Someone commented on Maxed Out Mama about losing his job. The guy said he was a programmer and figured he would be okay if he could get a job paying 75% of his current pay. But the only things he is seeing are jobs that pay 50% of what he makes. He said he is scared of losing his house.
The fact is that folks, when they post things like this, are hoping that someone will say, “Why no, don’t worry. The job with the pay you need is out there and you’ll find it in the next six weeks or so.” What they don’t want to hear is along the lines of what I posted, which was “Expect to be out of work longer than you planned, with a new job at less pay than you expected. Start by cutting back to the bone on absolutely everything you can, starting today. Get rid of cable tv, cut back to a single phone, etc. Buy bulk foods and stock up, especially if you get severance pay.” Now, I could be wrong. But if I am wrong and he follows my advice, he’s no worse off. He can get cable again, pick up a new cell phone plan and be back in business. If I’m right, he just might have a chance to save his house. We’ve gotten out of the habit of planning for hard times. Why, we have credit cards for that. But what if your credit card jacks up the rates so that you are paying double what you pay now? What if there are none of those zero percent transfer cards? Credit card companies can change what they charge you at any time. And all of it has to be paid back sometime, with interest.
On one of the preparedness lists I’m on, they talk a lot about storing foods and have emergency kits. But a one time member, respected by all of them, encouraged them to grow their own food. He said that if you weren’t doing that, you really weren’t prepared. Now is the time to take that step. Spring is coming up. You have time to start taking that step to taking care of yourself and your family. Food prices will likely continue to rise, so every bit that you grow saves you just that much. And you gain experience that money can’t buy.
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