Furloughed. Now What?

Last week I got the call. "We love you but due to the pandemic and loss of revenue, we have to make some cuts..."

Millions of Americans and people around the world have been laid off and furloughed. Businesses are losing money and closing everywhere. I wasn't blind to the situation. I had already made it through one round of furloughs at my company, and I could tell things were not getting better. Even though I expected the call, it was still a shock. It still sucked.

For those who don't know, because I didn't, furlough and layoff are different. With a furlough, you are still technically employed by your company. It's more of an unpaid leave and they can call you back at any time. Your company may even cover your benefits. A layoff means you are no longer employed by your company. In both cases, you are eligible for unemployment, which is good news.

I'm not the type to wallow in sadness and despair, almost to a fault (still learning how to manage the icky feelings better). When things get hard, I cope by doing. Maybe that is part of the first child syndrome? I want to emphasize, however, that everyone processes hard stuff differently. Please don't compare my reaction to yours or anyone else's. I'm not saying my way is right, it's just my way.

After the call, I took about two hours to cry, text friends and family, sit in shock and feel bad for myself. Then I got to work. I started to create a plan to take care of my husband and I financially, mentally and emotionally.

Get everything you need from your company

The first thing I did was make sure I had all my questions answered from my employer. My company already had a packet of documentation explaining everything for me which made it easy. If you find yourself furloughed, here are some things you need to ask:

• How long is the furlough?

• How will they call you back to work? Do they have your personal email and phone number?

• When should you expect your last paycheck?

• Are they paying out accrued PTO?

• Are they still covering your benefits? What is happening to your 401k in the interim?

• Who should you contact if you have any questions in the future?

File for unemployment

This was harder than I thought it was going to be. Make sure you know the rules for your state and make sure you read everything! Then go back and read it again so you don't miss a step that could delay your unemployment benefits. I live in CO, so the steps I took could be different depending on where you live, but I want to give you an idea of the process.

• File a claim on your state's unemployment site. Google your state+unemployment and the correct website will pop up. In CO, you have to wait at least 2 weeks after your final paycheck to receive money, however you can begin your claim process on your last day of work.

• To file you will need your employer's address, your supervisor's contact information, your personal information and your exact earnings from the previous year and current year. This took me about an hour. I was lucky and was able to access the website with no issues, but I have heard horror stories of websites crashing repeatedly, so make sure to give yourself a lot of time to do this.

• While filing my claim, I had to request a PIN to be sent to me so I could officially request my benefits, aka money. The PIN can take 4-7 days to receive. You need to request your benefits on a different website than where you file.

• Next, I had to register online at a local workforce center. Since I was furloughed and technically still an employee of my company, I do not have to actively search for a job, but I still had to register.

• I received my PIN 4 business days later. I registered on the benefits sites and set up my direct deposit. You can choose to receive your benefits via direct deposit or a debit card. There could be fees associated with the debit card so I opted for direct deposit.

• I was then given a date when I can first request payment. In addition I had to verify my personal information via a form that I had to print, fill out and mail in. I wouldn't receive benefits if I didn't submit it! The form was a kinda hidden on the website. I luckily happened to stumble upon it! This is why it is SO important to read everything!

• Once I receive my last paycheck I will need to log that as wages earned.

**This is as far as I got at the writing of this post. I will update this and let you know how easy and how long it takes to actually receive payment.

Assess your finances. Know where your money is going

The next thing I did was to take an in depth look at my credit card and bank statements. I made sure I wasn't being charged for anything I wasn't aware of. You know those apps you sign-up for free and forget about it and a year later you are billed $7.99! I also reviewed all of my monthly bills for internet, cell phone and insurance to see if there was any way to get a discount.

Jake and I already had a budget, but I went through and adjusted it considering the change in income to ensure we could pay all of our bills. We use You Need a Budget (YNAB) because they have a great app, but you could do this old school on pen and paper or Excel. The important thing is to plan for every expense and know where every dollar is going.

Mindset. What will you do with your time?

This part is so important! You need to figure out what you will do with all the extra time. And you will need to have a plan to keep your mindset positive. Yes, there will be a lot of emotions, and that is OK and to be expected. Feel them. Be kind to yourself. Rest when you need to. But we need purpose to thrive!

I already had a dream and side business as a wellness coach. Not having a full-time job means that I now had 40 hours a week to pour into my clients, my own business and my dream. I now had the energy, time and space to be creative and work on something that brings me joy!

If starting an online business isn't what interests you, then you need to figure out what you can do with the extra time that will make you happy. Spend some quiet time with a journal and think and dream and brainstorm! What have you always wanted to do but never had the time? Can you volunteer? Do you want to look for a new job? Have you wanted to learn a new language or go back to school? Have you been meaning to paint every room in your house? Do you have a book you want to write?

Take care of yourself

Yes, sitting on the couch, watching Netflix all day and eating cookies sounds great but you and I know that it is not good for you. Now more than ever you need a plan for how you will deal with the extra stress and take care of your body. What stress reliever works best for you? Walk? Yoga? Prayer or meditation? A nice warm bath? Plan that in to every day.

This is also a good time to implement a meal plan. Having even just a few healthy meals prepared every week will help you feel better. Nourishing our bodies with whole food helps us deal with stress and strengthen our immune system.

Sticking to my routine has made my days feel more normal. I still get up at the same time I did when I was working. I still follow my morning routine of journaling, devotion and exercise. So if all I do that day is meditate and work out, I have accomplished something and that feels so good!

Use your planner or calendar and schedule out your days. This doesn't mean you have to be super busy or productive, maybe you need and welcome the extra time to rest. Having a framework and structure to the day, even a loose framework, will give you direction to your day.

One last note here. Don't isolate yourself. There are people in your life that want to show up and love and support you. If you are anything like me, you may need some alone time to process and cry and feel but don't keep yourself shut off for too long. Now more than ever, we need connection with those we love.

And who knows, this could just be the best thing that has ever happened! Transformation comes through change.