Unemployment: How Do You Get By?
While we can’t always avoid losing a job, we can certainly make some plans to soften the potential blow of a layoff or termination. If you follow this advice, you’ll be better positioned to weather the storm of unemployment and make a quicker financial recovery.
Know How To Get Your Filings Done Quickly
Time is of the essence when you file for unemployment benefits. Many people assume they can be laid off on one Friday and get an unemployment check the next. But the reality is that the process can be slowed down or stopped if you don’t act quickly.
And every state is unique. The steps toward unemployment Georgia residents use will be different than those in California or Maine, so it’s important that you know how things work in your state long before you need help.
No matter where you live, the same rules apply. Have everything ready to file, know the process before you need the process, and file in a timely fashion. This strategy will help you get unemployment insurance as soon as possible.
Liquidate Unneeded Items
A great way to get cash fast is to sell some thing you really don’t need anymore. A thorough inventory of your home may reveal a lot of things that no longer benefit you. Old electronics, collectibles, and clothing could be filling up space when they should be filling your bank account.
For example, outgrown baby clothes (and the big, expensive toys those little ones played with) are great yard sale items and will also sell quickly when you offer them on social media or online auctions. Target buyers could include new grandparents who want to have toys and extra clothes at their house when the kids come over.
You can also unload unneeded or duplicate tools, and even repair parts for appliances, vehicles, or the house. All of these things hold their value well if used lightly or not at all, and they can generate a quick dose of cash to tide you over.
Scale Back
It’s unpleasant to think of downsizing your home or vehicle, but it’s much better to do so soon after a job loss than to end up evicted from your apartment or to have your car repossessed.
Financially surviving unemployment means minimizing your monthly expenses so that you have the best possible chance of getting by until a new paycheck starts coming in. When you’re making payments for rent and a car, it can be a matter of several hundred dollars to cut back.
See about renting a smaller place. You can easily save $200 or more per month with that one move. And if you’re paying on a car, get a value on it and see if you have enough equity in it to get a different car outright. If you pull that off, you should also consider reducing your auto insurance coverage, saving you more money.
It’s disappointing to trade out of these things after you’ve worked so hard to get them, but it’s still a better alternative than losing them altogether.
Job loss is one of those things we all hope to avoid. But it happens to a lot of people every day. For some, it’s a disaster. For others, it’s just a rough patch. The outcome for you will depend on how prepared you are for the possibility of losing your job.
James is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.