Ben Edwards's Blog: Money Smart Life, page 6

Should You Take Advantage of COBRA After a Layoff?

Next to the loss of your income, the biggest concern you’ll probably have following a layoff is the prospect of losing your health insurance.

This is a rational concern.

Not only willyou not have sufficient income to deal with medical events, but the very fact that you’re unemployed can make you more vulnerable to accidents, injuries, and certain types of illnesses. For these reasons, you’ll want to do whatever you can to make sure you have at least some type of health insurance in place during...

How to Convert Employer-Paid Insurance to an Individual Policy Upon Layoff

Afteryou experience a layoff, there is a provision in federal law – known as COBRA – that will enable you to retain your employer-sponsored health insurance plan for up to 18 months or longer.

But health insurance is hardly the only type of insurance coverage that you may havewith youremployer. There are other types of policies that you may have had throughyour employer, and youmay wish to continuethem after you’ve been separated.

Unfortunately, other types of employer-sponsored insurance plans...

How to Convert Your Layoff Into the Opportunity of a Lifetime

A layoff typically comes as a complete surprise. When it hits, you might even be in for a bit of a shock. There’s usually a combination of hurt, anger, fear, and anxiety. But once the initial shock wears off, you might want to try to apply a little bit of positive energy to the situation.

No, a layoff is not a happy event. But while we can’t control what happens to us, we can certainly change the way we deal with it. At a time like this, it might be best to step back and do some reflecting. Ar...

Would You Take a Career Sabbatical?

In the last few years, there has been a lot of attention given to the idea of lifestyle design. As part of this attention, more people are taking career sabbaticals or embarking on “mini retirements.”

The idea is that you don’t have to work for thirty or forty years, only to try and retire for another twenty or thirty years, while your health might be in decline. Instead, the idea is to work for a few years, and then take extended time off for a year or two before going back to work.

To a certa...

How To Live With No Regrets

If you had to summarize everything you know about money into one sentence, could you do it? Just a few months ago I wouldn’t have been able to but now I can. In fact I can boil it down into just two words – No Regrets

If you’re a stickler for finance I know you may not agree with this tip. I can understand why you might read it with some skepticism. Until this last May I would have felt the same way about what I am going to say.

In fact, part of me thinks I shouldn’t even waste your time trying...

Are You Spending Enough Time Planning Your Retirement?

Not too long ago, I read an article on CNN Money reporting on a survey from Charles Schwab. The results indicate that most workers spend more time researching vacations and car purchases than they do retirement.

It’s true that researching the investment options for a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored plan can be a daunting task. However, since your retirement is something that is likely to last two or three decades, it makes sense that you should spend more time researching it than you do you...

How Income Diversity Can Help During a Job Loss

The loss of a job can be one of the most challenging events you will face. A job loss affects your finances on every level. And, due to the fact that the economy is making a significant shift, it’s important to realize that a job loss is an increasing possibility.

Gone are the days when you could get a job and expect to have it for two or three decades before retiring. These days, the new economy focuses on jobs that are much more temporary. You are likely to change jobs several times througho...

What To Do With Your Investments After a Layoff

If you’ve been laid off, but youwere working with your previous employer for number of years, you probably accumulated a good chunk of money in your employer-sponsored retirement plan. And hopefully, you’ve also got some promising investments outside of your retirement plan. When you lose your job,and thesearch for ways to pay the bills is on,all options are on the table – including your investments.

There’s no question about it, a layoff forces some tough choices when it comes to your investm...

Can You Keep Your House When You Lose Your Job?

One of the scariest things about losing your job is trying to figure out what you will do about your living arrangements. After all, if you have a mortgage and lose your job, it might make it difficult to keep up with your payments. Whether or not it is practical to keep your home after a job loss depends on your situation, and what you can expect going forward.

Can Your Emergency Fund Make the Payments?

The first thing to consider is whether or not your emergency fund can handle your mortgage...

4 Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Career Path

Your career is likely to take up a large amount of time. A “traditional” job often accounts for eight hours of your day, which means that you spend up to 1/3 of your life with your career. When you think about how much time you spend with your career, it makes sense to consider a career that you are likely to enjoy — or at least tolerate.

As you consider a career path, whether you are looking for your first-time career, or whether you are trying to reinvent yourself for a better life experienc...