The options you may be considering are likely to vary depending on your life stage, your personal and family priorities, skills and financial position.

If you have experienced a redundancy, the following considerations can help you take back control of your life:

1. Insurance Cover - contact with your super fund to see if you have Death, Total & Permanent Disability (TPD) and/or Income Protection. Confirm the level of cover and your ongoing eligibility and conditions.



2. Assets - Prepare a list of the assets you own or partially own, including:


• How much you owe on each
• A realistic estimate of their market value
• Calculate your equity (the proportion that you actually own) in each asset by subtracting any amount you owe on it from the estimated market value.


3. Loans and debts - Prepare a list of your loans and any other debts, such as amounts outstanding on credit cards, personal or car loans, or deferred payments for goods. Against each item, record:



• The amount owing
• The amount you repay monthly
• The applicable interest rates for them
• Whether or not there are penalties for late payment
• Whether there are penalties for early repayment

Then, add all these amounts up so that you have a full understanding of the total amount you owe and how much you will need to meet your monthly repayments. If you think that you might experience difficulty meeting your repayments, there may be alternatives available to you. For home mortgage holders made redundant, many banks are now offering up to 12 months deferral of payments.


4. Living expenses - Which expenses for day-to-day living are essentail and which could you realistically economise or suspend altogether? List your living expenses in 2 categories:



1. Essential expenses
• Mortgage payments or rent
• Utilties - electricity, water & phone
• Groceries etc
• Insurance oover (house, contents & car)
• School fees


2. Non-essential expenses:
• Consider cutting back on these expenses and reduce spending where you can
• Record the monthly amount you spend on each item
• Use an online budget planner to help you track your expenditure


5. Your skills & abilities - Taking stock of your 'personal assets' is as important as understanding and managing your current financial position.


• What skills would you bring to a new endeavour or employer?
• Would you find any satisfactory outlet for exercising your abilities if you retired early?
• What would you do with your days?

<< Dealing with redundancy

How much will I get from my redundancy package?
The Do's and Don'ts if made redundant
What other support services are available?