If you are in between jobs, you could be experiencing some unusual levels of stress due to having to worry about your financial situation in the mean time. If you have been laid off, there are some things you can take advantage of to help you weather the storm until you find another job. If, however, you left voluntarily or were fired for cause, your options are more limited, but there are still some tactics you can employ in order to make it through this rough patch while keeping your finances together.
*Laid Off:
If you have been laid off, your local government may offer you certain unemployment benefits for a specific period of time while you search for a new job. This is a program you should utilize, as your local government will pay you a certain amount of money based upon your previous income level. The money you receive from your local government will not be a dollar-for-dollar match of your previous salary. Therefore, if you made $60,000 a year before getting laid off, your unemployment checks would not come to $60,000 a year. Your payments would be a fraction of that amount. This makes sense since the purpose of unemployment benefits is to help you stay afloat during your period of unemployment and is not supposed to be a full replacement for your job.
It is important to know that since unemployment benefits are only a fraction of what you would receive as a full time employee, you cannot live on the benefits for an extending period of time. The benefits may help you pay some bills, but will not be enough to support your current lifestyle. As such, during this time of unemployment, you need to cut out all unnecessary expenses from your budget. The more money you can save on expenses, the farther your unemployment benefit dollars will go.
*Quit Or Fired For Cause:
If you quit your job or were fired for cause (i.e., you consistently came to work late, you failed performance reviews, you breached a term of your employment contract, etc.), unemployment benefits most likely will not apply to you. However, you should always check with your local government to see if you are eligible.
In the event you are not eligible for unemployment benefits, you need an alternative source of income. As such, now is the time to tap into your savings or other money that you have set aside. It is important that you try to get a job as quickly as possible to avoid using all of your savings. Additionally, now is the time to cut out all unnecessary expenses from your budget. Everything that is not a necessity of life must go.
If you do not have any savings and are not eligible for unemployment benefits, you may have to borrow money to get by. This can turn into a vicious cycle if you are not careful. However, if you take only a small loan to make it through while you search for a job, you should be all right.
Remember, try to take advantage of unemployment benefits. You must cut out all unnecessary expenses from your budget. Use your savings to help supplement your income. Finally, if you are not eligible for unemployment and you do not have any savings, you may have to borrow money to survive. However, gauge your borrowing and try to get a job as soon as possible.