I guess I just need to finally vent about this. FI and I work for the same company (huge international company based in a small town) and were about to buy a house this past April. A few days from closing on our "dream house," we found out our company has been acquired by our biggest competitor. Since we both work for the company and both stood to lose our jobs at the same time, and this is a small town with no other major industries to work for (and the nearest decent-sized town is an hour away) everything fell apart and we did not buy the house. Luckily we found a way out of the contract at the very last minute but it was a huge mess. I sat on the couch and cried for a few days and then got my shit together and got over it. Sometimes shit happens, and we just have to deal with it one step at a time.
Well, we're still in limbo with our jobs. The final deal isn't due to close until April 2015 (about a month before our wedding) so if we get fired, it will most likely happen around that time. And the thought of both of us potentially "starting our lives together" being unemployed kind of makes me want to puke and cry at the same time. We considered just bailing out and finding jobs elsewhere this fall. Like I said, there isn't much around here, so we'd have to make a pretty significant move to another state, which we're totally willing to do. But FI thinks it's best to wait until the new year because we haven't been here long enough to be fully vested on our 401Ks, so we'd both lose half our money. If we get fired, we get our full 401Ks and a severance package.
I've been fine with all of this, mostly just not thinking about it, until this morning when we got an "update" on how the acquisition is going. My stomach totally knotted up and I really thought I was gonna start crying right at my desk in front of everyone. The update really doesn't give any useful information. Just "things are going well, the deal is still set to close when expected, it's all business as usual."
It's just all the not knowing that's killing me. Will we get fired? When will we get fired? Should we move? When will we move? Where will we go? Where will we live? How will we both find new jobs? Will we still get paid the same? How do we move far away and still plan our wedding that's in this area? How do I start a new job and immediately ask for time off for this wedding? What if I don't find a new job? What if I get sick again with no health insurance? On and on and on.
I guess what freaks me out the most is the thought of being unemployed again. When I graduated college, it took me three years to find a "real job" where I was actually financially stable. For three years I put in hundreds of job applications, went to career counselors, temp agencies, revised me resume a million times, worked part-time shitty jobs that I hated, had to move in with my parents, sometimes couldn't even afford to buy my own groceries or pay my student loans. I thought I had it made when I got my current job. Health insurance, paid vacation time, working for this huge company that has such an awesome reputation, being treated well at work, being treated well by my boss, being able to buy my own house. And then it all fell apart, out of nowhere, and I feel like I have to start back at the beginning again.
Anyway, that's my big whiney rant. Thanks for putting up with it. I'm sure a lot of you can relate because EVERYONE has had to face tough situations like this at some point. I think I'll spend a little bit of time feeling sorry for myself, and then I'll get my shit together again and keep going.