Adventures: part 2

UNEMPLOYMENT:

Unemployment is one of those adventures you would not normally choose, but it is my guess that most people will experience it at some point in their life.
We have experienced it three times in our thirteen years of marriage.

The first time it happened was the week after we returned from our honeymoon. It was really quite ironic. Mike was not comfortable with the fact that I made more money than him. He felt it was his responsibility to be the bread winner so he thought he should be the one who made the most money - not to mention he had a college degree and I was till working on mine.

A couple of months before we got married he got a new job with a small company, and he was finally making more than me. Unfortunately small meant they were struggling. As it usually goes, the last hired is the first to be let go.

It was unexpected, but not a crisis. Fortunately we had listened to advice to stay out of debt. As soon as we decided to get married, we combined our incomes and paid off our cars and a small school loan. Thus, by the time we got married, we only needed money for rent and groceries and I made plenty for that!

The second time we experienced unemployment was 2003, and this time it was my turn. I had worked at Discover Card for 10 years in various departments and positions. The department I was in had decided to down size the size of management and make room for more account managers - in short they needed more people on the phone. Many of the managers were told they could either take a severance package, or they could continue to work and go back to the phones. I was one of them. I was devastated. I had spent 10 years there. I had worked in customer service, I had researched products, written training manuals, forecasted phone volumes, managed employee schedules and time off as well as managing a specialty department before transferring to the New Accounts department. I had worked my way up to Senior Team Leader.
However, what initially seemed like a crisis was in reality, a blessing. It allowed me to be at home with Deryn. It also allowed Mike and I more time together as we had opted to work opposite shifts to minimize the amount of time Deryn spent in daycare.
Once again, we were following the counsel of our leaders and relying only on Mike's check to survive. My checks went directly to savings and therefore my unemployment brought no change in lifestyle.

The third time we experienced unemployment was 2007. This time we saw it coming and we planned for it. The company Mike was working for was under new management. If I remember right, this was requested by share holders who were hoping the company would become more profitable. Mike was high on the management chain, but he was not the top.
We watched as every month or so another of the existing management was let go and replaced. We knew it was only a matter of time.
We were not too upset as Mike was about to finish his MBA and we were already planning for him to give his notice and try to start his own business.
We had a savings goal we were hoping to reach and needed about three more months to reach it when they let him go.
Once again, it was not a crisis. We had planned and prepared. We had savings and food storage, and I had already found work to take care of our utility and grocery expenses.

Deryn and Jansyn, when you read this one day, I hope you will see the importance of being self reliant and of saving money for a rainy day!
Your Dad and I are strong believers in the theory of paying God first, and then paying ourselves, meaning saving money every month.