Nurses who have a spouse who has lost his or her job recently

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Mar 29, 2009

My DH has been off work with a bad back for almost a year and it doesn't look like he's ever going to be going back to his occupation.

I'm surprised that we're making out OK, but it took some work to make it happen.

We got rid of the new cars and their payments and got a good used -- completely paid off -- car.

We cut everything we could live without and cut back on necessities.

We turned up the thermostat (we're in Florida, so we needed to cut the a/c bill) and put energy-saving lights in everywhere in the house.

We sold everything we didn't need to catch up with the bills. Saved us bigtime on late fees.

Switched a couple of bills over from one form of payment to another and we now pay most of the bills via Internet with no fees. That saved us some money too.

We share the housework. There's only one rule: don't quibble over how it's done, just be vocally thankful that it's done. I don't care that he doesn't fold the towels the same way I do, the point is, he's doing it.

We got a cell phone company that charges by the month instead of by the minute. I can call anywhere, anytime, to anyone for $50 / month.

We buy in quantity. We found a meat market near us that always has boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.99 / pound. They prep it and package it exactly the way we like, and they deliver for $10. So shop around, you can still find good deals on things you need.

Oh, the biggest one -- we got rid of the credit cards after watching Maxed Out

grandee3 · Mar 29, 2009

I am so sorry to hear about your hubby's job loss. I too am going through some trying times right now here in Southeast La. The LTAC that I work for is about to shut down because they can't pay their bills and employees. We have been on pins and needles for about 3 months now, watching our pt census drop. Rumors are flying around, we are so afraid of the doors being locked.

This past week has been really bad, we can no longer admit pts. Some investors are trying to buy the company and there is a small light at the end of the tunnel. However, we are still not being told anything.

I do work for 2 agencies and have been picking up shifts. I actually got my 3 shifts in last week.

I am trying to buy a house, finally, after almost 4 years fighting the red tape of Katrina (lost my home). I am so afraid, I am pre qualified but I still need income to show that I can pay my house note.

I was not too worried when the economy started taking a turn for the worse, but now with so many people out of work, even agency shifts are scarce.

Hope you and yours can bounce back, and it your hubby can find work soon. In the mean time, take care of yourself. I know what working a lot of OT can do. But hey, I would even welcome that right now also.

Best of luck.

grandee3 · Mar 29, 2009

Wow, Angie that advice is great, thanks! I will look into the cell phone monthly plans. With the cable, cellphones etc it really puts a strain on the budget.

changeofpaceRN · Mar 29, 2009

I agree with stocking up when there are sales. We also went though all our stuff to declutter and listed a ton of stuff on craigslist for extra $$. I put together a bag of nice but old clothes and although there were about 50 pieces of clothing, I sold it for $15. It was doing no good sitting in the closet (I would have donated it if I didn't need the $$ first).

Also, we canceled our phone service and bought magicjack (you pay for the jack and get free VOIP phone for something like $46 the first year (in 2 months my phone bill had been that amount so that saves us a lot since it's free long distance too). We lowered our cell phone plans and got mobile to mobile. We only use cells for emergencies.

We got rid of cable and have bunny ears- I don't have time to watch anything but if I do need to catch up, sites like hulu have free episodes and movies that you can watch for free. Our entertainment is netflix. Instead of 1 meatless dish a week, we have upped it to two or 3- meat is really expensive around here but beans are not. We also found a local farm with fresh eggs and fruits/veggies for half the price of the grocery store. I called around and got our car insurance lowered by about $200 every 6 months for just switching- same limits on everything! I contacted payroll and had less taken from my paycheck so I had more at every paycheck and not such a big tax return.

My last thing that saved a bunch was line drying my clothes hahahaha. I went from using the dryer like it was going out of style to a $5 clothes line (I live in a warm climate so I can do this all year). That has reduced my electric by at least $20 a month but I also cloth diaper my kid. Hmm those are all the ideas I have so far.. good luck!

District46 · Mar 29, 2009

Hi, I am in the UK, and my dear husband had to close down his factory last year as it was too expensive to continue making audio visual equipment here in UK as opposed to importations from China. Our local Tesco sold the tv stands cheaper than he could make them. Luckily, I was able to go back to work but he is really struggling, being the one at home. We have managed to stop all the awful phone calls from creditors for now and have halved our utility bills by shopping around on comparison sites. We have gone down to one car because of the insurance. He is applying for 20 plus jobs each time he goes to the jobcentre - which is normally 2 -3 times a week and most of them don't even acknowledge his applications. The only 'good' thing is that there is not so much stigma, because there are so many of us at work who are now the breadwinners!!! I have a clotting disorder and got a PE and DVT last Sunday, but found myself working on Thursday onwards because if I don't work we will lose everything - so I was limping around A&E, out of breath and had to beg the sister to let me stay - I am an Agency Nurse - which she kindly did. I am rather proud of myself today, having just finished a long day on a Sunday, as my daughter is going off to her first camp in a week and I want to make sure she has all the equipment she needs. My leg is not sore today and I am breathing better so I have worked it off - feeling really hardcore!! But I know my poor other half feels so bad that I had to go in, if he was working I could have waited until the clots had actually cleared before returning to work. It is going to be tough for a lot of us, and it is nice to see a thread of support.

Music in My Heart · Mar 29, 2009

It happened to me but it was about 2 years ago. After a few months with no luck I decided to go to nursing school. I graduate in a few months. Let's hope I get a job before the savings/2nd mortgage/unemployment all run out.

jane85 · Mar 29, 2009

OK, agencyangel! Thanks for taking my mind off my problems!!!! You need to take care of yourself. You don't want to be messing around with DVTs and PEs, for heaven's sake! I am glad you are feeling better, but please see your doc and follow all advice. Thanks to all for the practical advice. There are some good suggestions and we have already found out how many things we thought were essential which actually are not. We are also worried about layoffs at my hospital, so I guess that is adding to my anxiety at the moment. Anyway, thanks to all who replied.

johnst10 · Mar 29, 2009

I was out of work for almost months. Among other things we thought of sharing the cost of trash with our neighbor. We both are 2 people families and don't fill the container! LOVE craigslist. It is amazing how generic coffee made at home tastes like Starbucks at the cafe after a while.