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1st Trimester
ugh... finances
So... I am beginning to think that this was very bad timing... however I'm still excited and willing to do basically anything to get back on our feet within a decent amount of time. Any and all advice is welcomed...
I am trying to budget for our bills and stuff out of DH's check mostly but its going to be very tight. I am getting laid off at the end of the month so the more we can get paid out of his check the more we can save from whatever I get from unemployment/ new job if I'm lucky enough to find one. So I need some advice on where I can cut expenses, etc. Also... I'm trying to sell my car and that isn't going over too well...
Thanks in advance
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Re: ugh... finances
Try posting your budget over on MM. They are brilliant!
To save money: make a budget and stick to it, call around cable/phone companies to see if you can get a better rate, buy meat on sale and freeze, plan meals ahead of time, eat at home/pack your lunch as opposed to eating out, drink tap water as opposed to sodas or bottled water or whatever, don't go to Starbucks, clip coupons/buy on sale, keep track of your spending and look over old credit cards or bank statements so you can see where your money is going, etc.
Baby related- do not buy maternity clothes until you need it, buy used, wait until after your shower if you are having one to make purchases especially clothing, buy necessities first
Even if you can't sell your car, you could drop your plates and discontinue the insurance to save some cash (assuming you won't be tempted to drive it illegally!). Although I don't think you can do that if you still owe money on it.
Do you pay for cable? You could cut that out and still get the major network channels via broadcast. We do that and save ourselves $50+ bucks a month.
Good luck with everything. I just barely escaped being in that situation myself. I have no idea what we would have done.
I'm right there with you - I was laid off a few days post conception - so when I POAS, I had some mixed emotions, timing-wise. We're struggling right now, DH started his own biz a couple of years ago, and we definitely were relying on my paycheck. To add insult to injury, the unemployment office has royally screwed up my claim, so I've only gotten 1 check total.
Hang in there - I was able to get discounts from the phone company, and defferalls from my credit card companies, and added my cell phone to the hubs business plan. It's worth checking into things like that in your state - it shaved about 600$ a month off of our expenses.
You could lower the minutes on your cell phone plan (even if just temporarily) and also see if you can cut internet costs by going with another company and lowering the plan (slow speeds suck but an extra $30 a month can go a long way).
Another suggestion, look into WIC checks (Women Infant Children). ?Basically, so long as you make less than a certain amount each month (and they are pretty generous with the max amount) you can get free groceries such as milk, eggs, and cheese throughout your pregnancy.
Good luck!?
ok... so... let me give a few more details... I have two car payments a month and cant sell the one car that is really binding me... I have pretty much the lowest phone bill I could have (I"m added onto my moms phone plan) I dont pay for internet (I dont have it at my house) I plan to apply for WIC after I get laid off as well as unemployment. I'm late on ALOT of bills as it is but none of them are essential because they dont put a roof over my head or heat my house, etc. So I pretty much pay in order of living priority... and getting laid off is only going to worsen the situation.
You should check with some local temp agencies and see if you can find some work in your area. ?While the pay isn't great (usually about $10-$15/hr) it usually offers a lot of?flexibility?for your schedule.
Also, how are you trying to sell your car? ?You might want to consider taking out an ad in your local newspaper or something, if you haven't already. ?Depending on how old the car is (and if you're still making payments it's probably in good condition), you could probably sell it to a used car dealer but I doubt you'd get anything more than blue book value if that.
tried this... its an 07 mazda 6 in excellent condition.. problem is.. I have negative equity on it so no car dealership can take it.. I've tried... and as far as temp agencies.. I live in Idaho and they are few and far between here and the average pay here anywhere is about $8 an hour... 10-15 would be absolutely great...
Aw, I'm sorry you're having these problems. ?I'm sure it will work out. ?I live in UT and it's pretty similar to ID in terms of the job field. ?Maybe you could try looking at craigslist. ?Some of the jobs are a little shady so use your judgement, but I find it's easier to get interviews and jobs using that than the bigger job finders like monster.
Good luck with everything.?
Just a thought to get you through for now--the Census is hiring right now for temporary part-time to full-time work. I just got hired there for $18+ an hour to drive around town and confirm addresses. The job ends first week of May, but it's an easy few thousand dollars...and they need people all over the country.
https://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/howtoapply.php