I am NOT gong to post daily once this blog is going. Weekly or twice a week maybe. Crisis is important and if you are facing this time, you would like the information soon. It is only a few days worth of things anyway. I promise this budgeting thing isn't something that is going to take hours out of your day every day of your life. Crisis mode is the hardest, and the worst was yesterday.
Today you have daylight hours to work with. So you get to call people. And you might want to do this part every week day for awhile.
Today there is someone you can call that can help you. There is no shame in asking for help.
If you are dealing with a layoff, the person that lost their job should be calling the unemployment office about unemployment benefits. Make sure everyone is covered on health insurance. If the person laid off was the one providing it for the family, there is COBRA through the former employer or if you are a two income household, maybe looking into the other partner's employer providing insurance. If there is an HSA account to help pay COBRA costs, that is something else to look into.
If you are dealing with a home repair that is overwhelming that you can't pay right now, but needs doing now, talk with the people doing the repairs. I have had a plumber be willing to let me make payments and an AC guy help me get a no interest loan.
How about that category in the budget of services you just can't bring yourself to cut? Call one of them and see if they can work you a deal. Therapists, Krav Maga and even Lawn Care have been willing to work with me and shave a few dollars off. These people have a right to make a living too, so don't try to squeeze them just to save money, but saving $5, $10 or even $20 can make a huge difference in your ability to keep the service, especially if it is a service you need or you are looking at a situation that is a temporary set back to you life and don't want to see kids fall behind on lessons they love. Maybe it means you go a little less often for the lessons but get to pay a lower amount during this time. But it will help.
Next start looking for alternatives to the services you use. Maybe you can get your internet or cell phone a bit cheaper. See what the competing services are charging and then go to your current provider and see if they are willing to match. If not, if it won't involve breaking a contract, change services.
If you just call one or two people a day, you might be surprised how much you will have shaved off your expenses by the end of the month.
And just because sometimes it seems to need to be said - at this point you are not buying new clothes unless you are needing them for job hunting and you are not buying new tech toys, or getting your hair colored or having a professional manicure done. This month, none of that is happening, not while you are in crisis mode. I know it is hard and it sucks. But the latest mp3 will be there when we introduce the allowance system soon, and in the meantime I am sure you can listen to it on youtube for just a little bit longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment