This is a guest post from MoneySupermarket.
The current state of the economy has forced many people to change jobs. Companies are laying off hundreds of workers, so employees must look for new sources of income.
If you have recently experienced a job change, you know that a new job affects everything in your life. All of your daily rituals will change, from what you will be doing each day to what time you will wake up and come home, what clothes you must wear and how much you will spend on gas each day.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by your change in jobs, know that you are not alone! There are others out there who feel your pain. Research the internet for helpful websites with financial tools, a mortgage repayment calculator and articles with financial advice.
One of the largest adjustments you will need to make to accommodate your new job is your finances. You will most likely need to adapt your lifestyle according to your salary difference.
This transition can still go smoothly if you are prepared for it. Try to think of all the areas of your life that your old job affected compared to your new job. Which factors change? Which mostly stay the same?
The biggest monthly payment for most households is the house payment. Your new salary will definitely affect whether or not you can continue paying the same amount of money toward your home.
Before you prepare to pack up and move, you should definitely look into refinancing your homeowner’s loan. Enter your financial information into a mortgage repayment calculator and see if remortgaging could be beneficial to your financial situation.
Verify that your other monthly expenses will remain low enough for you to be able to make your mortgage payments. Moving to a new house can be very stressful, so you should make sure that your other bills will not affect your ability to pay for your home.
New jobs almost always come with different benefits. Things like insurance, pensions and retirement funds could greatly affect your monthly expenses and future plans.
Compare the new benefits to your old benefits to see what the differences are. If particular benefits are no longer available to you, you should research alternative options.
Another aspect of job change that could affect your finances is distance. Instead of working ten minutes away, your new job could be forty-five minutes away, which will definitely affect you financially.
Calculate how much money you will be spending on your work commute each day. Try researching alternative methods of travel. Perhaps you could take the bus instead of a car. Maybe you can talk your co-workers into carpooling.
Many companies compensate workers for their commute expenses. Talk to your boss and see if they can pay for a percentage of your gas costs.
Something else to consider is long distance travel. Perhaps your new job will require you to take flights to long distance meetings.
Find out if the company you work for will pay for your hotel, flight and other travel expenses so that there will be no negative surprises later on.
