10 Practical Ways to Manage Your Finance When You Have No Job
Unemployment can be a difficult time for anyone. Not only are you struggling to make ends meet, but you also have to contend with the emotional stress of not having a job.
Along with the job, you are losing other benefits too.
This can all take a toll on your finances, which can be difficult to manage. You have a family to run. Bills to pay.
During the pandemic, a lot of my friends lost their job, and that’s unfortunate. They were struggling to meet their ends. There was a constant pressure, stress and anxiety about not getting a job elsewhere due to the market condition.
They used to tell me how difficult it gets to manage your finances. There is a constant fear of losing all your savings.
You may have to make some tough decisions about how to spend your money and how to save for the future. But with a little planning and a lot of discipline, you can make it through this tough time.
I know this because both my friends have survived the tough time and now they got even a better job and living a better life. I am fortunate that I didn’t have to face such a financial crisis.
I have discussed with them how they have managed their finances, how they have overcome and what exact steps did they take to save their money during that phase.
In this blog post, I will share all of them.
Ways to Manage Your Finance When You Have No Job
Create a budget & make a spending plan
A budget will help you track your spending and ensure that you are living within your means. You are not spending more on anything. Every penny count matters when you are an unemployed.
You won’t have any monthly salary now, so you have to be very calculative about your spending. You can make a spending plan and stick to it. All your expenses should be minimal. You can not let over all your savings. But your emergency fund and savings is all you have now. Ensure your budget is extremely frugal.
You can not spend extra on anything when you have no job.
Cut down bills
It is difficult to manage your finances when you have no job, but there are ways to cut down on your bills and make ends meet.
There are so many bills to pay and if you don’t pay, they pile up quickly and become a debt.
From the beginning itself, you have to cut down your bills and reduce your monthly expenses.
Refer to how to save on utility bills.
Cook at home
Besides cutting down bills and other things, avoid going out for lunch or dinner. They might feel easy and affordable, but because you are out of the job, you can not afford to spend money on food outside. Instead, cook your one-pot meal at home and stay healthy.
By cooking your own meals, you can control how much money you spend on food each week. This can help you stick to a budget. Eating healthy can help you feel better and save money on medical bills in the long run. Certainly, you know too that cooking at home is way healthier than eating outside.
Plan your meals, buy your groceries as per your list, and cook simple homemade food to keep you all healthy and strong.
Even if you don’t feel to cook, just make something with the leftovers. Do not let go waste your food.
Quit unhealthy and expensive habits
When you find yourself unemployed, it’s easy to fall into unhealthy and expensive habits. But making some simple changes in your lifestyle can have a big impact on your finances.
Like I said earlier, every penny counts, so you must consider quitting every bad habit that you have.
For example, quit smoking and consumption of alcohol. Both can save you a lot of money.
An average smoker spends about $1,000 a year on cigarettes, so if you quit, you can imagine how much money you can save and use them in financing other useful things.
Not only smoking, alcohol is a major expense, and it’s highly harmful for your health too.
A simple night out at the bar can cost you $40.00 or more, and if you do this several times a week, the costs can really start to add up.
You must cut this habit of yours, especially when you are unemployed. Instead, focus on the habits that can motivate and give you a reason to get up from the bed every morning.
Life can frustrate when you are fired from your job. You don’t know how long will it take to get a new job. At times, you may feel depressed if you don’t get the motivation and support.
Thus, do the things that clears your clogged mind and help you focus on the interview or making plan for the next step.
Save the maximum on groceries
Even if you have a steady income, if you do mindful shopping in the grocery, it can help you save a lot. And, especially if you are currently unemployed, you have to find out ways on how you can save the maximum on grocery shopping.
Be alert to discounts and deals. Use coupon codes and advantage of sales. Buy the local product and ditch brand names as they are relatively costlier.
As you are unemployed, you have the time to visit different stores in your neighbourhood and compare prices of the products that you intend to buy.
Most importantly, do not get distracted with options available in the store. Only stick to the list that you have prepared. Control your buying impulse and buy only the things you need.
Precisely, this is the time when you must use cash instead of any card for payment.
Sell your things
During financial crisis, we prefer to sell things we don’t use. Or, we sell our valuable things that will cover our expenses for a few days.
Look around your home and find out things that are worth the price and you won’t ever use.
You can arrange a yard sell or you can sell your items in the pawnshops. By selling your things, the money you will get can help you to some extent.
Be aware of where you are selling your things, as you don’t want to end up getting scammed.
However, this certainly won’t help you managing your finances for a very long time. Meanwhile, you have to keep trying giving interviews, doing freelancing and so on.
Find out gigs
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many people have lost their jobs. When you don’t have a steady income, it is difficult to manage your finances well. You lose hope, stressed out and feel shattered when you can’t crack an interview.
This is when gigs help. Whether it’s driving for Uber, walking dogs, or doing odd jobs for your neighbours, gig work can help you make some extra money.
Use your time wisely and do as many gigs as you can, and support yourself financially. They can certainly help you get through this tough time.
Make money online
There is a buzz going on about making money online. Though mostly do not know how the internet can help you earn a decent amount of money.
There are many ways to make money online. Some methods are more reliable than others, and some can even help you manage your finances well when you have no job.
You can start with online affiliate business where you can help others by selling their products and get a commission in return.
You can start blogging, make videos, editing work and many more ways through which you can earn money.
However, they won’t give you a steady income but can lessen your financial burden.
The best way to earn money online is to choose the one that best suits your skills and interests.
Use your emergency savings
When you lose your job, it can be a shock to your finances. However, if you have an emergency fund, which you should have, you can use it to help tide you over during this difficult time.
Please check out the article that I have curated ‘how to save money for an emergency fund.’
Basically, an emergency fund is a savings account you set aside for unexpected expenses/situations. The motif of this fund is to provide you with the aid to cover your living expenses when you have no other alternative source of income.
Thus, you can understand why an emergency fund is crucial in financial management. For several reasons, an emergency fund is always helpful.
If you do not have an emergency fund, now is the time to start one. Begin by setting aside a small amount of money each month and make sure to only use it for genuine emergencies.
Move to a cheaper rental property or rent out your garage if you own a house
I could give you as many reasons why moving to a cheaper rental property is a good idea when you are unemployed. The most obvious reason is that it will save you money.
A cheaper rental property will probably be smaller than your current one, which means that you’ll have fewer items to move and keep track of. You can use the saved money to manage other necessary things.
When you have no income, you are forced to be more frugal. Like it or not. The more you can save, the more days you can cover with the money you have left.
Learn to live on a tight budget. Sacrifice your luxuries, comfort, and welcome the ways of frugal living.
Now, if you own a house, you can rent out your storage space or parking space. Use the money in sorting out other financial liabilities if you have.
You can also rent out your backyard space or barn (if you have) for private events like wedding, birthdays and anniversary.
What is the trick to managing personal finances?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as everyone’s financial situation is different. However, there are some general tips that can help you to better manage your money.
Start by creating a budget and sticking to it. This will help you to track your spending and ensure that you are not overspending.
Save regularly, so that you have a financial cushion in case of unexpected expenses.
Finally, stay disciplined with your finances. Review your budget regularly and make adjustments as needed, but resist the temptation to overspend. By following these tips, you can manage your personal finances successfully.
How do you balance your income and expenses when you have a very limited income?
If you have a limited income, it can be difficult to balance your expenses and make sure that you are still able to cover all of your bills.
There are a few things that you can do in order to make sure that you are able to balance your budget and still have enough money left over at the end of the month.
One thing that you can do is to cut back on some of your expenses. If there are things that you can live without, then try to eliminate them from your budget. This will free up some extra cash that you can use to help balance your budget.
Another thing that you can do is to make sure that you are setting aside some money each month into savings. This way, if there is an unexpected expense that comes up, you will have the funds available to cover it.
Lastly, try to bring in additional income if possible. If you have some extra time, consider taking on a part-time job or doing some freelance work. This extra income can help you cover any shortfall in your budget and will also give you some extra money to save each month.
Last words –
You may lose your job, become unemployed and situation like this can come to anyone. But losing hope is not the way to handle with the tough time. There are a plenty of ways where you can earn and make money and can support yourself. You just have to look around and keep your options open.
