C.O.
J.:
I'm sorry your husband got laid off. We've been in your shoes. My husband was laid off, along with 30 or 40 other people, in July 2011. It took him 10 months to find a job. It was 86 miles away.
This is the time that you THINK before you purchase. Do you WANT or do you NEED - a NEED means you MUST have this to survive. And a dinner out? Is NOT a need, it is a want. So IF your salary isn't enough? Sorry - you shouldn't be eating out at all.
If you have credit cards - No more credit card purchases.
If you have your children in after school activities that cost you money. Sorry - but tell them until your husband gets a job - your have to cancel your spot. Same goes for other activities like baseball, la crosse, football, etc. MANY leagues have sponsorships - so if you really feel it's necessary? You call the league President and tell them what is going on and ask if there are any scholarships/sponsorships available. Someone paid for my son to play ball during my husband's unemployment - to this day - we do NOT know who did it so we don't know who to thank for their generosity.
BUDGET:
Now is the time for you to take a serious, hard look at your budget.
Cancel anything that is NOT mandatory - magazine subscriptions that might be coming due - let 'em lapse.
Call around to find out if you can bundle phone, internet, cable - if you can't but still want to have TV around? Check into Netflixs or HULU+ - they are $8 a month and allow you to watch TV.
INCOME and INVESTMENTS:
Your husband needs to sign up for unemployment. That will help a little bit.
We had savings. At the time, I was not a full time employee - I was a contractor.
Check all of your investments. Find out their values so that you can liquidate them if necessary.
INSURANCE:
If you have insurance through your work - do a significant life change and get your family on your plan. It will beat paying the high fees of COBRA.
Find out if your life insurance policies are whole life or term. If they are whole life - do you have any equity you can borrow against? You will have to pay it back - but if you have enough that will allow you to keep your mortgage going - do it.
GROCERIES:
Make a menu for the meals for the week. Then look in the sales flier and coupons and ONLY purchase things that are on sale and you have coupons for for meals.
One day a week is leftover night so no food goes to waste.
Where do you grocery shop? There are some stores that offer "rewards" for money off gas if you shop/spend there.
Eat a lot of bread? Start making it yourself. the initial costs may be a little high for yeast, flour, oil, sugar, wheat germ, etc. but your family will be eating healthier.
Do you have a yard big enough for a garden? Start growing your own veggies - that alone can save you a good $20 or more at the grocery store.
If you shop at COSTCO or other "big box" stores - go with someone else and split the costs....especially on things you will not be able to use all of before they go bad.
You can purchase meats there and freeze them. I have a Food Saver and LOVE it.
HOUSE
Turn lights off in rooms not in use.
Turn the AC up to 78.
Use room fans.
Take your lunch to work.
Contact your electric, gas, water, sewage companies. Find out if they have a flat rate plan - get signed up for them.
CAR/GAS
If you have to run errands? Make a list of everything you need to do. Then go in order to the errands - do NOT criss-cross all over town.
Call your insurance company and see if you can change your policies to a higher deductible for a lower payment.
Find out if you can do the same with homeowners insurance. heck - find out if you "bundle" your home/auto/life policies together - do you get a discount and save even more money?
We have USAA - we get to choose - monthly, bi-annually or yearly. If we pay for the year in advance? We save almost a quarter of our bill.
CREDIT CARDS/MORTGAGE:
Call your credit card companies - if you have credit card debt - and see if you can rearrange payments or consolidate all the debt to one, low interest rate card.
If you own your home? Try for a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) so you can use your home's equity to stay afloat. I would only do this as a last ditch effort.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Do you have dry cleaning needs? Find out if your dry cleaner accepts competitors coupons.
Find out if you can use the Dryel - and do it at home instead of paying for it.
Shirts? Start ironing 'em yourself.
Clothing:
If you honestly feel the need to purchase new clothing? Go to Goodwill or other shops like that...even consignment shops./
PURGING:
Now is the time to purge. Go through the house - room by room - you haven't used it in six months? It's gone. Set up a garage sale - this will give you cash in hand for your own stuff.
Collectors items? In between your husband searching for a new job and needing to step away from the job boards - he take pictures of things and start listing them on ebay or craigslist.
Attic? You are storing something you haven't used. Is there meaning to it? Nope. Okay- purge it. Your family needs cash on hand. All the cash you get from garage sale and such? Grocery money. If you feel the NEED to go out to eat? use that money. Otherwise - again I will state - YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO OUT TO EAT.
There are MANY things you can do. You really have to be honest with yourself and your family. You MUST talk with your children and let them know that it's a FAMILY effort.
Your husband needs to ensure his resume is updated and current. Are you willing to relocate should he get a job somewhere else?
He needs to get his resume on monster, careerbuilder, etc.
YOU CAN DO THIS. It may seem hard right now. It may seem insurmountable - but as someone who has been there? YOU CAN DO THIS.