Losing my job in 2 weeks

[Anonymous]

I am sorry you are losing your job OP, but I am glad to see you looking forward and planning ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you own an home, open a HELOC if you don’t already have one. Use it as a “ break glass” option if needed.

Is there any downside to doing this?

There is a one time fee to open up a line of credit. I think I paid $150 years ago. You don't have to use the line, you can just have it as an option. I ultimately used it do do various house projects, but that was 20 years ago when my HELOC was at 3%.

The downside is in today's environment, the rates are not great. The other downside is you need to understand what a HELOC is. It is basically a second mortgage. You can open up a 20 year line of credit. If you spend $50K on the line, you have 20 years to pay that line off. But if you only pay the interest, you will be facing a $50K payment(balloon) in 20 years. So you need to be cognizant of the risk of only paying the minimum. But in the short term it is an option.

It is probably better than using a credit card but remember your home is he collateral. I am not sure if it is better than a 401K loan, but you can probably find some sort of prioritization on the internet of what to use if you need to borrow to live until finding a new position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I hadn't thought about my FSA and my dependent care account (I can't remember what that one is called). What happens with those? I'm positive that I can only spend from the dependent care account what I've paid into it, because I know I have tried to get reimbursement before the end of the year, and they won't reimburse the full $5000. So I guess I will just get what I get from that. What happens with FSA?

Your FSA and dependent care expenses are yours to claim from for expenses incurred during the covered time. You have till the end of the year to do so. You can only spend upto the limit of your contribution.

Confirm with HR. Many companies only allow you to submit claims against the FSA for a certain period after termination. Expenses have to be incurred while you’re actively working.

This was the case for the last job I left. I only put money into dependent FSA to cover the cost of summer camps and submit all claims at the end of the year. But when I left in April, I just lost everything I put into it up until then for the year since we don't need childcare during the year (kid is in middle school). Just ask HR as your plan may be different.