None of us welcomes the financial security that comes as a result of being laid off, especially if you’re not sure when you’re going to find work again. Here are five ways to help save your money while you’re going through that transitional phase.
1) Figure Out A Budget
The first thing you need to do is create a budget. To do this, take some time to go through everything you spend your money on each month. Your mortgage, rent, bills, food and so on. Sort them by necessary expenses and optional expenses and you’ll be able to see where you can cut down. Set yourself a spending limit and make sure you stick to this.
2) Find Auto Insurance Quotes
Although you can save a bit of money by walking more instead of driving, it’s likely you’ll still need to keep the car insured and on the road so that you can drive to interviews. However, auto insurance is a massive expense – now’s the time to do what you can to reduce that. You can find cheap car insurance quotes by getting online and using comparison services that let you compare different insurers after entering a few details. It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll be able to find a cheaper auto insurance policy than what you’re currently paying.
3) Cut Out Anything That Isn’t Absolutely Necessary
When you worked out that budget earlier, you probably noticed some outgoings that weren’t completely necessary. For example, magazine subscriptions, an expensive cell phone contract and so on. Now’s the time to be completely honest and ask yourself whether you really need these expenses, or whether you can cut down.
4) Replace Your COBRA Coverage
COBRA health insurance coverage isn’t necessarily your best option if you’re out of work. In most cases it’s very expensive to keep up, and will take a huge part of any unemployment benefits you may be receiving, (and it may not even be available to you from your company). Health insurance is crucial, however, especially if your employer used to cover your whole family, and going without it could be a massive financial gamble.
Take some time as soon as you can to look at available individual health insurance quotes, or affordable family insurance if your employer used to cover this, and see if you can find something that fits into your budget. If you’re healthy then it’s not usually too hard to beat the COBRA policy by opting for a policy with a high deductible.
5) Find Some Ways To Make Money
This may not technically count as one of the ways to save money, but finding new ways to make it can really be invaluable in times of financial uncertainty. This could mean looking for traditional part time work, or it could mean less traditional methods such as freelance work or even gardening for a neighbor! There are usually ways to find extra money if you look.
Your auto insurance may be your biggest expense, but it’s also one of the easiest places to start when saving money. And don’t forget your health insurance quotes either – the research takes just a few minutes but could end up saving you hundreds.