Should You Take Advantage of COBRA After a Layoff?

Next to the loss of your income, the biggest concern you’ll probably have following a layoff is the prospect of losing your health insurance. This is a rational concern. Not only will you not have sufficient income to deal with medical events, but the very fact that you’re unemployed can make you more vulnerable to accidents, […]

How to Convert Employer-Paid Insurance to an Individual Policy Upon Layoff

After you experience a layoff, there is a provision in federal law – known as COBRA – that will enable you to retain your employer-sponsored health insurance plan for up to 18 months or longer. But health insurance is hardly the only type of insurance coverage that you may have with your employer. There are other types of […]

How to Convert Your Layoff Into the Opportunity of a Lifetime

A layoff typically comes as a complete surprise. When it hits, you might even be in for a bit of a shock. There’s usually a combination of hurt, anger, fear, and anxiety. But once the initial shock wears off, you might want to try to apply a little bit of positive energy to the situation. […]

What To Do With Your Investments After a Layoff

If you’ve been laid off, but you were working with your previous employer for number of years, you probably accumulated a good chunk of money in your employer-sponsored retirement plan. And hopefully, you’ve also got some promising investments outside of your retirement plan. When you lose your job, and the search for ways to pay the bills is […]

An Argument Against Early Retirement

It sometimes seems as if everyone wants to retire early, or maybe it just seems that way on financial blogs. Most people seem to agree that it’s a good thing to do, but we’re going to be contrary today and consider reasons why you might not. In fact, there are arguments against early retirement, solid ones at that. 1. Early retirement […]

Why Self-Employment May Be the Best Option After a Layoff

The average unemployed person in America has looked for work for 39.7 weeks, or more than nine months. That is the longest average unemployment spell since the Labor Department started keeping track way back in 1948. So, how long have you been without work? Does it seem as if there are no jobs available at […]

How to Fill the Hours After a Layoff – Constructively

After the shock of a job loss wears off, you must put your free time to effective use. Just as every dollar of assets is precious, so is every hour of your free time. Using each wisely is a key to your future survival. To stay in control of your situation – to the degree […]

Thrift – Your Best Friend After a Layoff

A layoff attacks you emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and, most significantly, economically. Suddenly there is the demand of living as you have been but doing it on a lot less money. There could be some severance pay, and you’ve no doubt applied for unemployment compensation, but neither will keep your lifestyle going forever. Thrift is your […]

What You Shouldn’t Do After a Layoff

You’ve cleaned out your office and moved everything back home. There’s some severance pay coming and unemployment should start before too long. Now you have all the time in the world. What you do with that time – and what you avoid doing with it – will make all the difference in how quickly you […]

Vesting: The Achilles Heal of 401(k) Plans

Employer matching contributions are one of the biggest benefits of 401(k) plans. You put money in out of your own paycheck to fund the plan, and your employer offers at least a partial match. The catch is that the employer match usually comes with a vesting provision. That’s a period of time – up to five […]

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