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What You Can Do
When You Have Lost Your Job
These suggestions
are intended as general advice and may not apply in every
circumstance. You should consult with the appropriate agencies
or advisers for information about your personal situation.
Click here for a list of agencies referred to on this page
• • •
ADJUSTING YOUR
INCOME
Unemployment Compensation
You may qualify for unemployment compensation if you have worked
at least 20 weeks. You should file
for unemployment compensation immediately upon being laid off.
It generally takes 2 to 4 weeks for
unemployment benefits to begin arriving.
If you file a claim for unemployment and are denied, file an
appeal. Some employers automatically context unemployment,
hoping that unemployed workers who qualify will not file an
appeal.
• To file a claim for unemployment compensation contact Iowa
Workforce Development Office in Waterloo or file online at:
http://www.iowaworkforce.org/ui/file1.htm
• For more information contact the Iowa Workforce Development
Office in Waterloo or go to:
http://www.iowaworkforce.org/ui/guide.htm
More Resources Online:
Can My Boss Do That?
Trade Adjustment Assistance
You may
be eligible for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance if your
unemployment is directly attributable to foreign competition.
• For information about assistance provided under the Workforce
Investment Act, contact the Iowa Workforce Development Office,
which serves as the Workforce Investment Act One-Stop
Center.
Social Security
If you are age 62 or older, you may
choose to take Social Security early-retirement benefits. If you
do, you may still return to work if you are rehired.
• Contact the Social Security Administration local
office.
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
You may qualify for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(called the "Family Investment Program" in Iowa) if you have
children or are a relative caring for children whose parents are
not living in your home.
• For information contact the Iowa
Department of Human Services or go to:
http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/docs/FIPBrochure.pdf
Savings and
Investments
Consult with your banker, insurance agent or financial advisor
to determine if you have savings, investments or retirement
funds that can be tapped for short-term needs in case of an
emergency.
Generally, avoid using retirement savings or
college funds except as a last resort.
• • •
ADJUSTING
YOUR EXPENSES
Housing
Immediate Steps
•
Contact your
mortgage lender or landlord to determine if it is possible to
temporarily reduce or defer your monthly mortgage payment or
rent. The technical term for this is "forebearance." Your
lender may have other "workout options" available. (You
can find contact information for your mortgage lender on your
monthly statement or coupon payment book.)
•
Determine if the federal government's Making Home Affordable
program can help you:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/
•
Find out more about preventing mortgage foreclosure by
contacting your community action agency (Operation Threshold in Waterloo)
or a mortgage counseling service. (Iowa Mortgage Help is a state-sponsored
counseling service which provides free professional advice on
how to avoid foreclosure. Call 877-622-4866.)
•
If your mortgage was held by Countrywide Financial, contact the
Iowa Attorney General's Office to determine if you qualify for
loan mitigation under terms of a settlement reached by the
Attorney General and Countrywide.
Intermediate
Steps
•
If you are a homeowner, consider re-financing your home mortgage.
•
If you
rent, apply for
rent assistance.
• Consider sharing your living space and housing costs
with family members.
Long-term Steps
•
Seek
alternate housing by selling your present home or locating
different rental property.
More Resources Online:
Unemployment Lifeline/Mortgage
Federal
Housing Administration/Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure
Resources from Fannie Mae
Iowa Mortgage Help
Iowa Legal Aid/Landlord and Tenant Issues
National Consumer
Law Center/Foreclosure Prevention Resource Center
The Motley
Fool Calculators
• • •
Food
Immediate Steps
•
Examine
your daily and weekly food consumption; eliminate unnecessary,
expensive and unhealthy foods. Create a weekly food
plan and stick to it.
• Reduce or eliminate fast food and restaurant purchases.
•
Apply at
the Black Hawk County Department of Human Services for food stamps.
• Register at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank for crisis or
supplemental monthly food packages.
•
Find out if your school-age
children qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunches.
• Purchase food from community food cooperatives such as
Share Iowa.
Click here for a list of local food coops
• Take advantage of local free community meals.
Click here
for a list of local free community meals.
More Resources
Online:
Unemployment Lifeline/Food
Feed Your Family for $99 a Week
(Woman's Day)
Spend Smart Eat Smart
(Iowa
State Extension)
• • •
Health Care
Immediate Steps
•
Request a HIPAA statement from your employer before you leave.
This will prevent you from being denied health insurance
coverage when you find new employment.
•
If
you are covered by health insurance, obtain as much medical care
as possible before you leave your job.
•
Determine if, at what cost, and for how long it is possible to
extend health insurance provided by your previous employer under
state and federal "Cobra" provisions. Under
provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, workers who are terminated between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec.
31, 2009 will pay only 35 percent of the cost of continued
health insurance.)
• Determine if you are eligible and can afford health
insurance under a spouse's health care plan.
• Contact the Iowa Department of Human Services to enroll
children (ages birth-18) in the State of Iowa's free health
insurance program for children, I-Hawk.
• Contact your doctor, primary care provider, hospital or
clinic to determine if it is possible to reduce or defer unpaid
or future co-payments.
• Contact your doctor, primary care provider, hospital or
clinic to determine if it is possible to receive free or
reduced-cost prescriptions and/or to switch to discount generic
("$4.00") prescriptions. The Partnership for
Prescription Assistance helps
uninsured and underinsured persons find programs that will help
them obtain medications at little or no cost; contact the PPA at
888-477-2669 or online at www.pparx.org.
• When necessary, use the services of free medical clinics
for routine and
non-emergency health services such as routine tests, sports
physicals, colds, etc.
Click
here for a list of local free clinics
• If necessary, contact the Social Services Department at local hospitals for
information about federal assistance funding for major medical
expenses such as surgery, chemotherapy, and dialysis.
• If you are the principal care provider for a disabled person in
your home, contact the Iowa Department of Human Services to
determine if you qualify for dependent persons assistance.
• If you are the primary care provider for an elderly person
who does not live in your home, contact the local
Council on Aging to determine what assistance is available.
Intermediate
Steps
• Contact the Black Hawk County Department of Community
Services to determine if you qualify for "state papers;"
this allows you to receive free medical
care at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
More Resources
Online:
Unemployment Lifeline/Staying
Healthy
Can My Boss Do That?
U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services
US. Department of Labor/Health
and Retirement Benefits
Access to Wellness
(Johnson & Johnson Health Care
Systems)
• • •
Utilities and Transportation
Immediate Steps
•
Contact
your local gas, electric and water utilities to determine if it
is possible to reduce or defer your monthly utility bills.
• Adjust your thermostat and/or close off some portion of
your living space to reduce air conditioning and heating
expenses.
• Reduce water consumption.
• Reduce the level of service or eliminate cable-TV
service.
• Reduce the level of service and eliminate unnecessary
features on your landline phone service.
• Contact your cell phone provider to determine if it is
possible to reduce or eliminate cell phone service.
• Examine your family transportation habits; take steps
to reduce or eliminate unnecessary trips; shift use to vehicles
which get the best gas mileage and/or have the lowest
maintenance costs; consolidate errands and shopping trips so
that family members are not driving separately to different
locations at the same time; when possible, schedule trips for a
time of day when traffic--and delays--will be light.
• Considering storing unnecessary vehicles and cancelling
insurance on these vehicles.
Intermediate
Steps
• Apply
for utility assistance.
• Apply for grants or services to make your home more energy
efficient.
• Eliminate cell phone service.
• Selling one or more vehicles.
• Trade present vehicles for more
efficient ones.
More Resources Online:
Unemployment Lifeline/Utility Payments
Uemployment Lifeline/Staying
Insured
Iowa Energy Center
Iowa State Extension
• • •
Other Living Expenses
Immediate Steps
• Reduce
or eliminate regular and routine use of credit cards.
Contact credit card companies to determine if you are eligible
for reduced or deferred payments on outstanding balances.
(To negotiate with credit card companies, call the toll-free
number and ask for the "Collection Department.")
• Examine family vacation or recreation expenses; reduce or
replace expensive travel, recreation, hobbies, personal fitness
and other activities with free or less expensive alternatives.
• Examine family clothing habits; develop a basic wardrobe that
can be worn in a variety of circumstances and occasions.
• Become a "smart shopper;" avoid buying nonessential or poor
quality things even if they are on sale.
• Examine family beauty and personal care habits; eliminate
unnecessary and expensive duplication of designer shampoos, conditioners,
body soap and similar items.
• Cancel professional lawn care services.
• Postpone home improvement projects and all but essential home
maintenance.
• If you have family members enrolled in college or a private
school, contact the school's finance office to determine if
additional financial aid is available and/or if you can defer
payments.
_____________________________________
If you have children enrolled in Cedar Valley Catholic
Schools contact the
CVCS Comptroller at 319-232-1422 to discuss what arrangements can be made
to reduce or defer tuition payments.
_____________________________________
• If you have student loans, contact the agency listed on your
monthly student loan statement to determine if you can reduce or
defer your loan payments.
Intermediate
Steps
•
Visit a local credit counseling agency to investigate your
options for repaying current debts on a deferred or low-interest
basis. (Avoid credit counseling companies which advertise
on radio or TV.)
•
If
you have sufficient equity in your home, consider consolidating credit card debt with a home equity
loan, but avoid home equity loans that have an adjustable rate
or a balloon payment three or four years later.
More Resources Online:
Unemployment Lifeline/Dealing with Creditors
National Consumer Law Center
Student Loan Borrowers Assistance
The Motley
Fool Calculators
Family Finances: Getting By on Less
(Job Center of
Wisconsin)
Financial Security in Hard Times (Iowa State
Extension)
Managing Money in Hard Times
(Iowa State Extension)
Overcoming Fear About Financial Matters
(Beliefnet)
Power Pay Your Debt Away
(Iowa State Extension)
Sixteen Rules About Which Debts to Pay First
(National
Consumer Law Center)
• • •
How to Contact Local Agencies
Click here for a list of
local agencies
• • •
Compiled by Dave Cushing
Special Thanks to Bert Harvey of the St. Vincent de Paul Society
for her invaluable assistance.
Back to Jobless Homepage
Posted 07.11.09 •
Last Update: 07.05.10 |
