If your spouse loses (or has lost) his/her job-how do you manage?

[whatevergirl]

I was talking to someone today, who told me of a guy we work with who was laid off recently. His wife just had a baby, and he has two other kids. His wife is a SAHM. He was nowhere near retirement, and made a decent income. I felt so badly hearing this news.

It got me thinking, and thought I’d post the question…how are families surviving, for lack of a better word, during such times, when there is one income provider for the family, and that person loses his/her job? I guess this could happen at any time really, but nowadays, everytime I turn around, I’m reading about another huge layoff.

Interested if you have experienced this, and what advice you can give to people facing such times. (as the person I name above who lost his job and his wife wasn’t working)

I feel like it’s hard anymore to have one person staying at home fulltime with the kids… I dunno. What do you think?

 

[1ke]

Establishing an emergency fund and contributing to it regularly is the first step. DH and I have a hefty one, and if we were in that situation we’d be able to pay bills until a new job was found. Of course, I’d rather not spend the emergency money, but that’s what it’s there for.

 

[Em_in_FL]

Our “safety fund” is DH’s vacation stash - he has 5 weeks of PTO time banked up at work - so that’s our basic step.

I also work full time - so we always have a “backup” plan. I make much less than DH (basically enough to pay for the kids to go to Catholic School), so we’d really suffer if he were to loose his job.

 

[whatevergirl]

Hi 1ke;

We have one also…we are getting better at saving by the day, and really have stopped frivolous spending. I just wonder how many families have that emergency fund? It kind of makes you wonder if companies had emergency funds…at the first sight of difficulty in our economy, they are laying off so many? (for many companies, not all)

I am praying for all who have lost their incomes, and that they find new resources to provide for their families.

 

[whatevergirl]

Our “safety fund” is DH’s vacation stash - he has 5 weeks of PTO time banked up at work - so that’s our basic step.

I also work full time - so we always have a “backup” plan. I make much less than DH (basically enough to pay for the kids to go to Catholic School), so we’d really suffer if he were to loose his job.

Interesting. Hi Em, by the way. Florida has supposedly one of the highest unemployment rates…I was surprised hearing that, actually. There seems to be a lot of new construction happening in Tampa, etc…I dunno.

My dh works for Disney, and they go to great lengths to not have to lay off…so hopefully, he is ‘safe.’ I’m in sales, and had a good year last year–so hopefully, I’m safe too…but you never know. I try not to be ‘fearful,’ because Christ tells us not to be afraid. Just have to do our best, and keep praying!

 

[MaryB23]

When my DH lost his job after I became a SAHM, we were very fortunate that we had a good chunk in savings Plus, at that time, I had owned some stock in a small bank in my grandma’s town and the Board of Directors had decided to buy out all the stockholders so we had that money as well. He was out of work for 5 months that time. We had to take COBRA because I was pregnant with our second baby at that time. It just about wiped out our savings but we were very lucky to have it to wipe out.

The time before that, he was out of work 7 months but I was working (but pregnant with our first).

We just try to minimize debt and maximize savings. We haven’t been the greatest about having liquid assets. Trying to be better about that.

I hope your friend has good luck in his job hunt.

 

[Em_in_FL]

Interesting. Hi Em, by the way. Florida has supposedly one of the highest unemployment rates…I was surprised hearing that, actually. There seems to be a lot of new construction happening in Tampa, etc…I dunno.

My dh works for Disney, and they go to great lengths to not have to lay off…so hopefully, he is ‘safe.’ I’m in sales, and had a good year last year–so hopefully, I’m safe too…but you never know. I try not to be ‘fearful,’ because Christ tells us not to be afraid. Just have to do our best, and keep praying!

Hi back at ya!

I know… I don’t understand why they’re still building! I wonder if it’s international investors buying vacation homes (there was big boom of that in Orlando)…???

Disney’s a good company (my sister’s DH works there and several of our friends too)…
It is a scary time… I know MY company has forced all employees to take off 2 weeks in the first quarter to cut costs and avoid layoffs… we’ll see how that works out! Prayer is all we have, sometimes.

 

[1ke]

Hi 1ke;

We have one also…we are getting better at saving by the day, and really have stopped frivolous spending. I just wonder how many families have that emergency fund?

Not many. Most Americans do not save. That is why they find themselves in such straights-- they live above their means, borrow on credit, and have no savings.

It kind of makes you wonder if companies had emergency funds…at the first sight of difficulty in our economy, they are laying off so many? (for many companies, not all)

The smart ones do. Apple, for example, is sitting on a pile of cash.

 

[puzzleannie]

different things we or our kids have done in the past during lay-offs, plant shutdowns, down-sizing etc

clean homes, offices and factories

yard maintenance for office buildings, sometimes kids and DH would do yard while I and the older ones cleaned inside

PT work in stores seasonally–lawn and garden season, Christmas of course–mall kiosks, snow blower season

shovelling snow, with our old truck we rented a plow and made enough money to get through one tough winter

again when we had a truck or van handling small moving jobs

moving and mounting art and travelling museum type exhibits

catering and food service waiting and bartending

planning and planting gardens in a new subdivision

installing sound and video systems in new home construction

medical billing (don’t know if that is still a viable work at home option, this was before computers)

typing up workers comp reports for doctors who do that job

tax prep–H&R block and other chains have a tax school starting now

courier between law offices, title companies and the like and courts and county offices–this was a bike job in downtown area

routes-newspaper, magazine delivery to stores, anything that has its own display within a store–pantyhose, seasonal items, some distributors who pay for shelf and freezer space in markets pay somebody to go around and make sure their merchandise is properly displayed and labelled
chips and snacks, a lot of these are at off hours so can be good second jobs

typing research and journal articles and even books for professors and doctors at a local university, grading papers and tests for same

teaching on-line courses through a local community college

from the beginning of our marriage although I worked most of the time, we always made do on one income, and the second income was for savings, debt reduction, emergency, big purchases etc. We have always lived below our income, no matter what it was, so we can take a hit and survive on less than a lot of other people. We also avoid debt like it was cyanide in the water.

 

[maryjk]

I went back to work. My husband was out of work for over a year.

The emergency stash was for paying the mortgage and other house related bills. My paycheck paid for food and gas and other basic needs.

The emergency stash didn’t last as long as we needed it to.

In the end, we were doing what we swore we would never do, we were using the charge card for basic needs.

We never imagined that he would be out for so long, nor that we would have to move when he found a job.

 

[gardenswithkids]

…Interested if you have experienced this, and what advice you can give to people facing such times. (as the person I name above who lost his job and his wife wasn’t working)

I feel like it’s hard anymore to have one person staying at home fulltime with the kids… I dunno. What do you think?

My husband and I do “prepare” ourselves for the possibility, although we haven’t yet experienced it.

One thing about living on one income that those who don’t do it may not realize–families living on one income usually cultivate more frugal habits. Many SAHM’s consider managing money well to be part of the “job descriptions” of a SAHM. (If we don’t manage our finances well, we may “loose” our stay at home status) By not being dependant on two incomes, we learned how to be frugal and how to survive on less.

When both my husband and I worked, we spent more. We ate out more. We vacationed more. Since cutting to one income, we don’t do much of that any more. Emily brought up the unused vacation days–if needed those unused vacation days would help carry us for a while. We also have a safety net. We wouldn’t want to use it, but that we could draw off it if one of us didn’t have a job by the time severance, stored vacation and unemployment were gone.

In the event of job loss, we can both look for work.

Even though I stay home, I maintain my professional abilities. One of the reasons I spend time on CAF is it helps me maintain my writing skills and develop some computer literacy. (At least that’s how I justify it. ) I read and take courses from time to time to help stay current in my field.

Those families who already survive on one income may face tough times in the event of job loss, but so would a two income family. In this difficult economic time, I suspect many families who thought it impossible to survive on one income will discover that it’s possible.

 

[puzzleannie]

MyEven though I stay home, I maintain my professional abilities. .

this is critical. lay-off is also a good time to go back to school, or to get or keep up accreditation in your field, continuing ed etc. I am also of the old school that even a SAHM, or in the years when you are one, needs a PT job of some-kind, volunteer or paid, to get her outside the home at times for her own mental refreshment, acquiring and keeping up skills, and to begin teaching children not to be too dependent on her presence. a PT income does not hurt either.

 

[1ke]

Emily brought up the unused vacation days–if needed those unused vacation days would help carry us for a while.

Unused vacation days might not be paid out if a company shuts down. Some people get severance when they get laid off, and some just get nothing.

 

[petitfleur]

Its true most people dont save!!! My DH is a recruiter and we seem to hear of 2 or three people a week who lost thier job!!!
Yesterday it was a neighbor whose kids are high school or College age and really the nicest neighbors we have. I feel really bad for these people. Like Annie the one time DH lost his job, the next day he was painting houses with a friend of his.

 

[dconklin]

I was laid off from work about 6 years ago. We have two kids - one of which was two and has special needs. At the time my wife was working in retail, so she was able to go full time and I was able to stay home and work odd-jobs here at there. My son started school at three and I worked more. I guess I prayed too had because God got me a job at church. It started out part-time but has grow to full time. It all works out.

 

[MooCowSteph]

We’ve had a rough/tight time since I quit to SAH when Julie was born. Then the current economy led to neither one of us working. While we obviously know the we should have savings, that’s pretty much gone. We’ve seen struggling, using credit cards a lot. It tough when DH is 100% commission, never knowing when or how much is coming our way. But I wouldn’t trade a pile of cash or zero debt for time at home, raising my kids.

 

[dulcissima]

We’ve had a rough/tight time since I quit to SAH when Julie was born. Then the current economy led to neither one of us working. While we obviously know the we should have savings, that’s pretty much gone. We’ve seen struggling, using credit cards a lot. It tough when DH is 100% commission, never knowing when or how much is coming our way. But I wouldn’t trade a pile of cash or zero debt for time at home, raising my kids.

Good for you. I agree that it is well worth it to be there for your family. Life throws people a lot of curve balls, as it has me. I know sometimes it is tempting to look back at all the things I “should” have done, but if I had done everything by the book I never would have had my 4 kids who are certainly more important to me, and to many others, than a pile of cash.

These are precarious times and there but for the grace of God any of us could find ourselves in dire straits. Even those with savings could be out of luck if their bank closes and the FDIC is unable to cover the loss. That is within the realm of possibilities, it would seem. I think each of us just needs to be thankful for what we do have, have compassion for those that are struggling, and have faith in God that our struggles will bring us closer to him.

 

[whatevergirl]

This is so interesting, everyone’s take on this, and plans for preparing for something that could happen in a negative way financially. I think that one thing is true…no one can take our faith away–no one can take Christ from us. I have always believed that God will provide, that also means that we must do our best to be good stewards. God bless & prayers going out to everyone here…

 

[perfectpeach]

My husband lost two jobs within a 6 month period. We would not have made it without the help of his parents.

 

[LeroyCRHP]

It really is a tough time, I have been laid off twice in the past 4 years after working at first job RCA/Thomson for 23 years. I was very fortunately and only off 2 months each time, but now DW has went back to work as 2 in college is making it more than tight and I hate to cash out anything to pay for that.

I worked 12 hours a day trying to find a job when I was out. As electrical engineer there isn’t anything that would come close to salary, but if I would have been out of work for more than 4-5 months I would have worked anywhere doing anything to support my family.