Locum or permanent job and Debt repayment

The_Only_Girl

Hi two years ago I left a permanent job in the NHS and ventured into the world of the unknown - LOCUMING. Most of my friends and some of my extended family thought I was mad, giving up a permanent job and going into something that is not secure, with no assurance of a job plus no sick pay or holiday pay. At the time, I was undergoing a lot of stress so the change was necessary and long overdue. However luck was on my side. _Two years on and there has never been a time when I had no job going. There was more work than I could ever have imagined. Pay was good. Admittedly, for the first 5 months, I had to take up a job away from home, working and living in the hospital accommodation during the week and coming home on weekends. That was only in the beginning though, I have been back home for more than a year now and the good pay has helped us clear most of our debt (we are now £2222.05 away from being debt-free.) It also wasn't a bed of roses though. Last summer I had an accident and had a fracture which resulted to me being off sick for 3 and a half months without pay. Trying times indeed and some of my doubters said "I told you so." Due to the frugal ways we have learned during the time of our DMP, we managed to survive on a single salary and continue with out DMP without having to beg, steal or borrow or use credit card and or personal loan (I suppose we wouldn't have been able to do so anyway due to our DMP and resulting poor credit score.)

So what is the dilemma? I have been so lucky to have had the opportunity to work in my current workplace (still as a locum.) It has been a very positive experience for me. I get on well with everybody and I am made to feel like a valuable member of the team, as if I have worked here all my life. Because I am a locum, the hospital wouldn't be able to pay me my locum rate forever. Several vacancies have come up and everybody encouraged me to apply. I have been invited for an interview soon. Although I haven't been offered the job yet, I am confused whether to continue locuming or take this permanent post, which means a drop in salary by at least £1000 a month. Because we are almost at the end of our debt repayments, I have been looking forward to saving some money for the future (sons going to Uni in a couple of years) and some much needed renovations at home. Taking up the permanent job will mean a longer wait for the above but I will have the security of a permanent job (sick pay, holiday pay, etc etc.) Plus I can continue paying towards my pension which has stopped since I have become a locum.

More money and less security or less money but more security?

If you were in my shoes, what would you choose?

tealady

Less money and more security for me, an two frand is not a huge amount compared with what you have owed in the past. Also as you found out the reason locums are paid more is possibly because they have to fund their own sick pay and pensions.
Have a look at your budget, see if you can squeeze it a bit more or get a zero percent card deal, if you are only paying £100 per month off your debt then that will take less than two years anyway. Also if you pay your rates over 10 months then you wil have a little more to play with in the two "free" months.

The_Only_Girl

Thanks tealady for your advice. It does make sense. My significant others think the same.

With me and my husband just coming off DMP what is the likelihood that I would be able to get another credit card with 0% interest to transfer the balance of my last remaining debt? We tried to offer a short settlement (59%) of the said account (Halifax cc) but they refused. My gut feeling is to re-negotiate and ask them what they would be prepared to accept. What do you think?

Yeah you are right 2 grand is nothing compared to what I had to tackle for the last 7 years. That's why I am very keen to see the back of it as quickly as possible. Hopefully if I get the permanent job, I would still be able to use a big chunk from the budget in the next 2 months while they are still paying me as a locum. But imagine how tempting it is to have an extra grand every month to put aside for emergency fund/savings/renovation fund if I stayed as a locum?

Well, wish me luck for the interview that's coming up soon. Reality is, until or unless they offer me the job, I won't have much choice anyway, do I? Fingers crossed.

Have a nice day!

bargainbetty

Try to renegotiate and ask what they would accept - has to be worth a try. Throw every spare penny at the debt while you are still locuming, and see if you can clear it before you have to make the decision on the job.

Security and stability are worth a lot, and if the former stresses are gone, then it may offer a level of calmness that make it worth your while.

However, if you feel you enjoy the freedom of locuming, consider an income protection insurance against injury/sickness which would help cover you, and use the extra money to pay your pension privately.

Best of luck with the interview and the future

FatVonD

Realistically how soon would you be starting? By the time interviews and second interviews have taken place (would you have to work a notice period?) you will have two more months under your belt and two more lots of £1,000 so you could pay that debt off before you started. If you don't actually have the £1,000 spare to pay off the debt then maybe you can't afford to work for that much less?

Theoretically I agree that stability/pension etc are good but I took a job last year on a ridiculously low salary. I was going to try to be cryptic about how much but what the hell, I went from earning £44k 4 years ago to £30k two years ago and then when I was made redundant for the second time and freelance bookings were slow I panicked and accepted a job paying just £22k.

I was glad of a bit of breathing space but my salary didn't cover my outgoings and I left after 3 months and returned to freelancing because I couldn't afford not to.

pineconesjay

Sick pay, holiday pay, retirement savings, stable job, with people you like...
you'll be debt free, and sure, you'll have less money, but those other things are definitely worth a drop in income. So long as you have a good buffer between what you earn and what your expenses are, you'll have money to save for renovations/son's uni fees etc

Heck, you might even get taxed less!

The_Only_Girl

FatVonD wrote: »

Realistically how soon would you be starting? By the time interviews and second interviews have taken place (would you have to work a notice period?) you will have two more months under your belt and two more lots of £1,000 so you could pay that debt off before you started. If you don't actually have the £1,000 spare to pay off the debt then maybe you can't afford to work for that much less?

Theoretically I agree that stability/pension etc are good but I took a job last year on a ridiculously low salary. I was going to try to be cryptic about how much but what the hell, I went from earning £44k 4 years ago to £30k two years ago and then when I was made redundant for the second time and freelance bookings were slow I panicked and accepted a job paying just £22k.

I was glad of a bit of breathing space but my salary didn't cover my outgoings and I left after 3 months and returned to freelancing because I couldn't afford not to.

I probably have about 2-3 months before I could start the permanent post so as you said, we could probably pay off the rest of debt before the new lower salary starts.

And if after a few months, I find it a bit difficult, I could leave and go back to locuming. It's got to be worth a try.

The_Only_Girl

pineconesjay wrote: »

Sick pay, holiday pay, retirement savings, stable job, with people you like...
you'll be debt free, and sure, you'll have less money, but those other things are definitely worth a drop in income.

All of the above is what is encouraging me to apply for this job. It's very rare that one finds those combinations together working perfectly especially the "people you like" aspect. I consider myself lucky really.

The_Only_Girl

pineconesjay wrote: »

you might even get taxed less!

:idea: wow, I never thought of it that way. When you put it like that, I might just give it a try.

Thanks everyone for your input. Much appreciated.