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Welcome To The Insighter!

Explore the latest happenings at Kirtland CU and learn about important topics from around the financial world. Here’s your insight! To learn about retirements, investments and financial planning, check out Invested now.

Smart Financial Moves for Unemployment

By K-Staff

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Unemployment is often one of the more stressful experiences an adult can face. The sudden loss of income, stable routine, and community all at once can be difficult for anyone to manage. In this post, we’ll give you some realistic financial steps to take after a job loss to help you set the stage for a strong recovery.

Organize Your Finances

The first thing you should do is pull together a complete picture of your financial situation. Pull together all your financial documents, including bank statements, credit card bills, investment or retirement account information – everything that pulls together a solid picture of assets and debts.

Next, create a budget. Prioritize your personal needs, often housing, food, utilities, and necessary insurance. Your mortgage or rent should be the top priority. This will ensure you have stable housing during an unstable time and will prevent the missed payments that could cause credit score headaches for years to come.

Kirtland CU’s digital banking system can help you both get a full picture of your financial health and put your budget together. You can add all your accounts – including accounts not with Kirtland CU – into our digital banking. Our budgeting tool will help categorize your spending, giving you a clearer picture of what your money is doing for you. The more you know, the better your ability to budget for a hard time.

Contact your creditors for things like credit cards, personal loans, and student loans. Many of them will have programs for hardships like unemployment. Contacting them early will help you get a sense of your options.

Assess Financial Resources

File for unemployment as soon as you lose your job. The funds and rules for eligibility vary by state. Your state’s unemployment office can answer questions, help you file, and clear up any uncertainties related to remote workers whose former company is located in another state.

If you have an emergency fund, unemployment is the time to use it. Work to rebuild it once you’re back to work.

If you have other assets you can leverage, such as a home equity line of credit, this may be a time to consider using it. 401(k) accounts can also be an option but should be considered a last resort owing to penalties for early withdrawals and the sacrifice of long-term growth. Consult with a financial advisor before you explore options like these.

Take Care of Health Insurance

In the United States, health insurance is often tied to employment, so the loss of a job can also mean losing healthcare coverage. Because going without health insurance can mean some costly bills if an accident happens or sudden health concern rears its head, it’s critical to make sure you’re covered. There are three options that may be possibilities for you depending on your situation:

  • COBRA continuation coverage, when it’s offered, will allow you to keep your current coverage. You’ll have to pay your own portion plus your former employer’s portion of the premium, however, so it can be extremely expensive.
  • Losing your job will allow you special access to the Health Insurance Marketplace, and you may be eligible for income-dependent subsidies.
  • Married people may be able to join their spouse’s health insurance plan. Some companies will allow for a special enrollment period when a job loss has happened.

Take a Deep Breath

Sudden unemployment can be a stressful time. By carefully figuring out your full financial picture and planning budget early on, you’ll be able to give yourself a little peace of mind while you begin to plan your next career move. Kirtland CU is here to help you at every stage and with every need – even the unexpected ones.

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