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October 2011 Moms
I know I'm a super newb ... (T&P post)
But I could really use some good thoughts/prayers. DH lost his job yesterday. Very unexpectedly. He was the company's golden boy, so this is hard to digest and we still don't have a real answer as to why. While I have a good job, he was most certainly the breadwinner, and our income has been drastically cut.
I spent a lot of time crying in my office and car yesterday, but put on my big girl panties when I got home and got to work on his r?sum?. We're both fairly well known in the local industry, so hopefully something comes up soon (we're in the same field ... just different careers).
In the meantime, I'm trying to redo our budget and cut costs anywhere I can. Any suggestions are appreciated. One thing I've been considering for a while anyways is switching to a cheaper diaper. We've used Huggies and Pampers and haven't really preferred one over the other. Any thoughts on Luvs or the Target brand diapers? She's wearing a size 3 in Pampers right now with lots of room to grow.
I'm praying that we don't have to end up cutting DD from daycare. We very literally have no one else to watch her during the day in case an interview comes up for him, and she's made 2 little friends that she spends all day with. It'll break my heart if we have to pull her.
I've been following the board this week -- I've just had no time to post anything myself. T&P to mrsgabus in regards to her loss. This job loss is nothing compared to the heartbreak I know she's feeling right now. To the mamas with crappy sleepers: I know. You should see the dark undereye circles I'm sporting. You have my empathy.
Now, I have to slap on a smile and pretend life is more than wonderful while I'm at work because no one buys from a debbie-downer.
TIA.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: I know I'm a super newb ... (T&P post)
I am so sorry to hear about YH's job! Sending lots of thoughts and prayers that he finds something else soon.
As for the diapers, we used Pampers until DD was a few months old and switched to Luvs because they're so much cheaper. I've been totally happy with them...give them a try!
BFP Chart
OCT 2011 Moms BlogFirst off, I'm sorry that you are suddenly facing this situation. It's one thing when you know that layoffs are coming and you are likely on the chopping block, it's a whole different ballgame (emotionally) when it comes out of the blue.
For things to cut:
- Cable - you can always turn it back on when he finds work again
- Phone - if you have a home phone and cell phones - cut one (home or his cell). If he's going to be home, he does not need access to two phones. You are likely in a contract with his cell phone, so the home phone is likely the easiest to cut. Again, you can turn it back on afterwards
- Student loans - I'm not sure as to all the rules surrounding this, but isn't there an option to put the loan into forbearance if a job is lost? Of course, this doesn't apply if you don't have SL's.
- Daycare - I know that you don't want to do this, but this is a huge expense that is not necessary right now. Talk to the daycare about what you have to do to keep DD's spot (some places will hold a spot as long as they are attending one day a week, etc). Ask about drop in options for days that DH has interviews. DD is young and, although she will miss her friend, it is not going to scar her for life.
For the job hunt, if DH is well known in the industry, then he should be doing cold calls to people that he knows. Don't just rely on posted positions. I know in my industry, there are very few positions posted, but if I wanted to change firms, all I would have to do is pick up the phone and I would have my choice of where to go.
Best of luck!
"God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" 1 Corinthians 10:13I'm sorry about the job loss! I imagine it is hard but made even harder without the "why" answered. Prayers for the family.
We use generic diapers and have done fine. I have used Luvs, Walmart and Target brands... I buy wherever I am shopping at the time. I also use generic formula, baby food, and snacks. I try to watch my grocery bill and cut what I can there too. We eat a lot of meatless dinners, cereal, breakfast foods, etc. We have credit card debt so when I have to, I pay the minimums until we are more stable. Cable is out luxury but will be cut if we need to let something go... changing the budget sucks but it can be done!
So, sorry about the job!
I use generic everything! Target diapers work fine!
You will get through this, and in the end your DH might end up with an even better job! Stay positive. There was a reason he was their golden boy, some other company will see this and snatch him up.
This was going to be my suggestion. Daycare represents a MAJOR expense in our budget. Its on par with our mortgage. Could you cut her back to part time? One or two days per week rather than five? This would give her a few days with her friends and a few days for your DH to focus on his job search/schedule interviews/etc.
While DH and I are both working, I might consider us "under-employed" at this point. We decided to try for a baby when we thought we were both very close to graduating. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for DH and our income is lower than we expected it to be at this point. We've had to cut back a lot to afford DD - cut the cable, shopped for cheap cell phone plans, no home phone, no shopping trips, few dinners out (and never at fancy restaurants), lots and *lots* of coupon clipping (check the website dealseekingmom.com for coupon match-ups), etc.
Best of luck to you and your family. I hope your husband finds something very soon and I hope he likes it even better than his previous job
I'm so sorry for your families rough patch. There are a ton of good suggestions on here. I'll add some other suggestions as well. If you belong to Costco, their diapers are working really good for C right now. DH bought a box because they were on sale. However, I would cancel Costco's membership when it comes due.
-Transfer debt from a credit card with an annual fee to one that doesn't have one
-Buy from stores such as Grocery Outlet or Win-Co. Buy in bulk (beans and such) and make those instead of canned.
-You can do a ton with eggs, and they are an excellent source of protein.
-Make extras of your meals and set aside for LO's meals instead of buying jars
-Coupons and the bargain bin at the grocery store are awesome
-Maybe look into WIC or food stamps? I don't know how those programs work, but what's the worst that could happen, they say no?
-If things get really tough, there are programs through your energy provider for low income. Your bill can go onto a sliding scale.
So sorry you're going through this! Hopefully ya finds a new job soon! Sending good thoughts!
I haven't personally tried the target brand but I've heard good things. I also know a mommy who uses walmarts parent's choice and she doesn't have any trouble with them.
This answer is liekly not what you want to hear because it's not easy but you could use cloth wipes wet with water instead of teh disposables (we use those baby washclothes that we got 1 million of at the shower... I shuold add that we only did it for a week while DD had a rash but it can be done
And what about cloth diapers... you can get a kit with enough prefolds and stuff (so not the fancy pocket diapers) for $200 and you can use original tide on them so not a whole lot increase in laundry.
These aren't easy things but they really will cut down you bills (if you have access to laundry in your home that is)
I was going to suggest this as well, we switched for money reasons and I'm very happy with it. I also used Target brand disposables until we switched and can't say enough good things about them, especially for the price.
That really sucks about YH's job. Hopefully you guys come through this with minimal distress.
Really? Time and place..time and place. It was nice that you offered advice on the real issue, however this little stab was not necessary nor was it appropriate.
"God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" 1 Corinthians 10:13I also make my own wipes. While wipes are cheaper than diapers, it is still nice to cut down some cost. I've spent about $15 worth of items to make what would be probably $50 worth of wipes. and it is easy.
what you need:
bring water to a boil and let it cool. Add the wash and oil. Cut the roll in half. place in the container. You can either take the middle cardboard out before putting mix in or after. pour mixture of water/oil/wash in the container over the roll. tip the sealed container upside down for about 10 minutes. Put back upright, and tada, you have homemade wipes.
I am so sorry that you are going through such a hard time right now. I will keep you in my T&Ps that YH will find something very soon.
We just found out a couple of days ago that DH was cut to 1/2 time. My student loan payments are about $800 a month plus we have daycare and our mortgage. Both of our cars are old and we were looking to get new cars. In fact, we have an appointment tomorrow to look at some (made before we knew he got cut back). :l
I just wanted to let you know that I understand how bad it sucks. I will need to be cutting costs too ASAP so all of these suggestions are extremely helpful. best wishes to you and again I will keep you in my T&Ps.
I am sorry you are in this difficult situation. I know things seem bleak right now, but is YH eligible for unemployment benefits to help with the drastic loss of income? Otherwise you can cut down on services like cable, netflix, landline and expensive phone plans to help reduce some of your spending. If you have student loans sometimes they can be deferred in situations like this. GL and i hope YH is able to find a new position quickly.
I'm so sorry your husband lost his job. Fingers crossed he finds something great soon.
We CD and it definitely saves us money every month. I'm not sure you'd want to be spending a couple hundred on the start up costs right now though. Other saving tips are to cut out unnecessary bills (cable, cell phone, etc) and to meal plan around what stores have on sale. I very rarely buy meat unless its on sale - it gets expensive!
We shut off our cable, and switched to a cheaper internet. We started making more meals at home and going out to eat less. We use cloth diapers & luvs when we need disposables. I clip coupons only for things I know I need to purchase, and buy when things are on sale. Definitely use sale flyers from local grocers and match up ad prices with coupons... it takes a bit of time but it can save you $30 a week that way, and make menu plans around what's on sale, and what you already have in your pantry.
I make my own detergents/cleaners, i found all the "recipes" on pinterest, and have them on my boards you're welcome to check them out (button in siggy). We line dry our clothes and cut out as much electricity use as possible, although as I write this I see I forgot my bedroom light on.
Hope that helps. I'm very sorry for YH's job loss, we thought MH was going to lose his last month due to budget cuts in our state's budget, He's a corrections officer at the county jail, and the department of corrections wanted to cut 8 officers, MH was 8 from the bottom, but the plan didn't get approved (phew!)
Thanks, ladies. I appreciate the responses and tips
We had a lot of unneccessary debt when we got married, so back in '08 I just starting cutting stuff to save money. I've managed to wipe out everything but school loans. We were on the track to be debt free (minus the house) by the end of 2013. So things could be a lot worse, I know. The meal planning will be huge because we did eat out a lot. The thing that worries me the most is gas (my stupid commute), daycare, and paying for health insurance through my company (it was 100% company paid through DH and is stupid expensive now). I'm going to talk to daycare Monday and try to work something out. Her teacher acted like it wouldn't be a problem.
Luckily, my parents are more than happy to help with my horses and anything else, but hopefully it doesn't come to that. He should have some side work coming up soon in case a full-time position doesn't come up, but I'm hopeful. I guess there's no reason not to be right now, you know? I'm sorry for anyone else going through this, too. It's flatout awful. We did find out why he was let go & I guess I'm glad it happened now because he's going to have a lot of competition in a few weeks when they let everyone else go, too
Also, we found out last night that my 22 yr old BIL has thyroid cancer. One blow after the next right now. So T&Ps are appreciated for him, too. His surgery is scheduled for next week. Hopefully they get it all.
I don't have any tips to add (this thread is already full of good ideas), but I wanted to send T&Ps for you and your H, and for BIL.
I hope that your H finds a new job very soon!