Might be losing my job - need advice **UPDATE**

[honeybunmom]

UPDATE #2: Looks like I have an offer for a new job outside of my current employer! I got myself together and went to a networking function back in December when I found out about the possible job loss. I let a former colleague know I may be looking. Fast forward to late February/early March and she emails me about a position that would be perfect for me. The position is 75% what I spent 10 years doing and 25% brand new, so, I still get to continue to learn.

I've been through 2 rounds of interviews and lunch today with the person to whom I'd report as well as another person in the department. At the end, he said everyone has enjoyed meeting me and they look forward to doing what is necessary to bring me on board!

The HR person asked me in the initial interview what my salary requirements are. It would be soooooo fantastic to get my full earnings in my salary and not have to wait 11 mos to get the balance in a bonus payment every year.

In any event, I'm thankful that I actually have two options to consider with my current job winding down. I plan to take a month off and hang out with my kids before starting the new job. Woo hoo!

UPDATE: My wonderful manager actually tried to help me find a position. Turns out she and I called the same person and he (my former manager) actually had something in the works that had not yet been posted. As of today, it looks like I've got the new gig! Yeah!!!! Only thing to do now is figure out the transition from my current position to the new. Turns out my current position is still needed, but, we just don't know for how long.

Plus, my bonus was not cut at all. In fact, it went up a tiny bit and, after 4 years of a pay freeze, I also got a tiny raise. Every bit helps! It's half a year of pre-school! This could not have worked out better for me!

Also, I did use the unexpected money discussed below to work on the house. Much more livable, now. And I sent money to my brother and SIL. We had a wonderful Christmas with them. My SIL who had been refusing to fly due to a bad turbulance experience actually wants to come back in March to celebrate the baby's first birthday! So glad we had an opportunity to celebrate as a family and reinforce the importance of giving our kids a chance to spend as much time together as possible given the physical distance between them.

*****
I found out yesterday that I may be losing my job. I'm an attorney in a large financial institution. Nationwide, there are only 4 legal positions currently open, and only 2 of them are for attorneys, the other 2 are for paralegal positions. So, not much opportunity for a new gig with the current employer.

I figure, though, after my incentive stock vests (which would happen if I'm laid off), my bonus is paid out (which, hopefully, won't be drastically reduced because of my extended maternity leave this year) and whatever severance I'm due (not sure if it's 2 weeks for every year or 4; probably 2), I should have about 1 year's worth of living expenses. I don't currently have any emergency fund to speak of because we've been rehabbing a house. We still own the condo we were living in and are not currently renting it, although we would like to and ultimately sell it.

I'm a child of foreclosure, so, even though I *may* have a good cushion, I want to be prepared for the chance that the job hunt may take a long time. What things can I do to get ready?

I'm thinking along the lines of stocking the pantry.

Getting the condo ready for the market is a no brainer (we've only been out of it 1 month, now). I need to refinance both it and the house as they are under arm mortgages and the rates have lowered payments on both by $100 or more.

Should I finish the work on the house that needs to be done? (I just got an unexpected amount of money - $12K - I was going to use that money to finish up.) I'm thinking that being in that unfinished house will be pretty depressing if it takes awhile to get a new job.

Out of that money, I was going to send my brother $800 so he and his family of 4 could come for Christmas. They would just have to buy 1 ticket since their 4th is only 1. He lost his job in April and has not gotten a new one yet. Should I not send this?

I'm hopeful that the search wouldn't be too long, but who knows in this economy. I'm an ivy league undergraduate, top 5 law school grad working for a top 3 financial institution. I'm hoping that with these credentials, finding another gig won't take a year. But, I still want to be prepared.

Thanks for reading this if you've gotten through it and for any help/ideas!

Oh, and my husband does not work. Yes, he would look for work if I was at home. Currently, he's at home with our kiddos. His qualifications for employment that can support our family are pretty slim since he's been home for the past 5 years and still has a few classes left to finish his undergraduate degree.

[jentilla]

Well hopefully you won't lose your job, but ivy-leaguers and top law grads are NOT getting jobs. There was an article in the NYT recently about just this thing. Firms are not hiring so I would take a guerilla appraoach to all of this.

1. Finish only the BASIC things left in the house. The type of thing you can't do yourself.
2. Stock up your freezer/pantry with a year's worth of foods.
Rice
Pasta
Beans
Baking supplies
canned goods
nuts
dried fruit
fave snacks on sale.
Right now is a great time to get food on sale with the holidays boosting discounts. We are getting our 1/4 of beef and our chicken order in 2 weeks and will have enough grassfed meat for a year.

3. REFINANCE ASAP
4. Get that condo on the market ASAP
5. Get upto date on all medical visits/ fill script etc.
6. Pay ahead on your mortgage at least 6 months. We did this and when the perfect house came available we were able to buy and sell before any payments were due. We are currently paying ahead and then will start making extra principle payemnts.
7. REDUCE anyy/all expenses you currently have. Cancel subs, etc.
8. Can your brother drive up? He could pay for it with the cost the other tickets. I would not pay for anything that is necessary right now.
HTH's

[honeybunmom]

Thanks! I'm going to go in (well, take the elevator down to the first floor where the branch is) to the bank next week and get the refi's going.

My brother and his family live in California and we're in IL, so, driving probably won't happen for them.

Fortunately, we live pretty frugally as it is. There are no subscriptions to cancel. Our cell phone contracts come up in February. I will cancel them then and go for a no contract provider.

On the paying ahead, I was wondering about that. I'm assuming you can designate the payments as early payments as opposed to them being applied as a lump sum payment that would reduce your principal?

Oh, and I've taken steps to lower our homeowner's insurance by moving our car insurance to the same provider.

And I have a sports car I can sell. It's 10 years old, but low miles (70K). With 2 kids, I rarely drive it. In fact it's been sitting for a few months. More than a few months!

[SuzyLee]

You can also set your car insurance to "hobby" or something like that, if you are no longer driving to work every day.

[Thystle]

You have to assume the worst... that you could be out of your chosen field for over a year. It's happening ALL over. I would plan for being out of work 18 months at the minimum. Yes I am serious. I know many professionals who have been out of work over 12 months now and can't even get hired at a grocery store or minimum wage job.




I would have hubby look ASAP into what he needs to do to get those few credits taken care of for his degree (which will "update" him a bit in the process). And see if there are any current certifications he could pursue. He too may not be able to find anything. Prepare for that.




Also have a plan "C"... the one where neither of you can find work in your fields for many years... what would you do then? Figure that out NOW before you are forced to face it... to be prepared.




Sell the condo and car asap. Sell anything other toys or even have a garage sale.



Good luck!

[dolcedaze]

Stocking the pantry is the last thing you want to be doing! Unless you're stocking it with seasonal deals that are close to free, money in the bank will be much more useful than stuff.

If you have to move to find work, the last thing you want to do is be moving or unloading food. Even if moving isn't something you want to consider, there's a lot more assistance out there to pay for food than to cover other essential bills.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

I agree about the prospects for finding a job. My last job was as communication coordinator in a fairly large architectural, design, & engineering firm. They lost several major contracts, people stopped progress on projects, and I was one of the first to go. It took me almost 2 years to find a job. For half the pay, not in marketing at all. I couldn't even get a job bartending.

Don't send your brother money. It may be sad, but there will be other better christmases to come.

I would only stock up on food if it were a good deal. Right now they're running great sales on things like baking supplies & mixes, nuts, dried fruit, etc.

You can easily pay your mortgage ahead. We do it all the time. Just don't send one big check. Either write a check for each stub and mail it in or if you pay online (this is what we do) you should have the option of choosing which payment you are sending.

I also wouldn't finish anything in the new house that isn't completely necessary. Just get it cleaned up to be presentable. We still haven't put up crown molding we planned to several years ago. It bothers my husband, but really, who knows but him?

Will you be eligible for unemployment? That should be around 60 or 70% of your current pay, which will also help.

Good luck, we'll keep our fingers crossed you don't get canned!

[honeybunmom]

Originally Posted by Thystle

You have to assume the worst... that you could be out of your chosen field for over a year. It's happening ALL over. I would plan for being out of work 18 months at the minimum. Yes I am serious. I know many professionals who have been out of work over 12 months now and can't even get hired at a grocery store or minimum wage job.




I would have hubby look ASAP into what he needs to do to get those few credits taken care of for his degree (which will "update" him a bit in the process). And see if there are any current certifications he could pursue. He too may not be able to find anything. Prepare for that.




Also have a plan "C"... the one where neither of you can find work in your fields for many years... what would you do then? Figure that out NOW before you are forced to face it... to be prepared.




Sell the condo and car asap. Sell anything other toys or even have a garage sale.



Good luck!

Thanks! DH and I are going out to dinner tonight. It's only the second time this year, so, we don't make a habit of that either, and soon, it might not be an option at all! Anyway, I plan to have the conversation with him that he needs to get the info on finishing school ASAP.

He can do carpentry work and basic construction, so, we may be relying on that. And, if we have to sell the kiddo's wooden toys, at least we know he can replace them! He made our dd's play stand. I do think that we'd hold off on selling things until we were into the severence/bonus/vested stock money. No sense in selling it at the beginning since it would be right after the holidays anyway.

Originally Posted by dolcedaze

Stocking the pantry is the last thing you want to be doing! Unless you're stocking it with seasonal deals that are close to free, money in the bank will be much more useful than stuff.

If you have to move to find work, the last thing you want to do is be moving or unloading food. Even if moving isn't something you want to consider, there's a lot more assistance out there to pay for food than to cover other essential bills.

Wow, I didn't even think about it like that. Thank you!

Originally Posted by MissMommyNiceNice

I would only stock up on food if it were a good deal. Right now they're running great sales on things like baking supplies & mixes, nuts, dried fruit, etc. I plan to take advantage of the seasonal deals out there right now, but not go crazy.

You can easily pay your mortgage ahead. We do it all the time. Just don't send one big check. Either write a check for each stub and mail it in or if you pay online (this is what we do) you should have the option of choosing which payment you are sending. I guess I'm being dense, but I still don't understand how this works. I don't have any stubs, but if I did, would I be post dating checks? And online, I currently schedule my payments. Where I have the option of applying to principle or interest, I don't see any option for the payment then being applied over the next several months as opposed to the bank saying, "Great! We got a big check from you, but you still owe $$$ next month". I'll inquire at my bank.

I also wouldn't finish anything in the new house that isn't completely necessary. Just get it cleaned up to be presentable. We still haven't put up crown molding we planned to several years ago. It bothers my husband, but really, who knows but him? Our master bathroom doesn't have any drywall up, let alone a tub, shower, vanity or toilet. No powder room downstairs and basement bathroom is not finished. Our coat closet needs drywall. I'd love to finish the powder room so people wouldn't have to treck up to the second floor to use the 1 working bathroom we have now. Trim/crown molding, what's that? My husband has the wood for that but has to cut it. It's missing all over the first floor. It takes him FOREVER (which is why we've just entered year 6 of this rehab and only moved in 1 month ago) to do anything which is why I was contemplating hiring someone to do some work. Carpenter is coming tomorrow to lay the maple flooring that is stacked up in our kitchen. There are just some kind of boards on the floor now. DH asked if I wanted to cancel getting the floor down, and I said no. Is flooring completely necessary? I don't know. I don't think I'm thinking entirely clearly right now.

Will you be eligible for unemployment? That should be around 60 or 70% of your current pay, which will also help. Something else I didn't think of! I would imagine so if I'm laid off. That would stretch the severence/bonus/vested stock dollars even more!

Good luck, we'll keep our fingers crossed you don't get canned!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I guess plan C would be moving in with my mom or just getting some financial support from her. She's planning to finally buy her dream car. A sports car. Jaguar. And she's retired. And already has 2 cars. And travels. A lot. And is not in debt. At all. Obviously, the foreclosure occurred before she went back to work. And the separation was between the foreclosure and the return to work.

She has helped a lot with our rehab and I do owe her some money from that right now, which I will pay off when we sell the condo. Even if it sells below market, I'll be able to pay nearly all of it (the rest will go to the HELOC) as I've had it for 11 years and the decreased value due to the market is still more than twice what I paid for it. I just borrowed so much with this project that I don't want to go back to her for any more money. She never asks for it and even offers (like financing our car for 2%i - I paid her back in installments made by direct deposit from my paychecks). Anyway, I'm rambling now.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

When I pay my mortgage online, it pays the current month. Now, if I was to log into the account again the next day, it will show that I paid the current month. When it sees that I am trying to send an additional payment, it will ask me to check one of several boxes, one of which is "Send payment due December 1, 2009" another is "Pay this amount additional on prinicpal". You don't have a payment book with stubs/coupons for your mortgage? That seems odd.

Anyway, if you don't have drywall, then by all means get to it! As for the powder room, there are plenty of houses w/ only one bathroom. I would classify that as a want, not a need. If your floor isn't finished, you should probably get it installed. It's not like you need to buy the floor too, just get it installed. While the handyman is there, get a quote from him on getting the rest of the stuff done, especially if you have the materials just sitting around.

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by MissMommyNiceNice

You don't have a payment book with stubs/coupons for your mortgage? That seems odd.
.

I didn't know that anyone got those old payment books any more! We got our mortgage 4 years ago, and we've never had one.

[sunflower.mama]

I think you have the right approach. DH and I are both attorneys - I am non practicing/SAHM and he is a prosecutor. He's been trying to break into the private sector for MONTHS and there's just nothing out there. I just tell you that as someone who has monitored classifieds for a while. You may be in a better position due to your specific experience but it's grim. He was told that his resume was one of 300+ submitted for a position. That scary bit aside (and I think you knew it anyhow) I think you're looking at this from the right/frugal perspective. I think you should finish up your house - both for your sanity and as part of your long term preparedness planning. You don't want to go through your cash and then need to sell a house in mid-rehab condition, right? I think do what you can to make it presentable. Don't hold me to this but something in the back of my mind is telling me your severance might count against the unemployment you'd be eligible to receive. Not positive, but something to look into. Finally, perhaps if the worst happens and you do get laid off, you could ask your employer if contract work was possible? Good luck!

[Kyamo]

I don't understand why its a good idea to pay ahead on the mortgage versus saving the cash so you'll have it when the payment is due.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by Kyamo

I don't understand why its a good idea to pay ahead on the mortgage versus saving the cash so you'll have it when the payment is due.

It doesn't make sense to me either unless a few months paid ahead would pay off the entire loan balance (which didn't sound like the OP's situation).

[noobmom]

I would assume the worse. That means minimal discretionary spending if you lose your job. Unless your house is unlivable (literally) or must have some work completed (siding put on the house so that it's protected from weather), I would stop work on it . Don't think of the unfinished house as depressing, think of it as motivation. Definitely sell the condo and sports car. I wouldn't send money to your brother either, for a luxury like a trip (would be different if it was an emergency). It sounds like your mom could afford to do that, if she wanted to.

The 12K I would use to start your emergency fund, regardless of whether you lose your job or not. Everyone should have one.

[KatWrangler]

OP, Is this something you would be interested in?

http://www.greatgreencareers.com/car...-Region-Boston

[HappyMommy2]

I didn't know this when I was laid off, but apparently you can negotiate your severance package. I wish I would have asked for more!

[hopefulfaith]

Slightly OT:

I just searched NPR's page for this, but I couldn't find it: I heard an interesting piece of trivia this afternoon where they cited that attorneys were qualified to do over 800 types of jobs in the US. I thought that was interesting; my education was narrower, so I was pretty impressed.

You sound very grounded and intelligent, so you probably don't need me telling you that 'hey, there's lots of stuff out there for you!' ... but I thought it was a neat statistic. I hope your job holds...and if not, I hope you will find something even more wonderful.

[HipGal]

The first thing I would do is think about how well networked you are. Do you have friends in your field? Clients who like your work? Maybe make a list of people you know in the industry that you can connect with if you do lose your job and are looking for a new one. Nothing too heavy, just a quick note letting them know you are looking and to let you know if they hear of any interesting opportunities. You will find a job much more easily through people you know than sending in resumes (along with the 300 others). Do you know any headhunters in your field? Stay confident in your abilities! Don't start thinking about the worst case scenario, especially this early. You are not desperate or on the edge of financial ruin or anything. You are in a decent position and if you do lose your job, you may find another that is an even better fit for you.

It is tough out there, but it is not impossible to find a job. I wouldn't develop the mindset that if you lose your job you will never find another. That might cause you to do things that aren't necessarily logical, but come from emotional fear.

To me, it doesn't make sense to try to get your husband ready to work. You are in a much better position to pull in a nice salary. It is possible that it will take longer right now, but it is worth the wait for a much larger salary long term, kwim? I would focus on being a bit more flexible - like be ready to move if you need to. Even that I wouldn't start planning for yet, but if there are some things you were going to do anyway that would make it easier to move if you had to, I would do them.

Generally, I would make decisions based on how much difference they really make to your overall financial picture. Stocking the pantry might make sense for someone who is in a different situation, but I don't know that it is going to make that much of a difference for you. Selling the sports car makes more sense because you aren't using it. Selling the condo makes sense in that it would provide funds and give you more flexibility if you end up moving, etc.

Have you thought about going to business for yourself? You are qualified, have experience. If you know your clients and know the industry, you are at a huge advantage. If you have a year where you don't need outside income, that is an excellent place to be for starting your own business, especially in law where you don't need a lot of start up costs (inventory, etc.). There should be a lot of opportunities in consulting soon because companies are going to start having more business as the economy improves, but may not feel secure enough to high fulltimers yet.

[honeybunmom]

First of all, thanks so much to everyone!

Originally Posted by sunflower.mama

I think you have the right approach. DH and I are both attorneys - I am non practicing/SAHM and he is a prosecutor. He's been trying to break into the private sector for MONTHS and there's just nothing out there. I just tell you that as someone who has monitored classifieds for a while. You may be in a better position due to your specific experience but it's grim. He was told that his resume was one of 300+ submitted for a position. That scary bit aside (and I think you knew it anyhow) I think you're looking at this from the right/frugal perspective. I think you should finish up your house - both for your sanity and as part of your long term preparedness planning. You don't want to go through your cash and then need to sell a house in mid-rehab condition, right? I think do what you can to make it presentable. Don't hold me to this but something in the back of my mind is telling me your severance might count against the unemployment you'd be eligible to receive. Not positive, but something to look into. Finally, perhaps if the worst happens and you do get laid off, you could ask your employer if contract work was possible? Good luck!

Thanks! We went ahead with the flooring being put in this weekend. I think you're right that if we need to sell it (and that's doubtful since my husband went knocking on doors to find this house, so our mortgage for our 3300sq ft is less than the rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in our city. We're only slightly behind in costs as compared to an apartment when you factor in prorperty taxes), it should be as complete as possible so we don't take an even bigger hit.

Contract work or part time have definitely crossed my mind!

Originally Posted by KatWrangler

OP, Is this something you would be interested in?

http://www.greatgreencareers.com/car...-Region-Boston

Thanks so much, but I'm not a litigator. Mergers and Acquisitions and Employee Benefits are my areas.

Originally Posted by HappyMommy2

I didn't know this when I was laid off, but apparently you can negotiate your severance package. I wish I would have asked for more!

How do you think my mom is buying her car? And thanks to her advice, I negotiated options when I got this position since I had to take a $10,000 pay cut due to a salary cap. So, I did not mention that stock in my original post. Technically, I could access that as well, but currently consider it a good start on my children's college fund.

Originally Posted by hopefulfaith

Slightly OT:

I just searched NPR's page for this, but I couldn't find it: I heard an interesting piece of trivia this afternoon where they cited that attorneys were qualified to do over 800 types of jobs in the US. I thought that was interesting; my education was narrower, so I was pretty impressed.

You sound very grounded and intelligent, so you probably don't need me telling you that 'hey, there's lots of stuff out there for you!' ... but I thought it was a neat statistic. I hope your job holds...and if not, I hope you will find something even more wonderful.

Thank you! I've definitely considered leaving the law, so, I'm totally open to other opportunities.

Originally Posted by HipGal

The first thing I would do is think about how well networked you are. Do you have friends in your field? Clients who like your work? Maybe make a list of people you know in the industry that you can connect with if you do lose your job and are looking for a new one. Nothing too heavy, just a quick note letting them know you are looking and to let you know if they hear of any interesting opportunities. You will find a job much more easily through people you know than sending in resumes (along with the 300 others). Do you know any headhunters in your field? Stay confident in your abilities! Don't start thinking about the worst case scenario, especially this early. You are not desperate or on the edge of financial ruin or anything. You are in a decent position and if you do lose your job, you may find another that is an even better fit for you. I got this job through my salsa dancing. Another person in my group was a Managing Director at this bank and when I moaned to her about my then current position she offerred to put me in touch with someone and 2 weeks later, there was a job opening and 2 mos and a job freeze later I had this new gig! Yup, I just signed the RSVP for my old firm's annual Holiday Party that I have NEVER attended. Guess who's going this year? And the minority corporate counsel event the first week of December? I'll be there, too. Thanks so much for helping me to look at the positive.

It is tough out there, but it is not impossible to find a job. I wouldn't develop the mindset that if you lose your job you will never find another. That might cause you to do things that aren't necessarily logical, but come from emotional fear. I like to think that I don't need for there to be dozens or hundreds of job openings as I can only accept one.

To me, it doesn't make sense to try to get your husband ready to work. We'll keep that between me and you and let him go and finish his last 4 classes! You are in a much better position to pull in a nice salary. It is possible that it will take longer right now, but it is worth the wait for a much larger salary long term, kwim? I would focus on being a bit more flexible - like be ready to move if you need to. Even that I wouldn't start planning for yet, but if there are some things you were going to do anyway that would make it easier to move if you had to, I would do them.

Generally, I would make decisions based on how much difference they really make to your overall financial picture. Stocking the pantry might make sense for someone who is in a different situation, but I don't know that it is going to make that much of a difference for you. Selling the sports car makes more sense because you aren't using it. Selling the condo makes sense in that it would provide funds and give you more flexibility if you end up moving, etc.

Have you thought about going to business for yourself? You are qualified, have experience. If you know your clients and know the industry, you are at a huge advantage. If you have a year where you don't need outside income, that is an excellent place to be for starting your own business, especially in law where you don't need a lot of start up costs (inventory, etc.). There should be a lot of opportunities in consulting soon because companies are going to start having more business as the economy improves, but may not feel secure enough to high fulltimers yet. I did a business program a couple of years ago for this. I may have to dust off my business plan.

[EmsMom]

Probably most of your energy should go into networking at this time, really. And updating the resume, maybe even look into another speciality that might be hiring more and than take some classes in it. Then it might not be so long before you find something else. You may want to study up on some hardcore frugal stuff, though. And learn to cook if you or your husband isn't doing that already. Don't forget, without the job, many job related expenses disappear as well, such as commuting expenses. It may be that you can make that year's worth of income stretch out quite a bit more than that.

Also, it is worth noting that if you didn't really enjoy your job, now would be the perfect time to consider what would be more enjoyable for you! A year (or more)'s worth of income gives you options you may not have had before....