WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Nov 26, 2016 19:28:37 GMT -5
How much is left on your wife's car? Does it make sense for you to pay it off with some of that cash? I don't understand how your wife can have 11K of total debt, but still have student loans to pay off. Have you used recruiters to help you find jobs? Gone to your city's job resource center to help you prep with interviews? Are there any certifications you can get to help you? Monster says there's over 1K software engineer jobs in TX. I would be totally freaking out in your shoes. I would not spend down the stocks. You at best, with the stocks have 350K for retirement. You are used to living on what, 5-6K a month? That's never going to last you in retirement. Have you looked at your tax situation? Might it work for you guys to adjust withholding now, that you have less income? Is your wife contributing to retirement? If so, how much? I'd rather her reduce retirement for now to keep you guys afloat. Wife has $30k SL, $23K brand new car (gotten before the layoff obviously), and the 11k CC debt. She's going to pay on the car, SL and CC so she's contributing to what's left over. Yes, I've contacted recruiters, yada yada. I'm getting the interviews as I mentioned, it's just that I'm not presenting to be a viable employee at this time based on feedback from the recruiters. I've been rejected by every job I've applied to so far. We don't need to live on $6k/month. That's just what I was making at my previous job. That's how I was able to save and put money into stocks (which grew). Tax situation. Hmm.. We are barely coming out even claiming 0. I'd rather keep it the same there although I'm not withdrawing any taxes from UE at the moment. Yes, my wife is contributing to her 401k. I don't think much is coming out (enough for the employee match), although that is an option.
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WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Nov 26, 2016 19:42:22 GMT -5
I did do a balance transfer last month because I got a 0 fee, 0% ... hadn't seen one of those in years. I would not do it for sp ding money though, but if it would pay of her debt and free up short term earned income (i.e. not really add to overall debt) then maybe, maybe... DW has some really good interest rates on her loans right now. We balance transfered her $11k into a 0% over 1yr loan (obviously that all depends on whether I will be able to have a job or not to pay it off in full within a year). Her car loan is 2.14% and her SL is like 3.5% so all those avenues are taken. Just gotta pay on them each month. I've refi'd the house and that helps. I'm going to cut the cable bill down and will switch insurance back to our old insurance company to get a good discount on the home owners insurance. I'm using the VA for my medical prescriptions so that's a help too. I'm continuously studying every day for hours and reading books on answering tech questions in the field. I just need to keep practicing. I'm also taking a course on game programming online to bring my experience with real-time systems up. I'm banking on the fact that most of these tech companies want engineers that are well versed into real-time systems (mobile, VR, etc..) which I never acquired during my career in film. Looking back in hindsight, I should have never stayed in film for so long thinking I would always be viable there. Film has slowed down in the years and competition seems to be fierce. Btw, I have been looking everywhere in the US. Got flown out 2x to CA for 2 interviews and both were rejected. I've had skype interviews as well, so moving was in the cards a little over a month ago. Now, I've narrowed my search to just the DFW area to allow my daughter to at least finish this school year out.
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WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Nov 26, 2016 19:46:59 GMT -5
Also forgot to mention, I saved $20k for DD for college so far and was hoping to make that $30k by the time she graduated. Some here are saying use that money instead of taking out the stocks for living?
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Nov 26, 2016 19:52:48 GMT -5
Layoff to me is when they call people back after the layoff, downsizing or terminating is when you are let go do to change in the company not to be called back from layoff. Might they want you back? I went back after downsizing once as a temp after about 6 months for about 5 months before I quit, was actually kept after being told I was laid off for so long I ended up quitting so quit twice and was never let go or laid off.
You can move and leave your daughter alone to finish high school or leave wife with her. By the time you take a job and move it will be Feb so only a couple months of leaving her couch surfing to finish. She can house sit, dog sit or stay in your house while trying to sell it for you. If she is a mature 17 she might not mind taking care of herself, if not wife stays keeps old job until you get settled in new location.
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Nov 26, 2016 20:03:29 GMT -5
All, After 9 long years at my company, I was let go due to layoffs. I've accumulated a good size portion of money in stocks over the years (a little over $105k) but I don't have much in residual cash (~$8k). My severance package hasn't come through yet but even if it did, I'm looking at only around $12k so let's assume I'll have ~$20k cash. My wife works but she isn't the bread winner. She's able to contribute about $1250/month for now until her student loan deferment is finally over (Feb 2017). Then she can only contribute $900/month. Here's our no-compromise bills: Mortgage (just did a refi into a lower rate) - $1460/month Food, utility, etc.. - $1000/month Cell, Cable, Car insurance, electric, gas, etc.. - $900/month Metlife long term care insurance - $20/month No other debt. I have started collecting UE which gives us $1900/month. This runs out in April 2017. We have a 16yo daughter (Junior in HS). PLAN: While I'm looking for employment, I've mocked up worse-case scenarios where I don't find a job until our daughter graduates in 2018 and goes off to college (or full-time work). I'm going to be short by a big margin when the UE benefits end next April. I'm thinking about borrowing on a CC (balance transfer of 0% - 3% one time fee) to get immediate cash to to take up the slack from Apr 2017 to Dec 2017 (or maybe until June 2018 when DD grads). I've got offers that are 18 months long. The reason for this is to keep my money in stocks for as long as possible since the returns on that are much higher than 3% per yr. And slowly take $200/$300 out of them to pay the loan back each month (rinse and repeat with another CC once the promotion period is over). This would buy me a LOT of time. When DD grads, if I still haven't found a job, we planned on moving out of our house and putting it up for rent for $2,100/month and moving into a 1-bd apartment (~$1,100/month). This would give us some more income from the house to pay on the rent and make us only have to worry about a ~$600/month rent instead of the $1,460/month mortgage. I'm not touching my 401k plan which has ~$250k. Does this plan seem feasible? All your bills are no-compromise? That's not really a plan... Actually, let me revise. Listing all bills as non-negotiable, refusing to cut expenses, planning on living on credit cards for an extended period of time is a plan. It's not a good plan, but it is a plan.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Nov 26, 2016 21:23:21 GMT -5
Also forgot to mention, I saved $20k for DD for college so far and was hoping to make that $30k by the time she graduated. Some here are saying use that money instead of taking out the stocks for living? Well, I'm more risk adverse. I'd probably take the 20K for college, pay the taxes on it, and then use it to pay off some of your wife's bills. Actually, what I would do is sell the car (assuming it's not upside down), and pay off the CC and get her a 10K car. That would free up some of her money for daily living. Look 100K sounds good. Until shit starts going wrong. We're the YM poster child of doing everything right. We ended up spending down our savings by 40% on needs in a span of 18 months, and I lost about 7-8% of our gross income during that time. Once you get back on your feet, you really aren't. Because then you have to replace all the money you spent.
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WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Nov 26, 2016 21:58:49 GMT -5
All your bills are no-compromise? That's not really a plan... Actually, let me revise. Listing all bills as non-negotiable, refusing to cut expenses, planning on living on credit cards for an extended period of time is a plan. It's not a good plan, but it is a plan. I can always cut bills down up to a certain point. Then they become non-negotiable. For example, the car insurance or home owners insurance can only go down by so much until it's what it is. I mentioned planning on living on CC because the interest rate on them is much lower than the returns on stocks. I've made quite a bit of return on those stocks so pinching off of them is only going to make the gains that much more ineffective. Also borrowing money just so you get the cheaper interest rate when you actually have it in resources to pay off is a smart thing IMO. I use CC every day and get the bonus points on them when they get paid off in full each month.
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WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Nov 26, 2016 22:01:55 GMT -5
Also forgot to mention, I saved $20k for DD for college so far and was hoping to make that $30k by the time she graduated. Some here are saying use that money instead of taking out the stocks for living? Well, I'm more risk adverse. I'd probably take the 20K for college, pay the taxes on it, and then use it to pay off some of your wife's bills. Actually, what I would do is sell the car (assuming it's not upside down), and pay off the CC and get her a 10K car. That would free up some of her money for daily living. Look 100K sounds good. Until shit starts going wrong. We're the YM poster child of doing everything right. We ended up spending down our savings by 40% on needs in a span of 18 months, and I lost about 7-8% of our gross income during that time. Once you get back on your feet, you really aren't. Because then you have to replace all the money you spent. Selling the new car this early in my unemployment just isn't wise. We need the new car (2016) for stability and maintenance-free transportation -- after all, my wife has to get to work and the older car we have in the garage, I plan on selling as soon as Jan 2017 rolls around (job or no job). I'm not comfortable with getting rid of the new car when we can cut in other areas to make up that $400/month and not have to worry about fixes.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Nov 26, 2016 22:05:42 GMT -5
You might be focusing too narrowly. "viable" for one job category may be substantially different from 'viable' in another category. Lots of engineer-types - we have $75k engineers, $100k engineers, $125k, $150k, and so on. Some need to be able to work alone w/o supervision and steadily produce a finished design, on time, every time. Some need to lead teams to build a design. We have marketing engineers who need to travel weekly, entertain customers most evenings. We have trouble-shooter engineers who need to travel to a site on a moments notice. Usually, individuals gravitate toward the job that they excel at - and they are often terrible at the other categories. It is a manager's job to match the workers to the tasks that they excel at (and are happy doing).
Perhaps you need to self-evaluate to find your niche - rather than try to force yourself into the category that your recruiter pushes you toward. Or maybe you need a different recruiter?
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Nov 26, 2016 22:06:48 GMT -5
Actually, let me revise. Listing all bills as non-negotiable, refusing to cut expenses, planning on living on credit cards for an extended period of time is a plan. It's not a good plan, but it is a plan. I can always cut bills down up to a certain point. Then they become non-negotiable. For example, the car insurance or home owners insurance can only go down by so much until it's what it is. I mentioned planning on living on CC because the interest rate on them is much lower than the returns on stocks. I've made quite a bit of return on those stocks so pinching off of them is only going to make the gains that much more ineffective. Also borrowing money just so you get the cheaper interest rate when you actually have it in resources to pay off is a smart thing IMO. I use CC every day and get the bonus points on them when they get paid off in full each month. Have you called around recently to compare rates? Also, do you know anyone with a Costco or Sam's membership? I'd ask them to take you shopping and stock up on all the t.p, paper towels, cleaning stuff, staples, and meat.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2016 22:09:01 GMT -5
Actually, let me revise. Listing all bills as non-negotiable, refusing to cut expenses, planning on living on credit cards for an extended period of time is a plan. It's not a good plan, but it is a plan. I can always cut bills down up to a certain point. Then they become non-negotiable. For example, the car insurance or home owners insurance can only go down by so much until it's what it is. I mentioned planning on living on CC because the interest rate on them is much lower than the returns on stocks. I've made quite a bit of return on those stocks so pinching off of them is only going to make the gains that much more ineffective. Also borrowing money just so you get the cheaper interest rate when you actually have it in resources to pay off is a smart thing IMO. I use CC every day and get the bonus points on them when they get paid off in full each month. 0% is great. But it's short term. You have no idea what your situation or the market will look like in a year. What if it's down and you don't have a job, and then you are forced to lock in a loss or pay 17-20% interest...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2016 22:10:38 GMT -5
Lots of people have non 2016 cars and still manage to have stability and maintenance free transportation...
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Nov 26, 2016 22:18:22 GMT -5
Having a new car doesn't mean you don't have to maintain it...
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Nov 27, 2016 5:44:05 GMT -5
Actually, let me revise. Listing all bills as non-negotiable, refusing to cut expenses, planning on living on credit cards for an extended period of time is a plan. It's not a good plan, but it is a plan. I can always cut bills down up to a certain point. Then they become non-negotiable. For example, the car insurance or home owners insurance can only go down by so much until it's what it is. I mentioned planning on living on CC because the interest rate on them is much lower than the returns on stocks. I've made quite a bit of return on those stocks so pinching off of them is only going to make the gains that much more ineffective. Also borrowing money just so you get the cheaper interest rate when you actually have it in resources to pay off is a smart thing IMO. I use CC every day and get the bonus points on them when they get paid off in full each month. I'm calling this irrational exuberance.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Nov 27, 2016 9:01:20 GMT -5
I'm sorry you lost your job. That stinks. I agree with the others. Start hustling and plan on having a job or an income immediately. This looks too much like long-term unemployment planning.
When was your last day? It's awesome that you're getting interviews. Somebody once told me that once you're at the interview stage, you're only competing with 3-5 other people, so you just have to be better than them. As a hiring manager, I know I've only ever interviewed 3-5 people and picked the best one from those 5. Interviewing is time-consuming and managers have full-time jobs.
Good luck!
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WannabeWealthy
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Post by WannabeWealthy on Nov 27, 2016 14:22:41 GMT -5
Yes, I will plan to have a job for sure. I'll continuously look while I'm unemployed. I'll check back here when it's close to DD's summer break (if I don't have a job by then). If I find one sooner, I'll let everyone know.
Thanks for the insights!
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Nov 27, 2016 14:32:25 GMT -5
I can always cut bills down up to a certain point. Then they become non-negotiable. For example, the car insurance or home owners insurance can only go down by so much until it's what it is. I mentioned planning on living on CC because the interest rate on them is much lower than the returns on stocks. I've made quite a bit of return on those stocks so pinching off of them is only going to make the gains that much more ineffective. Also borrowing money just so you get the cheaper interest rate when you actually have it in resources to pay off is a smart thing IMO. I use CC every day and get the bonus points on them when they get paid off in full each month. I'm calling this irrational exuberance. Sometimes the smartest move is to take the gains off the table instead of counting on continued gains.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Nov 29, 2016 16:03:20 GMT -5
Have you practiced your whiteboard technique and interview questions to yourself? When I was interviewing, I practiced in the car my responses to questions over and over again so that I felt confident when asked questions. I'm not a natural in front of people, I have to practice. I think it helped me a lot that I had practiced my responses.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Nov 30, 2016 9:11:23 GMT -5
You're actually in great shape. Better shape than we were in when I lost my job w/ Morgan Stanley right here in front of all these fine people in November of 2003. Granted, I was flipping houses and had money coming in-- but no reserves to speak of (my entire net worth then was about $100K including $80K in equity in a house that we lived in).
I have one question-- it seems utterly ridiculous to me that you would be unemployed for so long?
The battle here, as in most of life, is one of mindset. Why even contemplate such a scenario?
And by the way-- IMHO, if you're unemployed for 90 days or more, wouldn't you think that's a sign you need to completely shift gears and do something else?
What about short-term, part-time or even full time seasonal work. It's November- you can wait tables at a chain restaurant and pay your expenses through the middle of January when it slows down.
Do you have a "Massive Action Gear"? Are you a "whatever it takes" kind of person? You sound a little complacent, to be blunt.
Here's how you fix that:
Take all of your expenses- forget you have any savings, investments, or a settlement check. Now, pretend you have a gun that's pointed at your head and you had to come up with a legal, moral, and ethical way to get all the money within 1 week?
Seems unreasonable- because it is. But nothing good happens in life to reasonable people.
OK, need a break? How about 2 weeks? 3?
You can do this-- you just need to get up off of your comfortable arse and make something happen.
If you really "WannabeWealthy" - start with your entire approach to this. You need a shake up-- this could be just the thing you needed.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Nov 30, 2016 9:43:54 GMT -5
Omg, Paul I haven't seen you here in forever!
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swasat
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Post by swasat on Nov 30, 2016 12:34:07 GMT -5
Omg, Paul I haven't seen you here in forever! Paul has another full time job on the YMAM Politics forum..... Very important job it is too.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Nov 30, 2016 12:41:42 GMT -5
The Onion fired him?
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swasat
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Post by swasat on Nov 30, 2016 12:48:20 GMT -5
No. He just picked up YMAM Politics as his side job What better place to preach?
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Nov 30, 2016 13:03:26 GMT -5
Omg, Paul I haven't seen you here in forever! Paul has another full time job on the YMAM Politics forum..... Very important job it is too. So many people need help over there.
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