Here’s What You Can Do with Your Finances If Your Get Fired
Your finances would be affected tremendously if you get fired. After all, your job is your source of income and you need this to pay the bills. This is something that you and all other employees would dread to hear, but it could happen to anyone, anytime. If you find yourself in this ugly situation, you might feel upset, angry or scared. This is natural, especially if you’re trying to make ends meet. However, you should keep it together so you could focus on the things that you should do to survive this situation. Here are some of them.
Cut Unnecessary Expenses
Since you would no longer have your monthly income to expect, the first thing that you need to do is to cut expenses that you don’t really need. List your recurring expenses and your typical budget to determine where your money usually goes too. Some of the things that you could let go are gym membership, cable, magazine and other subscriptions. If you were used to having regular trips to the salon or spa, or you eat out a lot, it’s time to put a stop on this for the moment as every penny would be vital for you to survive the following days, especially you’re not sure when you would be hired again.
Find Out How Much You Will Get for Your Severance Pay
Determine how much you will get for your severance or vacation pay. This is important so you could start making a new budget and have a clearer idea until when the money would last. If you have emergency funds, this may be the time to use them, especially if the amount that you would get from work wouldn’t really help you survive for the coming months.
File for Unemployment on Your State
See if you qualify for unemployment benefits. Take note that even if you qualify, it may take some time for it to be processed and approved so you may not get the benefits immediately. It will also be taxed and in case you earn some cash from freelance or part-time jobs, the amount may be deducted from your benefits. Majority of the states have this. Employers pay for their employees’ unemployment insurance premiums. The state, as well as the employees also contribute to this. Since this is an insurance benefit, you don’t have to pay it back unless it was determined that you were overpaid due to error or if it was because of a fraudulent thing that you did.
Determine Your Health Insurance Options
Your health insurance is important since it would have you covered in case of sickness or hospitalization. Employers usually pay for their employees’ health insurance premium. If you get fired, see if you are entitled for a discount that would let you pay for the insurance for a lower rate until you get a new job.
Start looking for new job opportunities and sending your application right away. Days could pass by really fast and you don’t want to run out of funds before you start looking for new work.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image courtesy of Winnond at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
2nd image by image courtesy of Everydayplus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
