want to be the person who arranges the baby carriages in MK! DH will be in the parking lot pointing to parking spots. Some day...

I'm starting a part time job tomorrow. I'm glad to do my part. DH is starting to feel better, but there are still some unresolved issues.

Thank you for all of these posts. I appreciate your kindness.

 

[tomthebarncat]

I too went through this not too long ago, military social worker, the military started slicing and dicing and there went my job! I ended up in China teaching English. I live well, and actually like my job. Is your husband willing to relocate to another country for work? My hubby, dog and cat are still in Germany as my hubby does have a job for now! With his background and I am assuming he has a masters degree at least, he could easily teach finance, etc at the University level here in China. Chinese food for thought!

 

[crisi]

This is just the thing that I've been wondering about. I just want to make sure that I understand the above. (I'm not a finance person) So we should be concerned with avoiding more debt as in credit card debt? Right now we have none. I looked at our HELOC. We have up to 123,000 available. We've used 1000.00 of it? Am I saying this right? The interest rate is really low on that. We did it in June 2012 when the rate was good and we had no closing costs.

You want to look at everything in terms of money in/money out. Debt means adding to the amount of money going out each month - so you don't want to tap a HELOC unless you really really NEED to. And NEED is a huge word here. Minimize the amount going out each month while keeping your cash on hand as high as possible. And you DEFINITELY don't want high interest debt, like credit card debt.

Your husband who is an accountant should be able to help with the idea of maximizing positive cash flow.

That's one reason moving might be a good idea -whether that's to a lower cost of living area, or even if its simply to a less expensive place and selling your home. With six years left on a mortgage, you probably have a lot of equity to tap - and with a daughter out of college already and no other children mentioned, your home is probably bigger than you need. If you can sell your home and buy a less expensive place - you can come out with cash - and cash help - and you won't incur debt to get that cash - unlike tapping a HELOC.

On the positive income side, do whatever you can - it sounds like you are, but it also sounds a little like he is depressed and therefore not really taking steps to do his part. He needs to get a part time job - whatever he can to help with bringing money in. He may not be able to do much until he feels better emotionally (physically - I suspect there are envelope stuffing sorts of jobs he could do - he might not want to take a job for UPS or FedEx right now - but maybe he could handle a coffee shop in the afternoons - not the mornings - too stressful!). And I suspect you've already taken steps with unemployment to minimize the money going out - but do take another look.