To start out, hubby is a mechanic. He gets paid by the amount of work he turns in ( so if he works 80 hours and only turns in 50 he gets paid 50 ) He has worked for the same company for almost 8 years and is the senior tech with the most qualifications. A couple of years ago his boss and him set up a deal that he is guaranteed to be paid 80% of his clocked in time. Until now!
I guess the company isn't doing so well financially, they aren't selling enough cars. (duh the economy). To make matters even worse, his direct boss hired 2 more mechanics because he thinks that they can't repair the cars in a timely manner. All the mechanics at the shop are fighting to get work and make some money. Hubby's last paycheck didn't have the guarantee, he was shorted 13 hours and that's alot of money.
I sat down with hubby and we figured out our budget and I hope we will make it. Before today hubby had no idea how much our bills totaled. I am scared that things won't work out. I hope we get all the w-2 stuff soon so I can do taxes. That will help alot. We will be able to pay off 1 cc and 1/2 of another.
I am a SAHM of 3 kids. I do some odd jobs on the side (tutoring, and donation calls for the Kidney Foundation ) that pay a little but working outside of that doesn't work because of family scheduling. Kids are involved in activities that are already paid for ( church class, basketball, and Girl Scouts)
Does anyone have any advise or words of encouragement?

Please keep us in your prayers.

It is really difficult to work with a changing paycheck. But if there is an amount that he knows he will bring home weekly/bi-weekly, then start there for your budget. If you have not read Dave Ramsey yet - get the book Total Money Makeover and start there. He will help you get on track and get your debt down. If it's your normal budget that you are worried with - trying cutting things down to the bone and go from there. Make the grocery bill smaller and able to go longer. Cut off lights, change to CFL's, unplug all electricals not in use, turn the heat down a few degree's, shop for cheaper car insurance, sell a car, sell extra stuff, do babysitting, pick up a cleaning job. Cut cable, cut cell phones or go down to the lowest allowed package, go to dial up or something cheaper, eat at home, buy second hand, have no spend days, use coupons, be willing to say "No" to your children. There are tons more stuff you can do to help cut out your debt so the paycheck can truly support your family. Some fo these suggestions are not attractive, you may already be doing some of this stuff, but you will be amazed at how well it works! Good luck and keep us updated. You can even post your budget and we can help you trouble shoot if you like - there is tons of wealth to be found here FV!
Best Wishes and Good vibes going your way! :)
Dianne

Just wishing you good luck! Hope everything works out okay.

I hope everything works out for you!! :hugz:

I am the dame boat. I will be thinking of you.

Offering prayers of encouragement for you and your dh. I know it's hard. It's hitting so many of us. You can't just take it in stride, you are doing exactly what should be done in reviewing your budget and making plans. Review your stockpile and keep a check on any unnecessary expenses. If you do it all right now, it's won't hurt so bad if things get worse. Keep a good attitude. We are here for you. Big hugs, Carolyn

To me it sounds like you're doing everything you can, you're on top of the budget, he's aware of what the bills are, unfortunately his boss has taken the rug out from under him so to speak, which to me seems so un-professional and so unfair, but....I know times are tough everywhere.

I'm wondering if there isn't something else he can work out with his boss? I'm sure he's already done all he can, I just thought one more conversation wouldn't hurt. Is there any time left in the day for him to work odd jobs on the side? A good mechanic is so hard to find, maybe he could do some work for neighbors/family that could bring in some extra funds. Or is that considered a conflict of interest with his job?

Good luck, I do hope things improve for you....times are sure scary right now with the economy the way it is

I hope things work out for ya'll.

To me it sounds like you're doing everything you can, you're on top of the budget, he's aware of what the bills are, unfortunately his boss has taken the rug out from under him so to speak, which to me seems so un-professional and so unfair, but....I know times are tough everywhere.

I'm wondering if there isn't something else he can work out with his boss? I'm sure he's already done all he can, I just thought one more conversation wouldn't hurt. Is there any time left in the day for him to work odd jobs on the side? A good mechanic is so hard to find, maybe he could do some work for neighbors/family that could bring in some extra funds. Or is that considered a conflict of interest with his job?

Good luck, I do hope things improve for you....times are sure scary right now with the economy the way it is
I have looked at the budget and am not able to cut too much right now. Contracts with cell phones are up in July and the cancellation fees are more than the monthly bill till that time. Cable we are under contract too. I need a landline phone for my Phone calling job. It's the CC bills that are killing us. I have been paying more than the minimum to help pay off but I can always back off and just pay minimum, but we'll be in the same boat for lots longer.

He does do repair work on the side, and that helps alot. Right now no one need anything done. Plus its been a little too cold in the garage, hubby has poor circulation in his hands and they go numb(and white)when its cold.
Hubby is trying to work a little longer at night and go in a little early to get some work.
I have turned the heater down during the day but at night it gets too cold in the bedrooms. The kids have down comforters on their beds and sleep in super warm jammies. But our room gets too cold at night for hubby.
I just hope that his work turns around and gets busy soon.
~Lisa

Is it possible for you to work more hours?

Thinking of you and praying for you and your husband. Stay focused and keep on the right track. Check back with us for support. We're here for you during the tough times.

Have you considered online income like surveys or reward programs? A lot of SAHM have these listed. This may not be a short term fix because you wait a few months for the money. If you have kids, you will qualify for lots of surveys. I get cash, gift cards etc and while it doesn't pay my bills, I save it all year and use it for Christmas. This past year, I bought gifts for the kids and kept Christmas off of my credit cards completely!

Here's a bit of advice that comes from Crown Financial (crown.org). With a changing or seasonal income, tally up what you made in the last 12 months and then divide by 12 to get an average income. In the event (like yours) that the income is likely to drop even more, subtract a reasonable amount from that average income. So, for example, if in January you made $1000, and in February you made $800, then you have an average income of $900. (I'm keeping the example short and simple!). And if you anticipate a lower income, then you push it down to an average income of $800.

Then cut costs to the bone, trying to make it fit into the average income amount (you are getting great advice from this forum). On months that you make more than $800, bank the extra $$$ to use during those months that you make less than $800. Now you have to budget and plan carefully to make your expenses fit inside those parameters.

This certainly does not answer all your questions, but it is a way to work out some long term budgeting.

We have been going through the same thing. My hubby works on Bulldozers and hasn't had much overtime latley. This is the first time in the 3 yrs he has been there that there has not been overtime availbable. I have found that work slows down in spurts, they will not have much to do all week then all the sudden on friday they will get swamped. I to am looking so foward to income tax. We file tommorrow. I am acctually thinking about doing the rapid refund loan thing so I can get my check fast because I will be so less stressed when some of our bills are gone and to get an EF started back. It is worth the extra to me to not have to be stressed out for another 2 weeks. Hang in there maybe work will pick back up, and when it does they will probally be swamped.

((hugs)) I understand where you're coming from. Dh worked as an auto tech and being on a flat rate(commission type wage) is really really hard. It's very stressful not knowing what is coming in.

If there was a guarantee in place it should be honored. So I would speak to the boss about it. Approach it as though it were an oversight, not deliberate. Don't be aggressive over it, just ask if accounting forgot about the 80% guarantee, it does happen. It's a busy time with getting ready for taxes etc. If it wasn't oversight, then now you know, I'd voice that it would have been appreciated to have gotten notice so that things might have been budgetted appropriately. But don't get too worked up, it's unfortunate, but it's not the time to get worked up with the economy being as it is. Keep eyes open for new job opportunity.

As to working in the garage. If you can look into a radiant heater, we use this for dh. It will heat the work space quickly. Ours runs on 220v so it does suck back the power, but it's only on when he needs to work. Not all the time.

Your bedroom, look into a ceramic or oil space heater, then you can lower the house temperature over all, but keep your dh temperature nice. They are compact so you could bring it to where ever you'll be in the house.

Thank you all for your support and ideas.

I have signed up for a couple of survey companies but so far I have only been able to do surveys that enter me for a drawing:(
I hope to be able to actually complete some for some $ any advise which companies are better than others?

I started this in April or May 07 and ended up with about $900 in cash and gift cards. I belong to mypoints.com where you earn gift cards by opening emails. I only earned $40 on that site but if you're on ten sites where you could earn $40, that's $400. And there's a lot of money making potential as long as you stick with good free sites and stay away from scam sites (where they want you to pay a fee to do surveys)
You could start with Treasure Trooper because they will pay you to sign up with other survey sites! If you want to use my referral link, it's
treasuretrooper.com/220918
I wish I knew this when I started signing up for survey sites. When you get on TT, go to cash offers, there you can sign up for Lightspeed, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot, Synovate, Memolink, Valued Opinions, Global Test Market. These are free to join. There are hundreds out there.
Another site is Pinecone Research, they want people with kids! They send you $3 to $5 for every survey you do.
Don't do sweepstakes, you're chances of winning are very small and not worth you're time. I belong to Gather.com where you can get a wealth of information and earn gift cards for writing or participating. I can send you an invite if you're interested.

Praying here! Another thing you may want to consider if you aren't doing it already is each keeping a notebook in which you write down every penny you spend. Then, at the end of the month balance the books together so you both know where you stand and can keep on track. I only mention it because you said your husband was unaware of exactly how much your bills were every month.

If he's not a good, hand at money balancing the books together could simply be you balancing the books and then going over them with him. It's a good way to keep focused and identify areas you can work on. You may want to set some ground rules for the meeting such as there must be equal amounts of praise and "feedback", not starting sentences with "You (always)..."

I have heard of some couples treating their monthly reconcile as a date and going out of the house to do it at the local diner or coffee shop since its easier to be "polite" in public, it sets the time apart and makes it feel more like a treat than a chore. Just an idea.

Keep your chin up. You are in my prayers.

Christine

Sending good vibes :vibes: your way that things get better aour DH's job.


--Michelle