Iron Maiden

I'm at XJT on the ERJ side on 1st year pay, 2nd regional, but some things seem to have me scratching my head about the way things are happening. Since I'm basically living paycheck to paycheck, are there things that I can do to prepare if a furlough ever comes? I don't want to be caught off guard financially, but it's hard to put cash aside. I'm not trying to be a downer, I just want to be prepared in case something happens.

TheFly

Financial discipline. Tighten the belt, only spend what you have to, not a penny more. Save what you can and always ask yourself "do I really need this" before you make a purchase.

PerfInit

Suzi Orman has a financial show every Saturday nite on MSNBC.
She recommends everyone have an 8-month Emergency Fund set aside for this very reason.... It's never too early to start saving whatever you can.

vagabond

One thing that always works is to "pay yourself" first. Put even just $10 from each paycheck into an account. Start doing that now.

Good luck.

jcountry

Clark is the man-

Clark Howard: Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Rip-offs | www.clarkhoward.com

Listen to his show or podcasts if you can . If not, then his website is pretty goo. Clark has instilled habits in me that have save a ton of money over the years.

(And you are wise to prepare for furlough. Many think it can't happen. I think it is just a matter of time at XJT. Like maybe a month or two.)

Fly Boy Knight

Agreed. Unfortunately the only way to truly prepare for unemployment is to have cash savings and secure another source of income.

Dave Ramsey Best-seller Books - daveramsey.com

Dave Ramsey's (financial guru / consumer advocate / much like Clark Howard) books have made me do a complete financial 180 and I cannot even begin to estimate how much money his ideas have saved me (and will save me in the future). Even if you are unable to save enough money (especially on 1st yr pay) to support yourself during a period of unemployment, putting Dave Ramsey's / Clark Howard's ideas into practice whenever you can will set you up for financial success no matter how "late" (in your working life) you start.

As others have said, save as much as you can as often as you can and KNOW (not think) where EVERY DOLLAR you spend is going! The ONLY way to more effectively use your money is to know where it is going. Every coffee you buy at the airport, every dollar you give to van drivers....track it ALL and you'd be surprised to find out where your money is ACTUALLY going.

In light of a furlough, if you have other job opportunities / income options, they could be worth exploring. While nobody likes to make a lateral / back step in their career, even if the furlough never comes, the relief you get from a little extra job security might be worth leaving your current job.

Iron Maiden

Much appreciated

Tom a Hawk

Also if you were to actually get furloughed and are dipping into that emergency fund you need to cut down to bare minimum. That can be really painful if you have lots of recurring bills like rent/mortgage, cars, cable, fancy cellphone, student loans, etc. If losing the job also means moving to a cheaper place, selling your car, and canceling any services you have all of a sudden a job change becomes a MAJOR life event. Number one, don't overburden yourself with too many recurring fixed expenses. And number 2, identify now what you can cut and what your monthly budget could go down to if needed.