Will be out of work for awhile. .. need budgeting tips

[Anonymous]

I am going to quit my job soon. I expect to be out of work for 5-6 months. I am expecting to come into some money that will help out and I have a tenant who pays about 75% of my mortgage. Without that money coming in it would be extremely tight but that's another post. What I want advice is this:

What three things would you do if you suddenly had a drastic decrease in income? (don't need answers like pray, cry, drink wine, etc. I am looking for financial-related responses. thanks)

[Anonymous]

OP here. Here are my thoughts:

1. eat all meals at home and no packaged foods
2. don't buy anything except necessities (no movie tickets, no cocktails, no clothes, etc.)
3. ?

[Anonymous]

stop paying for childcare because my child could stay home.

not eat out or shop at all (except for absolute necessities)

be careful with use of heat/AC/water

[Anonymous]

Some gyms allow you to put your gym membership on hold for a small fee.
Do some odd jobs at night for extra money - like babysitting, where the money can be off the record
Start clipping coupons and eating more packaged but filling foods
cut cable

[Anonymous]

i was thiking about heat/aC/water - glad to see it here.
and yes, gym membership- good one, thx
no childcare-right. thanks!

[Anonymous]

Renegotiate cable/internet.

Take the time to go through the house and find things to sell on ebay or craigslist.

Consider growing some vegetables.

Stop getting expensive professional cuts/color (use at home kits).

Buy bulk beans (dry) and rice.

Take up free exercise habits (running/walking/hiking).

[Anonymous]

Get on the freecycle yahoo list just in case anything you need pops up - that are a wide variety of items being offered daily.

I signed up for Shugall Research in Bethesda/Alexandria where I sometimes get called in to do a focus group. Pays about 100-125.

You can keep everything unplugged and plug in as necessary, lower temps on fridge and what not.

Look through your online credit card account to see if there are any patterns of misc spending.

Think of any skills you can barter for. Babysitting for lawn cutting, etc.

[Anonymous]

Cut cable
Switch to cheaper foods - less organic, cheaper cuts of meat, more meals involving beans.
Ask for forebearance on my student loans until I got a new job.

[Anonymous]

Been there -- I took long maternity leaves with my kids where I didn't earn income for many months. Some things I did:

Join a babysitting co-op, if you have kids and there is one in your neighborhood. Then you can get free childcare when you need it, in exchange for providing it.

I'm an Ebay and Craigs List seller and would do a lot more of it if I had time. Easy money. If you were the type to buy anything with labels (handbags in particular), you can get a good price for those. Also anything new or unopened in your house can get a good price. And clothes and toys that the kids have grown out of and are in good condition can go for a lot on Ebay or there are consignment stores around. I also sold almost all my professional wardrobe at a consignment store, since I wasn't going to need it for awhile.

Cancel cable, cleaning lady, magazine and newspaper subscriptions and gym membership. Kids' activities like gymnastics, music lessons, etc., went on hold, with the benefit being we had more time together. And there are so many free things to do with kids in this city.

Shop sale fliers for food and necessities like toilet paper. Clip coupons -- it's time consuming, but I saw that as my "job" and way of contributing to the household income.

When friends suggested getting together for dinner or lunch, I'd propose a walk somewhere instead that wouldn't cost me money. My excuse was I wanted the exercise (which was also true), so they didn't feel like they needed to pick up the tab.

[Anonymous]

15:45 again. Get to know your neighborhood library if you don't already -- movies, periodicals, books and Internet for free. Don't buy any of those any more. I actually kept Internet access at home by asking a neighbor who had a strong wifi signal into my house if I could split the bill with him while I was out of work. He was happy to.

[Anonymous]

Do some studies at NIH for money. They pay well if you will be a guinea pig.

[Anonymous]

Take my kid out of daycare
Eat out of our kitchen and if I was unemployed, I would take it as primarily my responsibility to cook on weeknights. (When DH was underemployed, he did the same - I think it's fair; you have the time & it saves your family a lot of $.)
Reduce data plans, unlimited minutes on cell plans if I had the flexibility to do so.

That's just to save money. To earn some to tide you over, I'd sign up with a temp firm to work off-hour shifts, which I've done in the past.

[Anonymous]

In terms of food budget - I could cut down a lot if I needed to, not only by cooking at home, but also in grocery choices. For example, store brand oatmeal in bulk + a spoonful of frozen berries on sale + a splash of milk & maybe a spoonful of sugar = $0.30 per person for breakfast. Eggs are also super cheap - 2 eggs + a slice of toast.

For dinner, bean & cheese tacos, rice & lentils, spaghetti with sauce you make yourself from canned (or fresh) tomatoes. You can do dinners for $10 for the family on those kinds of meal. If I was home all day and cooking from scratch, I would really save the family a ton with this stuff.

There was a great thread last summer about a woman with a weekly food budget of $60 for her and her son. It had very practical tips on how to eat well on that.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, it's a lot easier to earn $1 than to save $1. If you have time/energy, I'd look into a part time job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:stop paying for childcare because my child could stay home.

not eat out or shop at all (except for absolute necessities)

be careful with use of heat/AC/water

I wouldn't cut