Lately, like everyone else I’ve been taking note of all the job losses over the last few months. Here in Ohio is no exception. In Dayton we recently lost the NCR corporate headquarters to Duluth, Georgia and in Wilmington, Ohio we the DHL hub.
This all resulted in thousands of job losses over the past few months in Ohio alone. This also got me thinking, what if I was to lose my job? What action would I take to maintain the survival of my family and me?
This prompted me to put a plan in place to help me deal with all the financial pressure I would face if I were to lose my job. The list that proceeds is just that, ten finances I would change immediately if I were to be laid off tomorrow.
The numbers I am about to present in this article may not be like yours because everyone’s situation is different but once your done pick five or six off the list I mention and plug your numbers into them and see how much money you could save. If you do all ten great, but focus on at least five of them.
At the end leave a comment and let me know how much could save.
10 Finances You Should Change When You Get Laid Off
- Cut the cable television. While cable TV may be a standard in most American homes these days it’s still considered a luxury in my book. If you still crave the need to watch a favorite show of sports event consider going to a friend’s house or local pub or restaurant. Cutting this expense would save me $40 a month.
- Cut the cell phones. Everyone has a cell phone these days. We have become a society dependent on communication. However, 30 years ago no one had a cell phone and we survived just fine didn’t we. We were still able to communicate with all of our friends and family just fine. Instead of a cell phone consider sticking with a LAN line phone. You know the one that has the cord attach to the wall. Cutting this expense would save me $80 a month.
- Cut the internet. Again, just like the last 2 the internet is something we can survive without. With all the things we do today from tweeting to checking our facebook account it’s hard to imagine life without the internet again. The thing you should remember though is that once you do get your job back that all of these things are reversible. This expense would save me $40 a month.
- Pay the minimum payments on your credit cards. I know we’ve all been told never to pay the minimum payments on are credit cards. However, in the event you do get laid off that all goes out the window. Once the cash flow stops coming in it’s all about survival. You will also want to stop adding money to those cards to keep the balances from going up. Doing this would save me right a $400 month.
- Take up a part time job. If you just got laid off consider taking on a part time job. You might be thinking I use to get paid big dollars at my previous job and now I have to resort to less money. No, I’m just merely saying that something is better than nothing at this point. If it comes down to running a paper route or getting a job and Wal-Mart do it. Remember, this isn’t long term this is merely a bridge to your next full time job. In my area I could get a part time job earning an extra $200 a month easy.
- Stop eating out. Eating out is one of Americans favorite pass times, but by just eating at home you will save some big bucks. In my personal situation this is where about 90% of my spending cash goes in a week. By not eating out every week I could save $100 a month.
- Cut your addictions. Everyone has an addiction to something. For some it’s smoking and drinking, others it’s chocolate, for me its coffee and beef jerky. I know what you’re thinking this is a tough one. I agree, but if I had to decide between coffee and beef jerky and the survival of my family I would choose my family any day. By cutting my addictions I would save myself $50 a month.
- Cut down car and home insurance. I did this one a few years back. I was approach by a neighbor of mine who dealt with car and home owners insurance. So I gave him a shot and told him if he could beat my current rate by $10 a month I would switch. When he showed me the quote I was able to have the same coverage I currently had but I was also able to add an umbrella policy on top of it all. This saved me $25 a month.
- Cut down on frivolous driving. In my younger years I use to drive everywhere. Gas was around a buck it didn’t cost much to fill up. Today that is entirely different story. Gas prices can change in the blink of an eye and cost you a few hundred bucks a week. Instead, only drive when you need to and if you need to drive make sure there is a purpose for doing so. Also try combining car trips instead of several trips. Finally, try walking or riding a bike. These are also great ways to exercise and save gas all at the same time. This saved me $125 a month.
- Cut off the daycare. If you have no job why send your kids to daycare or spend hundreds of dollars paying for child care while you are at home. If you have kids you know how much this cost you. In my case I would save an extra $400 a month.
How Much Did I Save
In the end when you total it all up I would save around $1460 a month. That’s nearly 80% of the total money I earn from job in a month. Now how much can you save? Don’t wait put your plan in place now. Who knows you might be next in line to be laid off.
Chris
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