What Are You Doing to Prepare for a Possible Layoff?

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What Are You Doing to Prepare for a Possible Layoff?

Submitted by: Tip Hero 02/07/2009 8:30 AM

As the economy continues to slow down, job losses continue to rise. These are uneasy and frightening times, to say the least. And even if you're lucky enough to still have a job, the stress of a possible layoff in the near future can be overwhelming.

So how do you cope? What steps are you taking to prepare for a possible layoff?

Please share your strategies and plans with the TipHero community below so that we can all benefit from your ideas. And thanks for being a TipHero!

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Comments:

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The best thing to do is PAY DOWN YOUR DEBT so that if or when a layoff happens you have less to worry about.

The next thing I would suggest is to stockpile things you use on a regular basis- shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. Stockpile when the items are on sale and you have a coupon to match up with them. That way you do your "shopping" in your own home.

Don't take on any more debt- no new clothes, televisions, Ipods, etc- unnecessary things that you don't need anyway.

Sell things that you have that you don't need for extra money and start a savings account.

Form a "group" of people that are local that you can trade services or products with, ie baby sitting, car repair, and other necessary things that we require to keep living.

Check into and use all available resources- Freecycle groups, Cheapcycle groups, Ebay, Craigslist, etc.

Posted by 2vette2camaro on February 07, 2009 12:55 PM

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We paid off all our credit cards and cut them up but didn't cancel 2 of them to maintain our credit score. They are for extreme emergencies only. We also stopped spending extra money and put it in an emergency savings account. I have a baby and we decided to use cloth diapers that I sewed myself. Saves us a ton of money right there. I also make my own baby food for about 1/4 the cost of jars of baby food. I quit my job and stay at home with the baby. It would cost more for daycare than I was making anyways. We reduced our cable and shut off the house phone and just use cell phones. I am gradually changing the lights as they burn out to the cfl's. I only wash clothes at night. Off peak hours are 1/3 the cost of peak hours. We only go out to eat once a month. I use mypoints to earn free gift cards for Christmas. This year for Christmas should be just about free for us between mypoints and the other sites I get free stuff and money from. I use coupons to save even more on groceries and other stuff. Yesterday I paid $74.55 for $204 of groceries.

Posted by Stacy on February 13, 2009 5:49 PM

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I have been with the same company for 12 years and have always keep notes and highlights of my career in case I needed to write a resume. I never thought I would have to, but I just made it past the second round of layoffs. Glad I had the notes to look at to write my resume, but still it was no fun. I now have my resume ready to go it I don't survive the next round of layoffs.

Posted by anonymous on February 20, 2009 11:21 AM

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just trying to save as much as we can and be real conservative about our spending. trying to bulk our savings so we can go at least 6 months without an income and cover our expenses.

Posted by justinsvr on February 20, 2009 11:46 AM

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I've been keeping in close touch with my network, calling, checking in, and of course finding out who is hiring.

Posted by KReed on February 20, 2009 12:18 PM

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We have done the following:

1. Cut back on spending.
2. Avoid new debt.
3. Fix things rather than replace.
4. Review other budget cuts that could be made if necessary (Example: cancel cable).
5. Discussed last resort options (using savings or 401K investments).
6. Prepared our kids for serious cut backs, while reassuring them that we have a plan and the means to make it through okay.
7. Updated our resumes.
8. Watch for opportunities.

Posted by TeresaA on February 20, 2009 2:56 PM

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We are a one income family and this is how I am helping my husband and my family prepare for a layoff.

1. Keeping our resumes updated.

2. Trimmed $1500 worth of montly fat out of our budget.and looking to trim even more!

3. I am going back to school for a career in the medical field.

4. Stocking piling 6 months worth of healthy canned food and supplies.

5. Puting at least 25% of our income into savings.

6. Paid off and clipped all the credit cards.

7. Learned about tax write offs and exemptions to make the most of our income tax check.

8. Selling and donating all unused/unneeded items. So if we have to move we have less to pack.

9. Keeping a notebook and writing down info on any and all foodbanks, shelters, cheap clinics, low cost housing, employment agencies, temp agencies etc...Just in case we have to ever use it(or to refer someone else to it)

10. Paid up all our annual memberships/subscriptions to items we cannot do without, like: costco, sams, zoo, museum, Thursday-sunday paper, p.o box, checking account fees, id's, any insurances we can pre-pay *we did this so if our income decreased these items were paid for and wouldn't have to be deducted from monthly income.

Posted by anonymous on February 20, 2009 4:30 PM

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I disagree about paying down debt first. You can't eat a $0 balance.

The first thing a person should do is stockpile items they need like food, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. Your family NEEDS food, soap, etc. Your family's needs come first, before paying off bills.

After you've got a big stockpile of food and other items and know your family will be well cared for and fed, then work on an emergency fund.

After that's all set, then dedicate yourself fully to chipping away at all those bills. The bills will get paid off eventually (but you can't tell your kid they'll eat eventually).

Posted by anonymous on February 21, 2009 8:59 AM

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First thing come to mind, If you've teenagers or young adults living in your home, have them to start paying for cellphone bills, cable. The next thing it's up to your family, have them help with grocery bill, even if it's $10.00 or so. Every bit helps. This way they can take responsiblity too. My daughter is on our phone plan (cellphone ) she pays $40.00 a month instead of having her own plan.
Water, power will be 2 items you will use more of, when family stays home more.
You know exactly what your family needs, so figure out how you can really save in your family.
As far as mine, my daughter and son live on their own and they pay their own bills.
Hubby and I are cutting every possible way we can.

Good luck !!!

Posted by justme on March 19, 2009 4:59 AM

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The school district I work for just laid off about 40 people. I didn't think I'd get cut since I'm the only person in the building with my job, but anything is possible. I started thinking about what I'd do if I got the ax.

Not many school systems are hiring these days, so I would need a plan B in case I couldn't get another school job. What are my marketable skills? Teaching and writing, also retail experience. Possibilities: freelance writing (which I do a little already), tutoring (which I've done), editing/proofreading. I live in a large university town, so there is a market for tutoring and writing help. Layoff plan would be to blanket town with flyers for services, and aggressively pursue freelance opportunities I don't have time for now. Retail wouldn't be my top choice, but I'd do whatever I had to.

As for finances, we are already living as cheaply as we can because my husband is in grad school. Vehicles are paid for, house payment is low, but we could refinance.

Hope this helps someone--I am the kind of person that "expects the best, but plans for the worst." It made me feel better to imagine what I would do if I did get laid off and to have a plan in mind.

Posted by writing librarian on March 26, 2009 8:07 PM

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Have two years salary in the bank and always have. This is aside from long term investments and retirement. Recession has forced us to look at how we as a nation have been living.

Posted by anonymous on April 05, 2009 11:41 PM

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I've been updating my 'rolodex' and keep the list on a sansdisk in case I get laid off, building up my meergency fund, and really just trying to make myself indispensible, taking on more work whenever possible.

Posted by anonymous on April 13, 2009 9:34 PM

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