Income cut 30%

**ecomama** · 10-03-2011, 03:31 PM

Hello,

The goods news is the my DH still has work. The bad news is that his income has been cut 30% until March. He works for a start up and they lost an investor.

He is currently working out of state. And flew home twice a month to visit. Until things settled over there. No point in selling the house, moving kids...ect...IF the start up didn't work.

So, now he most likely can't fly home to visit due to $$

My question is:

What should my financial moves be now in preparation for him loosing his job. We have to young kids at home. I am alone at home and do ebaying, babysitting to help bring money in but full time work while my DH is out of state would be a bit hard for me to manage.

We spent our nest egg on this "dream" job for him to see if it would take off.

What are my moves now:

1) refinance the house....we currently still pay 6% interest and could get a lower rate...while he is still employeed!

2) Should I pull my child out of pre-school?

3) Any other ideas?

Thanks so much!

**New-mom-to-be** · 10-03-2011, 04:46 PM

Millions of single mothers do work and raise their kids. It is possible.

But, cut cable, cell phones, new clothes, going out, driving most places....

Take in a roommate

**Menifeemom** · 10-03-2011, 04:55 PM

I would cut all expenses to bare bones and if it would work better for you to be at home than I would bring my preschooler home too. You could work with him/her and try to find another family to do daycare for as well. I made more money babysitting for another family and being frugal than I did when I was working and paying for preschool and daycare for my own kids. Good luck.

**peanut** · 10-03-2011, 05:35 PM

Preschool is not a requirement before kindergarten is it? I had one of my kids in preschool, but not the other. I got a few questions about it, but it really wasn't anyone's business.

I'd be looking at cutting anywhere and everywhere I could right now. But focus on different sections of the budget for a spell each. You have till March right? That's six months.

Look for big ticket items. Areas where you could save the most. Or areas that could give you a double whammy of savings...like bringing junior home and you working from home babysitting. Look for passive income, like a boarder. Look for ways to barter services to save money. Set up a babysitting co-op with other moms you trust to take care of junior.

One way to do this is to post a list of average expenses and then we can suggest specific ideas to get you jump started into being as frugal as you can be, given your desires. We can provide options and you can make decisions.

ETA: I see this is your first post on FV.

to the Village!

**Nishu** · 10-03-2011, 05:43 PM

Depending on the size and flexibility of the preschool, you might be able to work out a cheaper arrangement for your child. My daughter's preschool was really easygoing about things like that. However, in your situation I'd probably take my kid out of preschool. I guess it depends on how much your kid enjoys it and how important it is to you.

Would the refinancing require any up front fees?

**SarahElmore** · 10-03-2011, 05:53 PM

Best of luck. I think coming here & doing your research for what will work best for your family.

I'm confident everything will be okay, it may seem scary right now, but with looking at your finances & putting a plan in place will be wise.

Best of Luck. I have been there too, when my hubby lost his job & it was up to me to be the sole provider.

**miss_cas** · 10-03-2011, 09:28 PM

Hi, two things came to mind for solutions.

Check with your local state govt offices on how to start an in-home daycare. If you have an extra room you can devote to a 'kid's play room', I certainly wouldn't even hesitate. You probably have a lot of toys and maybe just needs some outdoor play equipment. Sometimes swingsets are free on craigslist or freecycle.

Second, check with your local school district, sometimes half-day preschool is offered for free. You could also check with Head Start.

**Pianolady** · 10-04-2011, 03:07 AM

Actually, we've found cutting land line phone and keeping the cell phone has been cheaper for us. Luckily I got in with virgin mobile before they raised their monthly plan from $25 to $35. But even at $35, that may be cheaper than a land line. You can also use Google Phone calls, it's still free for now. I use it all the time to keep my minutes under the 300 min. cap for the cell phone plan. The no-contract cell phone also has none of those regulatory fees that are added to land line bills.

We also cut cable and use an antenna, works fine where we live. We've sold things we just aren't really needing. In fact I just sold my car over the weekend & am driving our old truck for a while until I find a cheap car to drive locally. I'm not sure what brought that on, I just decided it was time for it to go while the car was in high demand (and I got a good price for it).

For us, just sitting down and reassessing the things we had, and the bills we had, helped us weed out the extra expenses. You'd be surprised that you may be paying for things you don't really even want.

**ecomama** · 10-04-2011, 09:34 AM

Thanks everyone!

I went to pull DD out of pre-school today and they gave her a scholarship for 2 mornings a week! AWESOME!

**ecomama** · 10-04-2011, 09:41 AM

Also a huge thank you for your support and ideas. We already do not have cable or a land line so that's good. No phone calls need to be made there

Yesterday was panic, today is action...followed by probably more panic...lol...I'm going to start more babysitting "drop in's" on the days DD is not in morning pre-school. And start selling my bum off on ebay.

Thanks again for all the wonderful suggestions.