Get a job. Any job. Simple.

If your DH is a professor can he tutor on the side?

Doesn't know whether they have an IRA, 1.5m house but no savings, refuses to leave childcare even though parent is unemployed until at least January...this is why people shouldn't live beyond their means and should have some financial awareness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you or DH take a 401k loan or IRA distribution?

DH will get a pension so we can’t borrow against that

My 401k doesn’t allow loans

We don’t have IRAs I don’t think.

Are you 100% sure. No offense OP but if you don't even know whether you have an IRA, I'm not confident you are fully aware of all of your retirement plans. I know that some state government pensions DO allow you to borrow from your pension. Look it up, call, e-mail them to double check this.

Also if your husband is a professor he might have a 457b plan he can borrow from.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you or DH take a 401k loan or IRA distribution?

DH will get a pension so we can’t borrow against that

My 401k doesn’t allow loans

We don’t have IRAs I don’t think.

Are you 100% sure. No offense OP but if you don't even know whether you have an IRA, I'm not confident you are fully aware of all of your retirement plans. I know that some state government pensions DO allow you to borrow from your pension. Look it up, call, e-mail them to double check this.

Anything you can sell on Facebook marketplace? Furniture, art, clothing, jewelry?

"When I start working again in January"--does this mean you have another job lined up already and guaranteed?

We have family in somewhat similar situation.

1) why are you so sure you’ll have job by January? We know folks laid off for a year? If you have an offer can you get advance?

2) you need to pack up all your stuff and move out and RENT OUT YOUR HOME. get rid of as much as you can, store some, and then move where you can (1 bedroom apartments, univ housing, family, rent an trailer and camp). You need rental income to cover mortgage. January is 3 months away.

3) hardship withdrawal of 401k. You should qualify.

Borrow from 401k or credit card.

Surely you maxed out your 401k before paying off your 3.5% mortgage, right??

It's hard to get a bank loan without a job.

How did you manage to massively, hugely overpay your mortgage for years, and never put any in savings?

I don’t think you’ll qualify for a HELOC (you need proof of income to pay it back and you said the one income can’t even cover your basic debts). If I were you I’d take a 401k loan (it’ll have to be the person who is still employed). We did that once when we needed some extra cash for a down payment. You pay yourself the interest. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No expenses you can cut? Family to borrow from?

It sounds like you are going to have to see if you can get a loan from your bank or credit union, HELOC, or rack up some credit card debt.

Op here. We already cut way back, sold a car, etc. No family to borrow from.

My question is the best way to cover these costs, a personal loan? HELOC? Credit card debt is an option (can get a 0% card), but we can’t pay our mortgage or childcare with a credit card.

I know my credit union (it's a small neighborhood one so no point in giving the name) is advertising personal loans of $10k at 0% interest but only for three months and it shoots up after that. It's being advertised to feds in case of shutdown, but isn't limited to feds.

Don't know how your budget shakes out but you can pay for all food and household with a credit card and my gas, electric, cable/internet, car insurance can be paid with credit card. Make a list of your bills and look at their websites. I always pay with credit cards for the cashback where I can.

I know someone who gets letters from chase where it's a zero percent interest cash advance as long as you pay within six months, but you have to pay some percentage up front. (So you borrow 10k, but you pay 5% or $500 as an upfront fee and then no interest if you pay back on time - but one late payment and you accrue all the interest). She's a realtor and her commissions come in at random times so she uses these as bridge loans and always pays them back before interest accrues. I am not sure if this is open to all, or if she gets these letters because she is a frequent customer.

You really should consider getting a job though, even something like online tutoring where you set your own schedule.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No expenses you can cut? Family to borrow from?

It sounds like you are going to have to see if you can get a loan from your bank or credit union, HELOC, or rack up some credit card debt.

Op here. We already cut way back, sold a car, etc. No family to borrow from.

My question is the best way to cover these costs, a personal loan? HELOC? Credit card debt is an option (can get a 0% card), but we can’t pay our mortgage or childcare with a credit card.

You only pay mortgage. You skip out on childcare without notice and lose your spot. You do NOT take out a high interest loan to save face/avoid losing childcare. If you haven’t paid for October, DON’T.

Op here. My kids have special needs and losing their spots is simply not an option. I’m not able to interview or apply for jobs while caring for them, and there’s zero chance we’d secure childcare for them in January when I start working again if we don’t keep their spots now.

Look, I’m not really looking for a comprehensive review of my entire life and finances and choices. The situation is what it is. My question is rather specific-what financial vehicles make the most sense for getting us $20-30k to survive between now and January?

My DH mAkes $120k, we have a ton of home equity and good credit. No debt besides mortgage. I’m sure there has to be a way to do this.

No vehicle makes sense at that dollar amount and in this interest rate environment. Sorry. You’re making a terrible mistake.

OP, don't listen to all these naysayers. Sometimes you have to take risks to get to the next level. DH and I have definitely stretched ourselves financially at different times over the years. I would do a HELOC just to take the pressure off. Then you can focus on a job.

Anonymous wrote:Sell wedding ring?
Sell other car and husband Uber to work?
Pull child out of daycare until you get another job? (Even though it would be hard to take care of child and interview.)
I wouldn't skip paying for insurance, but are there other bills you can push?

It’s way cheaper to hire a one-off babysitter or DH call in sick for an interview vs OP’s 5-figure high interest loan plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No expenses you can cut? Family to borrow from?

It sounds like you are going to have to see if you can get a loan from your bank or credit union, HELOC, or rack up some credit card debt.

Op here. We already cut way back, sold a car, etc. No family to borrow from.

My question is the best way to cover these costs, a personal loan? HELOC? Credit card debt is an option (can get a 0% card), but we can’t pay our mortgage or childcare with a credit card.

You only pay mortgage. You skip out on childcare without notice and lose your spot. You do NOT take out a high interest loan to save face/avoid losing childcare. If you haven’t paid for October, DON’T.

Op here. My kids have special needs and losing their spots is simply not an option. I’m not able to interview or apply for jobs while caring for them, and there’s zero chance we’d secure childcare for them in January when I start working again if we don’t keep their spots now.

Look, I’m not really looking for a comprehensive review of my entire life and finances and choices. The situation is what it is. My question is rather specific-what financial vehicles make the most sense for getting us $20-30k to survive between now and January?

My DH mAkes $120k, we have a ton of home equity and good credit. No debt besides mortgage. I’m sure there has to be a way to do this.