How long could you go without getting paid?

[skyblue17]

It depends what's included in "going." I would likely have the option of moving back to my hometown and in with my parents if I were to lose a job and opt to move out of my current apartment. That's something I consider a privilege in being able to do in that I would be able to avoid obliterating savings for awhile, and yet, I still wouldn't want to do it unless I absolutely had to so would likely try to maintain my current living situation for as long as I could.

 

[wgeo]

At this point in my life, we could go pretty much forever without my salary, without my husbands we have a 6 month emergency fund before dipping into retirement accounts.

We are a combination of being extremely lucky and also very frugal. After college I was very fortunate to live with my grandparents for 6 months - that made such a difference in helping me get some money set aside and get started paying back loans. After getting married we moved across the country for my husbands job and things were tight because the pay was pretty low but they provided a house. We never ate out, never went out and just kept trying to pay down loans. We were banking on the fact that even though his first job was low paying, the long term career path would be worth it (and it has been.) Then we had our first child who had medical problems at birth and the bills would really have set us back quite a bit but we were extremely lucky that my grandparents decided to sell land and share the inheritance with their kids early. And on top of that, my parents in turn shared some of that money with my brothers and I. That was enough money to pay off the medical bills AND just enough left over, that when our next move came and we needed to buy our first house it was enough for a down payment. We still continued to live very frugally and once we paid off our student loans it got much easier to set money aside. However that very small starter house that we bought in 2007, was worth less when we tried to sell it in 2014 and we took a hit on the sale, that hurt and made it very hard to purchase our current home in a very high cost of living area. However, again we got a small loan from my parents (which I paid back within 3 months of the new paychecks.) I am eternally grateful for the help that we got at times when we needed it most, it made a huge difference. I am very aware that many many people are not able to recieve the kind of help that we did.

 

[portocall]

I will say I am not sure the DIS is the best place for this poll if you are looking for a true cross section of the country and federal employee financial status.

 

[disney212]

If i stopped taking my Crohn's Disease medications we could live a few years. My medications are over 150,000 a year not counting doctor visits, tests, surgeries, labs etc.

 

[disykat]

I will say I am not sure the DIS is the best place for this poll if you are looking for a true cross section of the country and federal employee financial status.

Yet it's a great place to point out that even those who can "afford" to be part of a government shut down can still be affected by it. Comparing the 3 threads, this poll pretty much disproves the OP's point IMO.

 

[Dread Pirate]

If i stopped taking my Crohn's Disease medications we could live a few years. My medications are over 150,000 a year not counting doctor visits, tests, surgeries, labs etc.

Same here.

 

[DisneyOma]

If i stopped taking my Crohn's Disease medications we could live a few years. My medications are over 150,000 a year not counting doctor visits, tests, surgeries, labs etc.

But the OP isn't interested in that - it would be considered poor planning not to be able to afford medication, even of that amount. It's all about the planning, having enough money so that some can be put away, because the OP makes enough to do so. Doesn't consider those that make below a living wage, or those that have a catastrophic event that wipes out their savings. It's all about planning and being prepared! This is the third thread OP is in/started about the topic.

 

[disney212]

But the OP isn't interested in that - it would be considered poor planning not to be able to afford medication, even of that amount. It's all about the planning, having enough money so that some can be put away, because the OP makes enough to do so. Doesn't consider those that make below a living wage, or those that have a catastrophic event that wipes out their savings. It's all about planning and being prepared! This is the third thread OP is in/started about the topic.

Let's hope that it never happens to the OP. If my disease had developed in my 20s it would have been a different outcome for me! If my children had been born ill or my DH had been killed in Iraq i would have been broke,homeless, etc. It is easy to judge others if you don't live their reality. No matter what any of us think we are all one catastrophe away from a very different life.

 

[mnrose]

But the OP isn't interested in that - it would be considered poor planning not to be able to afford medication, even of that amount. It's all about the planning, having enough money so that some can be put away, because the OP makes enough to do so. Doesn't consider those that make below a living wage, or those that have a catastrophic event that wipes out their savings. It's all about planning and being prepared! This is the third thread OP is in/started about the topic.

Yes, what incredibly poor planning to get a disease that requires significant expenditures for medication. And, another example of why the cost of medical care is the big elephant in the room in ANYONE's long term planning. So long as DH and I remain healthy, we'll be fine. Right now, we have only extremely modest expenses which we could handle entirely out of pocket without much of a dent. But, you never know, do you? And, we are rushing to get all dental work done before we hit medicare age while we still have dental insurance. We both have had to have some pretty $$$$ dental work done, and I've got at least one more to go.

 

[mel&me]

I could go a year or more but would not be happy about spending saving

 

[disney212]

Yes, what incredibly poor planning to get a disease that requires significant expenditures for medication. And, another example of why the cost of medical care is the big elephant in the room in ANYONE's long term planning. So long as DH and I remain healthy, we'll be fine. Right now, we have only extremely modest expenses which we could handle entirely out of pocket without much of a dent. But, you never know, do you? And, we are rushing to get all dental work done before we hit medicare age while we still have dental insurance. We both have had to have some pretty $$$$ dental work done, and I've got at least one more to go.

It is sad that Healthcare is the one thin g that keeps me up at night. I literally woke up one day sick. No warning, no cure. Less than 10 years later well over a million dollars in medical treatment. Without insurance I would not be alive. Everyday I pray I am able to work until 65. I had planned to retire at 59 but that is no longer going to happen.

 

[dosekies]

I chose 3-4 weeks because I wasn't sure how many months meet 'several', but we would probably be able to push it to 2-4 months if absolutely needed. We're both still kind of young (25) so with rent, student loans, car payments, etc. we don't have as much saved as we would like right now. It would be a much bigger hit for my SO to lose his job than for me to lose mine, though, in terms of finances.

 

[lifesavacation]

I chose 3-4 weeks because I wasn't sure how many months meet 'several', but we would probably be able to push it to 2-4 months if absolutely needed. We're both still kind of young (25) so with rent, student loans, car payments, etc. we don't have as much saved as we would like right now. It would be a much bigger hit for my SO to lose his job than for me to lose mine, though, in terms of finances.

I honestly think being able to weather a paycheck loss is heavily influenced by a person’s age. The older you are, the more time you’ve had to build equity and investments, and prepare for life in retirement.

 

[dosekies]

I honestly think being able to weather a paycheck loss is heavily influenced by a person’s age. The older you are, the more time you’ve had to build equity and investments, and prepare for life in retirement.

I agree, but it is definitely something we should all be thinking of, regardless of age! Our main goal right now is throwing as much as we can at debt (my college loans, his car payment) so that way we can start putting most of that towards savings and a down payment when done.

 

[mnrose]

I honestly think being able to weather a paycheck loss is heavily influenced by a person’s age. The older you are, the more time you’ve had to build equity and investments, and prepare for life in retirement.

True enough, but for older people, there's also a lot less time to "make up" the savings you ate into to cover a job loss. When you're younger, you've got LOTS of recovery time. In some ways, older people are hit harder when they suffer an unexpected job loss at the end of their career. Much harder to find work (age discrimination is a real thing), especially one that can replicate a salary you are making later in your career. But, yes, theoretically, older people have greater savings and are less hurt in the short run.

 

[ronandannette]

True enough, but for older people, there's also a lot less time to "make up" the savings you ate into to cover a job loss. When you're younger, you've got LOTS of recovery time. In some ways, older people are hit harder when they suffer an unexpected job loss at the end of their career. Much harder to find work (age discrimination is a real thing), especially one that can replicate a salary you are making later in your career. But, yes, theoretically, older people have greater savings and are less hurt in the short run.

Very astute. We lost everything (and I mean everything financial, not each other or our health) 10 years ago when DH was 55. His prime earning years are behind him and while he has worked since then and I have been quite successful in the years since I re-entered the work force, recovery to where we thought we'd be at our ages will simply never happen.

Lord willing and our health holds, each of us needs to work to age 70 to pay off our current mortgage. We have been aggressive in trying to reduce it and because of our ages, we've also balanced spending on travel and helping our kids now because we will likely not enjoy a long, healthy and prosperous retirement.

 

[superme80]

Between 6 months to a year due to an inheritance. We would prefer to not tap that much into savings, but would if we had to.

 

[aprilchem]

We can live on either mine or DH's salary alone if one of us loses our job, fortunately. I'm tenured, though, so the only way that I could lose my job is if I did something really inappropriate or illegal, and I'm not planning to do that! In addition to that, we have about a year's worth of expenses in savings. I am SUPER risk averse, so I've tried to cover all of our bases.

 

[kamik86]

I said 3-4 weeks. That would be for my job or both our jobs. If DH lost his we could go indefinitely without that one we just wouldn't be able to travel, eat out, and enjoy all the little luxuries that gives us.

 

[china mom]

If I lost my job, we could still pay all the bills but would have to cut back on the frills. If DH lost his job, we would have to cut back more but could still make it. If we both lost our jobs, we would lose health insurance so we would probably have to sell one or both of the kids to pay for that.

We are fortunate that we are both collecting pensions from our first careers and we have made some very good choices along the way and have had some good luck.

OTOH, I have an office mate who at age 22, is carrying tons of debt (car payment and credit cards) for his age and is always on the brink. One missed paycheck would probably render him homeless and without a vehicle.