There have been rumblings at my wife’s company that trouble was on the way. Well, yesterday, trouble arrived.

My wife’s company laid off 75% of their employees, agreeing to pay them until September 5. The remaining skeleton crew will likely finish the final business before the company closes their doors.

My wife receives her standard paycheck via direct deposit tonight at midnight. We’re not holding our breath on the final check they promised her on September 5. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get blood out of a turnip. Thankfully, this happened at a time when our savings is higher than it’s been in months ($3,326.97). In addition, my wife is expecting a final commission check from her old job (~$1,000) and a commission check on a job that she referred to her dad’s company (~$700).

It’s disappointing because my wife enjoyed her work, got along well with her co-workers and bosses, and had an opportunity to earn great money. She also quit her old job only a month ago and is forced back into the job search. Other employees that were hired by her company just a month or two ago moved here from out-of-state to start their careers. Now, after spending the money moving out here and signing apartment leases, they are left without a job. What shocked me the most was to hear is that they hired another group of employees just last week. These people probably left decent jobs, just like my wife, only to be unemployed a week later.

There’s no time to cry over spilled milk. My wife has hit the ground running. In less than 24 hours of receiving the news, she has already updated her resume, had one face-to-face interview, had a phone interview, and spoken with a recruiter. Tomorrow, she has a phone interview (set-up by a retired VP of the company that she knows), plans to do some marketing for her father’s company, will investigate her unemployment benefits, and will continue her online job search.

We have put together an action plan to limit our expenses and increase our cash flow while my wife is between jobs:

Thanks to my wife’s extra commission checks, and our plan to reduce expenses, we probably won’t have to dip until savings for at least one month. After which time, our savings should last a couple of months. Worst case scenario, if we blow thru our savings, we can consider placing charges onto our credit cards or pull contributions from our Roth IRAs. I don’t see it getting to that point as I’m confident that we will pull thru this hiccup without any long term damage.

My Wife’s new job compensation and benefits are awesome. Here they are at-a-glance:

Salary
$40,000 base salary during 12 months of training + bonuses + commissions + travel + expense account + laptop

Insurance (starts in November)
Health insurance:$48.00/month vs $84.01/month previously
Detal insurance: $3.23/month vs $8.08/month previously
Vision insurance: $2.08/month vs none previously (paid 100% of contact costs)

401(k) (starts in January)
401(k) match of 50% up to 6% of her salary (4 year vesting schedule)

Misc (starts immediately)
Less driving will save us ~$100/month
Better training
Nicer/more qualified boss
Exciting new field

My wife has been eager to leave her current company because her new sales manager is difficult to work with and doesn’t know anything about their industry. She also has seen indications that the company’s profitability is way down and there may be major problems ahead.

My wife has been interviewing with a great company for the past 1-1/2, and completed her 3rd and last interview with them today. The final interview was with a panel composed company upper management. As part of the interview, she was required to give a detailed sales presentation to the group. She nailed it. The group told her that she was one of the strongest candidates they have ever had. Needless to say, they offered her the job and she gratefully accepted. She starts with the company in 2-1/2 weeks, just enough time to tie up loose ends with her current company and give them proper notice.

The new job offers a much greater commission/bonus potential and better benefits than her current company. She should know more about the benefits next Tuesday, when she completes new hire paperwork. However, she has already learned that the health insurance is great and they offer a company matched 401(k).

I’m so proud of her. Not only did she get the job, she is joining the company as one of their top candidates, having already caught the eye of upper management.