Preparing for Job Loss - Losing all Income

Previously in this series, I've talked about handling the loss of primary income or secondary income.

What if the worse-case scenario happens and you lose both your primary and secondary income streams?

This might seem far-fetched, but it's not impossible. I'm sure there are many people in this situation today, losing both full time and part time work in one family, who never thought it would happen to them.

Along with the cost-cutting measures discussed previously, job hunting has got to be a top priority.

Both earners would need to get out and hunt for jobs, be it full or part time, and probably looking for ways to diversify your sources of family income as well.

See some ideas at:

Income Diversification @ Wisebread
Extra Income Guide @ Moolanomy
Freelancing @ Mile High Mama
Earning Extra Money @ Five Cent Nickel

The most important thing you can do to prepare for the loss of all income is to create an emergency cushion NOW. Don't wait for the worst to happen before you start cutting back and saving!

In our family, we have a 6-month cushion of living expenses in our savings account. That would last even longer if we were more aggressive with the cost-cutting (cable, cell phones, etc) and if one or both of us were able to land part-time, temporary work during our job hunt.

So, besides having a plan in place for how to cope should you lose some or all of your family income, what can you do to prepare proactively for being in that situation? What steps can you take ahead of time? Stay tuned for the next post in this series!

Read the rest of this series.

Subscribe to Practicing Thrift