Can you survive financially if you are made redundant?

“Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are.” James Frick



Often one of the first thoughts that enters our head when we are told our job may be at risk of redundancy is how am I going to manage financially?

A lot of people lose a lot of sleep worrying about their financial situation…how will the mortgage be paid, bread put on the table and the kids clothed.

Lots of my clients voice these thought to me, yet when I enquire if they have done any sums or calculations around their finances, about 99% of people give me a reply of “no”.

So if you think you may be made redundant in 2011, taking a couple of hours to work this out can save you a lot of heartache and worry.

The first step is to sit down when you know you won’t be disturbed and go through and list out all your outgoings, these will be regular bills, payments, things that go out of your bank account each and every month.

Next look at what goes out less frequently, this might be school trips, car tax etc.

Once you have a good idea of what is leaving, move on to what is coming in. This calculator will help you estimate what you might be entitled to should you be made redundant.

Redundancy Pay Calculator:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/interactive/2009/mar/30/redundancy-payment-calculator

Then move onto you savings and any other income you have and calculate these.

Actually seeing the figures in black and white means you know in reality what you are dealing with, and so you can start to plan accordingly.

Lots of my clients have told me that when they were made redundant they really reviewed their list of outgoings, many say how amazed they are at how much they have managed to save, from using shopping vouchers, to negotiating a better contract rate on their Sky TV. All of which mean their redundancy payment money lasts longer.

If you are really serious about cutting your outgoings, Martin Lewis has an excellent website giving your vast amounts of information on doing just that.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

Whether you think you may be made redundant or not, getting a pension forecast, might help with your long term financial planning. It’s easy to do and more information can be found here on the DWP website.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/StatePensionforecast/DG_10014008


Happy calculating!