Rachel: Starting Over
After 18 years, Rachel wasn’t planning to start over. When she lost her long-term job as an office manager in Nashville, she had no choice. “The owners just could not stay in business, so they retired a little bit early. It was devastating,” said Rachel. Now, just years away from retirement herself, Rachel is searching for a new job.
Rachel lives with her 23-year-old son and her ex-husband, with whom she is still close friends and co-parents. “We divorced in 2004, but we’ve always stayed in the house together and kept the family together,” said Rachel. Rachel’s ex-husband is older than her and high-risk for COVID, which has been “very scary,” she says. The family put a forbearance on their mortgage, but Rachel is still concerned about how they will manage until she finds a new job.
Rachel’s son works for FedEx, and although she is grateful he still has a job, she is worried about him being exposed to the virus. “With everyone getting everything from the mail, they are working seven days a week, ten hours a day. It’s helped us financially, but it’s taking a toll on his health. He has to work at one-o’clock in the morning,” she said.
Rachel is receiving unemployment and being as careful as she can while she looks for a new job, but she’s afraid she won’t be able to find another job that pays as well as her last role. “I feel like I will never make that salary again, because I had seniority, and now I am going to be starting over somewhere,” she said.
Rachel put her emergency payment from SaverLife straight into her savings account, as she works to build up an emergency fund. “I have been a regular saver but I didn’t have six months of living saved up or anything like that. Without unemployment and this {SaverLife payment}, I would be in real trouble,” she said.
Rachel is grateful for the skills she learned from SaverLife, which helped her to prepare for this difficult time. “I was a member long before all this happened, and I find it helpful to have the weekly reminder of my savings goals and to win the $5 sometimes. It makes it so fun and interesting. I will definitely be continuing,” she said.