My dh just got laid off

[lactivist]

I guess I will be spending quite a bit more time here than I have been. We have a load of debt and barely any savings. Our 16 dd is pregnant and due in about 7 weeks. My MIL was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and we are in the thick of trying to get her the proper care. My youngest is a year old and I am not at my top form after so much stress and not sleeping.

We have about 6-8 weeks to drastically cut our spending and figure out how to make it. I had a feeling just this morning that the other shoe was about to drop.

My poor dh is devestated and feeling like he is letting us all down.

I could use some support and love not judgment for our situation.

Thanks!

Wendi

[Scribe]

Wow, what a rough spot. You have my sympathies, and my best hope that your family will find other sources of income very quickly!

[llamalluv]

Why would you get judgment? Your husband was laid off, not fired for cause.

Sit down, take a deep breath, and start making a list of all the income you will have (severance, unemployment, etc), all the expenses you can slash (either stop - cable, hair cuts, clothing, etc - or use less of - heat, electric, groceries, etc). Look for stuff you can sell if you need to.

Hug your DH and help him to send out resumes.

[Ruthiegirl]

Love and support and peace and understanding to you.

Big hugs to your dh. I know my husband went through a rough patch when he was not getting grants funded and we were sliding into debt. I hitched up my pants and went back to waiting tables, but I know it was a blow to him every time I pinned on my name tag.

Are you ready to start talking numbers? Are you willing to post a budget? Is your dh eligible for unempolyment? Your dd eligible for WIC?

[lactivist]

Originally Posted by llamalluv

Why would you get judgment? Your husband was laid off, not fired for cause.

Sit down, take a deep breath, and start making a list of all the income you will have (severance, unemployment, etc), all the expenses you can slash (either stop - cable, hair cuts, clothing, etc - or use less of - heat, electric, groceries, etc). Look for stuff you can sell if you need to.

Hug your DH and help him to send out resumes.

I guess I have a lot of judgment towards myself for not having savings and having so much debt. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle but we do live and spend money. I could have been so much more frugal and not ended up in such a bad spot.

I am doing exactly what you say. I have already made lists and come up with ideas. Most likely I will see if I can take on childcare for someone so I can continue to stay home with my 1yo but be able to bring in some money. It isn't ideal but it would work and help a lot.

Wendi

[Turquesa]

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by lactivist

I guess I have a lot of judgment towards myself for not having savings and having so much debt. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle but we do live and spend money. I could have been so much more frugal and not ended up in such a bad spot.

I am doing exactly what you say. I have already made lists and come up with ideas. Most likely I will see if I can take on childcare for someone so I can continue to stay home with my 1yo but be able to bring in some money. It isn't ideal but it would work and help a lot.

Wendi

Good ideas.

I spent myself into foreclosure trying to hang onto a house I never even wanted to begin with, so no judgment here from me about not having your savings in place.

Just remember to learn from your mistakes!

Good luck with the day care.

I have one more bit of advice....I see a lot of women on here that run out and stock up their pantries at the first sign of financial troubles. Don't do that. You can always go to food banks if you run low on food, but the electric company will NOT take a jar of applesauce in payment for your light bill. Hold onto your cash.

[Purple*Lotus]

I just lost my job too, so I am panicing right along with you

The main thing we are doing now is just not spending money on anything not needed. We cut out everything, and are only spending when we absolutly must. I have been really creative using up what we have in the pantry/freezer. That has saved us the most so far.

[tinybutterfly]

Been in the position of dh being laid off before.

You have so many things going on at one time.

This is a good place to learn all kinds of ways to save money and I hope everyone will be supportive and encouraging.

[Ola_]

I'm so sorry you are going through a tough time. I hope your DH is able to find another job soon!

[AuntNi]

I just wanted to send you lots of and lots of job-hunting : Please post here for support any time!

[lactivist]

Thank you all so much! It means the world to have the support. I am not quite ready to post numbers but will be there very soon.

I hadn't thought about my dd being eligible for services because we always made too much money before.

I do think we qualify for unemployment and we are absolutely doing that. We will have some severance and his job doesn't actually end for 6 more weeks so we have some options. One thing we are going to do is get insurance protection for all our credit cards since we have advance notice of his layoff. That way we can at least not ruin our credit during this tight time.

We have a running list of things we are going to cut/decrease before the end of his employment. I am really grateful that we have some notice so I have time to make a lot of big adjustments before the money runs out.

bunnyflakes ~ to you. I hope you are able to find work again soon.

Thank you all so much! I will keep posting as we make decisions and progress.

Wendi

[Dmitrizmom]

s advance notice is a wonderful thing... it gives you a little time to prepare. If you are in the US, WIC and foodstamps are designed to help those in your situation. Your dd can get WIC too.

I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.

[Violet2]

[LeighB]

Hugs to you. I'm sorry you are in that situation.

[madsommer]

[mtm]

I'm sorry Lactivist, what a lot on your plate right now. If you don't want to post your numbers out in the open, choose 2-3 posters and pm them to them. The women on here are great. You and your family are in my thoughts.

[Himom]

I'm sorry about your DH. Hang in there, better times are coming...

[MomToKandE]

[babycarrier]