I’m offering a special birthday discount this month: 44% off annual subscriptions! The discount will run through the end of the month because I’m a big fan of dragging out birthday celebrations as long as I can! Paid subscribers get an extra Home Economics each month, plus they are entered into a monthly giveaway.
Now is the perfect time to upgrade to paid!
Today, I have a very special edition of Home Economics—it’s a collaboration between The Purse and Laid Off, a newsletter by Melanie Ehrenkranz that profiles smart and cool people who have lost their jobs in company layoffs.
Despite many, many, many headlines about the strength of the U.S. economy (not to mention record-low unemployment), I’d wager to guess that most of us have friends, family, and former colleagues who have lost their jobs in the past year. In media, layoffs seem to happen all the time, and it’s tough to find someone who’s worked in the industry for any extended period who hasn’t lost their job during one downsizing or another.
Still getting laid off sucks! I lost my job at Martha Stewart in 2011, and this was long before it was the norm to post your layoff on Twitter or LinkedIn. It took me a really long time not to feel terribly embarrassed about the layoff, despite the fact that 1) I really didn’t like that job and was relieved not to work there anymore, and 2) had I been the one managing the balance sheet, I would have laid me off, too, because I never had enough to do, and I spent a lot of time just randomly scrolling the internet.
I love what Melanie is doing with the Laid Off newsletter—it’s comforting to read about other people’s experiences, and it’s empowering to gather more information on how to navigate tough things like negotiating severance and building support systems. Losing your job can be isolating, and Melanie is helping laid-off workers build community.
Today’s Home Economics features a 40-year-old single woman who lost her job in December 2023. Every layoff story, like every money story, is a little different, but some themes are universal, and you’ll see them pop up in the questionnaire below, which is expanded to include some questions from Melanie.
But this Home Ec is also so much more than just a layoff story—each one of us is more than just our employment status. Every time I interview a person for this series, I’m reminded of how multifaceted our lives really are. And on that note, I’ll leave you to today’s entry.
Age: 40
Location: Large midwestern city
Relationship status: Single
About me: I’m a 40-year-old single woman living in the Midwest, where I grew up and where my family still lives. I have an active social life with family, friends, neighbors, volunteering, and going to events. I bought my first house two years ago, I’m getting into gardening, and I enjoy the occasional DIY home improvement project. I also like crafting, cooking, baking, reading, and watching TV. I have a rescue dog that I adopted during the pandemic. I was living alone, and I realized it was as good a time as any. Now, I can’t imagine home without her!
Income:
- Your job title/salary: Dog mom, negative dollars. Before I got laid off, I worked in corporate communications. Right now, I’m looking for a director-level role, ideally with a salary of $170,000 to $200,000 annually.
- Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $0.
- Unemployment income: Now that my severance has run out, I will be able to collect unemployment for six months at $914/week. Taxes will be withheld, so I don’t yet know the net amount.
- Total monthly income: With unemployment, I’ll get around $3,600 a month. My monthly expenses are about $5,600, so I’ll have to cover the rest from my savings.
