I never thought I'd be making this thread and I won't get into specifics, but I just got fired from a job that I have been working for the past 8 years. My gross salary before taxes was $38k. I won't be eligible for unemployment and will be losing my full time benefits (health, dental). I've never held any other jobs before this (aside from different positions within the same company).
I do not know how to handle this and am completely freaking out and can't eat or sleep and I literally have no one to talk to about this. I have family over for the month of January so I can't even stay home because they would wonder why I'm not going to work.
My monthly expenses are the following:
Rent: $300
Private student loans: $351 (min required payments; $248+$103)
Federal loans: $102
Car payment & insurance: $329
Gas: $75
Cable/Internet/Misc Subscriptions: $151 ($115+$36)
Food/Miscellaneous: Normally this was $300-400 but given my situation I can reduce this number to $150/month or less if necessary.
Credit Card debit: $2300 (0% interest until October 2018). My upcoming minimum payment due on Jan 24 is $0. However I'd feel very uncomfortable not paying it.
I currently have about $3.8k in my savings account and maybe $2k worth of valuables/collectibles that I can sell if need be though I would really want to avoid that (clothes, sneakers, watches, gaming PC, etc).
I have not job interviewed in over 5 years for a position and my resume is not really catered for anything external. I've never written a cover letter before. My understanding from the company HR site and policy states that they do not disclose reasons for termination if used as a reference and only provide hire / leave dates. But I know that wouldn't stop them from discussing my actions. I'm not sure how my chances of getting another job will be affected. If I don't include my previous employer on my resume, then I have nothing to show for the past 8 years.
I need to understand the best way to ride this out. Should I request to somehow reduce the minimum payments for my loans? Would that be considered forbearance? I've never had a late payment and have always been current. I'll be getting my last paycheck tomorrow which is around $1200 and I currently have $400 in my checking account. My remaining payments for January is about $650.
Also, with tax season coming up I don't if that's something I can "rely" on. How will I get my W2 and proper forms if I no longer have access to the pay site and whatnot. Is there anything that is going to directly affect my tax return or should I be hopeful that it will also buy me another month or so?
Another thing I'm concerned about is my 401k. I enrolled really late and only contributed 4% but the account has $1900. Does it make sense to just withdraw this (I'd be getting around $800 I think if I went this route) or should I roll it over?
I'm really hoping to get back to working by February the latest but I don't even know the minimum salary I'd need now to be able to manage everything. I don't know if any other information is relevant. This is strenuously difficult for me because I can't talk to anyone about the situation and if I bring it up to my family they will see me as a disgrace and not help me. I don't have any close friends either that aren't in direct communication with my family so even if I brought it up, it would ultimately paint me in a bad light.
Submitted January 11, 2018 at 09:52AM by bimbo_trainer http://ift.tt/2D41N3G
