Financial planning when job cut looms ahead

james_williamson_6544

Hello
If I have a looming redundancy or furlough or pay-cut, how should I plan so that I am protected financially?

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Any advice, tips and guidance is highly welcome..

MovingForwards

Re-evaluate all outgoings 
Get rid of sky and have Freeview or other basic free TV.
Reduce mobile phone costs by going sum only.
Check you are on the best deal for gas / electric.
Ditch gym membership and any other fun outgoings.
Assess food bill and cut out any unnecessary items, shop in Aldi / Lidl etc.
Cook from scratch, meal plan and don't buy ready to use fruit / veg / cheese etc.
Forget toys / restaurants etc, they are luxury items, spend a lot less on Xmas / birthday presents for kids, don't bother for family / friends.
If you are not in work, you won't be using your car as often. Consider selling it and buying a run about that you can service / maintain yourself.
Only buy household goods when something breaks or cannot be repaired, consider secondhand / free / seconds eg superficial damage which doesn't affect it working.
Ditch childcare over and above the free hours as wife isn't working.
Start checking out free places to visit, do picnics in the park, nature walks etc.
You / your wife make do with the clothes you have, only replace things as necessary.

Your kids are young enough to unlearn having everything they want, they get. 

Look at company redundancy policy, work out what you will get.

Get a job, any job, even minimum wage, as any money is better than no money.

Look at the entitled to website, key in your details and see what benefits you would be entitled to.

Look into whether wife can work, if so, get her applying for something now which fits round your hours eg you do 9-5, she does evenings and weekends.

Have a look at the debt free wannabe board and other boards (there's one that's like an old school savings board or something and the people on there really know how to cut costs), you don't need to be in debt to learn where you can cut back.

Make changes now, that way you have time to ease into your new way of thinking, in case you are made redundant.

MovingForwards

Do a spreadsheet of all essential outgoings.
Work out budgets and stick to them.
Do a shopping list when food shopping, stick to it.
Don't take the kids shopping, all that does is puts you in a difficult position of them wanting a load of treats / toys and you having to say no. 
Take out a weekly allowance and only pay by cash, it hurts seeing the money going down in your purse / wallet.

bigfer

I'd get some life cover

james_williamson_6544

Thanks for the helpful tips.
- I am not a TV watching person, so mainly TV is used for watching YouTube - so no Sky TV package
- I have a SIM only plan, paying less than £10 per month. A low end Android mobile phone was bought outright 1.5 years ago for £160-ish.
- My fixed tariff ends in Jan-2021 and as per MSE Cheap Energy Club I can save £70 by switching, however I have an early exit fee of £60 (£30/fuel) so not sure if it is worth the trouble of switching.
- Gym membership cancelled in February

There are other helpful tips which I will start looking into.
I do have an idea of how much we spend on: Grocery, Household goods, Gas, Electricity, Water, Internet, Mortgage Monthly Payment, Mobile, childcare in nursery.  This is how I was able to calculate that money in bank will pay for all of these for rest of 2020.