What to do if You Lose Your Job and Have no Savings

So let's talk about what to do if you lose your job and you have no savings. Hey everyone, I hope you're having a good day. I really do. If you clicked on this video you might not be having the best day ever and I'm so sorry that you're going through a difficult time but I wanted to maybe offer you some helpful advice and hope from someone who has been in a situation where through no faults of my own I found myself without a job and we didn't have a lot to fall back on. So take a deep breath and let's do this but first I have an office. We built a wall right here and then we painted it. So that's happening and there is a stack of papers on my desk because I have my 2021 school contract, my census paperwork. Yeah, we still have a census we have to fill out and I'm refinancing my house. So all that happened right there. Don't be distracted. It's okay. So you may be one of the 26 million I think was the last number I read who filed for unemployment in April and you may be one of those Americans who doesn't have enough money in the bank to cover a $400 emergency. That is something that I have a statistic that I have read a lot over recent years and if you are, know that you are not alone. Do not be ashamed of your situation but we can unpack this and talk about some things that you can do to make this horrific time a little bit easier. Okay, so the first thing if you have lost your job, absolutely go and apply for unemployment. I did a video on what to do when you lose your job and you can go watch that. Note it was made before the additional $600 a week that's part of the stimulus package for unemployment. It was before that was passed so some of the information a little dated even though it was made in March. It does offer you some tips and advice but if you have not filed for unemployment, do. I know that the process is taking a little bit longer because so many people are applying although as states reopen we are going to see some of those numbers step back. Set a reminder in your phone to call every week and let them know you're still unemployed. You're going to need a check for the next week. Some states make you fill out a form so set a reminder to do that. Also make sure you are taking taxes out because you will be taxed on your unemployment. So step two is going to be making a budget based on that unemployment and so we're going to need to focus on a few essentials that are necessary for your family survival. This is not me telling you to shirk responsibilities, to not pay your bills, absolutely not. But you need to focus on your most basic needs right now and so that first thing is obviously making sure that your family is fed, that you have adequate nutrition, that your kids aren't going to bed hungry. So the first thing is obviously food. The second is to make sure that the place where you live is safe in that you have running water, you have electricity, you have your basic utilities covered. Then you can focus on other things. So once you have that food and basic utilities covered you can focus on your shelter situation. And I know that there are a lot of states stopping evictions right now and that there are some programs being put into place to help those of you who are out of work. Your landlord, call the bank that holds your mortgage, let them know what's going on, see what you can work out. And again this is not me telling you not to pay your mortgage and not to pay your rent, it is just living in reality. If you are behind on your bills and you are in danger of having your water cut off or something like that, you need to call, let them know what's going on and make arrangements. I feel like we get into a pit, right? Like you're in this giant hole and you have to dig your way out of it but you've just been given a tiny little plastic beach shovel and it's okay to ask someone for help. Like, I need a bigger shovel, please help me. And so if you need to call and make arrangements on your utilities, on some of your bills, do that before you get behind. So if you think you're going to be late on your water bill or your electric bill, I know that there are procedures in place to help people. I know that there are organizations that can step in but you need to call the water company, you need to call the electric company and work it out with them first. Why is it so hard to talk about? Okay, so after you have gotten your unemployment out of the way, actually this is a step that you could even do before and that is to apply for food assistance. If you're in a dire strait situation, please call this number and get some help immediately. But if you sign up for SNAP or food stamps, it can take a minute for it to apply. So please call this number, get some assistance, whatever it's called in your state. So there are feeding programs going on in many communities. I know that there are some in mine where you can drive through, they'll give your kids lunch. And so I've been really pleased to see that coming out of this because I do worry about these children who get breakfast and lunch at school every day. What is happening to them? And so my husband and I are stepping up and really trying to help our local feeding programs. So if you need to fill in some gaps, please go to your local food pantry, ask for help. Y'all, there is no shame in asking for help. And once you get back on your feet and you are in a place where you have more stability and you are paying off debt and you have a little extra money, remember that and you can pay it forward. But in the meantime, if you need to seek assistance, do it and do not be ashamed of taking care of your family. Also remember, sometimes your family is yourself. So do not be ashamed to take care of yourself. Also did a video a couple weeks ago about some ways to make money right now. So you can go watch that video if you just need to get some cash flowing into your home right now to cover some basic expenses. Also, there are companies that are still hiring. So if you need to get back out there, get a job, if your unemployment just isn't covering it, I know that for a lot of people, they're furloughed. So it may be a situation where their job has shut down and they know that they are temporarily going to be drawing unemployment until things open back up. But I know for some of you, this is open-ended and you don't know how long this is going to be. There are companies that are still hiring. I wrote a blog post on what those jobs are and how to apply. I cannot vouch for any of these jobs or what it is like to work for these companies, but I do know that it is something. And if you know my story, way back during the recession, I lost my job. I was working for a newspaper in Atlanta and we got paid and we went to cash our paychecks and deposit them and we were told they were no good. And when we confronted the publisher, she was like, yeah, we're broke. Take your computers home and live payment. And if you want to stay and work for free, I'd really appreciate it. And on that same day, my husband took a $7 an hour pay cut. So our pay went from double income, no kids to 35% of what we were making. Anyway, um, and we had no savings and we ended up having to short sell our house and it was an entire thing. But in the meantime, I went and got a job at Walmart and I worked overnight in the produce department, sometimes overnight, sometimes 4am to 1. Overnight's way better than 4am to 1. And my job was to cull the produce. So I would go through, find the rotten produce, throw it in a bin, go through it later, market to zero, and then shovel it in a trash compactor. And I came home every day smelling like rotten tomatoes. It was not the most fun job in the world, but I listened to a lot of audiobooks when I was in the back of that store, shoveling rotten produce into a trash compactor. It was also work and there's dignity in working that I know that they kind of have a reputation as an employer, but I'm telling you from my experience, I was paid $11 an hour and I wasn't treated badly. Also, um, see what healthcare wise you qualify for. And I talked about this in my job in my video on what to do if you lose your job, but there may be some programs that your kids qualify for. And so you need to look into those and go ahead and get signed up for that as soon as possible. And I've been ending these videos with just a reminder to breathe through this time and to remember that it's not your fault that you didn't do anything to cause this. And I also want to remind you that your job doesn't define who you are as a person, right? That we are bigger than that. We are bigger than our job, but unfortunately it can become so ingrained in our identity that when we go through a job loss, it is a traumatic experience. And so you need to recognize that, acknowledge those feelings and then do what's necessary to work through them. Also feel like this situation, and I talked about this before that we're not all in the same boat, like there are those of us who are going to be able to weather this storm just fine. There are some that are going to come out of this and they're going to use it as a tool to move forward. And once they're on their feet financially, they're going to take the steps they need to grow and continue to become financially secure. But there are also a lot of people that are going through this and they're not ever going to recover. And I don't know what to say to that. Like I have so many thoughts and feelings and conflictions and that's... I didn't even put up a video last week because I didn't know... I don't know what to say anymore. And it's just... there's so many hurting and so many directionless and so many that are not going to get through this with a smile on their face and a song in their heart. And we need to be respectful of that. Please take care of yourself this week. Please take care of those that you love. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to each other. Deep breaths. We'll get through this and I'll see you soon.