Are You Living Paycheck to Paycheck?

[Elgin526]

Originally Posted by naturalwoman

I'm just wondering how many paychecks are you away from disaster and what is your biggest money fear?

The answer would depend on who lost their job, my DH or myself.

If I lost my job, we'd be okay. Things would be tight but we'd make it on just his income, though he'd need to get all the OT he could handle until our CC debt was paid off. I'd likely be able to find employment right away, but one never knows until it happens, I guess.

DH's job is 100% secure. I know that sounds imposible, but trust me it's true. And because he's union they can't even cut his pay! On the off chance he did lose his job (again it's imposible but just for arguements sake) he'd have another within a week. Now, the big X factor for DH is illness. If he couldn't work due to illness, we'd only get 2/3 of his base pay from disability insurance. If he was that sick I'd likely have to take time off too, and while I do have 65 days of paid sick leave banked, should that run out, THEN we'd be up poop's creek without a paddle!

In that case, depending on what all else was going on and if we thought DH wouldn't be able to return to work within a decent amount of time, we'd look at selling the house to clear all our debts and renting a small, cheap apartment. I'd be able to support us just on my income and his disability if we lived cheap enough. Not ideal, but it would save our credit and if later on we recovered, we'd be able to buy a home.

Our goal is to one day have 6 months expenses saved up, but we've got a long road ahead of us to get to that point!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Elgin526

DH's job is 100% secure. I know that sounds imposible, but trust me it's true.

This is OT, but I'm curious about this. Can't he be fired for cause? If he isn't performing well on the job or does something significant wrong, can't he be let go? Not saying he would do that, but could it happen?

I know sometimes unions have such a stronghold that even if employees totally screw up, they can't be fired, which is insane.

[Elgin526]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

This is OT, but I'm curious about this. Can't he be fired for cause? If he isn't performing well on the job or does something significant wrong, can't he be let go? Not saying he would do that, but could it happen?

I know sometimes unions have such a stronghold that even if employees totally screw up, they can't be fired, which is insane.

Short of actually hauling off and actually hitting his boss, no, he can't be fired! And a lot of that has to do with the fact that he is so good at his job, he littlerally cannot be replaced, the rest is the protection union gives him. Unfortunatly he hates the company he works for, it makes him very unhappy. I'd like nothing better than for him to come home and say he got canned. He'd have another job in a week or two, and while we'd likely have to relocate, I feel it would be worth it in the long run. I can't convince him to quit on his own, as unhappy as he is he feels the money is too good to leave.

[asmom]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

This is OT, but I'm curious about this. Can't he be fired for cause? If he isn't performing well on the job or does something significant wrong, can't he be let go? Not saying he would do that, but could it happen?

I know sometimes unions have such a stronghold that even if employees totally screw up, they can't be fired, which is insane.

My husband says he can't be fired except for obvious reasons like theft but he cannot be fired for job performance. I don't understand it but he says it is because he is a veteran in a government job and the union might have something to do with it too. I'll ask him when he wakes up.

[Ima saver]

My biggest financial fear is becoming a bag lady, being homeless. We were so poor when I was young, I have always saved my money because of that.

Ever since I work, I never spend all my paycheck at once. I save a portion of it.

[FrugalTexan75]

Two years ago I had 6 months of actual pay saved - which worked out to about 11 months of actual expenses. Then I was completely without income for four months, had temporary work for four months which met about 70% of expenses, and now for the past 9 months I have had an actual job which pays my expenses and gives me room to save again. During this same timeframe I also moved 4 times (long story) and participated in a life changing, yet expensive, experience.

I currently could manage maybe three months without income, if I were to use the money I have put away for car repairs as well as my emergency fund and house downpayment fund (aka never never land - dreaming). However, if I really did lose my job, I think I would be able to find another one (though not quite so attractive as the one I have now) fairly quickly. If not, and I grew truly strapped, I have family members who have stated frequently that I could call on them for help -- that, of course would only happen if I was about to become homeless and had absolutely NO other options available to me.

I feel very lucky though in the fact that where I work there is at least one other person there who thinks very much like I do. She finds beautiful pieces of clothing at Salvation Army for mere pennies on the dollar, and she is a huge Dave Ramsey fan. I've introduced her to Mary Hunt. We've gotten into some interesting discussions regarding money.

I think though, that unless a person is specifically asking for money advice, that its better to just let them talk/complain. Sometimes people like to talk just to hear themself. Maybe if they hear themself often enough, they will start to detect a pattern, and wonder how they can change it. That would be the time to step in with advice - when they themselves see the need for a change.

[MairGrif]

Currently, I have about $200 in emergency savings. I had close to 6 weeks, then I paid off a small bill so I could switch to a better but lower paying job, had my car stolen, and rearended someone. I am rebuilding, and I do have other savings which could support me for about 4-5 months if absolutely necessary, but it is all earmarked for other things, like car insurance, other irregular expenses, and a house downpayment.

A suggestion someone on another forum made, which I would like to follow eventually, is to open a cd a month for a year, and build each one up until you have a mortgage payment's worth of money in each. That, in addition to 6months of emergency money would really tide me/us over.

As for talking to other people, I have one friend in particular who I wish would take our advice but she is so thick in her problems, she can't see any way to start digging out. It's hard, but I have just let her know I know other ways, and when she's ready I can help her figure it out. I also feel her problems go much further than money issues. I do offer advice to my cousins. They are all younger; most are in college or about to start. I offer little bits at a time, like always save part of your pay, start an IRA now, etc. If they take any of the advice, they'll be ahead, and I think they are more receptive to what I say than their parent's. We'll see.

Mair

[Snoopy2645]

Funny Ima thats my biggest fear too is being a bag lady & homeless. I guess my earliest memories were my dad being blinded on the job & my mom was a sahm so things got bad for awhile that & going downtown & actaully seeing the bag ladies. WHich BTW at the time I wanted to be one when I grew up I WAs about 4 at the time LOL!!

I agree I get sick of these people with cell phones & cigs & beer & oh ya tatoos yet cant pay thier Childsupport a maybe like say my ex!!! SO sorry but I cant afford any of those things'. I m too busy trying to support my family & my dh was layed off once. I wasnt working at all at the time I had quit not even a year earlier to be a sahm. I ended up doing tons of stuff to make money sold stuff on ebay hauled stuff for a friend & got paid & lots more.

These days I have an EF well always have but before I dip into if I am short I find someway to come up with money every time. SO I dont DIP

[tgavin71]

We don't live paycheck to paycheck either. Using savings and having the same lifestyle we could live for a year without going into debt. More if we cut out the luxuries.

[aurielle]

As of this moment I am living P to P. But I am also making my very last payment on CC debt at the end of this month. I will have the CC debt monkey off my back. A year of scrimping and saving and doing without a few things and throwing every extra dollar at it and now I will be free.

So I'm in a financial transitional time and will be rebuilding. In January I'll be able to start saving in earnest and build up a good EF and even start contributing to my Roth again, as soon as my raise kicks in.

If either DH or I lost our job, we could survive on one income but it would be with alot of belt-tightening. We'd have to shut off the sattelite tv and the internet/landline (bundled) or the cellphones and live and eat super frugally. We would get another job fairly quickly, there's always job openings in DH's line of work and I know enough networking contacts to get a job in a reasonable amount of time. They may not be ideal jobs but they would bring in a paycheck until something better comes along. Having all my CC's paid off would be that much less stress and that much less money going out. We're also on each other's health insurance so we'd still have medical coverage.

I really feel sorry for my supervisor. Last year we were having a chat and I told her how I was paying all my debt off. She told me how she needed to do that but her problem is that she sees money in her checking account and thinks that money is available for her to spend. She forgets that she has outstanding checks and bills coming due. Then ends up overdrawn. I told her that was dangerous thinking and she needs to change that thinking if she wants to get out from under. She has a lot of CC debt too, she's on a CCCS plan and still hasn't learned her lesson. I remember several months ago she had to drive home on her lunch break (she lives out of town) to go get her mail before her husband did. She didn't say but I know what it was, there was probably a bill in there she didn't want him to see.

And just last week because of inter-departmental politics she has been demoted (unfairly) with the accompanying loss in pay. She's appealing it but she's very stressed out. She hasn't changed her ways, she's still financially unmanageable and will have to really struggle to make it. I hope she makes it.

[shengmei]

I definitely live paycheck to paycheck, but then I am a student. I am not technically in the work force yet.

I am hoping to count my education as part of my "savings"

As soon as I get an employer with 401K, I would contribute as much as I am allowed to.

[disneysteve]

Here's a good profile of a P-to-P person we know. A co-worker of my wife's also has a 2nd job because she supposedly needs the money. The other day, the boss was out sick. This woman spent almost the entire day online and on the phone purchasing concert tickets for her favorite performer. She spent over $900 just on tickets. She also booked several hotel rooms because some of the concerts are out of town. One is in Canada (we live in NJ). I know what she earns at that job, and she certainly can't afford to be spending that kind of money on concerts. Of course, everything was charged to her credit card. I guess that's why she is stuck working two jobs.

[mom-from-missouri]

We kind of do, but its by choice. I am currently a SAHM, supplementing with sub teaching. DH has a very good job, but when we got married a few months ago, and added 3 more children to the house in addition to myself, we decided to allow him to continue to keep aggresively feeding his 401K, stock plans and retirement plans. Sometimes we run real tight--but, should there be a true emergency, it is in savings to dig out. Funny though, we now look at "true emergencies" a lot different than other people do. We also cut on the sodas, koolaid, chips, I do all our own baking and cook from scratch. If I didn't, we'd not beable to live on the same amount he was living on before we merged households.

[BCHGRL]

We budget based on our paychecks; however, we do have a comfy e-fund built up. I don't know if we could survive for years, it probably depends on who lost the job. My job is 95% secure, and my salary is more than twice his. We could make it for 6 mo. if I were unemployed. It would also depend on whether his brother still lived with us and paid 1/3rd of our mortgage. Any longer than 6 mo. and we might have to sell our home.

We lived without my husband's full time salary this summer. We survived PLUS we paid off over $10K in credit card debt. Go us!

[tgavin71]

[quote=Elgin526]

DH's job is 100% secure. I know that sounds imposible, but trust me it's true. QUOTE]

It is the same here with us. But it has taken us 13 years to get to this point. My hubby's job is in critical shortage in Australia. There are only about 25-30 guys trained to do it. His company flies in skilled workers from England to do some of the jobs. That being said we never say never and still live (with some minor luxuries) like he can get the sack at any time.

[beebop25blue25]

Well, we don't now, BUT we're not far from it!! Slowly but surely we're getting somewhat ahead! Thanks to monitoring this site and staying motivated i'm getting our debt under control and have a little left over before the next paycheck comes. My hubby gets paid weekly and I get paid every 2 weeks. I'm making the checks stretch a little bit farther. Our biggest expense is food. We have 5 kids, ages 15, 12, 10, 5, and 3.........and they sure do eat, LOL!!