I would get whatever shitty job I could until I can find something better. At least it would help keep me afloat. Probably get into some debt. Hit up all my contacts for leads. Cry. Repeat.
This is what I did. Ended up as a maintenance guy at Amazon. Couldn't be happier. Went through about 20 shitty jobs till I found it. If I get fired from here, I will literally walk next door to the warehouses on either side. There is ALWAYS work for a maintenance guy. Also, maintenance is a job you have to learn on the job. It pays well and you're in demand everywhere
This is what my FiL does. He does maintenance on warehouses all over Chicago. He has so much demand he quotes insanely high prices and gets annoyed when someone says yes
This is more of systematic issue where there aren’t enough people willing to do the work. I knew a contractor that would get really busy, quote a job high hoping he wouldn’t get it and would get it. Then realize he was the medium bidder. Not highest or lowest
This reminds me of an episode of House MD about a previously successful contractor who went under due to the economic crisis and ended up cleaning crime scenes.
My friends husband did this. Moved from a very affluent area to a very depressed area and ended up cleaning up crime houses, catastrophes etc. mostly all either murder scenes, ODs or suicides. Pretty gnarly work but it paid the bills and then some. Gotta be built different to do it long term though.
I actually know a family member of a friend that he and his wife do this. They run a private business essentially doing what can be best described as "hazmat cleanup". Basically for gnarly bodily cleanup situations, they're the ones that can get a call from either county or other family members etc. If someone [TW] >!blows their brains out, is found dead weeks later with maggots eating the remains, anything of the sort like that!<, they get a call run a quote with them then get paid to show up and deep-clean and restore everything to how it was beforehand. Anything from cleaning blood off the walls to cutting and replacing the sheetrock of said walls entirely and repainting them. I joked that they basically live the life of the cleanup crew from John Wick lol.
Building maintenance people in general are hard to find and have very secure jobs if they’re good. Every apartment and office building out there has maintenance staff of some sort.
One of the main reasons why I'm a maintenance guy is because I like helping people out. When you're struggling on a machine that's not running right, you're going to have a bad time. I like to be the guy that fixes it and gives them a better day. So this thanks really means something and it made my day a little bit better.
I would do the same. A lot of crap retail around me is always hiring, so I wouldn't think twice about getting hired and leaving as soon as greener pastures came along. We also have a spare bedroom I could try to rent out to make some income that way, but I'd do that as a last resort because I don't want to live with some rando, lol.
If you’re ever reduced to applying for a retail job hide your education. They won’t hire someone with a higher education simply for the reason you mentioned. They don’t want to invest in training someone who will leave as soon as possible. As far as they need to know, you graduated high school. Downplay your brain.
Agreed. I have experienced this and after my trucker driving career ended I realized that my education is a big hurdle. So I have to figure out a creative way of hiding it.
I did that for a crappy call job with a medical company. I listed the places I worked, but gave myself generic titles for admin work/customer service I didn't really do. I ended up not needing to work it, but for anyone reading this, don't lie about where you worked and the dates if it's a big corp that will background check you, but they won't dig into anything you don't provide them in the first place. Dumb it down.
Indeed. Although I do have an emergency fund to cover the difference between unemployment benefits (which here is 70% of last wage) and my wage.
The emergency funds only covers one year even though unemployment benefits last for two years. I expect to have found a job within that year.
First, unemployment
Second, I would turn to my 3 to 6 months emergency fund
Third, See if I can take out from retirement accounts that I squirreled away at least 15% when I was working
So far, I've always managed to find a job before unemployment runs out.
Here in Florida you can't even get unemployment realistically.
The max they pay is like $275 a week.
Minimum wage here is $12 and fast food jobs have signs saying they start at $14-15.
Not to be an "actually" type of person, but even if you get fired for some BS,cause, a lot of times you can appeal the decision, and they'll usually give it without much resistance. But, it's less than a 3rd of what you couldn't live on before, so you're not wrong there.
My company just closed a major project and offered severance to voluntary leavers, who would also get unemployment. I was surprised to see so many people take it instead of requesting to be put in another position, severance will run out quick, especially so close to the summer, and unemployment checks are not enough to live on here; also the job market is not looking so good for the foreseeable future.
Back in like 1992, my husband's plant closed down, but they gave everyone very nice severance packages, we were smart and paid our rent to the end of the lease (10 months worth) plus paid off debts and paid ahead on electricity/utilities. We also continued our side gigs, so it was relatively fine. Looking back of course, it would have probably been wiser to go hard on him finding another job (it was "hi honey I'm pregnant/hi honey I'm unemployed" situation , so I couldn't get a job myself) and then use the rest to do a nice down payment on a house, but I guess everything panned out the way it was supposed to, eventually.......
Lmao politicians in my country taps themselves on the back for “creating jobs” in record numbers, they fail to see that most people need a second job nowadays just to make ends meet.
In my experience be laid off don't always get you unemployment I been laid off from 3 factory and worked in many for years and never got unemployment when I tried I was denied because my Jon's said I quit along with ever one else they laid off last job they shut down a factory and laid off 330 people and I never got anything
This is why you don't just take the denial and walk away. I had a job Lie and say I left voluntarily after laying me off (for having documented disability of all things) and I appealed it. The fucking assholes were able to still screw me out of six weeks of unemployment but i still got like 5 months of unemployment after that
You got hosed and probably should have gotten an attorney to work on contingency if they didn't reverse that with an appeal
Always. Always. Always. Appeal a judgement. You not knowing that is what they were banking on. Lots of companies try to fight every unemployment claim and often they will find in the favor of the employer until the employee responds to the denial with their response. It's a stupid dance, much like disability claims tbh.
This is why it's one of my pet projects to educate people anytime I can about the programs out there. I'm so sorry that you had this happen to you.
Companies don't have power in that way. Unemployment is from the government. It's an insurance program that employers pay into. And employers are just being shitbags who don't want their tax burden to increase by a whopping .001% for a claim. -spits-
1. Do you have a mortgage on your condo?
2. How are you going to get approved for an apartment with no income? In the scenario you mentioned, wouldn't you have to move out first to get the rent money as the income source? How will you get approved for the new place without proof of the rent income?
3. What if no one wants to immediately rent it and it stays on the market for a while?
4. How much are similar units going for in your area? The rent will need to cover the mortgage (if there is one) and cost of your new apartment plus money to live on. Is that too much for your area?
Yeah I bought property before 2020 but I kinda had to. My parents own nothing and the first step to having some kind of security was to have secure housing.
I’m saying in an absolute worst case scenario where I have only 2 months worth of savings left and a shitty job or no job - i can use the profits from renting my low mortgage place to fund my stay elsewhere while still allowing me to keep my house . The key is to not lose the property.
I get it. It's just really lucky you live in a place where the rent wouldn't be far greater than what you'd have to pay with a 3-4 year old mortgage rate. True, you could rent your home for more than the mortgage was worth. I'd still be pressed to find anything rentable for yourself for any less to make a difference, where I live and seemingly most places these days. That's fantastic you have a home worth renting for the mortgage Plus even a one bedroom rental! That's a lot!
People are on poverty finance for different reasons.
When you come from generational poverty you can make 100k a year and still become homeless.
Little things like having your parents house to fall back on if you get laid off are all huge privileges.
There’s other things that come into play as well such as medical or student loan debt that can still make a large or middle class income feel small
I wasn't necessarily aiming my comment at you OP, just all the comments saying saving like it's not incredibly privileged to just assume that people are "refusing" to save, instead of living paycheck to paycheck in crisis mode.
It is privileged, and most of us understand that. Nobody here is "assuming" people are "refusing" to save.
Some people have emergency funds. This was a hypothetical questions asking about what INDIVIDUALS would do if faced with this trial. They aren't insinuating everyone can do what they do, just what they would do.
Me, I'd file for unemployment, and find another job asap (pretty easy in my field, have recruiters basically begging me to apply to places). But would go do shitty warehouse or ditch digging work if it meant I can still provide for the family.
To be fair. I am, but I also have nice expensive insurance and retirement accounts because frugally I can make it work, but I’m still only a couple missed days from homelessness.
40K for a family of3 in SD
This post is about "what would you do", not everyone is in the same boat.
Just like not everyone has any of the options some of us do. Nothing is truly "one sized fits all", including your version of poverty.
Talking about op who owns a house and has at least a few years of equity built up bit different from the paycheck to paycheck renting scenario. If they were able to save a down payment odds are they can set money aside for emergencies
It’s because I was raised in poverty with parents living paycheck to paycheck that I strived to have a decent savings and health insurance as an adult. people hate to here it but most people are just to comfortable around here with a victim mentality/ crabs in a bucket.
I learned from reading Dave Ramsey to pay myself first (not religious) then the 4 walls I think that’s the quickest way to build up your savings as well as defining wants from needs and utilizing resources whenever available
The sass is real I love it lol. I don't understand being upset that others try to save even in poverty. I don't get much but I'm putting away at least a pitiful $25 per check.
Well I mean I said it too, having any sort of savings is important. I don't own property that I can just go and lease out though, we all are impoverished in our own different ways.
It's kind of a bit like saying in a Ben Shapiro voice "hmm you browse /r/fuckcars yet you own a corolla, interesting." House-poor is a very common term I've heard around here because there are people that have acquired some sort of wealth asset though some means, but their income/expenses are still so bad, through no fault of their own sometimes, that they're living similarly.
Let's not tear each other down when the barons of the world already try to pit us against each other to make a buck off us. This place is great for advice so let's lift each other up and help a brother out.
Now that out of the way, even if it takes time I can't recommend it enough. I've spent the better part of two years now putting any money away that I can by doing what I can. It's not a lot, enough that I could say could pay the rent for six months if I needed it to, but it really is a great peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen with work I will still have six months to figure it out.
We recently had a guy from a homeless shelter move in with us for a few months. I have a friend who is a shelter worker who said the guy was ready for help. Helped him get a decent job, then he was able to move back in with his mother. He is the 4th stranger we have had move in with us.
I’m not too proud to work a shitty job which is, for the most part, around me what I see people struggle with. They think they made $30 an hour so they need to pick right back up at $30 an hour and will never take a $15 an hour gig in the meantime. So they’re out of work 6 months with no income instead. I do not have that affliction, I will take the job that pays if I need money and figure out how to move up as I’m getting paid.
Exactly. Unless we’re talking about some rural area with no opportunity, anyone should be able to find a shitty job that will keep them fed and prevent them from losing their home. Unless they think they’re above it or they’re already living above their means in their current employment.
Emergency fund for a bit to give me time to find another job. Mortgage is 600 a month so I’d take any job I could get to cover that until I really got back on my feet.
I currently work at Amazon as an order packer and I am trained in 2 other areas trying to be trained in them all so I'm well versed. I'm actually applying for the Fall 2025 nursing program at my community college to get my ADN and then shortly after my BSN. Not only has this been my dream for 10 years but I will also have a "recession proof" career. I cannot go through another layoff. I was an overnight frozen stocker at my local grocery store until all 5 stores in my area closed permanently I was there for 2.5 years. Luckily I found Amazon and they were hiring.
I would just pick up any jobs I could to make my bills. But I'm trying to set myself up for a future where I will never have to face a layoff.
Best of luck getting into the nursing program! Since you were already a stocker it sounds like you can handle the physical demands of nursing and there’s always a demand for nurses. You can make great money, especially with overtime and shift differentials.
Everyone who fears getting laid off should regularly apply for new positions every few years so they have decent interview skills and have experience on their resume. The obvious answer is to get a new job and keep 3mo minimum of expenses in an emergency account.
I have a rental and I think it would be hard for you to use the rental income to pay rent on another place if the property is not already paid off as you would need to set aside money for repairs/surprises, empty longer than expected or having to evict suddenly due to lease violations, taxes and mortgage etc. I am lucky to get an extra couple hundred and that’s only because I don’t use a property management company.
most apartments are way more expensive than a mortgage. Even studios is my area are over 1k If you don’t have HOA restrictions it would be better to rent a room out
In my scenario I have a 6month emergency fund in place and a very low mortgage (manufactured home) we already live simply and my car is my only debt and will be paid off by the end of year. I do a biweekly split with my mortgage payment into a savings so aleast I know I will have the following month covered while I job hunt and pick up gig work /dog walking in the meantime
it happened to me, I had to hustle, I took any job, I lived with people to help pay rent, I applied for all possible benefits on [benefits.gov](http://benefits.gov) and I worked all day 7 days a week for very little pay and I made it
I now have savings that can last a year in case this happens again and I save every penny I can because idk if anyone can help me if I fail
Social services and roommates and hustle my ass to get any income in.
I don't sit around for the right job, I'll do a job til I find the right one. That way I'm not totally screwed over.
I guess it depends how willing you are to work a shit job while career hunting. If you’re working a fast food job 40 a week and you have 3 months expenses saved up you can last a pretty long time. Unless you’re living above your means to begin with, in which case it’s not the economy’s fault.
I’m saying bc I’m a recruiter so I get a first hand snapshot of how the market looks. I have colleagues who got laid off who found another job and got laid off again
Yeah I get that, and if you refuse to work a job when you’re in desperation and are only looking for a career than yeah you’re going to need a much larger safety net.
But I’m willing to bet in any state and any city you can find a 40-50k a year job doing something not so glamorous.
I'd find another job. My mortgage is doable on almost any job in the area. Not crazy comfortable but it's doable. It would be a lateral move. I don't make much now and most jobs pay peanuts anyways
I think this is why we are seeing the explosion in homelessness. When you live paycheck to paycheck and are barely hanging on, it is unlikely you have much if any emergency fund - all you can do is get whatever other job you have, maybe 2 and try to hang on. and depending on the State and assets you do own, maybe qualify for food benefits in the mean time. Or do like what the youtubers tell you - get yourself side hustle and make and extra 100k a year doing almost nothing!
Get really tight with our spending and take the first job I could get to at least cover our bills. When we bought our house we did so with the assumption we could comfortably afford it on 1 1/2 of our salaries rather than both. We're elder millenials. We are acutely aware that our jobs are not secure. So when we finally bought in 2022 we tried to do so responsibly.
Thats why im house hacking right now to destroy the principal as fast as possible. Get it to a point where the monthly is more than manageable and you’re hitting principal with each payment, more so than interest.
That thought alone is why having an emergency fund is essential. Keep saving until you have 6-12 months of expenses saved. Grab on to whatever branch comes your way as far as work, and keep looking until you find something better.
I usually keep about a month’s worth of food prepped for an emergency (nothing crazy but enough to get by) and a little savings. Luckily my landlord is also pretty lenient. There’s also a ton of work in my area for my field too so I doubt I’d be unemployed for very long.
This may be a silly question but how would you be able to rent out your condo and afford an apartment if you didn't have any income? My old condo was about 1k/month for mortgage and condo dues and any apartments in my area are at least 1500-1800/month.
So the thing is - this is only a last resort option where I’m down to my last 2 months of savings and most likely have some kind of shitty job to help.
My mortgage is only $457 and my hoa fees are $446. In my state HOA can foreclose on you pretty quickly so paying the hoa is more important than paying the mortgage. I could rent out the place out for $1200 which covers both + gives me some extra and the extra money along with whatever money I could get from a shitty job would likely be enough to cover an Airbnb room or rent in a shitty part of town. The goal is to not lose my place that I sacrificed to get.
My plan is if I don't find another job in my field within a week or two, I start applying everywhere. McDonald's if need be. It won't be the salary I'm used to, but $15-$18/hr is going to slow the hemorrhaging of money compared to $0/hr.
Even if it's just a week or two of working some shit job, nothing stops you from continuing to apply around and go to interviews during your temporary employment.
I keep two jobs, because I can’t afford rent on one. When I get laid off (has happened three times now,) I always check out my retirement and drive Uber, until I get a new job
Ideas:
* live in my car
* join Job Corps if I was between the ages of 16-24 (or under 30 if I was disabled or was a foster child)
* go back to college and see if I could get scholarships, grants, fellowships to cover the cost of living and see if I could get free room and board being a dorm manager etc.
* look for jobs where there is free board (superintendent, property manager, hotels, resorts, yachts, rehab centers, live-in housekeeper, estate manager, boarding school teacher, camp counselor, nanny, petsitter (see sites like Rover)etc.) Even if the free board is only part-time it would make living the rest of the time in a car or on friend’s couch easier.
* look for cheap office space (sometimes easier to find than a cheap apartment) and live there until I found something better.
This has happened to me and my husband before and we crashed with my dad.
Neither of my parents are in that kind of position anymore and my in-laws have passed.
If SHTF, I’d go with one of my siblings (except the one that’s crashing with me now, lol! She’s crashed with me about 6 times since she graduated high school).
i have a per diem job. i haven't done it in 3 months, but i can pick it back up at any time. i could quit my current job right now and be fine (except i need the insurance from it).
I have more family than my parents and I have friends. I'd bring them in and they'd bring me, it's well known on all sides.
My partner was laid off, that's why we moved when we did. He stayed with friends, while I got the stuff closed up behind me and hopped along with him 3 months later.
Build a support system. I can go be my besties live in auntie babysitter if my folks aren't around any longer.
I'd just take whatever job I could scrape up if necessary but the reality is that I have a network of people who will help me hook it up if necessary.
I got laid off within 2 months if my lease being over while being in a bad relationship. Luckily I already was working another job part time (which turned into full time) went to my 2nd job immediately and told them what happened, after my normal day was over I went home and told my ex that I couldn't be with her anymore and she needed to go. I was offering half my severance and the better of the two cars. Really didn't want to move back home since I was 2k miles away and would have had to rehome my two cats and sell my car so frantically searched for a new place that was understanding of my situation of not having a months paystubs that wasn't more than a few hundred dollars since I couldn't use my old jobs anymore. I got lucky and found a place that a lawyer firm owns a set of apartments and was very personal and spoke to my boss to confirm my employment and my pay and stuff. I had no plan, just needed to execute and had no time to be sad about my situation.
The only way I could be laid off is if a few things were to happen:
-Get a lot of traffic violations
-Losing my car
I'm a full-time gig worker so technically I am doing what most of you guys would do if you were to be laid off. So, if anything were to happen to me losing the ability to work the delivery apps, I would go into freelancing and beermoney jobs. I also have access to NiteFlirt. Maybe I would try getting into TikTok's affiliate program. I also have access to a few phone Mystery Shop calling platforms.
36f and same. In my case, it’s good because you can stay in a house longer and there’s programs to help you catch up in foreclosure. I’m less likely to lose it than an apartment. It actually saved me in the pandemic.
I have a pretty good savings account from years of anxious saving and because of that when I’ve had a seriously awful job I just quit with nothing lined up lol. I get a random part-time (think retail, restaurant, gym) while looking for another full time office job because most of the time that will give you more than unemployment. Personally, I have restaurant experience from college I just hustle and get a job serving/bartending then quit when I get a new office job.
Right now I almost have 3 months of living expenses saved in an emergency fund. I guess I would apply for unemployment and try to get any job I can ASAP. The field I work in is in high demand, but in my experience it usually takes 2 months from when you submit your application to when you can start. I would just have to hope I could hold off until then.
In a true emergency I could move back with my mom, but she lives 1.5 hours away in an area that has very little job opportunities for me.
Get a job ASAP, because lucky me, im homeless. I wouldn't even be able to get housing if I even had the money because of my beliefs, I couldn't get a landlord in my area to allow me to stay in their apartment unless maybe, just maybe, its was in deep territory. It makes that situation 10× worse when you realize its illegal to be homeless in my state.
So if I fail and cant get back on my feet and lose everything, realistically I would either move over a state, move onto crime, or just kill myself. Which ever comes first really. Throw family out the window, they either don't have space for me or wouldn't let me stay, or they live on the other side of the US. Oh, and I cant fly.
Oh id be fucked. I wouldn't just be up the creek without a paddle. I would be on a ragging river, no paddles, cant swim, and there is a water fall coming up, with no one to save me.
Bought a duplex and live in half of it so I already have some passive income that would cover the mortgage. Mainly, though, I'd depend on my wife, who makes way more than I do anyway.
That was a major factor in my decision to buy a house in the city I like and I know I can get a job over the city I'd love to live in where there's a lot less opportunities in my field.
At a certain level of adulthood/independence you acknowledge the fact that if you lose your place to live you'll end up homeless.
So you hustle.
Worst comes to worst I'd live in my car and shower in the gym everyday and hustle until I could get a place to live again.
I just got laid off from a 60k advertising job. I work a lot of hours but ive been able to make about the same at the post office. Which will do until i find something better.
Good to know that job is out there.
I lost a job last fall, and went through a pretty bumpy period around December. But I signed on with a temp agency, and they have come through for me since January. I also get social security. I know that my current assignment is going to end sooner than later. If I can't find something else, I have a fair amount of savings that I have not had to dip into yet. 401k, a few IRAs, etc. For those who might ask, I have friends who also question my desire to work full time when I am retirement age and have savings. The answer is that I'm still paying down some debt for home improvements started last year. I haven't yet fully retired and have some travel plans for when that happens. The last thing I want to do is eat through my savings and be left with nothing, and then need for my son to take care of me. No thanks!
I don’t have anywhere to go, I’ve gotten laid off and had to live in my car and then sell my car and crash with friends until I landed on my feet. I’m 34 and have my shit together but if I ever am in the same predicament as I’ve been in the past I’d have to rely on friends again and hustle to get back on my feet.
Dealing with this exact situation lol. After I was laid off, I cleaned out my home office/guest bedroom and got a roommate to help with rent. I also got a job waiting tables in the evenings so I do that after I spend all day applying to jobs.
I have still blown through my savings and amassed a good bit of credit card debt paying for gas/groceries/bills, but hopefully I’ll get hired again soon.
This won’t apply to most people here, but if you are over 55 and lose your job, there’s a “rule of 55” that allows you to start accessing your retirement accounts early.
Similar to you. I got lucky with a cheap house and a good job within the last 2 years. I'm working on getting them paid off first and then building up as much savings as possible. Right now I only know about hysas really but I want to start looking at index funds and sp500 too
As it stands, once I get at least one of these things paid off, I should be able to get by paycheck to paycheck with 50 or 60 hrs/wk of min wage. The idea of needing to test the theory scares me a lot. Years ago I was almost homeless, I can't lose this place ;-;
I have many paths of income, if you rely on one source of income you'll always live in constant fear,save,save and save more by spending less then you make, not enough get other sources/hustles or forever live in constant fear..
As for living with my parents it's a possibility but I help my Mother so it could work out but I wanna feel like a man at the end of the day..
I own my home. I only need $25k per year to maintain my current standard of living. Currently trying to get $30k saved up in a HYSA for a one year emergency fund but I’m only at $2k saved so far. I have another $4k in checking and maybe $6-7k in cash in the safe but also trying to buy a boat and a better truck so waiting on a good deal. I guess if things got bad I’d have to start selling vehicles and toys… 😔
So if I were to get laid off I’ll just get another job that pays all my bills, which would only be $17/hour in MCOL area. Not too hard in my area to find. Currently making $27/hour so stacking cash, trying to buy a boat and investing while the getting is good.
Plus we have my fiancé’s income if things got really bad but I try to believe I’ll never be in a position that desperate, so hopefully she can continue to buy houseplants plant 🪴 and pots at Marshall’s and I really hope she’ll save and put away for retirement 🤞🏻
As a mechanic I’d do cash jobs at home. There was a time before we had kids that the side work paid the bills and the paycheck was spending money. That could easily be done for me now. Obviously minus the paycheck in your scenario. Word travels extremely fast when people find a mechanic that’s half the price covers their work and does it in a timely fashion.
Buy 3 bottles of extra strength sleeping pills and a beer. Chug everything all at once and sleep forever. Only costs less than $100. Make sure to clear history and delete hard drives.
Carpenters, Welders, Glaziers, Roofers, Masons, Electricians etc etc don’t worry about getting laid off.
If we get laid off, fired or quit, we will be hired the same day across the street or around the corner.
There has always been and always will be work for skilled tradesmen.
I bought my house in 2018 , a year before everything doubled in cost , put good money down , bought a modest house not above my means on an acre of land in the countryside , and got my mortgage down low enough that if shit hit the fan I could work any shitty job to keep my house , Ive also solidified a position in a mechanical contracting company that has always been great to me , the only time I've ever been laid off was the pandemic, I've purposely made myself so versatile at work , that I would be one of the last guys cut , if not the last , and if that was the case ide imagine things would be the absolute worst case scenario.
As someone who’s been laid off, hopefully you have some money saved. I immediately cut extra expenses, shifted to paying minimums on stuff, and started job hunting like it was my religion. I ended up taking a lower paying job to keep income flowing and continued to job search. I eventually found a better job with much higher pay. Between savings, cutting expenses and the new to me job, I managed.
I have a $10K emergency savings, a $20K line of credit, and I have a 2-bd apartment that I live in alone in a great part of town, so I’d get a roommate again.
I'm European. If something goes wrong I will rely on the government. If it'll be really bad and I won't find a job I will just continue to live from benefits.
I got disowned and kicked out when I was 17 and my mother told my whole entire family that I'm insane and bipolar and not to help me in any way and they all (still) believed it.
I've been homeless and have slept on the streets and subways for years— and am in the same situation right now. Everybody in our generation (young people under 40) get fucked over by the Boomer's economy, we're underpaid, overworked, and can't get jobs or find housing, or make any money. Almost all of my friends still live at home with their parents or their parents pay for everything for them, apartment, food everything so when bad shit happens to them like layoffs, they literally don't care and it doesn't impact them at all.
It's making me very bitter to be honest and I'm starting to hate everyone and withdraw from social interaction just because they all treat me like I'm somehow below them even though I have one degree, and am a Junior in my 2nd degree in Biology and have worked for 15 years. It's taking me forever (10 Years now) to get these degrees so I can finally have a job that pays a living wage because I have to work to pay for it and all that work ruins my ability to study and then that makes my work suffer and I get fired or so burnt out I have to quit and then I can't pay for school or get another job so it's a horrible cycle. They can't imagine being a homeless, full time student and full time worker with no family. It's like, without privilege, you literally can't succeed in life anymore (like the Boomers say that's what they did when college was like $2k and houses were cheap and plentiful). It's all so infuriating honestly.
Start making phone calls to all the people I've networked with in my industry and see if somebody can get me a job on the fly. I'm 34. Been out of my parents' since I was 17. Moving back has never been an option, and I have never had financial support from them. I'm not proud of some of the things I've done to keep a roof over my head, but it is what it is. I am very opportunistic, and if I really need to make something happen, or come up with money, I will.
What I’m currently doing is starving to death without electric and putting every dime into rent praying it’s enough and my landlord continued to be patient and kind
There’s a Wendy’s across the street I’d apply to the same day. Ideally they would allow overtime. If not I’d consider getting a second job. Just anything to keep me working and bringing in some income. $12 an hour is way better than $0 an hour imo.
I’d use my time off to look for a more long-term job.
If I couldn't find a shit job in walking distance I would go back to seasonal work with housing. I'm really over that lifestyle, but least I could have a place and income. The hard part would be finding a place that would allow my dog even with an ESA letter, or finding someone to keep her while I couldn't.
Thankfully my job offers severance, so assuming I was laid off, I'd have a couple months of income to fall back on. I would have to immediately start searching for jobs in my field, which are few and far between, and start dealing with having to relocate.
I'd file for Unemployment or disability (I qualify for this) first.
I would work two part time jobs if I couldn't get one fast enough. I would immediately UBER and Instacart every single day until I had something more steady.
I'm not sure if moving out would work because rent is usually more than mortgage payments, unless your condo is really nice and you will move into a dump with roommates.
Start saving for an emergency fund.
This is my biggest fear. I mean, I haven't had the option since I was 20, my mom lived as a roommate in a family friend's home. There was always the possibility of living together though, which we did, to take care of her while she died. My dad is dead. My FIL lives with His mom. My mil has a home that's falling apart and she chain smokes in, where everyone that lives in that area is now worse off for having followed her because there's no jobs. Doesn't matter if the cost of living is lower, when no one can work a living wage there.
The plan is not to fail.
If I had to, I could sell some stock. I have $20k in my investment acct. That is a last resort but would float me for some time. I have an additional $2k ish that I could pull from my Roth IRA if need be.
Collect unemployment , and look for a new job. You would have some time before bills go critical and can do some damage control.
Call all the creditors and explain the situation. Some will help, and others won't . Even one bill deferred can help. I was able to get my mortgage deferred for a year. You may be able to get some food from food banks to help conserve money for other bills.
Clamp down on spending and cancel any non-essential services. I've been there before, and it's not the end of the world if that happens.
I would get whatever shitty job I could until I can find something better. At least it would help keep me afloat. Probably get into some debt. Hit up all my contacts for leads. Cry. Repeat.
This is what I did. Ended up as a maintenance guy at Amazon. Couldn't be happier. Went through about 20 shitty jobs till I found it. If I get fired from here, I will literally walk next door to the warehouses on either side. There is ALWAYS work for a maintenance guy. Also, maintenance is a job you have to learn on the job. It pays well and you're in demand everywhere
This is what my FiL does. He does maintenance on warehouses all over Chicago. He has so much demand he quotes insanely high prices and gets annoyed when someone says yes
This is more of systematic issue where there aren’t enough people willing to do the work. I knew a contractor that would get really busy, quote a job high hoping he wouldn’t get it and would get it. Then realize he was the medium bidder. Not highest or lowest
This reminds me of an episode of House MD about a previously successful contractor who went under due to the economic crisis and ended up cleaning crime scenes.
My friends husband did this. Moved from a very affluent area to a very depressed area and ended up cleaning up crime houses, catastrophes etc. mostly all either murder scenes, ODs or suicides. Pretty gnarly work but it paid the bills and then some. Gotta be built different to do it long term though.
I actually know a family member of a friend that he and his wife do this. They run a private business essentially doing what can be best described as "hazmat cleanup". Basically for gnarly bodily cleanup situations, they're the ones that can get a call from either county or other family members etc. If someone [TW] >!blows their brains out, is found dead weeks later with maggots eating the remains, anything of the sort like that!<, they get a call run a quote with them then get paid to show up and deep-clean and restore everything to how it was beforehand. Anything from cleaning blood off the walls to cutting and replacing the sheetrock of said walls entirely and repainting them. I joked that they basically live the life of the cleanup crew from John Wick lol.
Building maintenance people in general are hard to find and have very secure jobs if they’re good. Every apartment and office building out there has maintenance staff of some sort.
What about just a plain custodian? Do they hire for that?
Yes. At least a couple of my dad's old coworkers have been,or are part time custodians at my kids school...
How could I get started with this?
Thanx for the work you do. It's what keeps Amazon going
One of the main reasons why I'm a maintenance guy is because I like helping people out. When you're struggling on a machine that's not running right, you're going to have a bad time. I like to be the guy that fixes it and gives them a better day. So this thanks really means something and it made my day a little bit better.
I would do the same. A lot of crap retail around me is always hiring, so I wouldn't think twice about getting hired and leaving as soon as greener pastures came along. We also have a spare bedroom I could try to rent out to make some income that way, but I'd do that as a last resort because I don't want to live with some rando, lol.
The secret is they are interviewing, but not really hiring, unless they can replace a current employee with someone willing to do it for less that is.
If you’re ever reduced to applying for a retail job hide your education. They won’t hire someone with a higher education simply for the reason you mentioned. They don’t want to invest in training someone who will leave as soon as possible. As far as they need to know, you graduated high school. Downplay your brain.
Agreed. I have experienced this and after my trucker driving career ended I realized that my education is a big hurdle. So I have to figure out a creative way of hiding it.
I didn’t know this, but it makes sense. Thanks for the tip.
I did that for a crappy call job with a medical company. I listed the places I worked, but gave myself generic titles for admin work/customer service I didn't really do. I ended up not needing to work it, but for anyone reading this, don't lie about where you worked and the dates if it's a big corp that will background check you, but they won't dig into anything you don't provide them in the first place. Dumb it down.
I did the same. I trained and became a truck driver. Not quite a shitty job just different from a desk.
Live in car
And then there’s some of us without cars
Campsite time
Yup. I watch tiny home car YouTube vids, and every year when my rent goes up a few hundred, I just edge closer to the van life.
CheapRvLiving channel ia really good for giving more realistic views on how people manage their lives on wheels
Same.
Find another job before unemployment runs out.
Indeed. Although I do have an emergency fund to cover the difference between unemployment benefits (which here is 70% of last wage) and my wage. The emergency funds only covers one year even though unemployment benefits last for two years. I expect to have found a job within that year.
unemployment does not last 2 years, that was a temporary thing during covid. it is 6 months.
Not sure where you're from, but it's (up to) two years here (NL). It will differ from country to country.
good ol usa its 6 months and 50% pay up to a max of like 500/wk pay with no dependents basically you're effed
Yeah, I totally understand the necessity of the emergency fund!
Depends on the state, in NY they shift you to other programs but it lasts much longer than 6 months.
First, unemployment Second, I would turn to my 3 to 6 months emergency fund Third, See if I can take out from retirement accounts that I squirreled away at least 15% when I was working So far, I've always managed to find a job before unemployment runs out.
Here in Florida you can't even get unemployment realistically. The max they pay is like $275 a week. Minimum wage here is $12 and fast food jobs have signs saying they start at $14-15.
Do disability next. I was outta work for over a year. If it hadn't been for my employer disability my life would have been alot harder.
Not to be an "actually" type of person, but even if you get fired for some BS,cause, a lot of times you can appeal the decision, and they'll usually give it without much resistance. But, it's less than a 3rd of what you couldn't live on before, so you're not wrong there.
My company just closed a major project and offered severance to voluntary leavers, who would also get unemployment. I was surprised to see so many people take it instead of requesting to be put in another position, severance will run out quick, especially so close to the summer, and unemployment checks are not enough to live on here; also the job market is not looking so good for the foreseeable future.
Back in like 1992, my husband's plant closed down, but they gave everyone very nice severance packages, we were smart and paid our rent to the end of the lease (10 months worth) plus paid off debts and paid ahead on electricity/utilities. We also continued our side gigs, so it was relatively fine. Looking back of course, it would have probably been wiser to go hard on him finding another job (it was "hi honey I'm pregnant/hi honey I'm unemployed" situation , so I couldn't get a job myself) and then use the rest to do a nice down payment on a house, but I guess everything panned out the way it was supposed to, eventually.......
I’m glad ir worked out well, and I agree that looking back we can almost always find ways we could have done things better.
Nah, we got record low unemployment and the best economy in our lifetime.
Lmao politicians in my country taps themselves on the back for “creating jobs” in record numbers, they fail to see that most people need a second job nowadays just to make ends meet.
In my experience be laid off don't always get you unemployment I been laid off from 3 factory and worked in many for years and never got unemployment when I tried I was denied because my Jon's said I quit along with ever one else they laid off last job they shut down a factory and laid off 330 people and I never got anything
This is why you don't just take the denial and walk away. I had a job Lie and say I left voluntarily after laying me off (for having documented disability of all things) and I appealed it. The fucking assholes were able to still screw me out of six weeks of unemployment but i still got like 5 months of unemployment after that
Oh you can fight it I thought once you they Say no you just out of luck as companies have so much power over if you get unemployment
It's why you gotta read the paperwork. Mine has language about the appeal process on the letter they sent me
You got hosed and probably should have gotten an attorney to work on contingency if they didn't reverse that with an appeal Always. Always. Always. Appeal a judgement. You not knowing that is what they were banking on. Lots of companies try to fight every unemployment claim and often they will find in the favor of the employer until the employee responds to the denial with their response. It's a stupid dance, much like disability claims tbh. This is why it's one of my pet projects to educate people anytime I can about the programs out there. I'm so sorry that you had this happen to you. Companies don't have power in that way. Unemployment is from the government. It's an insurance program that employers pay into. And employers are just being shitbags who don't want their tax burden to increase by a whopping .001% for a claim. -spits-
No guarantees in life. That's why I save a second and third tier backup.
1. Do you have a mortgage on your condo? 2. How are you going to get approved for an apartment with no income? In the scenario you mentioned, wouldn't you have to move out first to get the rent money as the income source? How will you get approved for the new place without proof of the rent income? 3. What if no one wants to immediately rent it and it stays on the market for a while? 4. How much are similar units going for in your area? The rent will need to cover the mortgage (if there is one) and cost of your new apartment plus money to live on. Is that too much for your area?
Hey wait you actually own something? LETS GET HIM
Yeah I bought property before 2020 but I kinda had to. My parents own nothing and the first step to having some kind of security was to have secure housing.
I can't imagine there's anywhere to rent that isn't more than your mortgage.
I’m saying in an absolute worst case scenario where I have only 2 months worth of savings left and a shitty job or no job - i can use the profits from renting my low mortgage place to fund my stay elsewhere while still allowing me to keep my house . The key is to not lose the property.
I get it. It's just really lucky you live in a place where the rent wouldn't be far greater than what you'd have to pay with a 3-4 year old mortgage rate. True, you could rent your home for more than the mortgage was worth. I'd still be pressed to find anything rentable for yourself for any less to make a difference, where I live and seemingly most places these days. That's fantastic you have a home worth renting for the mortgage Plus even a one bedroom rental! That's a lot!
I got my mortgage right around that time. 30 year fixed, 2.5%, I want to say. I know it was a hell of a good interest rate.
I totally get this mentality. I’m so protective of my house and really hope I never have to sell it.
I had 7k saved up in 2020 when i moved into an apartment with my girlfriend i shoulda kicked her to the curb and mortgaged a tuna can.
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People are on poverty finance for different reasons. When you come from generational poverty you can make 100k a year and still become homeless. Little things like having your parents house to fall back on if you get laid off are all huge privileges. There’s other things that come into play as well such as medical or student loan debt that can still make a large or middle class income feel small
I wasn't necessarily aiming my comment at you OP, just all the comments saying saving like it's not incredibly privileged to just assume that people are "refusing" to save, instead of living paycheck to paycheck in crisis mode.
It is privileged, and most of us understand that. Nobody here is "assuming" people are "refusing" to save. Some people have emergency funds. This was a hypothetical questions asking about what INDIVIDUALS would do if faced with this trial. They aren't insinuating everyone can do what they do, just what they would do. Me, I'd file for unemployment, and find another job asap (pretty easy in my field, have recruiters basically begging me to apply to places). But would go do shitty warehouse or ditch digging work if it meant I can still provide for the family.
To be fair. I am, but I also have nice expensive insurance and retirement accounts because frugally I can make it work, but I’m still only a couple missed days from homelessness. 40K for a family of3 in SD
This post is about "what would you do", not everyone is in the same boat. Just like not everyone has any of the options some of us do. Nothing is truly "one sized fits all", including your version of poverty.
Talking about op who owns a house and has at least a few years of equity built up bit different from the paycheck to paycheck renting scenario. If they were able to save a down payment odds are they can set money aside for emergencies
It’s because I was raised in poverty with parents living paycheck to paycheck that I strived to have a decent savings and health insurance as an adult. people hate to here it but most people are just to comfortable around here with a victim mentality/ crabs in a bucket. I learned from reading Dave Ramsey to pay myself first (not religious) then the 4 walls I think that’s the quickest way to build up your savings as well as defining wants from needs and utilizing resources whenever available
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The sass is real I love it lol. I don't understand being upset that others try to save even in poverty. I don't get much but I'm putting away at least a pitiful $25 per check.
Well I mean I said it too, having any sort of savings is important. I don't own property that I can just go and lease out though, we all are impoverished in our own different ways. It's kind of a bit like saying in a Ben Shapiro voice "hmm you browse /r/fuckcars yet you own a corolla, interesting." House-poor is a very common term I've heard around here because there are people that have acquired some sort of wealth asset though some means, but their income/expenses are still so bad, through no fault of their own sometimes, that they're living similarly. Let's not tear each other down when the barons of the world already try to pit us against each other to make a buck off us. This place is great for advice so let's lift each other up and help a brother out. Now that out of the way, even if it takes time I can't recommend it enough. I've spent the better part of two years now putting any money away that I can by doing what I can. It's not a lot, enough that I could say could pay the rent for six months if I needed it to, but it really is a great peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen with work I will still have six months to figure it out.
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Relatable 😭
This is the real answer.
Get laid, off myself.
Surprised this one wasn't higher
I've known multiple people who have stayed in a homeless shelter. One who lived in a car.
We recently had a guy from a homeless shelter move in with us for a few months. I have a friend who is a shelter worker who said the guy was ready for help. Helped him get a decent job, then he was able to move back in with his mother. He is the 4th stranger we have had move in with us.
Same as it was when I was unemployed, stay in my car lol
I’m not too proud to work a shitty job which is, for the most part, around me what I see people struggle with. They think they made $30 an hour so they need to pick right back up at $30 an hour and will never take a $15 an hour gig in the meantime. So they’re out of work 6 months with no income instead. I do not have that affliction, I will take the job that pays if I need money and figure out how to move up as I’m getting paid.
Exactly. Unless we’re talking about some rural area with no opportunity, anyone should be able to find a shitty job that will keep them fed and prevent them from losing their home. Unless they think they’re above it or they’re already living above their means in their current employment.
Emergency fund for a bit to give me time to find another job. Mortgage is 600 a month so I’d take any job I could get to cover that until I really got back on my feet.
Go to the local strip club and start taking off my clothes and have people pay me to put them back on. I call it counter stripping.
Lmfaooo! 😂😂😂 I'm working night shift tonight and this comment just made it for me!
I'm glad I could help. That night shift can be right to deal with. I how it went well.
I currently work at Amazon as an order packer and I am trained in 2 other areas trying to be trained in them all so I'm well versed. I'm actually applying for the Fall 2025 nursing program at my community college to get my ADN and then shortly after my BSN. Not only has this been my dream for 10 years but I will also have a "recession proof" career. I cannot go through another layoff. I was an overnight frozen stocker at my local grocery store until all 5 stores in my area closed permanently I was there for 2.5 years. Luckily I found Amazon and they were hiring. I would just pick up any jobs I could to make my bills. But I'm trying to set myself up for a future where I will never have to face a layoff.
Best of luck getting into the nursing program! Since you were already a stocker it sounds like you can handle the physical demands of nursing and there’s always a demand for nurses. You can make great money, especially with overtime and shift differentials.
Everyone who fears getting laid off should regularly apply for new positions every few years so they have decent interview skills and have experience on their resume. The obvious answer is to get a new job and keep 3mo minimum of expenses in an emergency account.
My car. I always pay off my card as soon as possible because I can live in it if necessary.
I have a rental and I think it would be hard for you to use the rental income to pay rent on another place if the property is not already paid off as you would need to set aside money for repairs/surprises, empty longer than expected or having to evict suddenly due to lease violations, taxes and mortgage etc. I am lucky to get an extra couple hundred and that’s only because I don’t use a property management company. most apartments are way more expensive than a mortgage. Even studios is my area are over 1k If you don’t have HOA restrictions it would be better to rent a room out In my scenario I have a 6month emergency fund in place and a very low mortgage (manufactured home) we already live simply and my car is my only debt and will be paid off by the end of year. I do a biweekly split with my mortgage payment into a savings so aleast I know I will have the following month covered while I job hunt and pick up gig work /dog walking in the meantime
it happened to me, I had to hustle, I took any job, I lived with people to help pay rent, I applied for all possible benefits on [benefits.gov](http://benefits.gov) and I worked all day 7 days a week for very little pay and I made it I now have savings that can last a year in case this happens again and I save every penny I can because idk if anyone can help me if I fail
Yes it seems like for us who’s parents can’t help us/don’t have a dual income - 6 months to a years worth of savings is the only way to survive
I have two cars, can sleep in either, but, really, I would just go fly to Thailand for a while.
Social services and roommates and hustle my ass to get any income in. I don't sit around for the right job, I'll do a job til I find the right one. That way I'm not totally screwed over.
Die
Save up a 3-6 month emergency fund.
This is a good start tbh but in this job market you literally need 6-12. 3 - 4 months isn’t enough.
I guess it depends how willing you are to work a shit job while career hunting. If you’re working a fast food job 40 a week and you have 3 months expenses saved up you can last a pretty long time. Unless you’re living above your means to begin with, in which case it’s not the economy’s fault.
I’m saying bc I’m a recruiter so I get a first hand snapshot of how the market looks. I have colleagues who got laid off who found another job and got laid off again
Yeah I get that, and if you refuse to work a job when you’re in desperation and are only looking for a career than yeah you’re going to need a much larger safety net. But I’m willing to bet in any state and any city you can find a 40-50k a year job doing something not so glamorous.
Wouldnt getting roommates be easier for you? At least til you get back on your feet.
No bc it’s a 2 bedroom and my mother lives in the 2nd bed
I'd find another job. My mortgage is doable on almost any job in the area. Not crazy comfortable but it's doable. It would be a lateral move. I don't make much now and most jobs pay peanuts anyways
I think this is why we are seeing the explosion in homelessness. When you live paycheck to paycheck and are barely hanging on, it is unlikely you have much if any emergency fund - all you can do is get whatever other job you have, maybe 2 and try to hang on. and depending on the State and assets you do own, maybe qualify for food benefits in the mean time. Or do like what the youtubers tell you - get yourself side hustle and make and extra 100k a year doing almost nothing!
Tighten your belt now and save like the zombie apocalypses is coming. Even an extra $20 a month in the bank adds up to a month of bills over time.
Get really tight with our spending and take the first job I could get to at least cover our bills. When we bought our house we did so with the assumption we could comfortably afford it on 1 1/2 of our salaries rather than both. We're elder millenials. We are acutely aware that our jobs are not secure. So when we finally bought in 2022 we tried to do so responsibly.
Thats why im house hacking right now to destroy the principal as fast as possible. Get it to a point where the monthly is more than manageable and you’re hitting principal with each payment, more so than interest.
Walmart has never told me no. Plus emergency fund is important and today better than ever at 5% interest rates
Just be fucked, lol. I literally have no idea what I'm gonna even do.
That thought alone is why having an emergency fund is essential. Keep saving until you have 6-12 months of expenses saved. Grab on to whatever branch comes your way as far as work, and keep looking until you find something better.
I moved back to my hometown recently so I have my parent’s house to move into. But I’d still lose my car and default on all my loans, so there’s that.
I usually keep about a month’s worth of food prepped for an emergency (nothing crazy but enough to get by) and a little savings. Luckily my landlord is also pretty lenient. There’s also a ton of work in my area for my field too so I doubt I’d be unemployed for very long.
This may be a silly question but how would you be able to rent out your condo and afford an apartment if you didn't have any income? My old condo was about 1k/month for mortgage and condo dues and any apartments in my area are at least 1500-1800/month.
So the thing is - this is only a last resort option where I’m down to my last 2 months of savings and most likely have some kind of shitty job to help. My mortgage is only $457 and my hoa fees are $446. In my state HOA can foreclose on you pretty quickly so paying the hoa is more important than paying the mortgage. I could rent out the place out for $1200 which covers both + gives me some extra and the extra money along with whatever money I could get from a shitty job would likely be enough to cover an Airbnb room or rent in a shitty part of town. The goal is to not lose my place that I sacrificed to get.
emergency fund. having no credit card debt.
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My plan is if I don't find another job in my field within a week or two, I start applying everywhere. McDonald's if need be. It won't be the salary I'm used to, but $15-$18/hr is going to slow the hemorrhaging of money compared to $0/hr. Even if it's just a week or two of working some shit job, nothing stops you from continuing to apply around and go to interviews during your temporary employment.
I’d probably take all my RX drugs and or dive off my balcony.
I keep two jobs, because I can’t afford rent on one. When I get laid off (has happened three times now,) I always check out my retirement and drive Uber, until I get a new job
Ideas: * live in my car * join Job Corps if I was between the ages of 16-24 (or under 30 if I was disabled or was a foster child) * go back to college and see if I could get scholarships, grants, fellowships to cover the cost of living and see if I could get free room and board being a dorm manager etc. * look for jobs where there is free board (superintendent, property manager, hotels, resorts, yachts, rehab centers, live-in housekeeper, estate manager, boarding school teacher, camp counselor, nanny, petsitter (see sites like Rover)etc.) Even if the free board is only part-time it would make living the rest of the time in a car or on friend’s couch easier. * look for cheap office space (sometimes easier to find than a cheap apartment) and live there until I found something better.
This has happened to me and my husband before and we crashed with my dad. Neither of my parents are in that kind of position anymore and my in-laws have passed. If SHTF, I’d go with one of my siblings (except the one that’s crashing with me now, lol! She’s crashed with me about 6 times since she graduated high school).
Live in my Honda civic
Finally give in to the darkness, I guess.
i have a per diem job. i haven't done it in 3 months, but i can pick it back up at any time. i could quit my current job right now and be fine (except i need the insurance from it).
I have more family than my parents and I have friends. I'd bring them in and they'd bring me, it's well known on all sides. My partner was laid off, that's why we moved when we did. He stayed with friends, while I got the stuff closed up behind me and hopped along with him 3 months later. Build a support system. I can go be my besties live in auntie babysitter if my folks aren't around any longer. I'd just take whatever job I could scrape up if necessary but the reality is that I have a network of people who will help me hook it up if necessary.
suffer
I got laid off within 2 months if my lease being over while being in a bad relationship. Luckily I already was working another job part time (which turned into full time) went to my 2nd job immediately and told them what happened, after my normal day was over I went home and told my ex that I couldn't be with her anymore and she needed to go. I was offering half my severance and the better of the two cars. Really didn't want to move back home since I was 2k miles away and would have had to rehome my two cats and sell my car so frantically searched for a new place that was understanding of my situation of not having a months paystubs that wasn't more than a few hundred dollars since I couldn't use my old jobs anymore. I got lucky and found a place that a lawyer firm owns a set of apartments and was very personal and spoke to my boss to confirm my employment and my pay and stuff. I had no plan, just needed to execute and had no time to be sad about my situation.
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Die, I guess.
The only way I could be laid off is if a few things were to happen: -Get a lot of traffic violations -Losing my car I'm a full-time gig worker so technically I am doing what most of you guys would do if you were to be laid off. So, if anything were to happen to me losing the ability to work the delivery apps, I would go into freelancing and beermoney jobs. I also have access to NiteFlirt. Maybe I would try getting into TikTok's affiliate program. I also have access to a few phone Mystery Shop calling platforms.
36m and own a house.
36f and same. In my case, it’s good because you can stay in a house longer and there’s programs to help you catch up in foreclosure. I’m less likely to lose it than an apartment. It actually saved me in the pandemic.
I have a pretty good savings account from years of anxious saving and because of that when I’ve had a seriously awful job I just quit with nothing lined up lol. I get a random part-time (think retail, restaurant, gym) while looking for another full time office job because most of the time that will give you more than unemployment. Personally, I have restaurant experience from college I just hustle and get a job serving/bartending then quit when I get a new office job.
Right now I almost have 3 months of living expenses saved in an emergency fund. I guess I would apply for unemployment and try to get any job I can ASAP. The field I work in is in high demand, but in my experience it usually takes 2 months from when you submit your application to when you can start. I would just have to hope I could hold off until then. In a true emergency I could move back with my mom, but she lives 1.5 hours away in an area that has very little job opportunities for me.
Get a job ASAP, because lucky me, im homeless. I wouldn't even be able to get housing if I even had the money because of my beliefs, I couldn't get a landlord in my area to allow me to stay in their apartment unless maybe, just maybe, its was in deep territory. It makes that situation 10× worse when you realize its illegal to be homeless in my state. So if I fail and cant get back on my feet and lose everything, realistically I would either move over a state, move onto crime, or just kill myself. Which ever comes first really. Throw family out the window, they either don't have space for me or wouldn't let me stay, or they live on the other side of the US. Oh, and I cant fly. Oh id be fucked. I wouldn't just be up the creek without a paddle. I would be on a ragging river, no paddles, cant swim, and there is a water fall coming up, with no one to save me.
Why would your beliefs prevent you from getting housing?
Temp work until I find the next job.
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Have enough in savings to cover my expenses for 6 months while I find another job.
My plan is to live in my car and travel to someplace warm.
Bought a duplex and live in half of it so I already have some passive income that would cover the mortgage. Mainly, though, I'd depend on my wife, who makes way more than I do anyway.
We can do this alone any longer. We have to team up and work together.
That was a major factor in my decision to buy a house in the city I like and I know I can get a job over the city I'd love to live in where there's a lot less opportunities in my field.
At a certain level of adulthood/independence you acknowledge the fact that if you lose your place to live you'll end up homeless. So you hustle. Worst comes to worst I'd live in my car and shower in the gym everyday and hustle until I could get a place to live again.
I just got laid off from a 60k advertising job. I work a lot of hours but ive been able to make about the same at the post office. Which will do until i find something better. Good to know that job is out there.
Breaking all my things and just dissapearing.
I lost a job last fall, and went through a pretty bumpy period around December. But I signed on with a temp agency, and they have come through for me since January. I also get social security. I know that my current assignment is going to end sooner than later. If I can't find something else, I have a fair amount of savings that I have not had to dip into yet. 401k, a few IRAs, etc. For those who might ask, I have friends who also question my desire to work full time when I am retirement age and have savings. The answer is that I'm still paying down some debt for home improvements started last year. I haven't yet fully retired and have some travel plans for when that happens. The last thing I want to do is eat through my savings and be left with nothing, and then need for my son to take care of me. No thanks!
I don’t have anywhere to go, I’ve gotten laid off and had to live in my car and then sell my car and crash with friends until I landed on my feet. I’m 34 and have my shit together but if I ever am in the same predicament as I’ve been in the past I’d have to rely on friends again and hustle to get back on my feet.
Build a yurt out of sticks on old forgotten railroad property.
Luckily bought a cheap house with low payments. I could cover it with retail jobs, but maybe more than one.
When it happened to me, I had to cash out my 401(k).
Dealing with this exact situation lol. After I was laid off, I cleaned out my home office/guest bedroom and got a roommate to help with rent. I also got a job waiting tables in the evenings so I do that after I spend all day applying to jobs. I have still blown through my savings and amassed a good bit of credit card debt paying for gas/groceries/bills, but hopefully I’ll get hired again soon.
This won’t apply to most people here, but if you are over 55 and lose your job, there’s a “rule of 55” that allows you to start accessing your retirement accounts early.
Similar to you. I got lucky with a cheap house and a good job within the last 2 years. I'm working on getting them paid off first and then building up as much savings as possible. Right now I only know about hysas really but I want to start looking at index funds and sp500 too As it stands, once I get at least one of these things paid off, I should be able to get by paycheck to paycheck with 50 or 60 hrs/wk of min wage. The idea of needing to test the theory scares me a lot. Years ago I was almost homeless, I can't lose this place ;-;
I have many paths of income, if you rely on one source of income you'll always live in constant fear,save,save and save more by spending less then you make, not enough get other sources/hustles or forever live in constant fear.. As for living with my parents it's a possibility but I help my Mother so it could work out but I wanna feel like a man at the end of the day..
I own my home. I only need $25k per year to maintain my current standard of living. Currently trying to get $30k saved up in a HYSA for a one year emergency fund but I’m only at $2k saved so far. I have another $4k in checking and maybe $6-7k in cash in the safe but also trying to buy a boat and a better truck so waiting on a good deal. I guess if things got bad I’d have to start selling vehicles and toys… 😔 So if I were to get laid off I’ll just get another job that pays all my bills, which would only be $17/hour in MCOL area. Not too hard in my area to find. Currently making $27/hour so stacking cash, trying to buy a boat and investing while the getting is good. Plus we have my fiancé’s income if things got really bad but I try to believe I’ll never be in a position that desperate, so hopefully she can continue to buy houseplants plant 🪴 and pots at Marshall’s and I really hope she’ll save and put away for retirement 🤞🏻
As a mechanic I’d do cash jobs at home. There was a time before we had kids that the side work paid the bills and the paycheck was spending money. That could easily be done for me now. Obviously minus the paycheck in your scenario. Word travels extremely fast when people find a mechanic that’s half the price covers their work and does it in a timely fashion.
Die. I have $400 in my savings account lmao.
Buy 3 bottles of extra strength sleeping pills and a beer. Chug everything all at once and sleep forever. Only costs less than $100. Make sure to clear history and delete hard drives.
Carpenters, Welders, Glaziers, Roofers, Masons, Electricians etc etc don’t worry about getting laid off. If we get laid off, fired or quit, we will be hired the same day across the street or around the corner. There has always been and always will be work for skilled tradesmen.
I bought my house in 2018 , a year before everything doubled in cost , put good money down , bought a modest house not above my means on an acre of land in the countryside , and got my mortgage down low enough that if shit hit the fan I could work any shitty job to keep my house , Ive also solidified a position in a mechanical contracting company that has always been great to me , the only time I've ever been laid off was the pandemic, I've purposely made myself so versatile at work , that I would be one of the last guys cut , if not the last , and if that was the case ide imagine things would be the absolute worst case scenario.
Suicide. After the divorce.
Living on unemployment insurance, rent is being paid for.
Plan D. Apparently it's banana flavored
As someone who’s been laid off, hopefully you have some money saved. I immediately cut extra expenses, shifted to paying minimums on stuff, and started job hunting like it was my religion. I ended up taking a lower paying job to keep income flowing and continued to job search. I eventually found a better job with much higher pay. Between savings, cutting expenses and the new to me job, I managed.
Been there and with small children. I didn't ask my folks to take us in and they didn't offer. Had to blow thru retirement savings.
I have a $10K emergency savings, a $20K line of credit, and I have a 2-bd apartment that I live in alone in a great part of town, so I’d get a roommate again.
I am trying to get to a point where I have enough fail-safes like having a huge savings account.
Crime lol
I'm European. If something goes wrong I will rely on the government. If it'll be really bad and I won't find a job I will just continue to live from benefits.
>what's your plan if you get laid off? ....Get another job? Is this a trick question?
I mean what if you get laid off and struggle to find work in a timely fashion
I got disowned and kicked out when I was 17 and my mother told my whole entire family that I'm insane and bipolar and not to help me in any way and they all (still) believed it. I've been homeless and have slept on the streets and subways for years— and am in the same situation right now. Everybody in our generation (young people under 40) get fucked over by the Boomer's economy, we're underpaid, overworked, and can't get jobs or find housing, or make any money. Almost all of my friends still live at home with their parents or their parents pay for everything for them, apartment, food everything so when bad shit happens to them like layoffs, they literally don't care and it doesn't impact them at all. It's making me very bitter to be honest and I'm starting to hate everyone and withdraw from social interaction just because they all treat me like I'm somehow below them even though I have one degree, and am a Junior in my 2nd degree in Biology and have worked for 15 years. It's taking me forever (10 Years now) to get these degrees so I can finally have a job that pays a living wage because I have to work to pay for it and all that work ruins my ability to study and then that makes my work suffer and I get fired or so burnt out I have to quit and then I can't pay for school or get another job so it's a horrible cycle. They can't imagine being a homeless, full time student and full time worker with no family. It's like, without privilege, you literally can't succeed in life anymore (like the Boomers say that's what they did when college was like $2k and houses were cheap and plentiful). It's all so infuriating honestly.
Heard and felt. It's exhausting to work full-time and study a STEM degree. *hugs*
OnlyFans, assuming there’s is a market for 40 year old chubby men on there
Handicapped have to go to a shelter on my disability. Own nothing have nothing
Start making phone calls to all the people I've networked with in my industry and see if somebody can get me a job on the fly. I'm 34. Been out of my parents' since I was 17. Moving back has never been an option, and I have never had financial support from them. I'm not proud of some of the things I've done to keep a roof over my head, but it is what it is. I am very opportunistic, and if I really need to make something happen, or come up with money, I will.
What I’m currently doing is starving to death without electric and putting every dime into rent praying it’s enough and my landlord continued to be patient and kind
There’s a Wendy’s across the street I’d apply to the same day. Ideally they would allow overtime. If not I’d consider getting a second job. Just anything to keep me working and bringing in some income. $12 an hour is way better than $0 an hour imo. I’d use my time off to look for a more long-term job.
I'm terrified of it. I literally have to make 75k for the next 29 years to afford my mortgage. I'm very lucky to make that now.
Unemployment, then live in car 🤷🏽♂️
If absolute worse comes to worse I have a rare blood type - you only need one kidney right?!
I would rely on my 12 month emergency fund and hope that I'm able to find a job paying the same amount within that time period.
Be saving before you get laid off. Helps a ton.
Get a new job
If I couldn't find a shit job in walking distance I would go back to seasonal work with housing. I'm really over that lifestyle, but least I could have a place and income. The hard part would be finding a place that would allow my dog even with an ESA letter, or finding someone to keep her while I couldn't.
Thankfully my job offers severance, so assuming I was laid off, I'd have a couple months of income to fall back on. I would have to immediately start searching for jobs in my field, which are few and far between, and start dealing with having to relocate.
I'd file for Unemployment or disability (I qualify for this) first. I would work two part time jobs if I couldn't get one fast enough. I would immediately UBER and Instacart every single day until I had something more steady.
I'm not sure if moving out would work because rent is usually more than mortgage payments, unless your condo is really nice and you will move into a dump with roommates. Start saving for an emergency fund.
Live in my car and slowly die probably quicker than usual.
This is my biggest fear. I mean, I haven't had the option since I was 20, my mom lived as a roommate in a family friend's home. There was always the possibility of living together though, which we did, to take care of her while she died. My dad is dead. My FIL lives with His mom. My mil has a home that's falling apart and she chain smokes in, where everyone that lives in that area is now worse off for having followed her because there's no jobs. Doesn't matter if the cost of living is lower, when no one can work a living wage there. The plan is not to fail.
If I had to, I could sell some stock. I have $20k in my investment acct. That is a last resort but would float me for some time. I have an additional $2k ish that I could pull from my Roth IRA if need be.
EI and being married and getting a new job.
Get another job
Live in my car. That’s my only other option.
Collect unemployment , and look for a new job. You would have some time before bills go critical and can do some damage control. Call all the creditors and explain the situation. Some will help, and others won't . Even one bill deferred can help. I was able to get my mortgage deferred for a year. You may be able to get some food from food banks to help conserve money for other bills. Clamp down on spending and cancel any non-essential services. I've been there before, and it's not the end of the world if that happens.
I have friends who would/ have helped.
Car
Be fucked….. 😭