7. We had to do the obvious:
quit buying things we didn't need. This was hard for me especially. I like to buy things. It makes me feel good inside.
6. We stuck with our cash system. My husband introduced me to this idea when we got married. If we truly need (or maybe want just a little bit) a larger priced item, we wait until we can pay cash. We don't put it on a credit card.
(PS we have two credit cards-one Visa for times we have to use a card, for instance holding a hotel room over the phone and my Old Navy card only because they give all the good discounts and coupons to the cardholders.)
5. If I'm going to be honest, I have to tell you that we did lower our grocery bill greatly by eating a
4. We did have income during the 15 months. My husband received unemployment checks weekly (a huge decrease in what we were accustomed to), I continued working at the Oral Surgery office on Wednesdays, and we had one of our houses rented.
3. If Nate and I agree on one thing it's: WE HATE TAKING VACATIONS. We're totally boring homebodies, which is great because we still have a home!
2. Prayer. Lots and lots of prayer.
1. There is no secret.
*****Those 15 months really, really sucked.
Our marriage took its greatest hit thus far because we were forced to be around each other 24/7.
We had to work at getting along.
I had to work on being respectful with my words.
Nate had to work on being helpful to me in my workplace (the house) and not just falling into the role of a third child for me to care for.
During the 15 months, I never doubted that God would take care of us, I just had to repeatedly ask Him to make it stop whenever the signs and symptoms of my weekly potential nervous breakdown started up.
Coming out of unemployment financially stable is absolutely possible.
By following these 8 guidelines we were able to continue living our lifestyle without having to sell cars, homes, etc., and we were also able to pay our monthly bills without having to use any of our savings. Thankfully Nate is happily back at work. I will never take that for granted again.
8 witty remarks:
Did you write this post just for me? I sent you an e-mail awhile back asking how you survived such a long time without your husband having a job. It's now been 12 full months that my husband has been without a job. Thankfully, we had saved over a years worth of salary, had cars paid off, and no credit card debt. I too, have been sustained by lots of support from my family, friends, and lots of prayer. I do have those days where I wig out, but that's when the Lord steps in and takes me by the hand and pulls me through it. A year is a long time, and I'm not saying that my brand of suffering is any worse than anyone elses, but it is a difficult road to travel. I'm eagerly looking forward to the day that I can say, "My husband has a job!" Thanks for sharing your story and passing along some hope for those of us in the No Job Boat.
Camille
great post.
My husband is just ended 6 months of layoff and going to a new job. We really needed the family time, so I am greatful that we were able to have all that time together. I also had a hard time not spending but through that Ive realized that is what I should have always been doing. His unemployment taught us many things!
Great post...I think one of the hardest parts is to trust God and not try to "control" the obvious.
Thank you for sharing great advice and your testimony :)
P.S.
Our computer crashed last week, we got it back a couple of days ago but I haven't had a chance to load my camera program on it yet. Do you have a preference or suggetions of how to take the pics?
Yes Prayer is key! So proud of you guys! Love the cash system, Dave Ramsey annyone? Need to start doing that again!
What a wonderful post!!
Really, unemployment scares the ever lovin' crap outta me.
You are so right though...prayer! :)
I <3 you Jill!
Jill, I thought about this post so much yesterday. Seth didn't read it but we talked about it last night. You shared a lot of great advice and I am impressed with what you were able to do. Very inspiring!
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