Need a Job Sign

Being thrown into a position where I had no more income coming in brings a host of thoughts to the forefront of someones’ mind. Nicole wrote about some of the things she felt. I’ve been compiling a list of things that came to mind, and some that dawned on me later. Here are those things and some of my suggestions.

Three big questions kept circling my mind – How am I going to pay my bills? – What do I do about healthcare? – How do I find a new job?

How am I going to pay my bills?
Don’t wait for any of this, you never know how long you’ll be out of work. The sooner you make lifestyle type changes the longer the money you may have saved will last. Of course, there’s always an option of finding another job. That’s not listed here under BILLS since I cover jobs further below.

Unemployment – First, be sure to file for unemployment benefits right away, regardless of how you left your position. Let the state decide if you qualify or not. Here in Illinois, you can start the filing process the day after you left the company.

Sell stuff – Ebay, Craigslist and garage sales are all decent ways to not only clean up around the house, but have a few extra bucks coming in. I was able to test the waters with Ebay and plan on selling more.

Expenses – look hard at all your expenses. Sure, cable TV is nice, but you don’t need it. Streaming services have much to offer as does your local library. Yes, you will still need internet service. But internet service alone is still cheaper than video and internet together. Cut the cord. Keep an eye out for any other expenses, not necessarily to eliminate entirely, but just to cut back on. Do you have any vices you can reduce/remove? It’s probably a good time to stop smoking or cut back on your alcohol consumption. Did you notice I said cut back on alcohol but quit smoking?? Can you guess which one is my vice which I’m not ready to give up? : )

Misc money items
Retirement plan – what to do with it? Did you have a 401k plan? Depending on your company and the plan holder will depend on your options. Typically though, if you have under $5k, you will have to cash it out or roll it into another qualifying account. If it’s over $5k, some companies will let you leave it while some will require you to move it as well. Check into what your requirements are and be sure to follow-through quickly to avoid any tax implications. Check with a tax pro to be sure which is best for you.
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Say you were unemployed. You’re watching your expenses, maximizing your trips out with the car to take advantage of being out and watching your gas use, being responsible in general. But like most people, you have a vice…or two. When do you cut those? Do you cut those?? What qualifies as a vice? One could argue that having a fast tier of internet speed is a vice.

One thing I’ve been spending quite a bit of time thinking about is expenses. Cutting back where we can in order to have what money we do have saved, last as long as it can. In the back of my mind, I’ve also known there are a couple of *personal* expenses I have. Yeah…yeah…vices that I have which I could easily cut back. The thing is part of me doesn’t want to cut back on them because well, I enjoy them! The responsible side of me knows I need to cut back, at some point. Nicole has jumped in with both feet and cancelled her monthly box subscriptions. Darn it! That would have made me feel a bit better about keeping my vices.

For the record my two vices are alcohol and ammo. Typical American eh! I like my beer, there’s no doubt. The ammo, I haven’t really bought in quite a while. But I still look for a particular round whenever I’m at Walmart. While I don’t buy often, when they do have it in stock I load up.

What vices do you have which would be hard to part with if you had to stop??

Joe-

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Shopkick

Have you heard of  Shopkick? We love it! It’s a smartphone app that gives you Kickbacks just for walking into stores, and also for scanning specific items. Then you redeem those points – called Kicks – for gift cards to your favorite places like Starbucks, Target, Walmart, and more. 

250 Kicks is the equivalent of one dollar and can be redeemed as follows:

500 Kicks = $2
1250 Kicks = $5
2500 Kicks = $10
3750 Kicks = $15
6250 Kicks = $25

Try Shopkick, a super simple way to save some $$$. : )

After you click the above link, just enter your phone number and you’ll receive a one-time text with a direct link to download the app. After signing up you’ll be ready to start collecting Kicks! 

Joe-

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Do you rent your modem from your cable provider? If you do and you have Comcast you’re likely paying between $8-$10/month just to rent that piece of equipment. Did you know you could buy your own? Not only that, but the cost will pay for itself in under a year! We bought ours in February of 2015 for $70. At the $8/month rental fee we were paying, we recouped our money in a matter of 9 months. The best part is that now we’re saving that amount each and every month. Since we purchased the modem, we paid for the modem and already have saved $24 with the savings adding up each and every month.

A couple of items to note. If you’re going to purchase one, be sure to get one that is compliant with your cable company. And second, put the money in now for a good one because that bad boy will last years and you want to make sure you don’t have to purchase another one until you absolutely have to.

Yeah, that may sound confusing, but it’s not. Pretty much every cable provider will be able to utilize a Docsis 3 compliant modem but check first. A typical D3 modem with 4 downstream/4 upstream channels can handle 150 meg service. Most of us don’t have anything near that speed tier. However, in thinking about the future, you may want to consider a modem that can handle more channels. Here in Chicago for example, Google Fiber and their Gigabit service is coming here! Talk about truly being able to cut the cord from Comcast!

Our modem feeds not only our internet services but also our home security system. Don’t be intimidated – a good modem can handle the load. Now if you have phone service from Comcast, they will likely install a gateway which serves as a modem, phone and router. Sure it’s a nice piece of equipment (if it’s the right model), but again, you’re paying for the rental. And cable company phone service? Pfft. I’ll write a review on our MagicJack service, a much, much cheaper alternative. I keep adding items to include in my Cutting The Cord article that is coming soon.

Oh, and wait until I talk about routers…another piece of equipment where you want to front some money for a really good one.

Joe-

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Well, my phone interview was literally about a minute long. There wasn’t too many questions, the interviewer asked some things as confirmation. Then about what were the circumstances I was let go, if I did what I could do in my job, then he reminded me to ensure I’m keeping track of my certifications (job applications). He then said I would receive a written confirmation by early next week.   That was it.

I hope everything goes well.  Still crossing my fingers.
Joe-

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ebay
Well, I posted three items on Ebay over the weekend. As a new seller, I’m limited to 5 postings/month or $500/month until my ratings build. One of the items I placed with a Buy It Now option which after some research, I thought was a price I would gladly take for the item. After just three days, bam! I got a Buy It Now for the item. Sure it’s only $30, but what the hell I’ll take it. So, this morning I’m packing it up and getting ready to run it to the PO. Sweet.

Ebay makes the whole process pretty straight-forward, at least from my newbie point of view. Now, I think I’ll list another larger priced item for a Buy It Now of $75 and see how it goes. I have to get used to the whole shipping and Post Office part, but EBay makes it really easy with an automatic tie-in to the Post OFfice. I can estimate, print and pay for postage directly from EBay.

Joe-

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