Flying gleefully into 2009 - One Fresians adventures in debt-busting

The_Golden_Goose

Awwwww no F_F! It seems one person a week I know (virtual buddy or otherwise) is on the cusp of redundancy.

My only advice is that how would you feel if you end up having to live off your £12k..? I ended up living off my redundancy and have Jack to show for it. In an ideal world and probably about a year earlier, that would have been the case. Seriously, it aint easy to get another job. Not only are other people in the same boat applying for them, but those who are already employed are looking for new opportunities (selfish sods they are too!)....

Just some food for thought. Its a dilemma for sure.

I reckon its Pimms Oclock. That will cheer you up.

mooomin

Thanks for all the advice guys. I really don't know what to do. Part of me is thinking "Take the money and run" in case we get to a state where people are made redundant on a compulsory basis (I would get about £2,000 not £12,000)

I really don't know what to do at the moment and will be mulling this over for a few days, as we have to have our preferences noted down in two weeks time. I have to fill in a job application too. Humbug.

The_Golden_Goose

Mr GG would say "grab the cash and run like hell!"

He is helpful like that.

mooomin

The_Golden_Goose wrote: »

Mr GG would say "grab the cash and run like hell!"

He is helpful like that.

I would love to, and could live on £12,000 for just over a year with careful budgeting, but with Mr Fresian not working due to his broken brain, it's quite a risk to take.

My understanding is this:

• If I take redundancy on a voluntary basis my mortgage insurance wouldn't pay out
• Any future benefits could be impacted depending on the size of the lump sum
• My payout would be tax-free as it's relatively small

Does this sound about right? Sorry to ask as I know you're in the redundancy boat (Hopefully with a paddle) but I figure that means you know more than the people at my work who are running around like headless chickens for the most part :rotfl:

The_Golden_Goose

Dearest Moo Moo, even my paddle has a great big effing split up the middle and I lost the other paddle in the whirlpoo of JSA claiming.

Considering my previous employer, despite telling me that I would get allsorts of assistance on becoming redundant, eg: Outplacement, Advice, Support. In reality I got a Dear John letter and nothing else. No outplacement service, no nothing.

My understanding is:

Agree on Point 1.
The JSA never asked me how much redundancy payment I got, secondly you would need to check if you are eligible for JSA as you too vol redundancy.
Point 3 - I got a small amount of £ in a payment, though some of it was tax free. They were cheeky and included one month as my normal salary, which was taxed. You need to check this area with them.

Best place to ask all your questions, is the Redundancy board, they are awesome.

I have been out of work for, well this will be my 4th month, and I have secured interviews, and even second interviews, something somehow is stopping me from being offered the job. I am not sure why, I ask for feedback and its always the same, Great interview, Great Candidate, Didnt have this skill, We only want to pay a £1 a year, We think she is going to not stay long and run off and have kids.

You have a great frame of mind, you are very careful and methodical and I am sure you will make the right decision. If you do take the cash and skip bail, I mean run off to make hay in the meadow, all I would say is get your CV sorted now and get it out and about pronto. Don't waste any time.
They don't actually say the last part, yet that is one conclusion I have reached recently!

Silaqui

Aw FF what a situation to be in - I am not at all knowledgable about these things so haven't really got anything useful to add.

If you were to take the 12k, would you try to live of that as frugally as possible untill you got another job, or would you dash off to the country straight away? Remember if you need to sell up that could take some time (unless you rent out your house) also am I right in thinking that your bloke is a student, would it be feasible for him to move?

Sorry I've just realised that I'm giving you more questions than answers I'll stop there.

Hope you mnage to make a few decisions, good luck
x

mooomin

Silaqui wrote: »

Aw FF what a situation to be in - I am not at all knowledgable about these things so haven't really got anything useful to add. All thoughts are useful as I may not have thought of them!

If you were to take the 12k, would you try to live of that as frugally as possible untill you got another job, or would you dash off to the country straight away? Frugal living for the win! Remember if you need to sell up that could take some time (unless you rent out your house) also am I right in thinking that your bloke is a student, would it be feasible for him to move? No longer student due to broken brain not coping well with the pressures of student life.

My plan would be the following:

• Get money from redundancy and hide at least £8,500 in a savings account and use the rest to "do up" the house. I've been here five years and never done any decorating. Kitchen cupboards need replaced etc.
• Try and find some kind of job here while looking for job out in the sticks. I do want to move Up North in the next few years as my dad is getting on a bit....not a lot of work up there though.
• Sell house - if this isn't possible then rent it out. It's near a lot of colleges and a large business park and when I have advertised my spare room for rent before there has been a lot of interest.
• Would need to put the mortgage on a fixed rate for a while as the mortgage payment would instantly go up (Currently on a rate of 0.5% as I have a base rate tracker, another consideration)

Oof, I have a lot of things to think about. Not now though, I'm off to bed

Night all! If any of you have any other thoughts for me, please comment. The more input the better I think!

The_Golden_Goose

Sorry, my answers were about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

Sleeping on it, its a grand plan. Things always look better in the morning.

pointypenguin

flying_fresian wrote: »

:rotfl:

Thought it was just me who was afraid! No offence, Man From E.On, but it's odd

How were your holibags pp?

It is a bit odd and for some reason when I read his posts I got the impression he might be a robot but maybe that is just me

Hoildays were good but over too quickly I am now looking forward to the longer one come September but going back to work afterwards will be a nightmare as my brain will be mush.

Sorry to hear about your current predicament. I don't think there is any easy answer to this but have you tried to see what jobs are currently available in your area and generally sussed out the job market up your way?

The money does sound tempting and with it you could do so much but it could feel like a lot of pressure supporting yourself and other half until you find another job.

Good luck with whatever you decide.:D

Primula

Oh no, what a decision. My gut reaction would be to take the money and run, but then the sensible head kicks in saying in reality how long would £12,000 last if there was no job forthcoming. Also, if you were made redundant would you want to use some of the redundancy to pay off your loan.
Mmmhhhh, not quite sure what I would do. Maybe look around for another job now, then if you get one, you can take the money AND have another job to go to
Good luck