need some practical frugal advice-

[shellbeau813]

Hi everyone-

I live in MA, and my husband lost his job very unexpectedly last

night. He has been given 2 weeks severance (for 10 years of service)

and will also recieve his three weeks vacation pay. He is a great guy

and has many contacts out there, but that could take time to turn into

a job. My husband is shocked and quite brain dead right now,

(understandably) and I am the one who has to be thinking rationally. I

am hoping that some of you might have some advice as to what needs our

immediate attention. Maybe the first three things we should do. We

have two kids (5,8) an a mortgage and credit card debt. Our bills are

current and our savings is small. I appreciate any advice so that I

can help my family get through this difficult time.

Thank you, Michelle in MA

[baakkester@gmail.com]

The first things to do are file for unemployment (I don't think you

can start collecting until after all benefits cease, but you want to

be scheduled to collect as soon as you're eligible, and run to the

library to check out What Color is Your Parachute, and any other

job-finding books that look good for his skillset.



Then, read the book(s), update his resume, and start targeting

potential employers and drafting letters to them.



Strive to make this the best thing that could have happened to him,

finding a better job and employer!

[Herlean]

Sorry to hear about the job loss.

From your post, it sounds like you do not work outside the home. Only your

hubby.



I would go through the pantry and make up a menu of meals you have on hand.

Write them down. Fill out three meals a day for as long as you can, plus

snacks. I am sure the kids will want them.



Do you have enough staples (bread, milk, eggs) to get through the next 2-5

weeks? Check your grocery stores and buy extra milk (powdered milk is great in

recipes), pour a little from each gallon jug and freeze the extra jugs. Allow

for expansion.



What bills are due right now? What can you cut? Make a list, call on Monday

morning and cancel anything that is not essential.



Do you have all medications? If you need refills, get them now while money is

there. Also, contact the doctors and ask for samples or alternatives to get you

through until another job is found.



On Monday, have your hubby (and yourself) contact the local temp agencies and

be put on the lists for work. If you work at the cable company (our local Time

Warner is hiring) you get free cable and free high speed internet. You can even

apply online.



Write out a budget for the money that is coming in. You say he gets 2 weeks

severance + 3 weeks vacation pay. Plan out every cent.



Cut back wherever you can.



At the grocery store, buy dry beans ($0.49 - $0.99) a package here. You can

make bean soup, casseroles, chili, beans & rice, etc. Filling and very cheap

meals. Make some cornbread to have on the side. Get a few bags and then look

online for recipes that use Red Beans, Black Beans, Great Northern Beans, Navy

Beans, Black Eye Peas, etc.



Sell a few things. Clear out clutter and get money at the same time. Go

online to CraigsList or eBay and sell what you can. Save the money you make for

the lean times. You don't know when a new job is going to arrive.



Apply for work everywhere - Target gives benefits from day one. Including

health insurance. You can apply right in the store and have an on the spot

interview.



Good luck!



Herlean



shellbeau813 <shellbeau813@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi everyone-

I live in MA, and my husband lost his job very unexpectedly last

night. He has been given 2 weeks severance (for 10 years of service)

and will also recieve his three weeks vacation pay.

[Ria]

Hi there,



I'm so sorry for your situation, and I hope your

husband will be able to get back on his feet real soon

with another job.



It would be very helpful if you could post your

monthly budget/expenses, and what you anticipate

receiving from unemployment. Do you work? If so,

include your income too.



Dave Ramsey would say to focus on the four walls

first. You have to be sure to continue to pay your

mortgage and keep the lights and heat on. Take an

inventory of your pantry and freezer items and plan as

many meals as you can out of what you have, so that

you can shop only for what you absolutely need.



Call your credit card companies to see if they can

give you a reprieve for a couple months til you get

back on your feet.



Also, perhaps you and your husband can get part time

jobs to make ends meet.



I'd suggest you read Dave Ramsey's Total Money

Makeover. It's a great way to work your way through

debt and to financial freedom! Also, building an

emergency fund should be one of the top things on your

list once your husband gets another job, so that you

won't have to worry about this anymore.



Hugs,

Ria



--- shellbeau813 <shellbeau813@yahoo.com> wrote:



> Hi everyone-

> I live in MA, and my husband lost his job very

> unexpectedly last

> night. He has been given 2 weeks severance (for 10

> years of service)

> and will also recieve his three weeks vacation pay.

> He is a great guy

> and has many contacts out there, but that could take

> time to turn into

> a job. My husband is shocked and quite brain dead

> right now,

> (understandably) and I am the one who has to be

> thinking rationally. I

> am hoping that some of you might have some advice as

> to what needs our

> immediate attention. Maybe the first three things

> we should do. We

> have two kids (5,8) an a mortgage and credit card

> debt. Our bills are

> current and our savings is small. I appreciate any

> advice so that I

> can help my family get through this difficult time.

> Thank you, Michelle in MA

>

>









__________________________________________________ ______________________________\

____

[mem68]

Michelle,If you have more than one credit card in usage-try to consolidate

into one w/ out interest for 6 months and in 5 mo repeat until you can get a

grip.

use coupons,B1G1F,but lost leaders,shop once/month.Plan your car

trips,park one car to save on gas, even may have to sell one to get by,do

not buy clothes,wear and mk do w/ what you have,no eating out,

You have to keep up utilities,mortage.

Can you baby sit some children in your community to help pay for groceries.

Use Walmart freebie site,and other freebies.

Try some container gardening for this spring.Winter Sown has free tomato

seeds for stamps.And pray.

----- Original Message -----

From: "shellbeau813" <shellbeau813@yahoo.com>

To: <Budget101_@yahoogroups.com>

Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 9:14 AM

Subject: Budget101.com : need some practical frugal advice-





> Hi everyone-

> I live in MA, and my husband lost his job very unexpectedly last

> night. He has been given 2 weeks severance (for 10 years of service)

> and will also recieve his three weeks vacation pay. He is a great guy

> and has many contacts out there, but that could take time to turn into

> a job. My husband is shocked and quite

[Karen]

Cut out or back on any non-necessities - newspaper, cable, phone extra

s.

Watch utilities closer - turn thermostat down a couple degrees, turn

lights out



Plan meals - at first around food in pantry/freezer, then later just

plan meals and buy only what is on your grocery list. It's better to

try to buy for a couple of weeks than 1 week but do whatever you can.

The least amount of times you are in a store the least you will spend.

Plan left over meals too. If you have a roast one night, plan on hash

or BBQ sandwiches the next night - so that nothing is wasted.



Check out cabinets in bathrooms - now is a good time to use any

shampoo, etc that has been pushed to the back before you buy any more.



Good luck! KarenMO

[herberkids3]

First, apply immediatly for unemployment- it can take a few weeks to

kick in, but since he was fired, he's entitled to it. It likely won't

come out to the full amount he earned, but it will help releave the

pressure until he can get a job.



Have him start looking for a job and applying to anything that sounds

like it would work immediatly.



If you get to the point where unemployment is going to run out (because

it won't last forever), and he hasn't had any luck, then it's time to

look towards places that will hire anyone until he can get a better

job.



In the mean time- cut back on as many expenses as possible:



Entertainment, Cell Phones, Land Line (if you can't cancel cell phone,

first cut back on any extras on the cell, then cut landlines),

internet, cable bill, credit card payments (don't do this unless

necessary, but if it's down to paying the electric bill, or paying the

credit card bill, electricity is far more important).



Also, while he IS unemployed, try and get some help with stuff like

food stamps, medical (did his work provide your insurance? If so,

you'll need insurance), and utlity assistance.



Luckily, the severance and vacation pay will help float you for a bit,

as well as unemployement, so if he can find a job within the next 5-6

weeks, you guys shouldn't be too bad. Unfortunatly, the job market is

horrible right now.



Pinch your pennies- you might not be able to get assistance, and it can

be a long process to get unemployment, so you'll want to keep your

bills to an absolute minimum right now to stretch the money you'll be

getting as far as possible.



--- In Budget101_@yahoogroups.com, "shellbeau813" <shellbeau813@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi everyone-

> I live in MA, and my husband lost his job very unexpectedly last

> night. He has been given 2 weeks severance (for 10 years of service)

> and will also recieve his three weeks vacation pay. He is a great guy

> and has many contacts out there, but that could take time to turn into

> a job. My husband is shocked and quite brain dead right now,

> (understandably) and I am the one who has to be thinking rationally. I

> am hoping that some of you might have some advice as to what needs our

> immediate attention. Maybe the first three things we should do. We

> have two kids (5,8) an a mortgage and credit card debt. Our bills are

> current and our savings is small. I appreciate any advice so that I

> can help my family get through this difficult time.

> Thank you, Michelle in MA

>

[sandy miller]

Hello Michelle,

I totally understand what you both are going through.My hubby just got back to work after being without a job for 10 months.Here is what we have learned:

Unemployment filing must be a top priority-it takes a bit to finally get a check coming in.Do not have taxes withheld from his unemployment.Take the full amount as you will need it.

Sign up for food stamps at family services.Also if you have children see about medicaid or medicare for all of you btu especially the children.They will also help you with utilities like for heating your home.

Sign up for WIC program at your local health center.If you have children,you can get such things as cheese,milk,peanut butter,juice,cereal,eggs and so on.This will help your grocery bill tremendously.

Go to Salvation Army and sign up for their food bank.Do not get alot but every little bit helps AND they will also help you with your electric bill or propane for heat.

Go online and
serach for Angel Food Ministries.You can get food for less than in the store.

Contact your church.Let them know about your hubby losing his job.They might help you with groceries and/or utilities.

We have a community center here called OACAC that helps also with utilities.Try to finbd out if you have a community center there that does that as well.

Do cut back on phone usage BUT do not cut off the phone or the internet as we have found here that most jobs are not put in the newspaper anymore.They list them on the internet under carreer builders.Not sure about there but try to find out about it.

Make sure the electric usage is cut back wherever you can.Do not leave lights on if you can help it when you leave the room.This is a great time to utilize candles as much as possible but don't hurt your eyes trying to read by candlelight.I don't know how you heat but maybe if you cut back on what rooms you heat.Let the children share bedrooms
instead of heating more than one or two.

If you find a child or someone in the family needs an article of clothing or shoes-find a used clothing store in your area.You can find super bargains there for way less than a regular store.They will also have bag sales where you can fill a bag for one price.

Plan your meals right down to the smallest thing.Tuna is relatively inexpensive and you can make such things as tuna salad to last a couple of days,fried fish patties(instead of using salmon).Make a big pot of brown beans.You can use some of this for just a bean and ham and biscuit dinner then make a big pot of chili with the leftover beans and make taco salad with re-fried beans in the bottom.Make a big pot of chicken and dumplings for dinner one night and the next day make a chicken and dumpling soup from the leftovers and add a couple of cans of mixed vegies and a can of chicken broth.Utilize hot dogs,having regualr hot dogs one night and then any of the
chili leftover can got with hot dogs another night for chili dogs.

Make sure you have alot of fl0ur,sugar,baking powder,baking soda,vegie oil,margarine,etc. so you can make homemade biscuits,homemade pancakes,homemade dumplings,cookies,etc.

Couponing is a great thing to use so if you do not use them,get started.Watch for the stores sale ads all around your area.Use the coupons with the ads and also do make sure that you price match as well with other stores.Plan your shopping trip accdordingly along with any other things you need to drive for so that when you get out to shop,you are also doing all other running thereby cutting down car and gas usage.

BIG THING-do not let hubby wallow for very long.I know you feel bad for him and rightfully so but make sure he picks himself up and gets busy doing what needs doing to keep his family afloat.You also need to make sure you care for yourself.It is so easy to get depressed and frustrated.Make sure you have a
friend or family member that you can get all your frustrations out to.If hubby finds a parttime job,he will have his unemployment cut back so unless he will make more than unemployment do nto have him look for a parttime job unless it is one that he will be paid cash for.You will need to find a parttime job if not a nighttime job fulltime to help him and your family get past this.It will not be easy but may be necessary for a while.

I hope this has been of alot of help for you as this has helped us to get through our 10 months.
Sandy

shellbeau813 <shellbeau813@yahoo.com> wrote: Hi everyone-
I live in MA, and my husband lost his job very unexpectedly last
night. He has been given 2 weeks severance (for 10 years of service)
and will also recieve his three weeks vacation pay. He is a great guy
and has many contacts out there, but that could take time to turn into
a job. My husband is shocked and quite brain dead right now,
(understandably) and I am the one who has to be thinking rationally. I
am hoping that some of you might have some advice as to what needs our
immediate attention. Maybe the first three things we should do. We
have two kids (5,8) an a mortgage and credit card debt. Our bills are
current and our savings is small. I appreciate any advice so that I
can help my family get through this difficult time.
Thank you, Michelle in MA

[/quote]


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