I will be interested to see statistics after this shut down is over.
I wonder...
What percentage of furloughed federal employees:
1. Took out loans against their Thrift Savings Plan
2. Took out loans from credit unions
3. Took out loans from banks
4. Were forced to file bankruptcy
5. Filed for unemployment
6. Sold off some possessions on Craig's List, Ebay, etc.
7. Sex Life improved significantly
8. Sex Life eroded significantly
9. Obsessive-compulsive employees ended up with a spic-and-span clean house
10. Grew a beard
11. Slept in until noon or later with frequency
12. Stayed up after midnight since they weren't working
13. Their pets appeared visibly more happier/content and their behavior improved.
14. Lost weight intentionally
15. Gained weight
16. Lost weight unintentionally
17. Finished previously unfinished projects
18. Accomplished major accomplishments
19. Decided to change careers
20. Made other major life-changing decisions
21. Quality of life improved substantially
22. Quality of life deteriorated significantly
23. Got sick more
24. Health improved
25. Quality of sleep improved
26. Quality of sleep became impaired/worsened
27. Came up with significant creative ideas
28. Dream activity while sleeping improved
29. Dream activity while sleeping worsened, had nightmares, etc.
30. Communications improved with family, relatives & friends i.e. in person, via email, via phone, etc.
31. Social activity significantly decreased
32. Social activity significantly increased
33. Updated their resumes
34. Applied for other jobs
35. Considered quitting or leaving their current federal job to go to private industry
36. Considered moving out of the United States
37. Decided to quit or to leave their current federal job to go to private industry
38. Decided to move out of the United States
39. Decided to retire
40. Decided to delay their retirement
41. Changed their distribution of funds in their Thrift Savings Plan retirement accounts
42. Decided to sell their homes
43. Decided to move
44. Became more neurotic
45. Became more uninhibited
46. Sense of humor improved
47. Sense of humor dwindled
48. Attitude became more positive
49. Attitude became more negative
50. Spent more time at home on the internet
51. Spent less time at home on the internet
52. Watched more tv
53. Watched less tv
54. Took a trip or two within a day's drive
55. Took a trip or two out of state
56. Took a major trip far from home i.e. across the country, to another country
57. Reassessed their career stance and plans and life plans in a major way
58. Those who weren't depressed developed significant depression
59. Those previously depressed had their depression significantly worsen
60. Let their housework deteriorate and they lived in a mess of squalor.
61. Fell in love
62. Fell out of love
63. Initiated divorce proceedings or had their spouse initiate divorce proceedings
64. Died of stress-related causes
65. Died of other causes
66. Created blogs about the shutdown and furlough
67. Cried because of the furlough and shutdown
68. Laughed because of the furlough and shutdown
69. Became deliriously happy due to the furlough and shutdown
70. Stayed intoxicated or indulged in drug or alcohol abuse during the furlough and shutdown
71. If previously addicted, their addictions worsened significantly
72. Quit smoking cigarettes
73. Smoked considerably more cigarettes
74. Blew money indulging in luxuries they never have time to participate in while working i.e. massage, etc.
75. Didn't go anywhere and were very tight with money because they were furloughed
76. Friends and family shunned them because they were furloughed
77. Experienced haughty comments from others who are envious of or despise federal employees
78. Grew very bored
79. Were never bored
80. Altered their Christmas spending budget
81. Experienced catastrophic life events on top of being furloughed
Showing posts with label must do things during furlough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label must do things during furlough. Show all posts
October 11, 2013
October 9, 2013
Spouses of Federal Workers Find Furlough -- Well, Weird!
The Mankato Free Press has a good article with some humor in it "Spouses of Federal Workers Find Furlough -- Well, Weird!"
The link to this article is below.
http://mankatofreepress.com/community-news-network/x862178275/Spouses-of-federal-workers-nd-furlough-well-weird
The link to this article is below.
http://mankatofreepress.com/community-news-network/x862178275/Spouses-of-federal-workers-nd-furlough-well-weird
October 1, 2013
We are Shut Down! List of Things Federal Employees Might Want to Do
Reported to work this morning at the federal agency I work for.
We had a brief meeting about the Shutdown, did a few things to close out and now we are officially shut down.
Returned home & am now making list of things I need to accomplish.
Considering the facts that we have no idea when we will be recalled back to work,
that we have no guarantee that we will be paid for the time we are furloughed,
and that the bills still come in and must be paid, here are things federal employees who are furloughed from the Shutdown can consider doing now:
1) Make list of things you'd like to accomplish during the Shutdown
2) Revise/Update/Make a Budget considering your non-pay current status
3) If you need to take a loan, you can get a 2% interest loan against your federal TSP (Thrift Savings Plan).
Go to the TSP website and print the forms, fill out loan application forms and sign them in presence of notary and have notary sign them.
Here is link to the TSP website where the loan forms and loan publications are found:
https://www.tsp.gov/forms/loans.shtml
4) If conserving money is an important issue for you, consider cutting back expenses.
I called Optimum (now Charter) today and was able to lower my cable tv/internet/land phone triple package cost from $135.96 a month to $94.85 a month.
Expenses you could cut & Ways to Make Some Extra Cash:
1) Food - cut back or eliminate eating out
2) Food - Eat more meatless meals & eliminate luxury foods i.e. expensive foods.
3) Use coupons and rebates for purchases.
4) Buy items in bulk which in long run is cheaper than running to store every week.
I go to Big Lots in a city south of here, and stock up on food (they carry lots of bulk, cheap food), toiletries, etc.
I buy toilet paper, paper towells, cleaning supplies, etc. in bulk.
I stock up there on packaged milk which is sterilized in waxed paper rectangle-shaped box containers. The milk doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened.
5) Shop for cheapest gas before refueling your vehicle.
Gas Buddy is a website where you can enter your zipcode and find the cheapest places to get gas:
http://gasbuddy.com
6) Cut back on home utility expenses. Keep thermostat less hot/cool, use a/c less, close off rooms and heat/cool fewer rooms. Use those twisty shaped lightbulbs that save energy to lower your electric bill. Insulate your home, windows, etc. better to conserve energy. Conserve use of water to lower water bill.
7) Have a yard sale or put items for sale in a consignment shop to get some extra cash.
8) If you have marketable skills you can make money at immediately, consider using those skills to earn money and work for yourself. Such skills that could be used temporarily would be selling arts & crafts items you make, providing childcare/babysitting services, etc.
9) If you itemize your taxes, and don't want to have a yardsale, etc. you could give donations of items to Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. and ask for receipt to use to lower your taxes when you itemize your taxes.
10) If your spouse isn't working and is capable of working, perhaps they could find part-time or full-time work during the Shutdown to supplement your income, since you now don't have an income.
11) As soon as possible, file an unemployment claim. You can file online. Here is link for Federal Employee information about filing for unemployment (the Department of Labor):
http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/unemcomp.asp
State laws vary, but most require a one to two-week waiting period before you begin receiving unemployment checks. A waiting period does not mean you must wait one or two weeks to file. You should file immediately.
Here is the link to locate your state employment website to file for in your state:
http://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp
I just filed for unemployment online at my state's website and it took me about 10 minutes to file.
We had a brief meeting about the Shutdown, did a few things to close out and now we are officially shut down.
Returned home & am now making list of things I need to accomplish.
Considering the facts that we have no idea when we will be recalled back to work,
that we have no guarantee that we will be paid for the time we are furloughed,
and that the bills still come in and must be paid, here are things federal employees who are furloughed from the Shutdown can consider doing now:
1) Make list of things you'd like to accomplish during the Shutdown
2) Revise/Update/Make a Budget considering your non-pay current status
3) If you need to take a loan, you can get a 2% interest loan against your federal TSP (Thrift Savings Plan).
Go to the TSP website and print the forms, fill out loan application forms and sign them in presence of notary and have notary sign them.
Here is link to the TSP website where the loan forms and loan publications are found:
https://www.tsp.gov/forms/loans.shtml
4) If conserving money is an important issue for you, consider cutting back expenses.
I called Optimum (now Charter) today and was able to lower my cable tv/internet/land phone triple package cost from $135.96 a month to $94.85 a month.
Expenses you could cut & Ways to Make Some Extra Cash:
1) Food - cut back or eliminate eating out
2) Food - Eat more meatless meals & eliminate luxury foods i.e. expensive foods.
3) Use coupons and rebates for purchases.
4) Buy items in bulk which in long run is cheaper than running to store every week.
I go to Big Lots in a city south of here, and stock up on food (they carry lots of bulk, cheap food), toiletries, etc.
I buy toilet paper, paper towells, cleaning supplies, etc. in bulk.
I stock up there on packaged milk which is sterilized in waxed paper rectangle-shaped box containers. The milk doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened.
5) Shop for cheapest gas before refueling your vehicle.
Gas Buddy is a website where you can enter your zipcode and find the cheapest places to get gas:
http://gasbuddy.com
6) Cut back on home utility expenses. Keep thermostat less hot/cool, use a/c less, close off rooms and heat/cool fewer rooms. Use those twisty shaped lightbulbs that save energy to lower your electric bill. Insulate your home, windows, etc. better to conserve energy. Conserve use of water to lower water bill.
7) Have a yard sale or put items for sale in a consignment shop to get some extra cash.
8) If you have marketable skills you can make money at immediately, consider using those skills to earn money and work for yourself. Such skills that could be used temporarily would be selling arts & crafts items you make, providing childcare/babysitting services, etc.
9) If you itemize your taxes, and don't want to have a yardsale, etc. you could give donations of items to Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. and ask for receipt to use to lower your taxes when you itemize your taxes.
10) If your spouse isn't working and is capable of working, perhaps they could find part-time or full-time work during the Shutdown to supplement your income, since you now don't have an income.
11) As soon as possible, file an unemployment claim. You can file online. Here is link for Federal Employee information about filing for unemployment (the Department of Labor):
http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/unemcomp.asp
State laws vary, but most require a one to two-week waiting period before you begin receiving unemployment checks. A waiting period does not mean you must wait one or two weeks to file. You should file immediately.
Here is the link to locate your state employment website to file for in your state:
http://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp
I just filed for unemployment online at my state's website and it took me about 10 minutes to file.
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