The stockpile is in place, the EF is doing better than it ever has. The snowball has been rolled forward.. and the layoff slip came in today.
So now it's time to see how all of this works out.
Wierd attitude probably, but silver linings and all that.
In theory he'll be off work until August 15th and then will go back to work full time.
So essentially we're going to lose approximately $1800 over 6 weeks in income.
I'm starting this thread because I intend to keep track of the parts of the frugality plan that work, the parts that need work, and the parts that I never even thought of.
Going back to something you said earlier about crisis vs. broke.
IMO it's ok to be in a crisis. It's even ok to be broke - for a while.
Just don't be poor. Poor is when you've given up and decided broke is how its going to be forever.
You're in a bad situation all around - but as long as you are determined to ride it out, you'll never be poor. Just temporarily broke in an extended crisis.
Truer words were never spoken! We will NEVER give up on US!
To us, the funniest thing about all of this is that as soon as he goes back to work.. we're fine.
Seriously, it'll take about a month to get everything straightened around again. It's not as if the bills are late now.. I'm pre-worrying for January.
Then another month, re-stockpiling. With a much better idea of what we really need in there.
Then about 3 more months to re-build the EF to "acceptable" levels around $4,000, after which we'll switch out of panic mode and just go back to our normal saving plan.
Except with a lot of our bills paid for a year in advance, and the car paid off completely, and all those improvements we did to the house already done.. so we'll have an even lower "cost of living" per month than when we started this un-enjoyment gig.
Our estimated future monthly bills should come to about $2000/mo including the $1550 mortgage (jeez, that's a killer!).
He makes $3600 takehome.. so we'll be doing better.. because of the lessons we've learned. That's the whole point for us, anyway. No situation is so bad you can't learn something from it.. except zombies in your bed.. that's just gross.
We truly feel that this is really the benefit of not having any debt. It can't dog-pile you when you're down!
Also, because we won't (knock wood) need another car for 5 years so that's a major expense that we're done with now. Our plan is wait 5 years.. replace first older car that will probably be going south by then.. and the next year replace the other one.. wait 5 years..
It's been working nearly perfectly for the last 14 years.
Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know I'm still here. The oldest daughter showed up Saturday from Nashville. She's staying a week with us. I'm running thru reading little bits here and there but not keeping up with posting. I'll be back soon or try to find time to catch up with happenings. It's really nice having her here. Haven't seen her for little over a year and a half. We used to be able to see each other several times a year but not happening any more. I have a couple emails to answer and I don't want you to think I'm ignoring or don't care. I do, but I don't want to just "email back". I want to put as much thought into them as was given to me. Love ya all, more later. I'm hugging you!!!
It looks like just in a few days there have been lots of ups and downs here.
Enjoy your time with your daughter NikoSan999!
Thevail - Your Thanksgiving sounds as if "the more the merrier" is coming together wonderfully. Growing up we were always taught that when you went visiting you were suppose to "knock with your feet".
I wish we weren't all too broke or cheap to get together for a thrifty thanksgiving some day. Can you imagine the fun!
"That's fabulous stuffing.. how much was it per serving?"
"13 Cents.."
"You're amazing! I have to get that recipe!"
"The candles look beautiful!"
"I made them myself.. well, I had a little help.. I cut open and rinsed the extra scent out of my glade air freshners that I got free with coupon last year, then mixed it with the wax. All the string off of my dog food bags made perfect wicks! had the kids at my daycare help make them as a project!"
To get back to the book idea...I would love to see the parallel parts AND to see a section like that with NikoSan...she is dealing with a different aspect of "no money blues". Would love to see the contrasts and how some of the same skills are used.
Yeah.. Niko is facing something that people need to know how to deal with. It CAN and DOES happen to anyone. You can insulate yourself with an EF, make sensible plans etc. BUT.. sooner or later an extended economic/financial crisis is going to cause big problems.
There are a lot of people that are walking the same path as her because of medical bill, or irresponsible spouses etc.
i just have to chime in (imagine that..haha)....and agree with what Vail just said....i found FV in january (just when i was beginning to get truly 'serious' about this stuff)...and the insight and occasional 'butt-kicking' that i have gotten (and hopefully given) has been a true inspiration in my own journey....
thanks to a good group of people and 'friends' (who the world often mis-understands..lol)....and i have said it before and will say it again....'THANKS SARA & GABE'....its like one day you opened your home for coffee and let us all in... and we never left......ugh....
Ha!! Made me think of the old Saturday Night Live skit where John Belushi played "The Guest Who Wouldn't Leave" and Jane Curtin keeps screaming!! I can just picture Sara and Gabe sitting on their couch, with all of us crammed in there, eating up their chips and dip, spilling things and being totally oblivious to what a pain in the butt we all are!!!
The Vail I'm in the same boat as you but a little diff. my dh is laid off and I'm working 3 days a week but want to quit my job but can't til dh gets another job. I hope & pray he will get a new one in Jan. He's taking classes paid by govt. to update his skills so that's a benefit for him. It's just a waiting game now. We're going by family for Thanksgiving so no problem there. Glad your working out Thanksgiving for you and yours! Have a great Thanksgiving too! Our house pmt is about half of yours so not so bad there. I'm making enough money for groceries. Trying to be frugal as ever. We got a small turkey breast for after turkey day at home so that's nice.
Sounds like your dinner is falling in nicely!!! Even when things really seem to be terrible we still have lots of blessing to be thankful for thank heavens.
I was thinking today that every single awful thing that has ever happened in my life there is a silver lining somewhere. Even the things so terrible I won't talk about them. We just have to look for it.
In our state she would qualify for imediate emergency housing. Is that a possibility in your state? Besides what you said above about "crazy" it is also another (please dont anyone virtual slap me) another strain on the budget having long term guests.
Stress is ozzing out the pores here too over my full identity being stolen, ssn, DL the whole shebang and my snashed up car .
Gee is there a virtual bar around here?????????????? LOL
O.K. This thanksgiving is a potluck for you. You tell everyone 30 people are coming so you have 6 servings of leftovers for your freezer. I would make some nyquil marinated turkey for that special sister and knock that sucker right out. lol. My sil did a lot of mesculene (sp.) as a teenager and has regular conversations w/ someone. Course no one can see them, but I digress.
Can't help myself-one year she got a pinata' and wanted to blindfold all the kids at once and give them all bats too. We all laughed because well we assumed she was kidding. She got furious and stormed off. Another year she insisted we had to turn off the lights,light the cake and sing happy b-day by candlelight. Anyone see a prob. w/ the order here. Why couldn't we light the candles then turn off the lights?? Stomping off again. Poor DS. Nyquil I say. Nyquil.
You are handling it all well. My DD named me frugalwarrior because of our struggle. A game I played was called switch the prescriptions. The drug stores give $25. GC for first time presc. at the pharmacy. Its about timing but I really milked that one for awhile. I also raided the large recycle bins for coupons,free coupons. Does your state have a heating project like THAW for unemployed and poor people. Animal groups sometimes can help w/ pet food and vet care. I gotta go to bed but I will think on this more.
Dh laughed about the Nyquil turkey!! It was good to see him laugh today. Thanks!
Ok.. she'll be here about 10 pm thanksgiving day.. so I can throw thanksgiving, hug the guests goodbye and then get stuff ready to have the 2 boys fed, bathed and to bed by midnight!
I'm organizing bedding etc... they're showing up on greyhound so they'll be traveling really light. I gotta find a whole set of house hold goods in about a week... YIKES!
Can you perhaps contact a local church or perhaps a thrift store and explain the situation?
I guess that for the first few nights you can perhaps borrow some camping stuff (inflatable bed, etc.) Don't you have people in the neighbourhood with kids that are the same age (or a bit older) so that you can borrow clothes? Perhaps the church also help out with that
People often want to help, but before they can do so, they must have been made aware!
The e-mail has gone out to all my friends. We're always complaining that we need to de-clutter anyway.
I explained the situation re: her arrival etc. And then I explained out.. ahem.. strained finances. (that was embarrassing)
So I just put up a list of stuff she will probably need, and asked if they could bring anything they could to my house in boxes so that we can move it easily as soon as she has a place.
The problem is the timing.
She'll show up late Thanksgiving night, and then everything is closed Friday and Saturday and Sunday. So the earliest we can do anything is Monday. And then we have a two week window before every office worker in the state goes on Christmas Vacation.
I'm going out tomorrow to pick up the applications for DSHS, HUD, etc.
Hopefully this will give her time to fill it all out before Monday so we can just make a run around town dropping off forms and making appointments for that week.
Maybe I can contact the community resources office locally and see what they have for emergency housing too..
I can only imagine that it's hard to "confess" that you're doing not so well financially. You've been brave enough to tell your friends and this may open unexpected doors.
I hope you'll soon get the stuff you need for your "extra family members" (and a job for your DH!)
Oh my! Just oh my! For all of you with whacko relatives (and stolen identity) :hugz: Enroll the kids Monday in school! Get them on free lunch and possibly breakfast. I'd definitely check for downloadable forms. I wish you were closer and I could run some clothes over.
((( thevail )))
Yes on going online to get more information and applications to get things started.
I wish I had, had a computer when my first husband left me ,with our four kids to fend for ourselves. I had no job. I was a stay at home mom. We had a house with a mortgage payment. I did not get any social services because I did not want to let them have a lien against the house. I ended up letting my sister and her four kids move in. She was able to get social services and gave me money to help make the house payment. Her kids had medical help, etc. Mine did not. I did have $ 500 to stretch out for several months that was given to me before the hubby left because we sold some wood. I had some food that I had canned and the freezer had some food in it.
The hubby finally got back from out of state with the witch he ran away with. I tried for a year to get him back and finally threw in the towel and got the divorce. We were able to turn the house back to the mortgage company FHA,and did not owe
any more on it, thanks to me for not taking social services, so hence no liens.
_______________________________________
Then I met my second husband with his 3 kids, and we ended up raising 7.
I was a stay at home mom and he worked for a farmer. I did do a few part time jobs. I also took in my blind sister for 3.5 yrs till we could get her into a group home through the state.
________________________________________
I have been without a job over 18 months now.
My husband makes LESS money with his full time job,
than your husband makes on unemployment.
We make ends meet. There are days I don't know how, but we just do. Must be all the years of practice I have had. I guess it all comes down,
to how you look at things and not giving up.
OH man ---- been there done that and dumpster dived the t-shirt on the long term relatives ---- except mine weren't clinically nuts --- just the normal family dysfunctional nuts. We were in a really bad spot financially at the time as well, however, I found the strain on the relationship between DH and I was the stressful piece. Since we were already struggling with the money it didn't really change how we were dealing with that. Hope you can get her settled in a place of her own before she becomes to comfortable at yours. In the meantime, enjoy the children. They will be sponges in a new environment and be soaking it all in whether they appear to be or not.
As for a villagers Thanksgiving I think it would be a blast! I also thought I should have maybe clarified the "knock with your feet" comment. We were taught that you knocked with your feet because your hands were full with what you brought to share. (I'm headed over with the crumb cake and dunkable biscotti cookies. We can put on a pot of coffee and chat away.)
Wow, Job has nothing on you right now! The hits just keep on coming!
I am sure things will be looking up soon. Hang in there, and if there is anything you need, you have my email address. (As you probably know, I am rarely away from my laptop. )
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