If you knew that your family's breadwinner(s) might be laid off in about six months, what...

[amyamanda]

I'm in this position right now, with DH possibly being out of work indefinitely as of sometime in November. It could go either way. He is optimistic but I am pragmatic.

I have been stocking up on food and supplies here and there as I'm able, anyway, and we already live pretty darn frugally.

Our budget is tight, and putting aside "extra" money for living expenses doesn't feel like an option.

He would (THANKFULLY!) qualify for unemployment pay, and if the online calculator is correct, it would cover our mortgage and loan payments. We don't have other debt.

We have half a winter's worth of heating oil (full tank).

I'm wondering what specific preparations you'd make for your family in your individual situation, if you were faced with a similar prospect? Unfortunately I'm betting more and more people will be out of work, and even if we weren't directly anticipating this possibility, it would be a good idea in general to be ready in case it did happen.

Thoughts?

[velochic]

I hope things work out and your optimistic husband is right.

I don't really have any good suggestions other than for him to go ahead and start looking for a new job now. 6 months isn't much advanced notice. In all honesty, our preparations are already made and were a progression of years, so I don't even know where to tell you to start with so short a time. I guess stock up, learn to live on even less, and try to become more self-sufficient.

I do know that crisis mode is *not* when you want to be putting your hand to new things or panic prepping. If you aren't gardening, don't start now unless you planned it already. If you're not canning, don't start now unless you've planned it already. Take the time to learn how to do these things properly. Get to know your reference librarian and do lots of research. Stay the course that you've been on already but tighten the belt as much as possible.

(That wasn't much help, I know. ) Good luck!

[Purplehaze]

We'd be screwed....

My hubby works ina limited field. i guess the operative word is "KNEW", becuase if we jsut suspected then I don't think we would do this, but if we really knew it then he would start applying and interviewing now tho it would mean flying to those interviews, out of state. We'd put the house ont he market. We'd stop funding our IRAs and retuirments and funnel that to savings to have more liquid cash. We have about 4 months worth of living expenses saved up but I think we might need more then that. I would work harder at getting that part time job I keep talking about, but for us this would be VERY scary stuff.

[bobandjess99]

I'd have him AND you start looking for a job ASAP. SERIOUS job looking.

[zinemama]

I would start looking for a job.

I would have him start looking for a job.

I would get really familiar with my kid's eligibility for CHIP (or the state version, if your state has an insurance plan for poor kids). I'd have every form filled out and ready to drop off.

[GoddessKristie]

If this happened to us, I would be stocking up on food as you have been,including expanding the garden ASAP. Of course I would only stock up on the necessities, for us that means cheap meat, flour, sugar, if I had room I'd also get some dates, oatmeal, and other dried fruits or fruit to dry (if the price makes it worth it) those types of things. I would try to grow and can every bit of vegetable I could (anything you can put on the shelf instead of in the freezer is a bonus in case you have to go without electricity). I'd probably pull money out of savings to buy a whole cow for the freezer. I'd get a couple chickens and a few ducks for eggs (we have goats for milk). I know we could live on those if we had to.
On top of that, I would be looking for a job I could start right away and work in the evenings while DH can be home with DS. If nothing more than just to cover the cost of stocking up. We already have a couple months pay in savings, but just in case, I would want more. If we had enough to cover our mortgage that would give me great comfort, but I would also want to be certain we could pay our utilities.
I'd trim some fat out of our budget. We need some recreation, so I wouldn't trim everything, a cheap movie once a month is a nice escape from scrimping and saving.
Once we knew we had money for mortgage and water, and enough food growing to last us the winter I would feel much more comfortable. At that point I'd take a look at the finances and see if we needed more or not. If we could survive on that and pay our bills for 6 months I wouldn't feel terribly rushed for DH to find a new job. I would most likely wait until it was certain he was going to lose it and he'd start looking a month in advance. Employers who are hiring now want employees now, not in 6 months, and I wouldn't want him to leave a job that is now lucrative for anything less. We would certainly keep our eyes open for a similar job, or a better one, but wouldn't get serious about it until it was certain and near.
I hope he doesn't get laid off and you never have to use your safety net! Do you have, or does your library have a copy of the Tightwad Gazette? It has wonderful ideas.
Oh, I'd also be looking for more great recipes for stuff I can make at home. For example I have a wonderful cracker recipe and a bread recipe that I really like. Things like that I wouldn't be buying anymore, so I would want to be sure I was feeding my family really delicious food. During times of trouble good, nourishing food becomes so important, and if you're stressed out you'll need it!

[lilyka]

I would get a part time job. i worked an easy job, close to my house, very casual dress code (jeans and shirt provided), and in a place I already needed to be. I brought in $1200 a month and almost all of it went into savings. There was no child care expenses as my schedule alternated dhs. the schedule was flexible and benifits started with part time. Even if you just wook two shifts a week you could pull in several hundred dollars a week and put that into savings and start building something up.

[Kaitnbugsmom]

I'd be out interviewing with every company in my field. In fact as soon as I'm healed enough to return to work and have a couple weeks of solid 'practice' getting used to my new limitations and abilities, I am going to be doing just that. i hate corporate massage but I hate being homeless and penniless more. and since there's a good chance dh's civilian employer will be defunct by the time he gets home, the latter is a real possibility without the former.

We're also looking at buying my buddy's two-bedroom singlewide. It's tiny and the lack of space would drive me a bit nuts, but a month's deployment income would cover the cost of the purchase and the lot rent is less than half what we pay in rent for our half double. It would suck in a lot of ways but it has the essentials, walls, floor, roof, functional appliances, running water, etc. And it would see us through til we have enough put back to move on to a better place for us jobwise.

[jentilla]

I think you have chickens right?

1. look for a new job or additional part-time one right now.
2. Save EVERY BIT you can spare for mortgages, etc.
3. Pre-pay for your heat if you can.
4. food- stock up of course.

[katheek77]

I didn't see this mentioned yet, maybe because it's too obvious:

Especially considering that you live in VT, I'd be scouring thrift stores/salvation army/etc. for extra winter clothing and extra blankets. You'll be able to keep the heater off for longer, and set it lower if you're all wearing things like mittens/hats/double layers/long johns/etc. inside the house. If you have half a winter's worth of oil, I'd be seeing if you could possibly stretch that to last the whole winter, or, at least 3/4s worth.

My grandparents had an unheated upstairs (NY State), and we slept in sweaters and hats and whatnot when we visited in the winter.

[neetling]

I'd be looking for work and my husband would be getting a second job to stock the coffers.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by zinemama

I would start looking for a job.

I would have him start looking for a job.

I would get really familiar with my kid's eligibility for CHIP (or the state version, if your state has an insurance plan for poor kids). I'd have every form filled out and ready to drop off.

:

[Belleweather]

Cut everything you can out of your budget.

Stop any retirement contributions.

Both start looking for jobs -- both to replace his income and to ad to your savings.

Gather information about CHIP, WIC, Food stamps, Low-income heating assistance and other emergency assistance BEFORE you need it so that you're ready to go, if you do.

[SeekingJoy]

Do you use disposable anything (paper towels, napkins, mama cloth, etc)? If so, switch now to cloth.

When something you use goes on sale at the grocery store and you can use a coupon too, stock up.

[haitimom]

I totally agree with the heat thing. We all wore long johns under our clothes this past winter. Our thermastats lowest setting was 60 so we turned it off at night everynight. That might not be reasonable everywhere. We would wake up and the house would be between 40 and 45. I would turn the furnace on for 1 hour in the morning and bring it up to 60. Our highest gas bill was $90 and it was a big house.
We are their right now. Dh was layed off last mo. Unemployment is less than have our usual income and half of that is rent. I worked hard at stockin food and reserved income. I thought if we were really well budgeted we wouldn't need our savings. I was wrong. We have gotten into at the end of the last two mo. definately save whatever you can!

[p.s]

I definitely second/third/fourth the looking for a job.
For dh: 1. looking for a comparable job;
2. looking for a better job.
If the job layoff doesn't happen in Nov, there is a good chance it may happen in the future. So dealing with the inevitable will put you in control. Which feels alot better than being told what is happening to you. Moving to a more secure job would be my first priority.

Start looking at child care options. or opening your own home daycare.

There are ( believe it or not) areas in the US that are booming. Yes, the economy locally is bustling, and jobs are going unfilled. Given the choice of WIC/ assistance or moving, I would tend toward moving my family.

This is long term, but I would start this now too. If one of you do not have a recession proof livelihood, I would start working on that now. Library books, community college, etc.

As someone who (and whose dh similarly) busted butt for many many years, with very little entertainment etc, I would say: TOTALLY SCRIMP. If you know in 6 mo you may not have an income, forgo the little treats. Now is a great time to learn going without. Consider it training that you elect, rather than forced deprivation down the line.
6 mo from now, that movie night out you spent $25-50 on will be forgotten and instead could have bought a week's worth of groceries.

hmmm I think what I am saying is, if I knew in 6 mo that something could happen, I would be living NOW as if already did.

[Surfacing]

Wow, it is so inspiring that people think this way. I would be prepared to scrimp and save so much (and certainly did as a university student) but my dh doesn't seem too adaptable. Just making notes. :

[wombatclay]

I agree with pps...

Know what state/federal aid will be available and have that paperwork ready to go. Find out what local resources are available as well... Angel Food, Kitchen Cuboards, Soup Kitchens, etc. Check with local churches and social groups about holiday gifts/meals, fuel assistance programs, social support networks.

Stock the pantry with long term items like rice and beans. Canned veggies aren't as nice as frozen, but they require less energy to maintain. The hillbilly housewife site has some recipe ideas you may want to check out, and if you can buy inexpensive seasonal produce now and freeze/can it that can stretch the future menu.

It sounds silly, but perhaps purchase small gifts (or material to make gifts) now to cover any holidays or celebrations you know may overlap the tight months? And remember MDC's holiday helper thread (in december) if you need assistance then.

Start applying for jobs and don't be too picky about where you apply... a dream job is nice, and I totally understand how hurtful a "soul killing" job is to a whole family but pick a number or a date and commit to taking even a "bad" job at that point. If you're crafty, consider selling things through Etsy or Craigslist, and consider barter as well.

Set aside a winter fuel fund and then don't touch it till your fuel oil tank is empty. If you have any medical needs start a fund for those too in case there is a gap with state/fed aid our your current meds are not covered. Start winterizing your house if possible (heavy curtains over windows or doors, draft snakes, rooms that could be closed up, quilts or tapestries to hang on exterior walls, window film, pink batt insulation or even foam board insulation for an attic or unused upper level) and buying clothing items that can do double layering for winter nights.

Good luck!

[caedmyn]

Stock up on food staples like whole grains, legumes, maybe half a cow or something like that.

Start a veggie garden.

Cut electricity and gas costs in any way you can.

Get used to buying clothes and shoes at garage sales, thrift stores, and eBay.

Cloth diaper if you have little ones (and consider using the cheap diapers, like prefolds, instead of expensive ones like pockets unless you get one-size pockets).

Get used to living a frugal lifestyle now, and save as much as possible.

If there are things in your home you don't really need or no longer use, sell them.

Buy household goods, furniture, some appliances, etc at garage sales, thrift stores, or from the classifieds or Craigslist.

Look into what you can do to earn money, either at home or outside if necessary. There might be back-up things your DH could do while he's looking for a job as well. And, unpleasant as it may be, working at McDonald's and bringing in some money is better than not working at all.

[amyamanda]

We are gardening, and I am planning to learn to can this year (have the supplies/equipment and friends to teach me).

I hadn’t even thought of having him look for a new job already. This happens to be his absolute dream job, one we knew wouldn’t last forever, but it felt worth it to us to take the risk for the chance for him to do what he loves for however long he could. So he isn’t willing to quit yet for something else, and I support that. I guess that means I need to create more stability (and income?) on my end.

I hadn’t thought of getting a job myself. Wow, that is mind-blowing to think about, and I’m glad you mentioned it. I worked 10 hrs/wk when DS1 was a baby, but nothing else since. I've been a SAHM for almost 10 years. I’m going to think hard about this.

I wonder if DH collects unemployment, if I could go back to work and he would still get unemployment benefits? Anyone know?

We are preparing to put the house on the market in the spring. I suppose we could speed things up. We are planning to buy cheap(er) land and build nearly mortgage-free, so it might be worth our while to try and do this now, but I doubt we can fix up and sell our house fast enough to make this possible. And the work we plan to do on it before selling it really is necessary to get the max equity out of it, which we’ll need to buy the land.

I’ve started calling/asking around about what benefits we would qualify for. Thank you for that suggestion. Hopefully we won’t need them, but if we do, we’ll be prepared.

We do have chickens, but only through the fall (we don’t have a winterproof coop, and the chickens are borrowed). I suppose we might be able to make arrangements to keep them if we could get an insulated coop set up.

We also have about ¼ cow left in the freezer, and we have a dozen frozen broilers on order from farmer friends.

I have the Tightwad Gazette and am rereading it with fresh eyes! I will reread Hillybilly Housewife as well.

We currently eat a lot of local/organic, and I am going to think about downshifting to conventional if the difference is significant.

We just got info about prepaying for heating fuel, but you can only do it if you guarantee you’ll buy as many gallons as last year. : We used 650 gallons last year and figure that by not using the hot water heater/furnace all summer we’ll shave 150 gallons off that, and only need 500 in the winter, half of which we just purchased. So I think the budget plan isn’t going to be an option for us. Bummer.

Kathee, good reminder about the warm clothes. I actually have been planning to participate in a woolens co-op for socks and long johns at half price. (I generally don’t even buy clothes for anyone; we have a great network for used clothes, but woolens almost never come along). I think I will still go through with this because the price is so good and if we can turn the heat down a couple of degrees more, we’ll more than make up the cost. We kept our thermostat at 55F daytime and 50F nighttime last year. Can’t turn the heat off completely at night or the pipes will freeze (stupid house design; all pipes are along poorly heated outside walls). Good winterizing ideas in this thread also. Thank you.

No retirement contributions to cut out.

Already use nothing disposable except bedwetter pull-ups for DS (too big for cloth, trust me), some TP (we use half family cloth) and we go through about 3 rolls of paper towels and maybe four boxes of Kleenex a year. LOL. Will make more of an effort to increase family cloth use.

I’ve listed some big stuff on Craigslist recently, and that could give us some cushion if it sells.

Thanks for the reminder to plan ahead for holidays. I have DD in August and DS in December and then Christmas and nothing again until May. We keep it simple but it would be good to have it all taken care of.

I’m rethinking even our scaled-back electricity and gas use. After this week, we will only be going to town one or two days a week, and even those are optional. We have some fun summer weekend stuff planned that would cost gas, so we might rethink those things. We do live 10-15 miles from town, though. It isn't cheap to go anywhere but our yard.

Thanks for the support, encouragement, and good ideas. I feel like we live so carefully and frugally already, but you’ve shown me there things to examine and re-examine. And, the biggie – considering getting myself a job. I will brainstorm that one and see what I come up with. Thank you all.