Being let go of your employment is an impactful moment that can and has affected most Canadians.  Not only the financial effect it can have on you and your family, it can also have an emotional effect to the person being laid off. 

Is there anything you can do to make dealing with this situation?  This weeks blog will look at this for you.

There are lots of ways you can prepare yourself to deal with this sudden issue. One of the best things you can do right away is take your job lose as an opportunity to re-examine your financial life as a whole:              

  - Cut back on unnecessary shopping               

  - Think about how much you’re spending on a daily basis               

  - Look into your phone bill, internet cost and cable

The best thing you can do is be honest with yourself and spouse or family members, facing the truth head on will allow you to make better choices and create a clear and concise plan.


Put Your Best Foot Forward

There are other things that you need to do with your family in order to make sure that your job loss has the least amount of impact on you and your family.  

  -  Rethink your budget. Your income is now completely different than it was before you were laid off which means your budget now needs to be completely different.                  

  - File for Employment Insurance (EI). If you were actually laid off at no fault of your own and weren’t fired you need to file for EI right away. If you fail to file within four weeks after your     last day of employment there’s a possibility you’ll lose some benefits.                

- Check your benefits. Some companies may offer a severance package to employees that have been laid off               

- Deal with your bills a.s.a.p. Just because your income has stopped doesn’t mean that your bills will. If you’re having trouble paying your credit card bills try calling your creditors to see if    they can offer you reduced payments.                 

- Downsize immediately.  Look at your lifestyle.  Could downsizing be the difference between going into serious debts & staying afloat?                

- Look for a new job. Dealing with the windfall of being let go may seem like a full time ordeal but getting a new job will seriously alleviate your financial strain.  Get on your feet with a new job so do not put off finding a new job.