Do you have a plan B?

tiff

Everything is ticking along at the moment. DH is a project manager in the defence industry. He has been there 30 years and no immediate thread of redundancy although that could change at any time really. We have been working on debts for years, but I recently started a new job after being a SAHM for years (earning from home on and off). This money is clearing our credit card and overdraft and then the plan is to save an emergency fund and make mortgage overpayments. If DH is made redundant he would get a decent payoff. There is a chance I could do more hours at work (school) to increase our income so we could probably live for quite a while in the worst case scenario.

I've always been quite frugal food wise, cooking from scratch. We are building a 3 month stockpile of food and buying things when they are on sale and stocking up. I've started making my own bread and baking more and planning to grow some vegetables in pots this year. If DH was made redundant all this would help so we would just have to cover the bills rather than having to worry about buying food on a limited income.

I feel that we need to do something to help ourselves, the way things are going, so do you have a plan B?

D&DD

Up until now all our 'spare' cash was thrown at our debts as the interest rate going out,was higher than any savings account paid so there was no point splitting it for minimal returns.We felt it was wiser to hammer down the debt first then build up an emergency fund.

However,that said, I didn't like doing it this way and if there had been a way around it I would have paid a small amount into a savings account each week for our emergency fund instead

I plan to now save at least 10% of our income a month into our Fund as a cushion.

Would have been handy last year when OH was on strike and this year when his boss refused to pay him while DS2 was in for his latest op :mad:

Tiff I would pay any 'extras' eg ebay money or overtime into a seperate account that way you can still build your emergency reserve and pay off your debts at the same time:D Depends on what your interest rates are really and the level of debt...ours was HUUUGE

Reverbe

Have no choice really. Was made redundant in Nov.If I do manage to find work I will still keep up being as os and ms as I can tho as my savings have not gleaned the interest they should due to the country being down the toilet and I need that for my pension age years to come,

laineyc_2

OH has his own company which is cash rich, thankfully so no dependance on credit. We have a tracker mortgage and we are still paying our old payment so with the interest rate the way it is we are overpaying my quite a bit a month. We are saving more as well, because although the company is OK at the moment, thinks can change.

I have joined the grocery challenge because I want to be more aware of what we spend and to cut down on waste.

Austin_Allegro

Yes, I think in these times it's worth having a 'plan b'. I was made redundant very suddenly a few years ago and it was quite a shock. Now I think I'd be more prepared. I have a plan 'C' as well!

Plan B is to take a TEFL course, then I could teach English pretty much anywhere, and live in a cheap, preferably sunny country.

Plan C is to start up an odd job/man about the house (no jokes please) business helping elderly people in the local area. There are more and more old people living on their own who need work done and would like a reliable trustworthy person to do it, and I bet they'd all tell their friends at the bingo/church/lunch club etc.

deborah64

We were talking about this today, my o/hs job is ok at the moment, but they have lost orders etc, but we are lucky as our mortgage is only £124.66 a month, we have 1 loan which is nearly finished and thats out of my wages.
We also have a few old catalogue bills which amount to nothing really.
We live in a 2 bed house with 3 yes 3 girls, its a squeeze, but its all we can afford even though we did think about moving 12 months ago, so glad we didnt, a bigger mortgage is something we didnt want, plus our dd1 has just announced she is off to uni in Sept and living in halls.
If the worst came to the worst my o/h would stack shelves and i would work eves/ weekends what ever it took. You do what you have to do, and Austin Allegro i think you have a great idea, i wish that when my g/p were alive they had someone reliable like you instead of the cowboy that ripped them off, but that is another story.

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PasturesNew

I don't have a Plan A! Not sure what the Plan A is ... so I can't tell you if I have a Plan B.

lostinrates

Yes....

We have a plan C too.

At the moment though Plan Ai, Plan Aii and Plan B are in a race...and which ever comes first will win! For a very long time life has felt more about what are planning for the future, and outside events have often interfered to varying degrees.

fermi

I think I'm on about plan F or G at the moment. :undecided

piggeh

My plan B is already in action - find another job! At the same time retrain in web development and try and get a few websites on the go to make a living that way. Long slog though.. once I am officially unemployed then check out all available benefits and training options.

Plan C? Scrimp off the state permanently I guess, if no one decides I'm worth a punt in my mid-20s with experience in several areas under my belt, taken on extra training etc, then I think I'll just give up. Maybe will look at other opportunities at starting my own business or maybe will dabble in a bit of white collar crime, seems to be the rage these days.