Anonymous wrote:
- Cancel gym memberships.

- Eat beans/rice twice a week and pasta once per week - groceries may be your 2nd largest bill/month. Squeeze lime on the cooked rice. To season the beans, fry some yellow onions (buy bags of yellow onion - it's cheaper), then pour in the beans and sprinkle adobo on it and simmer a few minutes. Then mix the rice/beans up.

And we only eat frozen veggies - Trader's has really cheap frozen veggies, wines, and other beverages but the meat and several other items are really expensive.

And buy everything generic that you can, although some things you cannot like dressing, mayonaise, pasta sauce or canned tomatoes.

canned is not good.
gym memberships cannot be cancelled. They work on yearly contracts. Save money by showering there
beans and rice sounds awful. Allow yourself good food or you will suffer from depression as well

read magazines at the library and take out movies from there

Anonymous wrote:
Canceling cable would cost us a $200 cancellation fee and its only $50 a month, so assuming (hopefully) he is out of work for approx 4 months, it wouldnt be worth it.

Call the cable company and explain that your husband has just lost his job. In situations like this, some companies will waive the cancellation fee. But you won't know until you call and ask.

One of you needs to stop and do a review of your monthly expenses and evaluate what you actually spend money on and what can be done to cut back, even short-term.

Do not replace cleaning products and solutions. Use baking soda and vinegar for basic cleaning. You can google for baking soda and vinegar cleaning solutions (Hints for Heloise has a number).

Cell phone plans. Most carriers will allow you to downgrade your service. If you have unlimited or large data plans, downgrade for a few months to a plan with a limited number of minutes or a limited amount of data. When he's employed again, you can raise the service again.

Check your utility usage. You would be surprised how much money can be saved on the utility bills. If you aren't already doing it, you should be adjusting your thermostat so that you use less energy when everyone is sleeping or out of the house. If you aren't already doing it, turn down the heat and have everyone put on a sweater or sweatshirt. If you have a room that doesn't get used a lot, but has a door (like a guest room), close the heating vents, close the curtains and close the door. Turn the water boiler temperature down slightly. We turned it down slightly when the kids were infants (worried about them scalding themselves now that they're toddlers) and we noticed some energy savings.

Do not use the oven if you can. The oven is not a very energy efficient way to cook. If you have a toaster oven, use that. If not, look for alternative ways/recipes to cook. Avoid putting hot/warm items in the fridge right away. Let hot/warm items cool down before putting them in the fridge. See if you can cut out a dishwasher cycle. We recently went from a load every day to a load every other day (love it that we're moving away from bottles to sippy cups!!!) and that helps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We managed to take the kids out of early and aftercare at school in the interim. I also had to fire our cleaning lady (or at least put her on hold for a bit). Any other tips for temporary cost cutting? Unfortunately, it will cost us more to cancel and restart contracts for cable, etc.

Primary costs are mortgage, childcare, student loans ($800 month), utilities, food, household goods, and insurance.

You may want to rethink cancelling the before and aftercare at school. What if you can't get back in? What if your DH has an interview and there is no one home for the kids? You could probably skip the before care; maybe you could reduce the aftercare to part-time (e.g., 2 days / week). At my child's school, the on-site before/after care provider has a waiting list and once you drop out, you will not at the top of the queue to re-enroll.

They said it would be no problem to re-enroll at any time. Also, I WAH 2 days a week and we have family nearby if they needed to cover for the 3:30-5 time slot.

Anonymous wrote:We managed to take the kids out of early and aftercare at school in the interim. I also had to fire our cleaning lady (or at least put her on hold for a bit). Any other tips for temporary cost cutting? Unfortunately, it will cost us more to cancel and restart contracts for cable, etc.

Primary costs are mortgage, childcare, student loans ($800 month), utilities, food, household goods, and insurance.

You may want to rethink cancelling the before and aftercare at school. What if you can't get back in? What if your DH has an interview and there is no one home for the kids? You could probably skip the before care; maybe you could reduce the aftercare to part-time (e.g., 2 days / week). At my child's school, the on-site before/after care provider has a waiting list and once you drop out, you will not at the top of the queue to re-enroll.

Have you considered refinancing? We're in the process now and it's going to save us several hundred a month. My husband has been out of work for 9 months now.

Every time you go to buy ANYTHING, stop and think, "Is this a want or do I TRULY NEED it?" You do not need a lot of what you think you do.

When soap bottle is half full, fill the bottle with water - it will make the soap last longer. Clean with paper towel (or a rag, even better) and water before using things like Clorox Wipes, Windex, etc. So much dirt comes up with just water.

We are already on my insurance plan so I dont have to worry about that.

Can you carry the family on your employer's health plan? COBRA is very expensive. Depending on your DH's severance pay, you also may be able to decrease your paycheck withholding to increase your take home pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, no additional suggestions, just wanted to say sorry. I got laid off last spring and it sucks. Not sure what industry he is in, but 4 months may be optimistic. You should definitely plan for longer, just in case. I don't think people who haven't been out of work don't realize how crappy the job market is and how much competition there is for every single job.

My husband and I have both been through this, as have two of my siblings. Even if he seems ok, it will be a real blow to his confidence and his ego. Be kind to him and to yourself.

Thanks! We were through this once before a few years ago when the market was worse and he was out for approx 4 months, so I am just going by that. He is a very aggressive networker so that is very helpful. He also already has an interview set up through a recruiter. We are waiting to hear exactly what the severance package is (hopefully its at least a couple months).

Its terrible blow to his ego bc it was super unexpected. The office was really slow lately and he is probably the highest paid (and slightly overqualified) in his particular position. Thats our only guess as to why he was let go while others were kept, even though there were a few others laid off at the same time. He was just really happy there and it was completely unexpected. We were actually just talking about his bonus

I told him to just take care of himself and find himself another job and I would handle all the budget and household type things. I wish there was some way to make it better for him bc he was so optimistic and excited about the job (had been there approx 2 years).

I have no idea what industry he is in - but to expect a few months severance with 2 years tenure may not be realistic. I worked for a large consulting firm a few years ago and was a part of a downsizing - I got 2 weeks for each year.

He works in finance. They said something about being on the payroll to February - so I dont know if its a month or through Feb and its there is severance in addition to that. He should be finding out today, just hasnt called me yet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, no additional suggestions, just wanted to say sorry. I got laid off last spring and it sucks. Not sure what industry he is in, but 4 months may be optimistic. You should definitely plan for longer, just in case. I don't think people who haven't been out of work don't realize how crappy the job market is and how much competition there is for every single job.

My husband and I have both been through this, as have two of my siblings. Even if he seems ok, it will be a real blow to his confidence and his ego. Be kind to him and to yourself.

Thanks! We were through this once before a few years ago when the market was worse and he was out for approx 4 months, so I am just going by that. He is a very aggressive networker so that is very helpful. He also already has an interview set up through a recruiter. We are waiting to hear exactly what the severance package is (hopefully its at least a couple months).

Its terrible blow to his ego bc it was super unexpected. The office was really slow lately and he is probably the highest paid (and slightly overqualified) in his particular position. Thats our only guess as to why he was let go while others were kept, even though there were a few others laid off at the same time. He was just really happy there and it was completely unexpected. We were actually just talking about his bonus

I told him to just take care of himself and find himself another job and I would handle all the budget and household type things. I wish there was some way to make it better for him bc he was so optimistic and excited about the job (had been there approx 2 years).

I have no idea what industry he is in - but to expect a few months severance with 2 years tenure may not be realistic. I worked for a large consulting firm a few years ago and was a part of a downsizing - I got 2 weeks for each year.

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, no additional suggestions, just wanted to say sorry. I got laid off last spring and it sucks. Not sure what industry he is in, but 4 months may be optimistic. You should definitely plan for longer, just in case. I don't think people who haven't been out of work don't realize how crappy the job market is and how much competition there is for every single job.

My husband and I have both been through this, as have two of my siblings. Even if he seems ok, it will be a real blow to his confidence and his ego. Be kind to him and to yourself.

Thanks! We were through this once before a few years ago when the market was worse and he was out for approx 4 months, so I am just going by that. He is a very aggressive networker so that is very helpful. He also already has an interview set up through a recruiter. We are waiting to hear exactly what the severance package is (hopefully its at least a couple months).

Its terrible blow to his ego bc it was super unexpected. The office was really slow lately and he is probably the highest paid (and slightly overqualified) in his particular position. Thats our only guess as to why he was let go while others were kept, even though there were a few others laid off at the same time. He was just really happy there and it was completely unexpected. We were actually just talking about his bonus

I told him to just take care of himself and find himself another job and I would handle all the budget and household type things. I wish there was some way to make it better for him bc he was so optimistic and excited about the job (had been there approx 2 years).

Hey OP, no additional suggestions, just wanted to say sorry. I got laid off last spring and it sucks. Not sure what industry he is in, but 4 months may be optimistic. You should definitely plan for longer, just in case. I don't think people who haven't been out of work don't realize how crappy the job market is and how much competition there is for every single job.

My husband and I have both been through this, as have two of my siblings. Even if he seems ok, it will be a real blow to his confidence and his ego. Be kind to him and to yourself.

Anonymous wrote:We managed to take the kids out of early and aftercare at school in the interim. I also had to fire our cleaning lady (or at least put her on hold for a bit). Any other tips for temporary cost cutting? Unfortunately, it will cost us more to cancel and restart contracts for cable, etc.

Primary costs are mortgage, childcare, student loans ($800 month), utilities, food, household goods, and insurance.

does your childcare have any programs for those with economic hardship? our daycare has a short term fund to help families over these bumps. They will reduce childcare costs for up to 3 months.

We have some savings but it really need to tighten the budget as much as possible. My salary covers the mortgage and childcare. Unemployment should cover utilities, gas (now that he's not commuting) and half the student loans (hopefully we can defer his half).

We recently paid for the kids activities upfront and I put our monthly charitable donation on hold.

That still leaves food and misc household expenses.

Gym is only $30 a month. I could put it on hold for $10 a month or cancel, but I am pregnant and really need some exercise and its too cold for me outside.

Your objective right now is to manage cash flow.

In addition to tips others have given:
Do not buy end of season clearance items for your kids for next year - you will be able to hit a great sale- or spend a few dollars more in the fall. Yes - shirts are less expenive now - but you do not have the $.

Do not go to stores like Costco and Target without a specific shopping list - and only buy items on the list. We stopped our Costco membership b/c even though some items were so much cheaper, we were buying stuff we did not need.

Meal plan and bring lunch