Monday, January 19, 2009

And the first person I know to be laid off in the recession is...

My mom. Policy counts at the insurance agency where she works three days a week are down a bit, and there isn't as much work because when people keep their old cars and houses rather than going out and buying new ones you don't have to deal with setting up new policies. Things are slow enough that her boss has decided her job can now be spread among the other people in the office.

So she's going to be down to one part time job soon, two shifts a week at the pizzeria where she's worked since long before I was born. Naturally, she's bummed. She's been working at the insurance office since November of 2005, and, while she never really enjoyed her job there, it doesn't feel good to be let go. She's also not so happy about having to figure out what to do next (more on that later).

It isn't going to be a financial disaster for my parents, at least in the short term. They have a paid-off house, lots of money in the bank, and live on substantially less than they bring in. My mom has always made way less than my dad so the only financial impact her losing this job will have will be to decrease their savings rate, not that that's a good thing for people who're turning fifty six this year and trying to save as much as possible for retirement in the limited time they have left, but it could be much worse.

3 comments:

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

I'm sorry. :(

It's never easy to begin with and it's really hard on people like your parents so close to retirement.

Fabulously Broke in the City

"Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver."

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry as well. My mom has been searching for a job for well over a year now. She's over 60 and, while very intelligent and hard-working, does not have a college degree. It's hard out there for everyone but especially for those of a certain age, it seems.

--Bonnie

Revanche said...

Oy, sorry to hear that. My mom was going stir crazy when she didn't have enough paid work to do.