What to do?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2008
What to do?
12
Wed, 12-03-2008 - 1:03pm

As some of you may recall, my husband found out at the end of October that they are closing his division by the end of this month.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
In reply to: larkspur66
Wed, 12-03-2008 - 1:37pm

I don't have an answer, but I think my hubby is about to face the same decision.


He lost a job last May and in a desperate move, took the first thing offered because he could not drawn unemployment.

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
In reply to: larkspur66
Wed, 12-03-2008 - 3:02pm

I'd advise looking at the long term as well as the near term.

With regard to his own practice: Does he have the personality to work on his own 6 days a week for the next few years? Does he know how to get new clients? If he can build a thriving practice, what is his overall earning potential three years from now? What are the alternatives for you, e.g. can you get another job with similar benefits that you like better?

If he takes a government job, is he going to be miserable with the loss of autonomy, or will he view it as a worthwhile sacrifice to provide a different kind of life for your family?

Being an entrepreneur (which is what a solo-practice lawyer is) can be liberating and extremely lucrative if you have either the right personality or the right partners. It's a death wish if you don't. I'm not a lawyer but I am a partner in a small business - I have some of the right personality traits for an entrepreneur but even more, I have the right partners. I make far more than I could ever make as someone's employee, and my fate is in my own hands, more or less. Obviously I'm subject to market forces too, but I'm never going to be laid off by someone else or take my marching orders from a bureaucrat, and that is extremely important to me.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
In reply to: larkspur66
Wed, 12-03-2008 - 3:25pm

I would sit the kids down and just explain all this to

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2005
In reply to: larkspur66
Wed, 12-03-2008 - 9:52pm

In todays world security is everything.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2008
In reply to: larkspur66
Wed, 12-03-2008 - 10:02pm

Thanks, all, for your thoughtful responses.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
In reply to: larkspur66
Thu, 12-04-2008 - 12:11am

Raymonds two cents We were talking about you to night did you feel your ears burning


Raymond says keep the practice and find someone to share the office Other guy take days and your husband take the nights

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
In reply to: larkspur66
Thu, 12-04-2008 - 9:34am

I have several partners, and we also have employees, so we have full health coverage. We are going to start a high-deductible plan in January, because even funding the deductible for people, it ends up saving a lot of money over a standard plan.

One thing I read in More magazine recently is that you can get insurance if you are as small a group as two people - not a family, but a business with one employee. Might be worth looking into. If your DH has a partner, they would be able to get much better rates as a company than individually.

I understand about sticking with a crummy job for the insurance. My DH was the one who had the crummy job while I fiddled around for a year trying to find the right job and then, when I found it, waiting for insurance to kick in. As soon as I got insurance coverage, he quit his job and became a SAHD. That was 13 years ago!

These aren't easy decisions. Good luck.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
In reply to: larkspur66
Thu, 12-04-2008 - 10:55am

I feel like the voice of dissent this week! LOL Here's a different thought:


If you take the current economic climate out of the equation, does it change your thought process or decision?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2008
In reply to: larkspur66
Thu, 12-04-2008 - 11:34am

What wonderful posters we have here... Very thought provoking post.

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
In reply to: larkspur66
Thu, 12-04-2008 - 2:03pm

We are nearly in the same place vis-a-vis our kids (mine are 16, 14, and 8) and values.

I passed up the opportunity to get on the partner track at my firm 10 years ago and instead spent 5 years in a job that had a pretty low income ceiling but also let me be home by 6:30 every night and never have to travel or work nights or weekends. (DH is a SAHD but kids need their moms, too.)

After a certain point, though, the family needed me to make more money. We didn't own a house, had $50,000 in debt, no retirement savings, and kids getting closer to college by the minute. I was fortunate to be able to switch back to the partner track about 4 years ago, and my becoming a partner got us out of debt (which went up to over $100,000 before we paid it off!) and gives me the hope that we will be able to pay for the kids' college and retire at 60.

BTW I too am feeling a little sad that our oldest is going off to college in 20 months! Life will be calmer and saner, but that's not always a good thing. :)

Kelly

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