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Post by mojothehelpermonkey on Jan 30, 2016 19:37:42 GMT -5
The hardest parts for me about being unemployed, especially at first, were feeling unproductive and having way more free time than I was used to. During the first few months, I would go for long walks and pick up all of the trash that I saw just so I would feel like I had done something useful that day. Taking classes on Coursera is also a good way to kill time, plus it gives you something to talk about during interviews. You also really do find out who your true friends are. One of my close friends would back when I was working never put up too much of a fight when I would offer to pick up the tab. I never really minded much because I used to make a lot more than she did. Ever since I have been unemployed she has offered to pay my tab more than a few times. With some of my other friends being unemployed has been a nice excuse to try to get them to come to my place for dinner and drinks instead of going out. I am a homebody anyway, so it is nice to have an argument-proof reason for not wanting to go out. One of my "friends" actually did tell a mutual friend that she didn't want to spend the whole night "just sitting in someone's house". I think that friend may have a drinking problem, so I wasn't even that offended.
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WholeLottaNothin
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Post by WholeLottaNothin on Jan 30, 2016 19:55:38 GMT -5
I remember when I was out work I obviously couldn't wait to get a job and get back to being productive. Once I had an offer and a start date? I wanted more time to enjoy myself before I went back to work! Lol. You may not need a "vacation" but any time you have off between an offer and a start date should feel more relaxed! I know that when I do get back to work I will feel the same way as Cookies. Right now, I feel like Carl. My longest vacation ever was only two weeks. I've been out of work just over three weeks. And I really hate myself. If it wasn't for working out, DH would be pushing up daisies in the backyard. I'm just not the stay-at-home type. My mom was still working into her eighties. My dad died suddenly, but was working up until three days before he passed. I really feel worthless a lot of the time, and I spend a lot of time looking for work or doing freelance work. Most of the people around me have been really nice and understanding. A few have stopped speaking to me or interacting with either myself or my DH. It's like I'm poisoned in some way. Or maybe contagious. Let's just say that when this is in the past, I'll remember who was kind and who wasn't. The same thing happened both times I had cancer. Some people I had considered friends I now haven't talked to in years. It hurt at first but now I don't miss them at all.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jan 30, 2016 20:24:20 GMT -5
I just realized that between our 3 unemployment stints between the 2 of us in the past 8 years it costs us $70,000 in savings or $704,000 in 30 years at 8% interest rate... or $1.6 Millions if you use Phil 11% interest! We used $20,000 the first time I was unemployed, $20,000 the first time my wife was unemployed and $30,000 the next time. Each time took us 6 to 9 months to find a job! I just hope and pray we won't have to use our savings again this time... that is a lot of money! I am grateful that we had the money each time to weather the storm, and we are luckier than most that did not have any but that doesn't make it any easier. I guess the reality hit me today when we talked about moving the funds if I do not qualify for unemployment, I hope to find a job before then! We have about 8k in immediate savings that should last 2 months or so...then got to transfer the funds!
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jan 30, 2016 20:30:45 GMT -5
At least you have funds. We wiped ours out with my unemployment. If anything outside of routine bills pops up I'm looking at credit card debt.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jan 30, 2016 20:44:40 GMT -5
At least you have funds. We wiped ours out with my unemployment. If anything outside of routine bills pops up I'm looking at credit card debt. I know but also there is the other side of it... I brought in 65% of our total income; we are screwed the moment that money is gone and I have no job. At least you can cover routine bills. And that does not even include the 30k we put in this house that we will most likely lose if we sell! I think that is why my wife is really freaking out, she knows she cannot cover our bills if I am unable to find a job. My wife net income cannot even cover our mortgage payment and that is not even a lie... Not trying to get into a " who got it worse contest" with you and I apologize if it is coming off like that. Both our situations sucks donkey balls and I wish both your husband and I find jobs ASAP!!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2016 22:38:21 GMT -5
I have never been laid off so this is slightly different, but I quit my private school teaching job that paid about half of what a public school teaching job paid, figuring it would give me more opportunities. Teachers must give 45 days notice before schools starts back, and school starts back in mid-August. In the end, I was right, but that's not the point.
I had a part-time job working retail. I applied and interviewed a lot of places where I didn't want to live. I also got a couple of non-teaching job offers.
The point is that I was pretty much paralyzed that summer. I couldn't spend money on anything. I actually took my savings and divided it by my rent to figure out how long I could make it. The retail job could pay for food. It was so scary.
That's why I am surprised, Carl, that you and your wife were going out to lunch and Barnes & Noble. I'm not criticizing you, but merely remarking that the full hit must not have got you yet.
Spend only what you have to.
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me4kids
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Post by me4kids on Jan 30, 2016 22:46:55 GMT -5
Congratulations! Good job on passing the county exam. And I'm amazed that you took classes while working and taking care of your kids. It's a huge endeavor and you should be proud of yourself. I hope you find a great opportunity soon!
Thank you. My schedule for the past 6 years has been perfect. I only worked when the kids were in school, so I was able to pick up and take care of the kids. I never had to pay for childcare, even during the school breaks. I only took 1 class per semester, except for the summer session where I took Excel and 10-key. I am 2 classes away from getting my Accounting Certificate. My family has really pitched in for the last 2 1/2 years. My eldest child has been a big help by dropping off all of his younger siblings at school in the morning while my DH and I both leave for work at 5:30 am. I've been very fortunate to have my family's support. I am extremely happy with the outcome so far. No matter how I do on my interview next week, I will have attained my initial goal of finding a job in accounting. Even if I only get the extra help position now, my next goal is to get a permanent full-time position as an Accounting Clerk.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jan 30, 2016 22:47:35 GMT -5
At least you have funds. We wiped ours out with my unemployment. If anything outside of routine bills pops up I'm looking at credit card debt. I know but also there is the other side of it... I brought in 65% of our total income; we are screwed the moment that money is gone and I have no job. At least you can cover routine bills. And that does not even include the 30k we put in this house that we will most likely lose if we sell! I think that is why my wife is really freaking out, she knows she cannot cover our bills if I am unable to find a job. My wife net income cannot even cover our mortgage Not trying to get into a " who got it worse contest" with you and I apologize if it is coming off like that. Both our situations sucks donkey balls and I wish both your husband and I find jobs ASAP!!! No worries. It just sucks all around. I do consider us lucky in that we committed the ym sin of renting from my parents. That's one thing I don't worry about. Its scary not having ng any savings and the unemployment system is of no help to us. I don't like it but I figure use the credit card and worry about that when we are on our feet
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 31, 2016 0:51:32 GMT -5
In some ways I was off from beginning of Sept until I got my job offer just before Thanksgiving and then still didn't start until Dec 8. I lucked out because for the first 3 weeks I was on overhead while the jerks that put me in that position to begin with tried to find me a job. Then it was another 4 or so weeks while I had a new job with them that I had to turn down since they wouldn't give me a decent COLA while I was still mostly on overhead but still had to go into the office. Then I had 4 weeks unpaid employment - where I had to send in my insurance premiums - sitting in my house trying to find a job. Stressful as hell since I'm single and unemployment was barely enough to cover my rent.
But, I did delay starting work at my new job a week to go to a beach rental with my parents for a week. Less fun since it's was the first week of December, but still much needed after all those months of stress!
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suesinfl
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Post by suesinfl on Jan 31, 2016 6:25:16 GMT -5
I remember when I was out work I obviously couldn't wait to get a job and get back to being productive. Once I had an offer and a start date? I wanted more time to enjoy myself before I went back to work! Lol. You may not need a "vacation" but any time you have off between an offer and a start date should feel more relaxed! I know that when I do get back to work I will feel the same way as Cookies. Right now, I feel like Carl. My longest vacation ever was only two weeks. I've been out of work just over three weeks. And I really hate myself. If it wasn't for working out, DH would be pushing up daisies in the backyard. I'm just not the stay-at-home type. My mom was still working into her eighties. My dad died suddenly, but was working up until three days before he passed. I really feel worthless a lot of the time, and I spend a lot of time looking for work or doing freelance work. Most of the people around me have been really nice and understanding. A few have stopped speaking to me or interacting with either myself or my DH. It's like I'm poisoned in some way. Or maybe contagious. Let's just say that when this is in the past, I'll remember who was kind and who wasn't. NO, NO NO!! (bolded, underlined, italicized (sp?). Through no fault of your own, the company folded. You are working, just not how you were used to. You are working freelance, job hunting every day for many hours a day, which is better than some people that in know in real life.
I understand that you are in a "funk" right now, but you will come through this with shining colors. Stay strong, keep on the positive path and remember that you have many people watching your back.
My spelling and grammar skills don't bode well with only a few hours of sleep....sorry.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jan 31, 2016 11:23:01 GMT -5
That's why I am surprised, Carl, that you and your wife were going out to lunch and Barnes & Noble. I'm not criticizing you, but merely remarking that the full hit must not have got you yet. Spend only what you have to. Mate we shouldn't have spent the $20 on the burger but Barnes & Nobles did not cost a thing... It just provide another setting besides just being home, we are somewhere else surrounded by people. She was doing her reading for school and I was job hunting, were there for 3 hours or so.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 31, 2016 12:30:23 GMT -5
I know that when I do get back to work I will feel the same way as Cookies. Right now, I feel like Carl. My longest vacation ever was only two weeks. I've been out of work just over three weeks. And I really hate myself. If it wasn't for working out, DH would be pushing up daisies in the backyard. I'm just not the stay-at-home type. My mom was still working into her eighties. My dad died suddenly, but was working up until three days before he passed. I really feel worthless a lot of the time, and I spend a lot of time looking for work or doing freelance work. Most of the people around me have been really nice and understanding. A few have stopped speaking to me or interacting with either myself or my DH. It's like I'm poisoned in some way. Or maybe contagious. Let's just say that when this is in the past, I'll remember who was kind and who wasn't. NO, NO NO!! (bolded, underlined, italicized (sp?). Through no fault of your own, the company folded. You are working, just not how you were used to. You are working freelance, job hunting every day for many hours a day, which is better than some people that in know in real life.
I understand that you are in a "funk" right now, but you will come through this with shining colors. Stay strong, keep on the positive path and remember that you have many people watching your back.
My spelling and grammar skills don't bode well with only a few hours of sleep....sorry.
Aw, I understood. And thanks. It just bites mentally to be not working "normally," especially when you've been in the workforce as long as I have, and never been without work. And yes, I am working, even today - looking at job openings, doing and planning freelance, budgeting for next week. I still have a month's worth of salary coming in (last paycheck actually hits my bank 3/7), I have inherited and saved money and everything I own is paid for. My new medical coverage starts tomorrow, the fridge and pantry are full. Lots of people have it far worse than I do.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 31, 2016 12:33:05 GMT -5
That's why I am surprised, Carl, that you and your wife were going out to lunch and Barnes & Noble. I'm not criticizing you, but merely remarking that the full hit must not have got you yet. Spend only what you have to. Mate we shouldn't have spent the $20 on the burger but Barnes & Nobles did not cost a thing... It just provide another setting besides just being home, we are somewhere else surrounded by people. She was doing her reading for school and I was job hunting, were there for 3 hours or so. Sometimes maintaining your sanity demands getting the freak out of your house. I get this completely. The freelance I do helps me get out. So does working out. You simply cannot do the "sit and stay" routine like a trained puppy in front of the computer ALL the time. You have to interact with the other humans out there. Besides, you never know when you will hear or see a job lead somewhere.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Jan 31, 2016 12:39:45 GMT -5
It's hard finding free things to do in the winter time. Most of the time you'll want to be indoors, and there aren't many free things to do indoors unless you stay home.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 31, 2016 12:59:18 GMT -5
It's hard finding free things to do in the winter time. Most of the time you'll want to be indoors, and there aren't many free things to do indoors unless you stay home. True. I had not considered geography. Down here, we don't get much of anything that impedes the roads, other than heavy rain. And the cold weather around here seems to encourage people to go out, not stay inside. My own thoughts on this: even in times of unemployment or under-employment, you have to budget for something small as a splurge. Otherwise, the dam breaks one day and you just go nuts on spending. A small, controlled treat for yourself is fine, unless things are so financially dire that even that is off the table. That one little thing each week can make a person feel sane through what can be a very insane process.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Jan 31, 2016 13:06:17 GMT -5
A few years ago my husband got laid off from his job. It was 4 months after we bought a house and I was 7 months pregnant with our 3rd kid. He spent the summer building a bookcase that cost us ~$300.
I figured it was much cheaper than therapy and much MUCH cheaper than hookers and blow.
And since he was doing it outside, kids were able to get tons of fresh air and help him as well and I got a nice little vacation.
One of the best $300 we ever spent!
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 31, 2016 13:12:17 GMT -5
It's hard finding free things to do in the winter time. Most of the time you'll want to be indoors, and there aren't many free things to do indoors unless you stay home. True. I had not considered geography. Down here, we don't get much of anything that impedes the roads, other than heavy rain. And the cold weather around here seems to encourage people to go out, not stay inside. My own thoughts on this: even in times of unemployment or under-employment, you have to budget for something small as a splurge. Otherwise, the dam breaks one day and you just go nuts on spending. A small, controlled treat for yourself is fine, unless things are so financially dire that even that is off the table. That one little thing each week can make a person feel sane through what can be a very insane process. Very true. When I was unemployed for two months in early 2009, it was when there was the $25 "bonus" money with UE, or whatever the hell it was. I used that to visit a friend of mine at the bar where she worked Tuesday day shift. Twenty bucks a week to keep sane, have a couple of cocktails, and chat with the regulars? Hell, I'd like to do that now!
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jan 31, 2016 13:27:54 GMT -5
well - I haven't seen any specific questions from you, but in general the most important thing is being able to manipulate data - and - harder to assess in recruitment, an intuitive understanding of the data. great proficiency with some kind of analysis program - SAS or SPSS - and knowledge of what kinds of analyses are appropriate for what kinds of data. then - the ability to report in tables, graphs, etc. Excel and word - some places may want Access. SAS is a real bear to know/use well, but if you know SAS, SPSS is easy to pick up (but not vice versa). So understand data, and know how to analyze and report. (The interpretation of reults or design of the data gathering is usually a level up from analyst) I don't know what to ask am I'm not sure dh does either, in all honesty. I just appreciate any help that starts popping him/us out of our rut.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jan 31, 2016 13:58:07 GMT -5
Ok, his current field is a mashup of retirement planning, data analyst for ACA, compliance type stuff. Lots of compliance testing for govt regulations for retirement plans. Some development and maintenance for Databases, including VBA script and stuff. Some sequel stuff and other things he rattled off to fast for me to type. Sounds kind of related. The quant coursera course I started used the programming language R. Also, the one local quant job I saw used R and I think Excel, and maybe wanted some other programming knowledge. Seems like they also like really superior math skills, but that's just my own impression.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jan 31, 2016 14:03:09 GMT -5
He says that your last paragraph was really helpful.
He doesn't know SAS. So he's gonna do more looking into that.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jan 31, 2016 14:14:06 GMT -5
Ok, his current field is a mashup of retirement planning, data analyst for ACA, compliance type stuff. Lots of compliance testing for govt regulations for retirement plans. Some development and maintenance for Databases, including VBA script and stuff. Some sequel stuff and other things he rattled off to fast for me to type. Sounds kind of related. The quant coursera course I started used the programming language R. Also, the one local quant job I saw used R and I think Excel, and maybe wanted some other programming knowledge. Seems like they also like really superior math skills, but that's just my own impression. He's a math major.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jan 31, 2016 14:20:05 GMT -5
Sounds kind of related. The quant coursera course I started used the programming language R. Also, the one local quant job I saw used R and I think Excel, and maybe wanted some other programming knowledge. Seems like they also like really superior math skills, but that's just my own impression. He's a math major. Sounds like he's golden! . If he doesn't know R, there is a brief, free class on data camp, I think the name was. I can look up the link on my laptop later if you are at all interested.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jan 31, 2016 14:23:06 GMT -5
Yes please.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jan 31, 2016 14:24:56 GMT -5
He says that your last paragraph was really helpful. He doesn't know SAS. So he's gonna do more looking into that. SAS is a bitch to learn, and the program is $$. I looked at buying it a few years ago, and want yo say it was about $8000. I had a copy on my computer that I loaded through the university as an employee access. I didn't find it very intuitive, but once you learn it well, it is an invaluable skill.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jan 31, 2016 14:52:02 GMT -5
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travelnut11
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Post by travelnut11 on Jan 31, 2016 15:02:07 GMT -5
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jan 31, 2016 15:10:26 GMT -5
Have I mentioneded recently how much I love and appreciate you all? This is really helpful. Also, it's spurring him to swap out the sticky keyboard on our desktop so he can follow the links.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2016 19:27:38 GMT -5
That's why I am surprised, Carl, that you and your wife were going out to lunch and Barnes & Noble. I'm not criticizing you, but merely remarking that the full hit must not have got you yet. Spend only what you have to. Mate we shouldn't have spent the $20 on the burger but Barnes & Nobles did not cost a thing... It just provide another setting besides just being home, we are somewhere else surrounded by people. She was doing her reading for school and I was job hunting, were there for 3 hours or so. I really am not criticizing you. I'm just saying that when the full reality hit me, I couldn't spend a dime more than I had to on anything. I was totally paralyzed about spending. And, like you, I had a few hundred thousand in retirement. And maybe $4000 in a savings account. But I was terrified. But people respond in different ways.
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Post by mojothehelpermonkey on Jan 31, 2016 19:47:26 GMT -5
One of the few upsides of being unemployed is that you can take advantage of "happy hour" and "free museum" types of discounts. I reconnected with one of my friends because we finally had the same day off again and could meet up in time for happy hour.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Feb 1, 2016 9:15:10 GMT -5
Yes, they do. Everyone's level of crazy is different. I hit mine after about two weeks. I've signed up for an additional competitive event here and there. Nothing expensive at this point, but the reason for doing it is to stay focused and have a reason to get up and keep going forward. You do what you have to, in order to remain sane. I've been looking at MeetUp groups around town, but so far, the ones that are geared towards my interests also seem pretty spendy; that is, they like to go out and have a good time. I'm not in a place where I can do that at the moment.
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