What to Do with That Last Check You Got After Being Fired

The news from 2008 where really bad, no matter where you lived. All the newspapers where writing about the amount of jobs the economy lost, and how much money was being lost on the stock exchange everyday. And suddenly it hit on you, the company you worked for decided that the place you worked was no longer profitable. They had to cut expenses and unfortunately you where on the list. Fortunately that bad news came with a severance check that will help you through this tough time.

Making this money count can mean the difference on how you will spend the coming years. If you are wise and cautious this cash will help you get on your feet and even be in better shape that you where when you got fired.

Chances are you will need every penny of that severance, and then some. Consider: The standard exit package gives one to two weeks of pay for every year of service, typically amounting to 11 to 15 weeks for employees ages 45 to 64. But the average boomer needs 22 weeks nowadays to land a new job, and one out of four is unemployed for more than six months.

You may feel compelled to pay down that credit card that ran wild before this recesition started, but remember that the time you will find your next income is uncertain. So please strap down on expenses, but pay only what is necessary on your debts until you get the ball running again.
I mean cutting of that trip to the pool that really is not necessary and back down from that trip you had on the works to Cancun. Then too, with banks pulling the plug on consumer credit of all stripes, what you pay back today may not be available to you if you need it in the future.

Looking for employment is your job now. A good way of doing this, besides sending out a ton of resumes, is by getting some contract positions as a freelancer, who knows it may be that it turns out to be your next full time job, and you got payed while searching for it.

One word of advice is not to tap into your 401k, this will only help you in the short term, but it will postpone the troubles for later on ahead, a time when most people don’t have the ability to find a job.