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First if all I am really sorry to hear about your job. Give yourself a little time to decompress. But we had a smilar situation right after 9/11 and we took different steps to keep our house in order. It is a really tough market out there. You may not find a job for quite some time. Would you consider seriously cutting costs like daycare, kids activities, 401K contributions/college savings (just temporarily), holiday gifts except for the kids and family, anything at all that is optional for a while and conserving as much cash as possible? When we did this we found out we were able to survive on one income and eventually even stash away a good amount of savings for the future. It was not easy, especially for me who had never been a stay at home Mom. But it was temporary and that got me thorugh the day. Also I was able to really focus on cutting costs across the board. You can always hire a babysitter on an as needed basis to work on your resume and interviews? We had to sacrifice our lifestyle for a while but we came out of it with a really different perspective on what we actually needed versus what we wanted. Years later we are still better off. It for us was a good wake up call and we rode out the storm with a few bumps but we made it.
You are just reading my thoughts so far we decided that the oldest will be still in day care since I need some time to prepare resume, interview etc. He is very energetic so I will not have even 5 min to do anything if he is at home with me. If the situation will be really bad, I am considering maybe 2-3 times a week day care and the rest - at home. I was about to call HR to cancel my 401K - I have 60 days notice period and wanted my husband to do the same. That will be huge support, since we always contributed the max what we were allowed to.
You are just reading my thoughts so far we decided that the oldest will be still in day care since I need some time to prepare resume, interview etc. He is very energetic so I will not have even 5 min to do anything if he is at home with me. If the situation will be really bad, I am considering maybe 2-3 times a week day care and the rest - at home. I was about to call HR to cancel my 401K - I have 60 days notice period and wanted my husband to do the same. That will be huge support, since we always contributed the max what we were allowed to.
Best of luck to you. I'll keep you in my prayers. Stay in motion, literally so you don't have to think too much. This too shall pass.
You are just reading my thoughts so far we decided that the oldest will be still in day care since I need some time to prepare resume, interview etc. He is very energetic so I will not have even 5 min to do anything if he is at home with me. If the situation will be really bad, I am considering maybe 2-3 times a week day care and the rest - at home. I was about to call HR to cancel my 401K - I have 60 days notice period and wanted my husband to do the same. That will be huge support, since we always contributed the max what we were allowed to.
Do you mean withdraw it!!! Yikes don't do that unless you're desperate!! And if you are wait until after December 31st so the taxes go on next year and not this year...it will raise your income level ( taxes are 20% and the plan holder will withhold that & send to gov) plus 10% penalty
Do you mean withdraw it!!! Yikes don't do that unless you're desperate!! And if you are wait until after December 31st so the taxes go on next year and not this year...it will raise your income level ( taxes are 20% and the plan holder will withhold that & send to gov) plus 10% penalty
Nono.. just the monthly contribution from the paycheck..We will zero it for now..
Thanks again for support. What's good for us I guess that we have never lived on $$ we earned. We always saved, stayed in cheap hotels when we travel, or even campgrounds etc. We basically have no place where we can cut expenses Maybe food a little bit - that's all. We do not go out etc...Plus, we were smart enought not to put everything into the house, but save so we can survive if we both let go..
Well that's good - sounds like you could continue to get by with your current frugal lifestyle even on one income. That is really smart living on your behalf. Many couples get caught up in a two-income lifestyle and spend every dime that they earn.
One day you will look back at this unemployed period as a small window of time. Keep your chin up, enjoy the extra time with your kids, and just keep up the job search. Something will turn up.
Well that's good - sounds like you could continue to get by with your current frugal lifestyle even on one income. That is really smart living on your behalf. Many couples get caught up in a two-income lifestyle and spend every dime that they earn.
One day you will look back at this unemployed period as a small window of time. Keep your chin up, enjoy the extra time with your kids, and just keep up the job search. Something will turn up.
Good luck!
If everyone behaved like you and your spouse this country would be in a much better place. Three cheers for you. Have faith....you'll be okay.
Well that's good - sounds like you could continue to get by with your current frugal lifestyle even on one income. That is really smart living on your behalf. Many couples get caught up in a two-income lifestyle and spend every dime that they earn.
One day you will look back at this unemployed period as a small window of time. Keep your chin up, enjoy the extra time with your kids, and just keep up the job search. Something will turn up.
Good luck!
Thanks again! Hopefully the market will turn before my husband will let go and we use all our savings
Thanks again! Hopefully the market will turn before my husband will let go and we use all our savings
Do you both work in the same industry? If so, have you considered, just thinking out loud, whether you might want to "diverify" your income by switching to a different industry now that you're at this transition point?
If you guys are in different industries that's even better.
Do you both work in the same industry? If so, have you considered, just thinking out loud, whether you might want to "diverify" your income by switching to a different industry now that you're at this transition point?
If you guys are in different industries that's even better.
That's exactly what I think!!! He is not doing finance, but works for kind of finance company. I was thinking about the same: a couple cannot work for Lehman!!! Need to diversify!!!
You mentioned your oldest is still in daycare fulltime. I don't know how much you're paying for daycare but it's probably a big expense. I would seriously consider just sending him there a few days a week if you can or take him out completely. During his and the baby's naptime you can also dedicate exclusively to jobsearching. You don't need to search the whole day. And if you need someone to care for the kids so you can go interview, ask a neighbor, relative or friend to baby sit him. Or pay for someone to do it, it's probably cheaper than fulltime or pt. daycare...
Other places to look into cutting back cost are:
- shopping in discount warehouses like BJs
- coupon clipping (check Sunday papers)
- downgrade your cable/internet/phone/utility service
- buying groceries from discount grocery stores like Aldi
- reducing 401k contribution (i see you've looked into this already)
These are all things I'm looking into myself since being laid off 2 weeks ago. It sux having to budget but now that you got more time at home you can devote more of it to finding ways to cut costs...
And if worse comes to worse and you still can't find a job after a few months, how about going into a more stable industry like health care or teaching?
Oh, if you haven't done so yet don't forget to file for unemployment asap! $560 per week may not sound like much compared to what you're used to making, but every dollar really helps right now.
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so far we decided that the oldest will be still in day care since I need some time to prepare resume, interview etc. He is very energetic so I will not have even 5 min to do anything if he is at home with me. If the situation will be really bad, I am considering maybe 2-3 times a week day care and the rest - at home. I was about to call HR to cancel my 401K - I have 60 days notice period and wanted my husband to do the same. That will be huge support, since we always contributed the max what we were allowed to.
