Yesterday we say what a Jet Airways employee could do to tide over the next few months of uncertainty or unemployment…continuing that…

What if you do not have any emergency fund? and even worse what if your spouse is also employed in Jet. It’s a double whammy, right? I remember a very senior level employee of Kingfisher going through this trauma a few years ago.

First tackle your EMI: go and tell your housing loan provider, car loan provider, etc. that you will not be able to pay the EMI for a few months. It is always better to tell the lender upfront and not wait till you receive a letter! Most lenders – especially the housing loan types will be more than happy to postpone the instalments – remember they have your house and they are just giving more time! At the same time see if you can increase the tenure of the loan – YES you will be paying more interest, but the instalment will be smaller, and in case you need to take a cut in salary this will be easier to handle.

Assess the situation – how bad is it? will you get a job paying similar amount? Have you considered going abroad? Especially if you are a pilot the Middle East, Singapore Airlines, etc. are all potential employers. For the non flying people – luxury liners all over the world are recruiting Indian staff. No, no, not because you are good, but because a lot of Indians are going on cruises…Do check out all those possiblities.

Further steps that you can take:

1. If you do not have a home loan EMI – and the loan has been repaid, try taking a LAP – loan against property – preferably as an overdraft instead of as a bullet repayment loan.
2. If you have more cars than what you need, get rid of the extra cars
3. If you have a spare house try putting it on rent or selling it off
4. talk to your landlord if you are staying on rent – ask him for a 4 month delay. Offer to pay interest on the amount due.
5. Rustle up money to pay for the kids school/ college fees – June is the fee paying month
6. If your kid(s) are studying abroad ask them to find out how the fees can be deferred – all colleges will allow that.
7. See if you can ask your parents/ siblings for some cash – they may be able to spare.
8. When borrowing from a friend/parent/ sibling MAKE A WRITTEN AGREEMENT.
9. Any loan from a friend/ parent…etc. will raise eyebrows by the Income tax department – so keep PAN etc. ready
10. See if you have some assets which can be sold off – other than a spare house or a car
11. Make sure that you do not forget to pay your MEDICAL insurance and TERM insurance premium.
12. If you have ULIP or other endowment plans which are more than 3 years old, see if you can surrender it
13. If you cannot surrender a life insurance plan, see if you can make it FULLY PAID UP.
14. Join a gym – or do whatever – and be physically active.
15. Keep smiling!!