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Many of us have to participate in fire drills at work or at school. Some of us more responsible ones might have even conducted a fire drill or two at home.
But I ask, have you ever conducted a Layoff Drill? I spent a good ten minutes searching for the term “layoff drill” and could not find it. As a result, I now declare that this term is officially mine and anyone else who uses it must give me full credit 
So what the heck it a layoff drill? Quite simply, you pretend that you have just got home after finding out that you no longer have a job and think about what you will do to survive financially. Sound like just a stupid game of make believe? Tell that to the 100,000 Americans that lost their jobs in just the last two days.
Since there have been rumors about layoffs at my job, I went through a layoff drill of my own and this is what I came up with:
1. Updated my resume–Dohhh, a complete no brainer. You lose your job, you immediately start looking for a new one.
2. Examined all of my expenses and decided which ones I could live without. In my case, I would immediately get rid of all my premium cable channels (maybe not HBO since I am addicted to Big Love and True Blood ) Also, I decided that I really don’t need my landline. In fact, this was such as strong conclusion, I called Verizon today and got rid off it. Consequently, this layoff drill will save me about $35 a month.
3. Scheduled doctor and dental appointments that I have been putting off. If you are getting laid off, chances are that you will only have your benefits for a limited time (without paying for them via COBRA) per your severance agreement. Now I don’t recommend letting your medical coverage lapse, but I probably would be willing to take a risk with dental, especially if I had just squeezed a checkup in before I lost my coverage.
4. Calculated how long I could live off my emergency fund + severance package + unemployment. In some companies, like mine, it is no secret what kind of package you receive when you get laid off, so I was able to really do this exercise. I really had no clue exactly how much I would get from unemployment, so I had to do a little research to find out. Only if you really know you true financial situation, can you make the best decisions about “settling” for a less desirable (and probably paying) job or if you could continue your education to get a new job in a completely different industry. Don’t forget to subtract expenses that you endure only when you are working. For instance, if I were to become unemployed, I would not spend as much money on gas traveling to and from work and my clothing expenses would go down since I wouldn’t have to replace suits, dress shirts, ties, and shoes after normal wear and tare. For some of you out there, you would have to remember to subtract child care expenses from your normal budget since those duties would shift to you.
5. Made a copy of all the business cards on my desk. In most companies, if you are laid off, the day you find out will be your last day. You are not going to have time (or more likely, not permitted) to collect everything you want to from your desk. Collecting these phone numbers will certainly give me a jump start in networking for a new job. Collecting previous years reviews and important (non-confidential) reports that you may have worked on could also be beneficial.
Now I turn to you, what would you do if you went to work tomorrow only to find out it was your last day?
This post was chosen as an editor’s choice at the 190th Carnival of Personal Finance–Buddy Can you Spare a Dime Edition hosted by FunnyAboutMoney.com
Are you visiting from MSN Smart Money? Check out some of my more popular posts:
An Idiots Guide to Fix the Economy
The 12 Days of Christmas During a Recession
With so many layoffs, I’m more glad now than ever that I’m an independent contractor. I think it’s also important not to put all your eggs in one basket right now. Diversify your income. I’ve been working for myself for the last 15 years, and I can tell you that someone is constantly moving my cheese.
You bet. I have a complete survival strategy worked out, and I review it every time a new wave of layoff rumors starts to wash over us.
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Loved the Office Space image. Just found your blog through Google, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve subscribed and I can’t wait for your next post!
That scene from office space is one of the best in the movie. So what would you say you do here?
lay offs are messing people’s lives ..very thoughtful work..
That is a great post. I have experienced a layoff and it was no fun. Luckily I was permitted to gather my things after business hours and I made sure that I got all of my personal things. More importantly though, I had all of my contacts in my emails from correspondence (which I had on my computer at home as well since I did about 50% of my work from home).
Creating a resume was the first struggle I had and my first mistake, because I did not pay attention to the date of the information that I got from the internet. Things move quickly in this day and age on the “best resume’ style. It is more important than ever now though since every job seems to have hundreds or even thousands of applicants.