In the past weeks and months, we have all seen the reports and read the articles about the unemployment rate rising at a staggering rate. We have also all seen articles that regurgitate the same old information that has been around forever on how to prepare for unemployment. Things like updating your email contacts, saving sample jobs to disk, updating your resume, etc. Anyway, that’s something that most employees do on a regular basis. Without announcing the authors of those articles and news, the days of working in a company your entire career are long gone, and they are gone for several decades. Today’s employees change companies more frequently and the stigma of “changing jobs” is about to end. So yes, keep your resume up to date, check with the contacts you’ve made at work, and keep copies of sample jobs, but don’t expect that to keep you afloat when faced with that layoff.
The things you need to make sure they are in place are primarily financial. If your work history is good and you have experience in your profession, chances are you will find a new job. It is just a matter of how long it will take and if you are financially ready for that amount of time. Everyone knows that you are supposed to have 4-6 months of savings for an emergency. Well, what if you already used some of those savings for an emergency? Medical copays, deductibles, home repairs, they all take away your savings and take time to replace, too. And when it comes down to it, do you really want to use up all of your savings that you’ve worked so hard to maintain, in a matter of 4-6 months while looking for a job? Certainly not. So here are some ways you can financially prepare for a job loss or period of unemployment.
The first thing to do is check with your lenders and see if they have the option to “skip a payment” on any loan you may have. It is becoming more and more common for lenders to miss a payment during the holidays or have one available. That could help prevent your credit rating from being affected and allow you to keep a lot more money during your unemployment.
Then pay off your credit cards as much as you can, that will keep your monthly expenses lower and help in the long run, even if you don’t lose your job. It also gives you another source of emergency funds if they are canceled.
Finally, take a look at some of the new unemployment protection plans that are now available in the US These types of plans are set up to pay members directly with a monthly check if they lose their job and become unemployed. Unemployment or job loss protection plans are generally paid in addition to any state unemployment benefits you may receive. That’s a really good thing, since the national unemployment check costs only about $ 378 per week.
Hopefully, you are reading this before you come face to face with job loss and unemployment, and you will realize that with today’s economy, no job is safe, not even yours. More than 1.6 million American workers have been laid off in the last 12 months; The best thing to do is to be financially prepared.