Laid off and looking for some suggestions (Sorry, long)

[snafu]

Nova Scotia is beautiful, I treasure every hour I spent there.

I believe the maximum EI benefits top out at $ 447. per week paid bi weekly with tax deducted at source. Benefits can be paid for a maximum 50 wks. less 2 weeks waiting period extended by any ineligible period like holiday pay You need to know how much you can earn in PT employment without affecting benefits.

If you take unsponsored classes or participate in an unsanctioned activity, you can instantly lose benefits and be required to pay-back sums [unlike AIG managers]. It is imparative to keep careful records of every single job contact. Who you saw/called/wrote, the date, time and location. That includes casual conversations with acquaintances at the mall or after church for example.

If you do not live in a high crime community, why pay for Security Services? Talk to your community police officer. In our community they explained that criminals set a timer for 15 minutes to sweep through your home, starting with the M/Bdrm. By the time Security Services have determined there is a problem, dispatched their car or police contact and an interceptor gets to your home, the thief is gone, gone, gone. You do far more to protect your valueables by using an indelible marker [available from police services].

Take pictures of anything valueable for proof and identification. Write serial numbers on the back of pictures. A small, fireproof box, bolted to the floor and wall is helpful for jewelry, documents, money etc.

[supercheap]

Hey Lindafx
I feel for you. Went though this already. Best advice I got was this. You are on a sinking ship and land is a long way off. What are you going to want to carry while your treading water. The answer, be willing to let everything go. Get as much cash together before the ship sinks. It maybe a long time before you get any more. Break everything down to two lists. List one: what you want. List two: what your need.
then forget everything on list one. You'll find list two short and easy to deal with. It's painful at first but you'll find by letting go of all the stuff now you'll get back on your feet faster with a lot less stress. The upside is that you'll learn a lot about yourself. good luck

[snafu]

CNN ran some new details today which are chilling. CC companies are no longer willing to work with clients to get them through this mess. You must read the fine print on the back of your statements. CC will instantly hike interest % to 29%[USA] and also lower your credit limit if you are even one day late in paying your required payment. I presume they will take it to the legal limit in other countries.

In Canada Baliffs are being hired as soon as they qualify/licenced as it is a growth business! ouch

[creditcardfree]

Hey Lindafx
I feel for you. Went though this already. Best advice I got was this. You are on a sinking ship and land is a long way off. What are you going to want to carry while your treading water. The answer, be willing to let everything go. Get as much cash together before the ship sinks. It maybe a long time before you get any more. Break everything down to two lists. List one: what you want. List two: what your need.
then forget everything on list one. You'll find list two short and easy to deal with. It's painful at first but you'll find by letting go of all the stuff now you'll get back on your feet faster with a lot less stress. The upside is that you'll learn a lot about yourself. good luck

Good advice!

[Lindahfx]

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I really do appreciate your input. I just wanted to give an update on my situation. So, since my last post, I calculated my taxes for last year and to my dismay determined that I owe over $12k. (this has to do with a severance, etc. that i received last year from another layoff). I have $4500 in savings that I had put aside for taxes but obviously it's not enough. We calculated my DH's taxes and he is receiving a refund of $2,660 (due to childcare expenses). So... with his refund and our savings, that still leaves a balance owing of almost $4900. With our tight budget as it is, I was (and am) pretty stressed.

I met with my financial advisor yesterday to talk about our situation and he suggested a few things:

- open a LOC for our mortgage, cc debt and taxes owing - then just pay the interest which would be around $700/month while we don't have a lot of $$ - then pay down the LOC
- have my DH approach the student loan fin. institutions and have his monthly payments reduced
- eliminate any RRSP deductions on my pay (I currently have 9% of my gross salary deducted - the co. matches up to 4%)
- if worse comes to worse... consider withdrawing some of my RRSPs

Also:
- I've quit Weight Watchers.
- We are removing the movie channels, etc. from our cable - a savings of over $20 per month
- my DH has cut back on eating out for lunches
- I used the $170 of free shopping at the local drugstore to stock up on toiletry and household cleaning products we will need over the coming months
- I had received cheques for one of my cc's to transfer cc balances at an APR of 2.99% until January 2010. I was about to do that when I met with our fin. planner yesterday and will still do that if it takes too long to sort everything out.
- have stopped putting any extra $$ on cc's - saving all pennies
- i am preparing to sell some items on eBay and Kijiji

That's it so far but we are working at it.

[DebbieL]

Wow - what a blow to you guys. I'm so sorry to hear about the tax situation. Are you sure there isn't some mistake?

I wish you all the best, and my heart goes out to you. You are in my thoughts,
Debbie

[disneysteve]

You may be able to file for an extension to give yourselves more time to come up with the money. I'm not sure how that works or if they tack on interest, but it is worth looking into.

[wnlbutterfly]

I couldn't even tell you what our home insurance is as it is rolled into our mortgage, same with taxes.

Canadian prices are higher than USA overall. That doesn't change the wonderful advice on ways to cut back and prepare for this situation.

You can still access the WW message boards for free and get support. As well as a number of yahoogroups that are WW based (and free also). Just a thought! Don't let this be an excuse to regain weight or lose control over your health!

[CoryWM]

As for a supplemental income while looking for a job. Why not offer your services of child care. If there is really a 12 month wait on daycare. I'm sure there are people out there, who are looking for childcare. You could even expand it to become licensed, and insured for it. 12+ month wait time seems like a market waiting to be expanded. At the very least, you save your child care costs. Then tack on whatever you can get for the other child. Making lunch for 2 children instead of 1, is practically the same costs. This profession would also allow you to still a bit of job hunting in the morning or afternoon during a nap time for them.

Also I'd ditch the child care either day. Work with a friend who has kids. Watch each others kids during interviews/times needed. With the economy the way it is, you may find that there arn't 12 month waits anymore for childcare. Other people are probably taking their kids out too, which will have a much faster return time when you need to get your child back into child care.

As everyone before me has stated. Save as much as you can. The plan you have set up now, will work. However it is the unexpected costs that will ruin you. The extra taxes are a good wake up call. It sounds like you'll be able to make it through this. However, what if a car breaks down, etc during this unemployment time. Treat it as if you won't get a job for the next 5 years. Cut every piece of fat you can. Make any extra money you can. When you obtain your next job, slowly reward your family with luxuries they once had, and they'll appreciate them more. Most often, going through a rough time like this, will change your spending habits for the rest of your life, you'll learn the things you can easily live without, and how much you value your tv for instance.

Explore alternatives. I currently use netfix as opposed to cable. I basically watch a movie every single night, that I want to see. Most days you watch tv, you see about an hour worth of tv you actually wanted to watch, and another few hours of filler time.

Prepare for the absolute worst. If the worst happens you're ready. If the worst doesn't happen you're ahead! it's a win/win situation.

[disneysteve]

I couldn't even tell you what our home insurance is as it is rolled into our mortgage, same with taxes.

Your monthly statement should spell out very clearly hour your payment is broken down: how much is going to principal and how much to interest. There should also be a listing of payments made from the escrow account for taxes and insurance.

[wnlbutterfly]

$991 a year, looked it up on the insurance website. That is $82.58 a month. I don't know if we can change anything on that. I think it is based on the cost of the house and the outbuildings. I might ask as I am trying to get info on the car insurances (same insurance).

I pulled out a monthly statement. It lists Principal, Interest, Escrow. PMI is getting tossed into that escrow category as well as taxes and insurance. I am surprised they don't break it down farther. PMI is $71.97

[Coach52]

I have found a proven money-making system online

I was introduced to a system called Fundraiser 1.0 where you can easily raise money by spending time introducing it to others. It's very easy, yet time-consuming. But, if you are in between jobs or need to get extra $$$ it is really helpful.

It is not affiliate marketing or anything like that. There is no pyramid money-making set-up.