I need about $20k to get us through a layoff-home equity loan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, have your DH do a 401K loan. Definitely do not touch your super low mortgage!!!

It’s not “low” if they need two salaries to cover it.

I’m the prior poster who estimated $4k for the mortgage, I was being generous. If she paid $100k up front her mortgage could be as low as $2500-$3k. In which case she should never sell. People are paying that for $300k houses right now.

So glad she found that hsa daycare money!!!

She should still talk to her lenders and daycare to pause payments or do less hours for a while, renegotiate her auto and house insurance and a lot of the reduce spending suggestions you all have come up with. I’m getting some quotes and looks like I was overpaying myself

Didn’t she say they put no $$ down? Anyway I generally agree it doesn’t really make sense to sell unless they truly have that much equity and can purchase something in cash.

I would not, however, take out a HELOC or other loan that will add to their fixed expenses. Seems like they were already living paycheck to paycheck, so do not add another debt payment unless absolutely necessary! Now that they have some hsa money, there’s no reason she and DH can’t pick up part time jobs to help tide them over. OP, retailers are desperate for workers and you can probably find one that will be flexible with your interview schedule.

It's a 1.5 million house and they only owe $800k on it...so they'd get back $700k minus realtor fees and other expenses.
Since she said they'd only be able to rent out a room for $500/month, they must live in a very low cost of living area. They could definitely buy something very nice for cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, have your DH do a 401K loan. Definitely do not touch your super low mortgage!!!

It’s not “low” if they need two salaries to cover it.

I’m the prior poster who estimated $4k for the mortgage, I was being generous. If she paid $100k up front her mortgage could be as low as $2500-$3k. In which case she should never sell. People are paying that for $300k houses right now.

So glad she found that hsa daycare money!!!

She should still talk to her lenders and daycare to pause payments or do less hours for a while, renegotiate her auto and house insurance and a lot of the reduce spending suggestions you all have come up with. I’m getting some quotes and looks like I was overpaying myself

Didn’t she say they put no $$ down? Anyway I generally agree it doesn’t really make sense to sell unless they truly have that much equity and can purchase something in cash.

I would not, however, take out a HELOC or other loan that will add to their fixed expenses. Seems like they were already living paycheck to paycheck, so do not add another debt payment unless absolutely necessary! Now that they have some hsa money, there’s no reason she and DH can’t pick up part time jobs to help tide them over. OP, retailers are desperate for workers and you can probably find one that will be flexible with your interview schedule.

It's a 1.5 million house and they only owe $800k on it...so they'd get back $700k minus realtor fees and other expenses.
Since she said they'd only be able to rent out a room for $500/month, they must live in a very low cost of living area. They could definitely buy something very nice for cash.

Not necessarily. They could just live somewhere without much of a rental market (suburban area). If you don't have a suite with a bathroom/kitchenette there are a ton of HCOL places--especially in suburbs-- where you won't get much for renting out a room. And if you have a dual income family with special needs kids, renting out a single room is going to be not that desirable either to you or your renters. If you have a full suite with bathroom and kitchen you might get more, but it's not like there's usually a huge rental demand in a suburban location unless there's a college or transit nearby.

[Anonymous]

How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

Op here. Of course we have 529s, my husband has a pension, i have 401k, I’m a former fed and have a TSP. I looked into getting a TSP loan but it’s not an option if you’re not an employee anymore. We can’t borrow against my husbands pension. I don’t know if taking money out of the 529s is an option but I assume it would entail huge penalties if it’s even possible.

We just don’t have liquid cash we can tap into. We did, but it’s been wiped out due to a few recent setbacks that have come one on top of another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

Op here. Of course we have 529s, my husband has a pension, i have 401k, I’m a former fed and have a TSP. I looked into getting a TSP loan but it’s not an option if you’re not an employee anymore. We can’t borrow against my husbands pension. I don’t know if taking money out of the 529s is an option but I assume it would entail huge penalties if it’s even possible.

We just don’t have liquid cash we can tap into. We did, but it’s been wiped out due to a few recent setbacks that have come one on top of another.

The 529 penalties aren’t that huge, and are only on a portion of it. Look into that if you are desperate.

[Anonymous]

I dont understand why a credit card balance wouldn’t cover this. We had an unexpected tax payment this year. We have a healthy amount saved but we didn’t want to dig into any of those. Carried a balance for 3 months and then paid it off.

And to those who question whether she should get a job, wow! I would understand if she didn’t have childcare. But since she does, yeah, she should get a job. Seasonal hiring starts soon. Her husband should also get a second job. If the need is what she says, they make it work, not just worry and do nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

OP said at the beginning that she and her husband had pensions that they couldn’t borrow from….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

Not showing up to work would be "fired for cause." Being "laid off" is usually do to changes within the company to eliminate or cut back staff.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP, I recently got an ad from Sofi for a pretty low interest personal loan. Check them out.

Two other things:
1) If OP is collecting unemployment, it may not make sense to take a part time/low paying job. I was laid off a few months ago and it didn't make sense to work at $15/hr-- it would have disqualified me from unemployment which was $563/week--- roughly equivalent. I wouldn't have been able to use every second I had to find another job-- which I did, and was back at work within 3 months.

2) These people thinking professors don't work much are clueless. Former professor here who changed professions due to consistent 60 hour weeks. It's not true for everyone but if you are a tenure track/tenured person you have HEAVY research and service obligations to keep your job, it isn't just showing up 4x/week for 3 hours at a time.



I agree on either the personal loan/HELOC + have hubs find a 0% intro APR credit card strategy. Would be ridiculous over-correction to sell a house at 2.5% mortgage rate-- you'd never be able to get back to your current standard of living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I recently got an ad from Sofi for a pretty low interest personal loan. Check them out.

Two other things:
1) If OP is collecting unemployment, it may not make sense to take a part time/low paying job. I was laid off a few months ago and it didn't make sense to work at $15/hr-- it would have disqualified me from unemployment which was $563/week--- roughly equivalent. I wouldn't have been able to use every second I had to find another job-- which I did, and was back at work within 3 months.

2) These people thinking professors don't work much are clueless. Former professor here who changed professions due to consistent 60 hour weeks. It's not true for everyone but if you are a tenure track/tenured person you have HEAVY research and service obligations to keep your job, it isn't just showing up 4x/week for 3 hours at a time.



I agree on either the personal loan/HELOC + have hubs find a 0% intro APR credit card strategy. Would be ridiculous over-correction to sell a house at 2.5% mortgage rate-- you'd never be able to get back to your current standard of living.

While people advising to sell the house are plain stupid, OP will not be able to get a new line of credit without committing fraud.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you can cash advsnce at 0%.

You can try applying for a line of credit but you will likely be declined.

You may not have a choice but to let go of your childcare since you can’t pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Did you not get a severance package? It is shocking how tight people live that you don’t have enough cushion for even one month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

Op here. Of course we have 529s, my husband has a pension, i have 401k, I’m a former fed and have a TSP. I looked into getting a TSP loan but it’s not an option if you’re not an employee anymore. We can’t borrow against my husbands pension. I don’t know if taking money out of the 529s is an option but I assume it would entail huge penalties if it’s even possible.

We just don’t have liquid cash we can tap into. We did, but it’s been wiped out due to a few recent setbacks that have come one on top of another.

Cash out the 529 and 401k if you need the money that badly.

I personally would pull kids out of childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

Op here. Of course we have 529s, my husband has a pension, i have 401k, I’m a former fed and have a TSP. I looked into getting a TSP loan but it’s not an option if you’re not an employee anymore. We can’t borrow against my husbands pension. I don’t know if taking money out of the 529s is an option but I assume it would entail huge penalties if it’s even possible.

We just don’t have liquid cash we can tap into. We did, but it’s been wiped out due to a few recent setbacks that have come one on top of another.

This is why I’ve always believed that emergency funds should cover around two years’ worth of expenses. The traditional 3-6 months is far too low IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does OP have no savings? You don’t have any retirement or stocks or college savings for your kids??


I am not sure if OP is just really bad with money or her kids have some severe health problems. I wonder if her kids health is what got her laid off. I know moms who stay home to take care of their high special needs children. Also have a friend who works and uses all her earnings for expensive therapies for her autistic son.

Op here. Of course we have 529s, my husband has a pension, i have 401k, I’m a former fed and have a TSP. I looked into getting a TSP loan but it’s not an option if you’re not an employee anymore. We can’t borrow against my husbands pension. I don’t know if taking money out of the 529s is an option but I assume it would entail huge penalties if it’s even possible.

We just don’t have liquid cash we can tap into. We did, but it’s been wiped out due to a few recent setbacks that have come one on top of another.

This is why I’ve always believed that emergency funds should cover around two years’ worth of expenses. The traditional 3-6 months is far too low IMO.

Not realistic for most people