Furloughed and New Job Search

Summary

Podcast Summary: Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger

Episode Title: Furloughed and New Job Search
Date: November 3, 2025
Host: Jill Schlesinger, CFP®
Format: Live listener call-in

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a listener, Ann from Baltimore, who is navigating the financial uncertainty of her husband’s government furlough and considering a lower-paying, lower-stress job for herself in the new year. Jill Schlesinger provides in-depth guidance and actionable strategies for Ann’s unique family situation, with a strong focus on balancing risk, savings, and future planning amidst employment instability. The conversation tackles income volatility, college savings, retirement strategy, and prudent financial decision-making under duress.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener’s Situation: Juggling Furloughs and Career Changes

[04:05 – 04:48]

• Ann is currently the family’s primary breadwinner; her husband, a government employee and naval reservist, is furloughed due to a government shutdown and worries about possible job loss (“at risk, basically”).
• Ann is exploring a new, less demanding job for herself in January, which would cut her income significantly.

2. Financial Snapshot of the Family

[05:15 – 10:08]

• Current Incomes: Ann earns $323,000 (including bonuses). Husband would earn $144,000 this year with back pay and reservist work.
• Ages: Ann is 45, husband is 55.
• Children: Two boys, ages 12 and 16, both college-bound.
• College Savings: $131,000 saved; husband’s GI Bill will cover 35% of tuition for each child. Ann is contributing $633 per month to 529 plans.
• Retirement Accounts: $1.75M pre-tax, $206K Roth; both maxing contributions, husband adding catch-up.
• Taxable Brokerage: $27,000 (recently started).
• Savings: $60,000 high-yield, $7,000 cash on hand.
• House: Owned outright, worth $350,000; no remaining mortgage.
• Monthly Spending: Pre-furlough $14k–$16k, September $12k, after furlough $10k (includes $5k/month private school tuition).

3. Assessing the Impact and Stability of Husband’s Job

[10:08 – 13:09]

• Husband has less than a year to reach 20 years of government service, key for pension vesting.
• Jill views layoff risk as “unlikely,” especially with veteran preference and need for severance.
• Potential Pensions: Estimated $2,000/month from government, plus $400–$600/month from reserves.
• He’s also eligible for Social Security, with a projected benefit of ~$3,400/month.

4. Ann’s Desire for Work-Life Change

[07:07 – 07:15, 14:42 – 16:31]

• New job options (including possible business) would bring in $100k–$150k, much less than current.
• Jill’s concern: if both Ann’s income drops and husband loses job, their cash flow would struggle to cover $10k–$12k/month spending. “Making this decision [to cut your income] would seem to be pretty aggressive.” [14:42]
• Advice: Only make a career change for Ann after husband’s job situation is resolved; otherwise, keep current role for stability.

5. Suggestions for Increasing Financial Flexibility

[15:03 – 15:28]

• Jill recommends shifting some savings from retirement accounts to taxable brokerage or cash reserves:

  “I would like you to beef up some of your non-retirement assets because you're young and you want to make a big change.” [15:17]

• Suggests scaling back on retirement or 529 contributions temporarily to build a larger “opportunity fund.”

6. Household Spending and Habits

[10:36 – 12:22]

• Spending has fluctuated with employment changes and included big ticket, one-off expenses.
• Quarantine savings: With husband home, Ann notes, “I have a handsome husband who's furloughed, who's doing all of that. So we're making our meals...no vacation planning...” [11:25]
• Jill emphasizes clarity and accuracy about family’s “true” recurring monthly expenses for future planning.

7. Big Picture Advice & Family Resilience

[16:22 – 17:01]

• Jill’s key principle is to avoid making two big life/work changes simultaneously if possible:

  “I would not change both of your lives, your work lives, at the same time. If it’s in your control. And it sounds like it's in your control.” [16:53]

• “You can gut this out...for six months for sure. Till we know more.” [16:31]

8. Final Checklist

[17:05 – 17:15]

• Jill checks Ann’s estate planning and life insurance, especially as Ann is family’s main earner.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Jill’s practical reassurance:

  “It's tough to fire somebody who has been in the service who is six months away from [pension].” [13:04]

• On temporary spending cuts:
  “As a C suite employee, did not make a lot of dinners. But now I have a handsome husband who's furloughed, who's doing all of that.” [11:25]
• On balancing big life moves:

  “I would not make this...I would not change both of your lives, your work lives, at the same time. If it's in your control.” [16:53]

• On acting prematurely:

  “I think you're going to cause him to have a nervous breakdown. Not kidding. Because if he's nervous right now...how nervous is he going to be if you [change jobs]?” [16:01]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ann’s Situation Introduced: [04:05]
• Income and Family Details: [05:24 – 06:03]
• College Savings & GI Bill: [07:23 – 07:57]
• Retirement Savings & Strategy: [09:04 – 09:24]
• Spending Habits Discussion: [10:36 – 12:22]
• Husband’s Pension & Social Security Projections: [12:38 – 13:27]
• Risks of Two Big Changes at Once: [16:08 – 16:53]
• Jill’s Recommendation Summary: [16:14 – 17:01]

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Summary: Actionable Takeaways

• Delay personal job change until husband’s employment status resolves.
• Temporarily boost cash and brokerage “opportunity” funds by pausing some retirement/529 contributions.
• Maintain diligent budgeting to match spending with evolving family income situation.
• Confirm estate documents and review life insurance given earner risk.
• Above all, sequence big family decisions for stability.

---

Jill Schlesinger’s tone continues to combine warmth, humor, and directness, putting complex financial matters into relatable, actionable advice for regular families dealing with economic curveballs.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Jill, thank you so much for taking my call. I love the show.

[A]

Oh, great. Thank you.

[B]

So my question is I am currently bringing in more of the income for our family, but my husband has been affected by the government shutdown and he's currently furloughed. So with all these external factors going on, I'm wondering about our next steps and if I can start a new job at a lower income in January.

[A]

Oh, you're going to. You're trying to really throw a lot up in the air. So it's like he's furloughed. I want a new job. Then you might put on top of that. Oh, and by the way, we're moving. You know, like, let's just add more to this. Okay, but you're not moving, right?

[B]

I'm not moving, but he may be rift. And that's my third question.

[A]

Oh, okay. So he's furloughed and at risk.

[B]

At risk, basically.

[A]

Okay, where is he in terms of his service to the government? How many years in?

[B]

Oh, that's a great question. So he needs less than a year to get to 2026 and he's done. Isn't that beautiful?

[A]

Yes. Except if we have to gather.

[B]

Yes, exactly.

[A]

God. Okay, well, we don't have so much control over that right now. How much do you earn right now, Ann?

[B]

Together or separately?

[A]

You separate. Let's do you first.

[B]

Okay. Pre tax, I am estimating 323,000.

[A]

Does that include bonuses or is that like your base?

[B]

That includes the bonuses received so far this year. Yes, that's everything I've already got in terms of bonuses and my salary.

[A]

Okay. And this year for your husband? He'll probably get paid through the end of the year. What will he earn at the government?

[B]

So if he gets back pay, he'll get 144. And that includes his reservist job with the Navy and his current government job.

[A]

Oh, he's a naval reservist. Okay. How old are you guys?

[B]

I'm 45. He's 55.

[A]

When you say at risk for losing, he's in a part of the government that you think is really at risk or he's just worried. Oh, okay.

[B]

Because he's in defense.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I kind of like, I really don't think so, but he's worried.

[A]

Okay. So it's better to plan on not than. Yes. Right. Let's look at like.

[B]

Right. I think it's. I think it's a higher probability that he stays.

[A]

Okay. And if he were to make it to July of next year, would he then step down? Was that it? He'll be done or would he keep working?

[B]

Ostensibly, he's willing to keep working.

[A]

So do you want to tell us a little bit about your new job possibility?

[B]

I don't really know yet, but I have a possibility to start a new business where I definitely would get like at least 125 a year. And then I'm also applying for jobs just to see what's out there. And those range from like 100 to 150k a year.

[A]

So you want to like, chill out a little bit.

[B]

I'm ready to chill.

[A]

But you're only 45.

[B]

I know.

[A]

Okay, sorry.

[B]

I knew you'd say that.

[A]

What else are we going. Let's see what else is going on in your life, though. Do you have kids?

[B]

I have two kids.

[A]

How old are they?

[B]

They are both boys, 12 and 16.

[A]

Okay. And are they college bound kids?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Do you have money saved for them for college?

[B]

I do.

[A]

Tell me how much.

[B]

Okay, so in total, $131,000. However, Hubs has also been active duty serving in Iraq and other places. So he's eligible for the 911 GI Bill, which is up to 70% off college tuition.

[A]

For one.

[B]

For one. But he's split between both of them, so 35% of the national premium.

[A]

Okay, do you think they're private school bound or public school bound?

[B]

I think the eldest is public and I have no idea what my seventh grader's gonna do.

[A]

Okay, sounds good. Yes. We must have you commit right now. You must be a doctor right now. But you got a good chunk of money saved and with the help of the GI Bill. That's good. Like certainly helpful to get you kind of where you need to go. Are you actively putting money into the 529s right now?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

What are you doing for that?

[B]

$633 a month split between both of them.

[A]

I love 633 as an actual dollar amount. It's awesome.

[B]

I'm the nerd of the family. So good. You're.

[A]

You're in good company here, Anne, believe me. Okay, so this is good. Did you stop putting money in because of his furlough?

[B]

No, we have not stopped anything.

[A]

Okay. All right. That's aggressive. Okay. That's a good way to make him feel crazy. So nice. Nicely done. Nicely done. Okay, wait a second. Let's. Let's go back a second. Your retirement account. What's in there right now?

[B]

Let me tell you together. So Pre tax were $1.75 million.

[A]

Great.

[B]

And Roth were $206,000.

[A]

Okay. Are you maxing? Yes. Right?

[B]

Yes, both of us are maxing.

[A]

And is he maxing with the catch up contribution?

[B]

He is, he is.

[A]

So you guys are putting a lot of money away. What about other retirement accounts? Do you have old retirement accounts? Like maybe there's an old IRA or 401k hanging around for you.

[B]

I included all that.

[A]

Okay, so that's all in. What about plain old brokerage account, like.

[B]

Taxable accounts, anything there just 27,000. Okay.

[A]

I love when people say that. Mark like 27,000. I'll take it. Really?

[B]

We just started. We just started.

[A]

That's okay.

[B]

I sent it my ways ago.

[A]

That's a good thing. How about cash on hand, Cash savings, high yield savings, CDs, anything like that?

[B]

So we have a high yield savings of $60,000.

[A]

Okay, that's good.

[B]

And cash on hand right now is around $7,000.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Great.

[A]

House. Do you own it?

[B]

We own it.

[A]

How much is it worth?

[B]

I would say $350,000.

[A]

Is there a mortgage outstanding?

[B]

All paid off. Wow.

[A]

Any other real estate, Rental property, vacation property? Some horrendous kind of timeshare. Oh, I wanted free drinks, and I ended up with a. With a condo. No.

[B]

O. No, no.

[A]

All right, you ready for the make or break question?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How much do you guys spend?

[B]

I knew you'd ask me that. Okay, so before pre shutdown, our average was 14 to 16,000amonth.

[A]

That's a real number, by the way. Yeah.

[B]

And now. Now for September, it was 12,000. And this, since the furlough, were 10,000. So full disclosure, both kids are in private school, so 5. 5000 of that is private school tuitions.

[A]

What did you eliminate? Yeah, I was just going to say. So wait a second. So let me just go. You got. Let's say you're at 15 normally, right? Then you say you go to 12 in the month of September. Then you go down to 10, of which five grand a month is private school. Wow. So where is the other. What did you do that was more fun? Have you just, like, battened down the hatches? What's happened?

[B]

Yeah, as a C suite employee, did not make a lot of dinners. But now I have a handsome husband who's furloughed, who's doing all of that. So we're making our meals. We're just like, all pitching in to do stuff. We're not doing home renovations. We have an old house. You know, no vacation planning, blah, blah, blah.

[A]

Okay. Not necessarily sustainable. Like forever. Like in. In other words, he'll get some back pay. Let's say he goes back to work. Do you think that you'll get back to 15amonth quickly or do you feel like. Yeah, we'll probably.

[B]

I feel like this is a good habit for us. Okay. I always felt we were acting a little crazy, so. I mean, it does include a new car purchase in January, so, like, the average might be skewed. We did 22,000 of home renovations. Like, there's some crazy stuff in there. Okay.

[A]

We could say 12 grand a month. Would that be okay to look at that? Let's look at that.

[B]

I like 12.

[A]

Okay, let's start with 12. Now tell me what happens. Let's just. Let's do our worst case scenario. January rolls around and your husband gets kicked out. 20 years is just a milestone. He's still entitled to a pension. What would the pension amount be?

[B]

I don't have that number, but I bet it's like 1000. I have the 20 year.

[A]

What's the 20 year?

[B]

Okay, 20 year with full Survivor is 2000. Around 2000.

[A]

It's no way. It's 1000. But. Okay, let's just. I'm going to use the 2000. I'm going to say that it is tough to fire somebody who has been in the service who is six months away from. But maybe you're right. Could happen. But let's just.

[B]

And veterans preference.

[A]

Oh, come on.

[B]

And then they have to give them severance and all this other stuff.

[A]

Yeah, that's what I mean. I just think it's unlikely. But let's just say. So there will be a pension. Will he also be entitled to Social Security?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. What's his Social Security full retirement age benefit? Do you know that one?

[B]

3443.

[A]

Okay. And you will also have. But yours is much longer because you're so young.

[B]

What's yours right now it's 3952 or I'll say 4.

[A]

Okay. Oh, and when you said the pension of 2000. But he also was in. So what's the reserve?

[B]

Probably between 400 and 600.

[A]

I'm gonna say 500 because I like that. Nice and easy. So 2,500amonth in his pension and you know, eventually another three. 3400 for him, four grand for you. Ish. We'll see. When you look ahead and you say gosh, I sure would like to reduce my earning power by probably half. At least. At least you would be assuming what happens to your husband in turn. If you. If you make 125 okay or 100 and he's continuing to make 144, then I don't think this is a big problem. I think you can keep doing this and you'll pay for your expenses, et cetera. But my concern is if he is right and he does lose his job and then you making this decision would seem to be pretty aggressive.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm going to say this. You have saved a lot of money. You really have. And what I would probably do right now, because you're making a lot of money still. I get that you're maxing out retirement. I would stop doing as much in retirement. Are you putting all of money in your traditional or in your Roth right now for retirement?

[B]

Eh, I'm hedging bets. I'm 50. 50.

[A]

I wouldn't mind if you put in a little bit less money into retirement, whether yours, his, I don't care. Or even the 529. I would like you to beef up some of your non retirement assets because you're young and you want to make a big change. But if we presume he loses his job. He would work. He would do something. He sounds like he's. Like. He's not saying, I never want to work again.

[B]

No.

[A]

We don't know how much he would make. But even if he made 50 grand a year and then you went to 100, 150 grand a year is not enough for you to float your lifestyle. Right.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You'd have to eat into some of your brokerage account money or your savings to get you to a point so that you're both earning enough to cover your expenses. What I would say is it's fine to go look at new jobs, fine to go do that. I would only pull the trigger for you once he gets through this period and feels safe. Also, I think you're going to cause him to have a nervous breakdown.

[B]

Prob.

[A]

Not kidding. Because if he's nervous right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How nervous is he going to be if you spend, you know, the.

[B]

Where.

[A]

Aren't we going to know more of this? Like, in the next three months? He will know more.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And so I would certainly wouldn't make a change until we know what his situation is going to be one way or the other.

[B]

Okay, that makes sense.

[A]

Yeah. Right. And, you know, you've got young kids, you got stuff going on. You might look at your own job and be like, I'm wiped. I'm this, I'm that. You. You can gut this out.

[B]

I can.

[A]

For six months for sure. Till we know more. Now, once we know more, if you say he's good, and then you come back and talk to us and we talk about what the actual numbers are. So keep interviewing. I mean, maybe you find out that it's not 1 to 150. You go look at a new job and it's like, actually, it's two. And then he's good and you're good, and we got a plan. But I would not make this. I would not change both of your lives, your work lives, at the same time. If it's in your control. And it sounds like it's in your control.

[B]

Right. Yeah, it is.

[A]

Does that make sense?

[B]

I love it. Thank you.

[A]

Jill, do you have your estate documents done?

[B]

We do.

[A]

Do you have enough life insurance? Because you are the main wage earner. Do you have enough life insurance on your life?

[B]

I think so.

[A]

All right. Hey, are you furloughed? Is your spouse furloughed? Is something going on that we can help you out with? Anyone going through anything like this, please, please get in touch with us. Go to jillonmoney.com click the contact us button. Write us a note, and if you'd like to join us live, check the box. Mark will do everything else. You can subscribe to us on the Odysee app or wherever you find your favorite podcast. Do me a favor and lift someone up. Change your work, change your wealth, Change your life. Thank you for listening. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

[B]

Foreign.

[A]

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