LAYOFF SURVIVAL GUIDE

^{By Taz Rajan, Bromwich+Smith Staff | 456 words | Reading Time:  2 minutes| Date: 2020/04/28}

KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. Budget seems like a dirty word, but never is it more important than during crisis. To know where you need to go and how to get there, you must first know where you are. Prioritize food, utilities, shelter, and transportation in that order. You need to cover your minimal survival costs first. This baseline will help you with all the other action steps.

APPLY FOR ALL BENEFITS. Find out what benefits you can qualify for and apply for all of those that might work for you. This is a time to be bold and seek out help that is readily available. Do not let pride get in the way. Be sure to understand all the terms & conditions before moving forward.

CUT COSTS. Cut your debt payments to the minimum and see if your can reduce your payments, interest or whether there is a deferral option. It is important to understand the implications of deferred payments and make an informed decision. If you were aggressively paying down debt cut that back to minimum payments only. Also, cut out
any unnecessary spending (time to get real).

GET CREATIVE. Your job is no longer available, work in your field may no longer be available but new jobs are on the rise. Can you find a part-time job, start a side gig or move your work online? Look at selling things you no longer need, dig into your talents and see if you can use them in a creative manner to generate income.

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STEP AWAY FROM YOUR NEST EGG. It can be tempting to liquidate assets for cashflow currently. Do not touch your RRSP’s. This is for your retirement and RRSP’s are federally protected from your creditors. Your future self will thank you.

CAREFULLY CURATE CREDIT. This can be a slippery slope. If you have a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or other low interest rate options, hang on to them as a back up. t will be challenging to apply for new credit after a lay off. Do not fall prey to payday loans and other high interest, high fee credit options. If you are already struggling
to get on top of your debt, getting more credit could get you into a deeper hole. If you have taken all the precautions and have some available credit just in case, it could be valuable. These are extremely challenging times. You are not alone; it is okay to not be okay and there is help.

If you are beginning to feel as though you need debt advice to manage overwhelming debt, call our Debt Relief Specialist team at 1.855.884.9243 . You can also request a call back at our contact us page. We’re working with you to rebuild your worth. 

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By Taz Rajan Community Engagement Partner at Bromwich+Smith
Taz has been in the finance industry for nearly 2 decades and has always been passionate about education and empowerment.  Having declared bankruptcy herself, she intimately understands the shame, stigma surrounding matters of debt as well as the joy and relief that comes from restructuring.  Taz actively works to normalize the conversation of debt through blogs, media interviews, webinars, lunch & learns and through building relationship.