If you'd discoveed that you might be made redundant would you cancel things immediately or wait and see?

[virgiltracey]

Found out this week that I might be made redundant. This will be a disaster for us since I am the breadwinner and I have a six figure salary. DH does also work but his salary alone won't cover our outgoings.

I won't get more than a couple of thousand redundancy pay.

We are not frivolous with our money at all but we have a large mortgage and school fees and then bills for the running of the house. We have savings but they won't last long. We have lots of equity in the house but large houses are not moving quickly around here.

Its not confirmed but I have been given a tip off that even though my figures are the highest in our team and I make the most money for the team, since I am also paid the most and have a stand alone role it is likely to be me selected.

My inclination is to cancel everything i.e cleaner, sky, gym etc just in case since over the next few weeks we could save a fair bit this way. However there is a chance that I'll keep the job. What would you do?

Trixy basically my boss suspects he will be asked to make someone redundant and has tipped me off. He hasn't yet been told he has to restructure but thinks it is "very likely" to happen and that it would be me going. In these circumstances do you think it would be an invalid claim. Certainly don't want to add insurance fraud to my problems!

I didn't mean commit insurance fraud, I figured you'd have mortgage insurance given your disposable income stretched to gyms and sky.
Even if your job is safe, it's good fiscal practice to have savings of 6 months salary for emergencies, so you should cut back enough that you can build savings up anyway.
If you are made redundant, chances are you may have to cash in your pension, which would give you a bit of a cushion financially.

Why does your boss suspect this? Is there other restructuring going on within the business?

Not suggesting that you were inmysparetime (or indeed that anyone else was).

I am not thinking particularly straight and can't for the life of me remember whether we took out mortgage protection insurance or not. I don't think we did because the bank only offered unemplyment cover if you took out accident and sickness cover and we both had gerenous accident and sickness cover with our jobs.

Will ring and check.

there's always a bit trixy since its a very large company. we've just made someone redundant in our team (very different role to mine) and everyone thought that was the last of it but I guess he thinks it might not be the end of it.

I don't know enough about the checks that they do and it would vary between companies and depend on the exact wording of the terms and conditions if the policy, but I suspect that as there have been other redundancies within your team then you would be unlikely to be covered.

It wouldn't hurt to look into it as if your boss just suspects something rather than knows something then you may be OK, but read the terms and conditions very carefully before taking anything out as there will definitely be a question asked in the forms about whether you have prior knowledge of redundancies.

It was a great suggestion by LaurieFC to get additional credit cards while you can IF you are good with money.

Oh and I meant to say how sorry I am. Redundancy sucks. I was made redundant in 2009 and while financially we were ok and I found a job, it was a horribly stressful time.

I agree with others about battening down the hatches now.

Good Luck

Yes chipping just been looking and there are some good 0 percent deals on at the moment which could come in very handy!

Thanks Trixy that's helpful

My DH worked for a major bank and there had already been one round of voluntary redundancies. He applied when that happened and he was covered when he was later compulsorily made redundant. We did ask the underwriter when we took the cover out whether as there were redundancies in the sector all over the place, he would be covered and they said so long as he had not been given a formal "at risk" notification he was fine. They did pay out with no problems.

This was quite helpful to me at the time

Ben10 would you mind awfully telling me who the policy was with since this sounds similar to my scenario. You can PM me if you'd prefer

Thanks so much.

Just done my 0 percent credit card. Tied into sky unfortunately

No problem. Ours was Paymentshield.

If you call Sky and tell them that you have been made redundant (even though it hasn't happened), they may well be able to help you.

The other thing that you can do (if you can bear it ) it is to post your Statement of Affairs on MSE here. They will pick apart your spending and try to help you reduce your outgoings. They are quite picky and probably will be given the level of your income/outgoing -but are helpfully so, pointing out things that you might not notice.

Thanks Ben10

We've looked at the finances and know what we can and cannot cut. If we take it down to mortgage, school fees, petrol, food and essential bills/insurance and factor in absolute minimum amounts for clothes and birthdays/Christmas then we are £2000 per month short. If we can switch to an interest only mortgage then this would help significantly but still a monthly shortfall of about £700. We have savings but they won't last long.

Unfortunately we are really not big spenders. Most of our excess money goes into paying off the mortgage. I wish we had been spenders in some ways since then there would have been lots to cut out!

virgiltracey

Can you push your boss for a bit more info? Why did (s)he tell you that someone would have to go - it would be an odd thing to tell you if you were the person that he would actually make redundant. Isn't it more likely someone else will have to go? I would bluntly ask as you will have to decrease your outgoings.

Also, you say you make lots of cash for them and you have been there 10 yrs. You seem an unlikely choice for redundancy?

I would cancel the gym unless you use it and love it. See you long you are tied into Sky and then cancel that (we find Freeview brilliant). Cleaner - I would actually cancel. I know it's her income as well, but could you recommend her to someone/tell her that you are going to lose job/offer references etc.

And I agree that re insurance, it does sound pretty dodgy. You could call up an insurance co and tell them the absolute truth - ie your boss is worried someone might have to go - there is no more than that and see if they will cover you. There is no point in starting to pay premiums and potentially committing insurance fraud. If you level with them at the start, they can't refuse your claim on that basis.

That MSE link says that if redundancy is rumoured strongly when you take out a protection policy then it is likely to be void.

I agree with limetrees, it us worth looking into as you are totally upfront and honest with the insurance company. You never know there might be one that will take on the risk.

Does your mortgage allow for payment breaks? If you have been overpaying then that could be an option?

As long as!

Would it be absolutely the end of the world if your DC changed to a state school? Perhaps you could pay a private tutor once a week if you feel the school isn't pushing them enough?

it wouldn't be the end of the world no and it may well happen but I really don't want to get into a state school private school debate.

However I don't want to change schools unless we absolutely have to. DS2 doesn't even start until Wednesday! In reality we'd probably move over changing schools since although we have a decent primary the secondary school is really bad.

Have you overpaid on your mortgage?

Got spare bedrooms - rent some out? Get in foreign students?

Can you sell a car, anything else?

Rent your house out and rent somewhere much cheaper?

Speak to the school about a discount off fees if it's that or lose you they may consider it?