Unemployment - East Mc Keesport,PA

First start with your daughter securing her own student loans. She can get them easier and at a lower rate than you. If you want to make a deal with her that you will help her pay them back then fine. It is stupid as heck to put your money on her college until you have exhausted all other avenues.

Probably when you suggest her getting student loans in her name is a good time to mention the lay off.

The others have given you good advice. The other thing I'd add is that your college daughter should call the financial aid office at her university first thing Monday morning. She can likely file a revised financial aid application in light of the fact that your husband was laid off. Many colleges now have full ride scholarships available to any family making less than $100K/year (I know this to be true for the Ivy League universities, and I believe many others now as well). At this point, you can't afford to pay for college for her, period.

Your 18 year old, if she doesn't already, should get an after-school job to pay for her expenses (clothing, car, whatever she has that is costing you money). Likewise, your 15 year old can babysit for pocket money. Most of us had to work as teenagers; they will feel better doing what they can to help the family situation anyhow.

Call your cable company, cell phone company, utility companies, etc, and see what you can do to reduce or eliminate those expenses. Some utility companies have plans available for folks who have been laid off.

If you qualify, look into AFDC (food stamps, housing assistance). I know it's hard to have to do that, but unemployment is NOT much money, and you have kids to feed. Are you able to file for social security due to your disability/health problems?

Tell your girls the truth. Yes, it's scary, but on the other hand, they can also see what a family can accomplish, working together. Your girls may have ideas on how they can help.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Hang in there.

B.:

The first thing he needs to do is file for unemployment. That will keep money in the door.

The next thing he needs to do is refresh his resume and get on boards like LinkedIn.com, CareerBuilder.com, monster.com, etc. For each job he applies for, he should tailor his resume to the position showcasing his experience and skills.

I would NOT take out the 401K to pay for my child's college. I would have her apply for grants through the school or have her go to a more affordable school. I know that sucks. It really does. But if you are having financial problems - taking the money out of your 401K NOW will lead to MORE problems down the road.

My husband was laid off from a company that he worked for for 9 years. They lost the contract. We could have moved to Huntsville, AL and went with the company that won the contract...but we chose not to. He was unemployed for 10 months. Our savings was decimated....we are trying to get it back.

I too have faith in my husband. We worked as a team during that really hard time in our life.

I am sorry that you are having health problems that are keeping your from being employed. I hope that you will be able to figure out whatever ailment you have and get it so that you can be healthy again (I hope that came out right. It's not reading right but I'm not sure how else to say it - i mean no offense at all).

What should you tell your daughters? the truth. That you will need their support during this time and would appreciate any efforts they can contribute (i.e. turning lights off, paying attention when running errands so they don't waste gas, making menus for the week and bringing lunch to school or work - they should NOT be expected to contribute financially to the household. But they NEED to know that they need to button down the hatches and prepare for hard times. I know it's hard. We tried to shield our children from it - but in the end - it was just best to tell them the truth (ours are 10 & 12) and let them see that IT WILL BE OKAY. yes. It will be hard. but it will be okay.

Contact your church. You might find someone who has a job that you can do. Or even one for your husband. They might be able to help via a benefactor for your daughter. I know our church has people that pool their resources together and make things happen for those in dire straits.

I don't know what your husband does for a living. I would be happy to take a look at his resume and pass it around to people I know.

Please know that God will get you through this. Please trust in Him.

GOOD LUCK!!

I feel sad for your family's situation, if I were in your place here's what I would do;
I would tell the girls only that dad has been laid off and unemployment is X% of his full time income. I would not explore any options with them, except if the 20 year old has an income and living at home I would expect some contribution to the household.
I would explore any benefits the family is eligible for such as food stamps and temporary assistance to needy families.
I would definitely tighten the budget, no extras of any kind
I would call the credit card companies to explore 'hardship status'. I was able to get my sister's creditor to reduce the interest for nine months.
If you anticipate long term unemployment, consider taking in a boarder.
Good luck and good health to you. I hope this hardship will be short term.

B. I'm sorry that you're going through this. My husband has been laid off from a few jobs during our marriage but I work too so we haven't been in your shoes exactly. The timing of this is just terrible with your daughter heading off to school. I question the use of retirement funds to pay for school under even good circumstances. She should be able to take out loans in her own name and work to cover the rest. I made over $10K per year in college and because I worked for the university, I had my checks deposited in my student account so that we had a smaller balance for my parents to pay out of pocket.

Let your kids know that this turn of events will result in some serious belt-tightening. If your 15 year old doesn't yet work, she should plan on a job or baby-sitting to cover her expenses like going out with friends, make up, hair cuts, and clothes.

I would get any doctor appointments and dental cleanings in now while you have insurance if COBRA will be too expensive.

If there is any assistance you qualify for now (we never did after my husband's lay offs due to my income but you very well may) use that before wiping out your emergency fund and additional savings.

Hopefully this iwll be a short period and his next job will be even better. You know, that whole "when one door closes another opens" thing.

I would not use retirement money for college, even if your husband still had a job. Between the taxes and penalties for taking out the money, not to mention losing the future value of the money, it will not be worth it. Due to your husband losing his job, now would be a good time to have your daughter talk to a financial aid counselor at her college to see what can be done. If worse comes to worse, she can take the basics at a community college to save some money. If it really comes down to it, you may need the 401K money to stave off bankruptcy. Cut out all of the extras and try to makes ends meet as best you can. I wish you the best!

I'm very sorry to hear of your situation. I've had to deal with unemployment myself, so I can relate to what you're going through.

I would recommend a few things, one of which is to sit down and plan things out for the next 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Hopefully your advisor will help you with this. I would also say to have weekly or bi-weekly meetings with just you and your spouse. I did this with my husband at the time and the meetings were helpful because having and discussing our plan of action gave me some peace of mind and allowed us to connect with each other around common goals (to increase savings; find employment; pay off a bill). I think it helped us tackle the problems as a team, rather than being in separate corners and potentially tackling one another!

Your daughter has clearly worked very hard to get into college and to get those scholarships. But the financial advice I've always heard is to never touch retirement/pension/401k to pay for your child's college tuition. Your daughter could probably get one or two jobs that could help with her tuition during the school year. And summer jobs might be able to make up the rest. Worst case scenario, she might have to take some time off to save up before she can finish school. But I think those are better alternatives to paying the taxes and penalties from an early withdrawal, among other things.

Since your financial situation has changed, your daughter might qualify for more grants for her college... be sure to talk to Financial Aid and see what they can do.

My hubby was laid off in 2008...... he ended up being a "99 weeker" and exhausted his benefits..... so we went for about 4 months with NOTHING from him..... then he did find a job, but only makes about $13 an hour... quite a change from $50,000 + a year.... but I'm thankful that he is bringing in SOMETHING. I wasn't working at the time, except as a substitute teacher, so I agree.... it can be very scary.

Do what you can right now to reduce costs.... your other two children may qualify for free/reduced meals through their school, so that can sometimes help. Look at what you do spend, and see where you can cut corners.

We ended up cashing out our 401k (there wasn't that much in it, anyway), and that helped us pay bills (along with the piddly amount from Unemployment) for a couple of years, but the last year was real tight.

I'm sorry.... talk to the kids, let them know what is up...... they may have ideas on how to cut corners, also.

Please go to your daugher's college financial aid office right away. This happened to me - I was the college student and my dad was laid off. My mom and I made an appointment to talk to the financial aid office in person. She took all the numbers - previous income, and then current and projected future income. They were really helpful, and reworked my package to include more aid.

Good luck, and I hope he finds something soon.

When my hubby got laid off from Conoco he was making nearly
$50K per year. It was the mid 90's so that was pretty good money then. His unemployment check was $250 per week. It's not much more than that now, even for my BIL who got laid off a couple of years ago. It was just a little bit higher than that so be prepared. It isn't much. It's a little bit better than welfare but not much.

I think if at all possible you need to file for SSDI if you are unable to work any more. It won't be a lot but it will be some sort of income for you. You will also be able to eventually get medicare or medicaid to cover your insurance.

Sounds like your daughter is lucky to have you. It is very kind of you to still try to cover her first year.

If the company fights it he won't get it. Well, it is very seldom that they side with the employee. I have filed a few times when I was laid off and have never been approved, not ever.

I know lots of people who filed and didn't get it either. Only a few ever got it and that was when the company did not fight the claim. Even if the do fight it and he win it takes months to come to that resolution. Then still longer for the checks to start coming in.

I would have a family meeting Monday evening after he goes to the employment office and finds out what he can expect. I think your kids might have to face facts that they are going to be having to find their own money to pay for college. If that means going to a school that isn't $50K per year. Unless she can find total assistance for the next year it may be better for her to not even start there but to find a school that is much less expensive, one where she can live at home and keep housing and food costs down.

If she is living on her own as an independent adult for a year can't she file for financial aid based on her own income? I say that thinking she could live in an apartment for a year and then go to college for free.

This is surely a sad situation for the whole family. I hope he can find work, don't be afraid of looking elsewhere too. He may have to go to another part of the world to find something.

I think you should just tell your kids the truth.
I raised two kids as a single, working mother and even though I tried to spare my children worries about money, they certainly knew that things had to be budgeted for and saved up for, and some things were just out of the question.

Your kids are mature enough to help rally together in this very trying and unfortunate time. It's very sad, but in this economy, nothing is certain and it's just a fact of life. It's not the end of the world, though, it just requires some adjustment.

I certainly hope that your husband can find work soon, even if it's not in his chosen field.
You've received some great advice about meeting with your daughter's financial aid department, but your husband should also be able to find a listing of all businesses involved in the Chambers of Commerce near you. That's how I got my current job. I just started contacting businesses and basically walked into a job that had never even been posted or advertised yet. It doesn't pay what I'm used to, but they are very good to me and my son only has his senior year of high school left. When he graduates, we are moving away from here, so this job is steady and fits into our long term goals.

I wish you the very best. Talk to your kids, talk to your financial advisor. Find ways that you can feel that you are still moving forward even under these circumstances and that will help you get through.

I agree with going to the college and explaining what is happening in your family. I also suggest you sit with your family and tell it like it is. Your older girls should find part time work. Your younger girl is old enough to do baby sitting or other jobs that don't require a work permit.

If your family is in trouble and you have a 401K, us only the portion required for actual emergencies and save the rest. It is up to you and dad to decide what constitutes an "emergency".

I will pray that your husband finds another job soon (he may even want to consider something new) unitl another job in his field opens up. Also I pray that your health improves so you can work.

Above all, pull together as a family and be truthful.

Blessings...

Besides all the financial advice, I would tell you to stay positive. Getting laid off can affect self esteem, and he probably needs you to be his cheer leader. Try not to panic, but be his helper (like you are doing here) in finding what you can do financially. Also do not ask him every day how his job search is going. If he has some success he will tell you. If there is nothing to tell it will be discouraging to be interrogated. He could sign up with a temp agency, as well as a full time employment agency to perhaps find part time/short term or a full time job. If there is anything you can do to work as well I would explore that - I do not know what your health issues are but since you can use a computer and type perhaps you could also sign up with a temp agency and get some receptionist or data entry or other support type jobs where you can sit all day long. It will also be necessary to figure out how to be in the house all day long together so perhaps leaving for a temp job, might help having something to talk about at the end of the day. And 2 older your girls could also try getting after school jobs to help out with spending money they need to live.
I would NOT present it as gloom and doom, but just lay out the facts AFTER you and hubbie decide on a plan of action.