May need to get rid of my F150L

[SmoothJ]

To my dismay, I may have no choice but to get rid of F150L soon since I am losing my job in a few months. I know I can extend the FMC loan, and I have done that before, but I don’t want to do that anymore. The trade-in value of this truck is not the best so I will be seriously upside down. So I really not sure what to do anymore. Any suggestions?

EDIT: thank you all for your help and suggestions… it’s really appreciated.

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[Maquis]

Get another job?

 

[SmoothJ]

Get another job?

While I am being optimistic that I can find another IT job, I know a number of ex colleagues who are still looking for a job from another RIF. While unemployment does help, it won’t pay enough for everything else we have.

So I am trying to be proactive as possible.

 

[Grumpy2]

I can find another IT job

You have the answer to your question. Find it now.

 

[RipInPepz]

If you're upside down by a lot, youre better off driving it til the wheels fall off. Selling it with negative equity, rolling that neg into a new loan on a cheaper car, will just give you the same or higher payment. Plus no lightning.

Try to extend the loan, and apply to every single remote job on linkedin. I would usually filter to only show "Easy Apply" jobs, and do 100 a day. It works eventually lol.

 

[Ricks Lightning]

Sell it on the open market.. Don't trade it in.

Rick

 

[SmoothJ]

You have the answer to your question. Find it now.

Of course it is, but I rather have some sort of backup plan too. Which is why I am asking for ideas.

 

[Timeless Epoch]

While I am being optimistic that I can find another IT job, I know a number of ex colleagues who are still looking for a job from another RIF. While unemployment does help, it won’t pay enough for everything else we have.

So I am trying to be proactive as possible.

I've been in your literal shoes. The IT market is tough. In 2023 I was laid off and it took me 9 months to find a replacement job. I submitted about 150 resumes in that time. I maybe got back 5 "No thank you" replies. The rest were completely silent, even on followup. I don't want to go down the rabbit hole, but most the ads are fake. The jobs aren't, but the ads are.

The good news is, I think things have improved quite a bit.

My advice, find some people knowledgeable in IT to review your resume and give you some feedback. Especially if you have access to someone that is or has been a hiring manager. Sign up for all the major job boards. Don't target a few "ideal jobs". Send them out in mass to anything you find even remotely acceptable.

I ended up having to take a step backwards and loss of $20k/yr. Today I am back to where I was through raises and a promotion for putting in the effort.

Friends who work for companies you are interested in are priceless. Get them to submit your resume where you can. Companies prefer internal recommendations.

For companies your are interested in working for, go to their website and look at their openings directly. Many of them do not post all or any of their jobs on the various job boards.

Use your downtime to freshen up your skills and certifications. There are many out there that can be had for cheap or even free. Plus it looks good that you were not just sitting around waiting for a job to land in your lap.

As for the truck... only you can answer that. My wife and I were able to cut our spending back quite a bit so we could live on her salary. It wasn't comfortable, but it was doable. Find better rates on your phone plans, get rid of all non-essential spending. Think door dash, smart watch or tablet cell service, streaming subscriptions, eating out, faster internet that you need, etc. Its amazing how much those things add up to.

Lastly, act quickly. Few people hire during the holidays. But if you don't make it, the good news is, there is a lot of hiring in Q1.

Best of luck!!

 

[Legacy23]

Of course it is, but I rather have some sort of backup plan too. Which is why I am asking for ideas.

I'm an IT Manager in NJ. What part of NJ are you in? PM me if you want and let's chat, as a fellow Plat owner I want to help you.

 

[Legacy23]

I've been in your literal shoes. The IT market is tough. In 2023 I was laid off and it took me 9 months to find a replacement job. I submitted about 150 resumes in that time. I maybe got back 5 "No thank you" replies. The rest were completely silent, even on followup. I don't want to go down the rabbit hole, but most the ads are fake. The jobs aren't, but the ads are.

The good news is, I think things have improved quite a bit.

My advice, find some people knowledgeable in IT to review your resume and give you some feedback. Especially if you have access to someone that is or has been a hiring manager. Sign up for all the major job boards. Don't target a few "ideal jobs". Send them out in mass to anything you find even remotely acceptable.

I ended up having to take a step backwards and loss of $20k/yr. Today I am back to where I was through raises and a promotion for putting in the effort.

Friends who work for companies you are interested in are priceless. Get them to submit your resume where you can. Companies prefer internal recommendations.

For companies your are interested in working for, go to their website and look at their openings directly. Many of them do not post all or any of their jobs on the various job boards.

Use your downtime to freshen up your skills and certifications. There are many out there that can be had for cheap or even free. Plus it looks good that you were not just sitting around waiting for a job to land in your lap.

As for the truck... only you can answer that. My wife and I were able to cut our spending back quite a bit so we could live on her salary. It wasn't comfortable, but it was doable. Find better rates on your phone plans, get rid of all non-essential spending. Think door dash, smart watch or tablet cell service, streaming subscriptions, eating out, faster internet that you need, etc. Its amazing how much those things add up to.

Lastly, act quickly. Few people hire during the holidays. But if you don't make it, the good news is, there is a lot of hiring in Q1.

Best of luck!!

Best advice ever! This should be a sticky.

 

[djwildstar]

To my dismay, I may have no choice but to get rid of F150L soon since I am losing my job [...] The trade-in value of this truck is not the best so I will be seriously upside down. So I really not sure what to do anymore. Any suggestions?

A lot depends on what you see happening in the future -- are you assuming that you will be permanently unemployed, or will move to a different line of work with significantly less pay?

If you have more vehicles than drivers, it might make sense to sell a paid-off vehicle for cash (which can be used to supplement your savings or make truck payments) rather than to get rid of an upside-down truck. Selling a paid-off 10-year-old gas car could cover truck payments for a year. With its low operating costs, driving the truck as much as possible should also save money compared to driving an older gas car.

Taking as a hypothetical, an expensive truck with a $1200/month payment might well have a remaining principal around $54,000 but a trade-in value around $37,000 and an average resale price of around $41,000. This means you'd have to pay out $13,000 to sell the truck in a private sale, and leaves you with no vehicle.

The math is similar for trading it in and rolling the $17,000 of negative equity into a new car loan. Current interest rates are about 2% higher than they were 3 years ago. To cut your car payment by a third, to $900/month, you're looking at borrowing no more than $56,000, including any negative equity you roll over (and most lenders won't let you put $17,000 of negative equity into a loan for a $39,000 car).

If you're looking at disability or retirement and have enough available in savings, it might make sense to get rid of the truck. In these scenarios you won't need a vehicle for commuting, and losing the truck payment will make your monthly budget better fit a fixed retirement or disability income. In other scenarios, look at what you'd need to pay out-of-pocket versus your new car payment. Spending $12000 dollars to reduce your payment by $300/month only puts you ahead if you've got more than three and a half years left on your truck loan.

If you're looking at temporary unemployment, cutting your truck payment seems like a bonkers way to spend the bulk of your savings. I think you'd be better off keeping the truck and applying to as many jobs as possible in the hopes of being re-employed sooner.

 

[MaintGrl]

I've been in your literal shoes. The IT market is tough. In 2023 I was laid off and it took me 9 months to find a replacement job. I submitted about 150 resumes in that time. I maybe got back 5 "No thank you" replies. The rest were completely silent, even on followup. I don't want to go down the rabbit hole, but most the ads are fake. The jobs aren't, but the ads are.

The good news is, I think things have improved quite a bit.

My advice, find some people knowledgeable in IT to review your resume and give you some feedback. Especially if you have access to someone that is or has been a hiring manager. Sign up for all the major job boards. Don't target a few "ideal jobs". Send them out in mass to anything you find even remotely acceptable.

I ended up having to take a step backwards and loss of $20k/yr. Today I am back to where I was through raises and a promotion for putting in the effort.

Friends who work for companies you are interested in are priceless. Get them to submit your resume where you can. Companies prefer internal recommendations.

For companies your are interested in working for, go to their website and look at their openings directly. Many of them do not post all or any of their jobs on the various job boards.

Use your downtime to freshen up your skills and certifications. There are many out there that can be had for cheap or even free. Plus it looks good that you were not just sitting around waiting for a job to land in your lap.

As for the truck... only you can answer that. My wife and I were able to cut our spending back quite a bit so we could live on her salary. It wasn't comfortable, but it was doable. Find better rates on your phone plans, get rid of all non-essential spending. Think door dash, smart watch or tablet cell service, streaming subscriptions, eating out, faster internet that you need, etc. Its amazing how much those things add up to.

Lastly, act quickly. Few people hire during the holidays. But if you don't make it, the good news is, there is a lot of hiring in Q1.

Best of luck!!

Thank you for your insight, a lot of helpful info there for John, the OP

 

[K6CCC]

I am getting a good understanding of the loss (or reduction) of income - I'm retiring in 9 days and income will go down a bit, so having to look carefully at spending.

The only suggestion on the job front is don't forget about local governments. They all have IT people. Often the pay is not quite as high as private sector, but generally far more stable. Retirements are usually better too. And yes, I am retiring from a city government...

 

[MaintGrl]

I am getting a good understanding of the loss (or reduction) of income - I'm retiring in 9 days and income will go down a bit, so having to look carefully at spending.

The only suggestion on the job front is don't forget about local governments. They all have IT people. Often the pay is not quite as high as private sector, but generally far more stable. Retirements are usually better too. And yes, I am retiring from a city government...

Tell me about it . . I retired, Nov of 2018. Fortunately I HAVE pension. That being said I got 3% at 60. I worked for 21 years, so . . I took about a 30% cut in pay. But in the long run it was good decision...

 

[MichaelCA]

look into Mint/Visible/Us Mobile. US mobile is what I use and you can choose which carrier you want. Like if t-mobile is better cell towers where you live you can choose to use that. They have all 3 major carriers. I believe the Verizon? plan also comes with smart match connectivity for the high tier plan.

they range from $20-35 for the unlimited plans per line without requirement to have more lines for discount. You save a bit more if you opt for the annual plan.

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