I-thought-this-would-never-happen-to-me-filter: Got laid off and I'm up the creek finance-wise

September 10, 2010 10:04 AM

Short-term contract position was cut off much shorter than expected, and now I don't have enough money to last to the end of next week. What can I do? [Trying not to sound like a whiner, but honestly I've never had to deal with anything of this magnitude before!]

I'm glutted with student loans (can't think of the actual amount right now) and CC debt (around $30K). My private student loans are in repayment and I've used up the forbearance times on them. Called student loan company and they say there's nothing they can do on their end. I'm worried I may get the same reaction from my CC companies.

Still trying to file for unemployment in my state (PA), but that could take weeks until I see a check from them. I'm considering consolidation for both loans and CCs but I don't know if that will sufficiently delay repayment times or if I'll have to pay up-front fees. I know it'll affect my credit score, but options are slim (assuming I even have any.) I'll be canceling my health insurance as well as other things, and will see if there's any freelance work I can do in the meantime.

I'm assuming there are others who have undergone this so I'd like to ask how you managed. How are things going for you currently? I don't have a spouse to lean back on, and "friends" and family don't care that I may be living in my car soon. At least I don't need to make payments on *that*.... I'm really confused by this whole process and feel betrayed by work - I had my dream job for all of three weeks until I was displaced by a senior-level person.

Please email me with suggestions and ideas, or even to share your stories if you don't want to post them on AskMeFi: [e-mail]

posted by anonymous to work & money (9 answers total)

Ask your friends, even long out of touch ones, and your family. Depression may be skewing your perception of their willingness to help.
posted by By The Grace of God at 10:11 AM on September 10, 2010

Get a job. Any job, for now. It doesn't matter if it's not your field, if it's beneath you, or it doesn't pay a lot. It will help you stay afloat as you consider your other options and look for something better.

Craigslist is your friend. Look under Gigs as well as regular Jobs section.
posted by pyro979 at 10:18 AM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Could you sell your car? Do you have anything else you can quickly sell on Craigslist? What machine are you typing this on? I guess the question is, how desperate are we talking here?
posted by CheeseLouise at 10:22 AM on September 10, 2010

You should jump in and find anything as quick as possible. I had to do this out of college to start paying loans and for life etc. before I found a job that I wanted. Jump into something as quickly as you can, go to every restaurant you can find and ask to speak to the manager, bar-tending would be best if you can do that (most money). Also, landscaping companies will need help to do pickup leaves this fall, try calling all the ones in your area asap! In the mean time do no forget to file for unemployment.

For quick money sell everythingggggg you absolutely don't need! Once you have something like above you can work those hours and focus on getting back into the work you set out to do, meaning sprucing up the resume, making contact through any related groups that are in your field that are in your city/area (example: marketing, tech groups, etc.) Continuing freelancing and building contacts that way, work for free if it will get you experience.

Once you find that job, or at least the first one with a decent salary/benefits take it and start saving some money for an emergency fund in case this happens again in the future. Once you have that live on dirt and throw everything you have at that debt.

Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do for a quick buck until you find another income source. Look for those types of jobs for now to sustain your regular job search. Also check Craiglist gigs everyday to see if there's anything you can do. You can also try doing something like this, where basically you run errands for people you find online:

http://www.taskrabbit.com/
posted by modoriculous at 10:28 AM on September 10, 2010

Don't panic. And don't run for consolidation just yet.

First of all, call your student loan provider again. Explain that this is a temporary, unexpected event and you would like to defer payment for two months. If they say no, then ask if you can reduce the payment to $X (you figure it out) for a period of 2 months. If they say no again, then you write a letter to them asking for one of the two options, emphasizing that you have always paid on time, that you wish to continue being a good customer, and would as such request this accommodation.

Second, you call each credit card company and ask for the same thing. You have a temporary financial constraint due to an unforseen emergency, could they please defer your payment for one or two months? If no, ask again for a payment reduction, if no, write a letter.

In all cases, be calm. Stress that this is an emergency, unforseen situation; that you have always paid your account on time; that this is a temporary accommodation that you are requesting. Be calm but firm. If someone says they can't help you, say thank you, I appreciate your help, but I need to speak to someone who can. Who would that be?

Take copious notes. Keep a clear call log. Dates, times, who you talked to. When you get on the phone with someone, the FIRST thing you do is ask them what their name is. Don't ask it at the end when you've had a bad call, they won't want to give it to you. Just pleasantly say "And who am I talking to, please?"

You can also keep calling back to see if you get someone else, but I can understand how nervewracking it is. It's much easier to play CSR roulette if you're less panicked. That's why I say write a letter if they say no. It takes longer, and you may need to roll the dice and handle the accounts that are coming up right away by calling back until you get a positive answer.

Be sure you check your statements for charges and fees when they come in. I once mistakenly transferred money from the wrong account into the wrong account and called, explained the situation, pointed to my 15 year record of on-time payment, and asked for a one-time exception. I was given the exception, only to get smacked with fees on my account. Because I had the date, time and name of the person I talked to, they could see that I had talked to someone and while she had correctly noted the request, she had not taken the necessary action to implement the request.
posted by micawber at 11:32 AM on September 10, 2010

There's some good suggestions here. Also look into a food bank or food stamps. You can probably get food from a food bank right away. Money you are not spending on food is money you can spend on rent.
posted by bananafish at 11:40 AM on September 10, 2010

For immediate pocket money, you might consider selling plasma. Look online or in the phone book for blood banks or plasma centers. It's not as horrid as you might think, and hey, it's fast cash.
posted by scratch at 12:29 PM on September 10, 2010

Yes, please do apply for food stamps immediately. Once when desperate and unemployed and (kind of) homeless and living off a bag of rice, I applied for food stamps and they called me the next day ready to hand out the stamps. Also, now is not the time to be either ashamed or prideful about asking your family to help you. I don't know if that's the situation here, but it certainly was for me. It was very difficult and shameful. My grandparents agreed to help me only on their specific--slightly humiliating--terms, and I swallowed my pride and accepted.

I'd been working for several years as a waitress, traveling around the country. But my restaurant went bankrupt right before the financial crisis really hit in late 2008, and in that first scare, nobody was hiring. I'd been living the high life, saving nothing, moving from job to job without a care and suddenly everything crashed around me. Nobody would hire me. I went broke FAST. Was staying on a friend's couch but only on the condition that I be gone in a few weeks.

It was awful and terrifying but yes, I did get through it. You will too, if you don't panic. Here's what helped me get through emotionally:

In this day and age, most of us have become used to relative luxury. We've gotten to the point where we think we *need* all these things in order to survive. Our things and our cars, even our good credit histories and the roofs over our head. But. There is actually very little of that that you need for your survival. You can make it through this. What is the worst that can happen to you here? Here's a worst-case situation. You can lose your apartment, default on your loans and credit card debit, and maybe lose or sell your car in the process. This will affect your credit history for a long, long time, so it'll be very difficult for you in the future. But a lot of people go bankrupt and we don't send people to debtor's prison much these days. (I'm assuming you're not in Dubai!) People make it through this. You can, too. If you're in the states, food stamps are definitely available to you. You are not going to starve. And in the meantime, I suggest crackers and peanut butter over the rice. It's more filling ;) You also do not have to go without a roof over your head. You have a car to sleep in--think of yourself as BLESSED. And if you decide to sell the car to help you right now, there are always homeless shelters. A homeless shelter won't be great, but they exist. Keep thinking of it like this: this isn't going to kill me.

Don't get me wrong, I know how awful all this is. But if you think of it this way, it will be harder to fall into the kind of despair that keeps you from taking action. Just . . . become supremely aware of your health, and the things you still have, and the fact that the government isn't going to let you starve. Let that fill you up with gratefulness. And then throw all of your energy into getting through this crisis.

When I got through this--let me say that again! I definitely got through this! You can too! When I got through this, I realized that I had become an extremely competent, self-reliant person. I think it's really true that hard times weather your soul. Try to think now about what a strong person this is going to make you. I'll throw you an email so's you can write back if you want. GOOD LUCK! STAY STRONG!
posted by sunnichka at 2:11 PM on September 10, 2010

Modest Needs handles these kinds of requests, and has been doing so quietly and effectively for years now.
posted by radiosilents at 2:32 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]