Pay cut AND Furlough
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| Thu, 02-26-2009 - 12:52pm |
My husband just found out that his company is making him take an 8 percent pay cut AND 7 days of unpaid furlough AND more withheld for insurance. The company is also suspending its 401K contribution and reducing expense reimbursements. That, with the fact I'm still only making about one-fourth to a third of my former salary and we could be in trouble. Forget about debt repayment, we will just be trying to pay our bills.
I have been applying to all kinds of stuff -- both full time and part-time but so far, nada. Our biggest expense is our mortgage. It is 2,800 a month. I love this house but I am ready to find something cheaper. My husband is really not on board. I think he secretly thinks if I would just give up trying to write (even though I have finally had some big breakthroughs lately)and get any job we will be OK. This might finally bring him around, especially if we can stay in the same neighborhood.
If possible we will switch to an HMO insurance instead of our point of service plan. I think that will save us a couple hundred dollars a month. We got the more expensive insurance plan when our kids were babies. Now they are school age and don't go to the doctor as much. Plus we're not that crazy about our doctors anymore anyway. But those rats at his company won't let anyone change their benefits until open enrollment in the fall. That means we have to just suck it up for six months. I was thinking of asking my husband to suspend or reduce his contribution to his 401K. It's not like we are earning any money now on it. We've lost about 20K since last fall in his fund. We've already eliminated his supplemental life insurance.
Any other thoughts? We will probably try to refinance our house but I'm afraid we will not qualify. My income does not count since I am newly self employed and his has been reduced plus we have a staggering debt to income ratio.
Jenny

Just wanted to put a positive spin on it. At least your husbands company sounds like they are doing all they can to avoid layoffs. I know cutting back on pay and days off and 401K contributions stink but it beats him being out of a job.
Props to them trying!
Well, before you sing their praises too loudly they were the same company that laid me off with no notice and no severance 18 months ago because I was technically part-time and had no union protection despite having been there seven years.
We will be OK I guess. My husband keeps sending me job contacts out of my field which irks me a little bit. The common sense and practical side knows I need to make more income and should give up my dream but because we are in the same field I can't help but wonder how he would feel if after three decades he suddenly was supposed to stop doing what he loved. That is why I am pushing for selling the house to reduce our expenses enough that we could live on my greatly reduced income and I could keep writing. Sigh.
Sorry to hear you are going through this. Would it be possible to pick up a part time job until things calm down and do your free lancing on the side? This way you would keep the clients you worked hard to get but still be bringing in a steady income? Just a thought.
Good luck with whatever you do!
Bex -
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."
Bex -
Jenny
Please don't laugh at this? Around Louisville where I live there are a lot of houses that are pretty much upside down. Not worth what is owed on them. Not downtown where the older and sometime cheaper houses are but out in county. I have no idea how you would go about doing this but tons of people are going down to the property tax office and putting in for cheaper taxes based on the lower value of their home.
Mary Ann -
Good points.
Just an FYI, you usually have to have a Master's degree to teach at a University or college level, and I am pursuing a PhD so that is why I can do it.
Hey, can you email me, I am looking for some help in Louisville for a couple things we are doing there?
Marketingvirgo@yahoo.com