#FinancialAdvice #JobLoss #ManagingFinances
Hey everyone,
So, I’m in a bit of a pickle here and could really use some advice on managing my finances after a job loss. I’ve been working as a manager in the tech industry, making $130k a year, but unfortunately, I’m facing redundancy in two months. 😔
I have a mortgage of $160k, $50k in savings, and $80k in an investment fund. I’m the sole earner with three dependents, living in Wellington, New Zealand. I know I’m luckier than most, but I still need help navigating this situation.
Any thoughts on what I should do next? Here are a few questions on my mind:
– Should I talk to my bank about my mortgage?
– Would it be wise to pay off a chunk of my mortgage?
– What other financial steps can I take to secure my family’s future?
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Let’s help each other out during tough times. 💪
One possible solution could be to reach out to a financial advisor to assess your overall financial situation and create a plan for the future. This way, you can make informed decisions about managing your assets and expenses during this challenging period.
Looking forward to hearing your insights and suggestions! 🤔 #FinancialFreedom #PersonalFinance #Budgeting
Remortgage to longer term to decrease minimum payments and extend your job search to lower paying jobs?
Hey, that must be stressful! Looks like you have good saving and still 2 months in the job. Personally would hold onto as much cash as possible-don’t pay extra in mortgage. Job market is bad, keep applying and possibly branch out to take any type of job. Hang in there and take care of the family ❤️
Restructure your mortgage – so that you have that 50k in a revolving credit and that your savings are less than $16,200. This will make you eligible for the accommodation supplement of $105 to $305 per week depending on where you live.
Like others have said
– see if you can lower your mortgage repayments
– hold as much cash as possible
And:
– get a good understanding of your expenses and start cutting anything that isn’t related to survival
Reassess weekly
1. I’d sell your investment immediately so you have $130k offset (i.e just $30k mortgage). I wouldn’t pay it off because you might need that money to eat.
2. I’d get seriously creative with your budget. Get your benefit application going. Change your household budget now to fit with the benefit.
I wouldn’t approach the bank yet. They aren’t really the problem. The question is can your family survive on the jobseeker benefit, and that’s not going to be impacted by a $30k effective mortgage.
Suspend kiwisaver, it wont be a lot but for a couple of months it will build up your reserves
Get a p endorsement on your driver license and do Uber, I know it’s a shit paying job, but it’s income, do all the other budgeting too, you’ll get the right job eventually
1. Reassess your budget and start reducing expenses now. The 50k cash could be 9 months worth of expenses. 80k in investment could be another 12q months
2. Pause KiwiSaver. This will increase your cash on hand.
3. Sign up with WINZ. You may not get anything but if you do qualify for a benefit, you will be able to get it from when you are made redundant. They do not back pay benefits so if you sign up in six months time then you only get paid from that point onwards.
Overall you are in a good position, you have your expresses covered for a good length of time while you look for a new job.
With regards to your mortgage, one option is to set up a revolving credit account and smaller fixed term to maximise your WINZ payments and minimise your mortgage payments. For some benifits you need to have a maximum amount of assets ( cash and investments). If that number is 10k you could set up set up the following.
10k cash
120k revolving credit(paid off with 40k cash and 80k investments)
40k fixed term mortgage.
This would help to maximise your WINZ payments, reduce mortgage payments and still give you access to the money in the revolving account as needed, but there would be the cost of set up, and any money you remove from the revolving account will be on the floating rate. This may not be the optimal solution for you.
When you get a New job, you then adjust mortgages, emergency fund and investments to what you’d like to do at that point in time.
If you need help with a budget call your local CAB. They can put you in contact with a ( free) budget adviser. Remember if you do not get employment by the time your cash runs out . You can apply for a KiwiSaver hardship withdrawal . It will pay the mortgage , power and food expenses .