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Post by holly on Jul 14, 2020 15:40:02 GMT
I’ve been mainly working from home since March. We are classified as essential. I go into the office every couple weeks or so. DH just got a new job. He has been very unhappy at his old job and put his resume out there. He got a $25k raise, $10k signing bonus and will make quarterly bonus’s. He should double his previous income. DD hasn’t been working, she goes back to college next month. DS has been staying in the city he goes to college since this started. He has an apt and a job there. His job is at the apt complex where he lives. Over the summer they took him on as maintenance too so he could get more hours, otherwise he would have had to come home for a different job. They didn’t want to lose him, so now he is full time for the summer. We help pay his expenses and DD’s as well. Since she didn’t work this summer she didn’t save any money for tuition:( We are saving on gas and not eating out and not traveling as much.
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Post by *KAS* on Jul 14, 2020 15:50:11 GMT
Unfortunately yes. Reduction in pay plus lost all of my bonuses. Always fun when you're single with a mortgage. But about 1/2 my coworkers were let go and another 30% are on furlough, so I'm thankful to have a job and to be able to live off of what my new income is. Certainly hope the money comes back next year. But we'll see.
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Post by tracyarts on Jul 14, 2020 15:50:18 GMT
We took a bit of a hit. DH's company didn't give yearly bonuses or cost of living raises this year. And he's missing out on his seasonal weekend job this year.
Our living expenses went up in some ways but dropped in others, so we're even there.
Overall we're down a bit, not enough to cause major hardships, but enough to make it necessary to budget more carefully.
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Post by workingclassdog on Jul 14, 2020 15:54:45 GMT
I am making more money and working less hours. Go figure. DH was still making the same but just found out he got a surprise bonus last week. We are being sensible to a degree and getting things fixed around the house. So far, paid of my furnace that we had to get last fall, almost $4,000 (we were gifted the money and paid it back in full last week), got a new dishwasher and range (both were on their last legs), and last week a new garage door that broke a few years ago. Could still use it by hand but not by the electric opener.
I feel VERY blessed and thank God everyday for our situation. We were in some bad spots in the last few years and close to losing our house, only going back to last fall. We thankfully got back on track and doing our best to not get in debt and be better about spending. Everything we have done to the house has been paid in cash. The next two things are going to be pricey and still trying to figure that out.. Carpet and windows. Carpet will for sure be paid in cash. Windows we might have to take a loan for that.... but that is after we pay off three more small credit cards bills.. (very small limits to pay off)
And then there is the new pup to think about and putting aside money for his expenses.. I already have an account to put dog savings into so we have it ready when we need to get him/her shots, fixed and so forth.
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,731
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Jul 14, 2020 15:59:21 GMT
The pandemic has not affected our finances. You know what has affected our finances? HAVING NO MORE CHILDREN IN COLLEGE!!! Best.raise.ever. LOL, DS graduated college this year and I'm so happy not to pay any more tuition. It was a long 8 years. We also paid off our mortgage. We're not really spending much money at all while we're home, and DH and I haven't had a change in income. DS was lucky to find a great full time job in May. We're actually doing better than we have in a long time.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,646
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Jul 14, 2020 16:19:26 GMT
No change for us other than shifting to work from home.
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Post by tallgirl on Jul 14, 2020 17:18:05 GMT
DH and I are still employed and working from home, but our company implemented a 3% pay cut across the board. So we're down a bit - though that is more than offset by the lack of travel, kids' activities, etc. that we are not currently spending on.
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,633
Jun 26, 2014 14:35:07 GMT
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Post by janeliz on Jul 14, 2020 17:30:35 GMT
I’m almost afraid to write this because I don’t want to jinx us, but my husband’s small business is doing better than ever. Still, we have one kid headed to an expensive college next month (assuming the school opens as planned), our investments took a hit, and I’m feeling very insecure about the state of the economy. So I’m not spending as though we are doing well.
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Post by LisaDV on Jul 14, 2020 22:09:22 GMT
DH was just laid off at the beginning of July. He's the only income for our family.
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twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,987
Jun 26, 2014 13:42:47 GMT
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Jul 14, 2020 22:14:12 GMT
Our income has increased. I am teaching an online course this summer, and I am being paid for it in addition to my regular salary, which has continued since I am doing the same work from home that I did in the office.
I do expect furlough days this fall, which will reduce my regular salary from 10 to 20%, depending on how much of a budget shortfall we have. I will be furloughed either one day per week or one day every two weeks, although there has been some discussion that EVERYONE at the University will be furloughed over the winter holiday. I'm not sure how that is possible for those of us in student services--we still have to get students registered for spring term and process graduation applications for December diplomas. I can do that while furloughed for one day ever week or two, but it is nearly impossible if I am furloughed the entire winter break. When we are on furlough, we are not allowed to even read our email.
So even though I expect a decrease in pay for the fall, I am also teaching an online class for approximately 300 students. It is the same course I am teaching this summer, and I will be allowed to work on it while I am furloughed. I'll just have to use my instructor email account instead of my regular work email. The pay I get for teaching that class more than makes up for what I will be cut, so I think I may still have a small net gain.
DH retired from his regular job last year, and he was working part-time from home pre-COVID for a homebuilder. That work dried up during the pandemic because they just don't have enough business to justify his services. However, he found another job for 32-40 hours per week that actually pays more per hour than the part-time job did, so his income has gone up significantly.
One DD is working in the kitchen of a local restaurant. She is getting additional hours because they are working with fewer workers, and she has actually made overtime the past couple of weeks. I expect that to end soon because the governor is closing indoor dining and may eventually close all restaurants. However, based on the 10-18 hours she used to get when she lived on-campus in a different town and could only work weekends, she is probably ahead for the year, or at least breaking even.
My other DD at home is not making anything at all this summer. However, she only averaged between 12-18 hours at minimum wage working for our minor league baseball team (6 hours per game, 2-3 games per week). She worked as an RA on campus, so she had minimal income there as well. I have offered to pay her to be my summer housekeeper, but she hasn't taken the bait yet.
Oldest DD who lives in VA has continued to work as she did prior to COVID. She works for an apple-processing plant, and they have stayed open the entire time.
We are saving a lot on expenses. Although we are feeding 4 people instead of 2, we have eaten very little food cooked outside the home. The food we are cooking at home is made more from scratch, so our grocery bill hasn't really increased even though I continue to buy extra canned goods, beans, and rice to stock our pantry for winter.
We had been spending far less on gas. It has gone up a little now that DH is traveling to his job 4-5 days a week. His new job location is much closer than his old one, so it is not much of a difference. I bought a few t-shirt/sweaters/pants on clearance as Christopher and Banks, and I ordered some jeans/sneakers from Costco a couple of weeks ago. Other than the occasional Amazon purchase, and a couple of splurges at Sam's Club (new countertop icemaker--woohoo!) we really are not spending much on "things." Between our gas purchases, dining and entertainment (including buying lunch out at work), clothing, etc., our credit card bill is less than half of what it was pre-COVID.
As DH watches the bank account balance rise, he starts thinking about the home improvements he wants to make. Of course, now that he is not working from home, those are taking a bit of a back seat to just general house and yard maintenance, so that expense column hasn't gone up yet. I don't see him cutting back much, yet, because he is working as an office manager/accountant for a company that does home and office maintenance. One thing they have been doing for a while is installing UV systems (I think? not completely sure) on HVAC units to "disinfect" the air. I don't know that much about it, but they have as many orders as they can possibly complete from companies and schools that want to install them. They are also getting a lot of jobs from people who have decided to do a home improvement project instead of buying a new home right now. As long as they are busy like that, I think he will remain pretty close to full time.
ETA: I am so sorry for those who have lost income. That must be so hard! I am taking advantage of our current situation to save for a rainy day, because I am concerned that my university will continue to lose enrollment and tuition dollars. We will reach a point where layoffs will happen, and while I do not think I will be in the early rounds of layoffs (which they are trying to avoid by utilizing furloughs), I will eventually be cut.
Ironically, when I first agreed to teach my class, I was told it would be for no extra income. I agreed anyway, because when the Dean asks you a favor, you kinda need to do it, and I wanted to be a "team player." Besides, they needed instructors because the guy who normally teaches it didn't want to teach online and will probably not come back since he is in his 70s. He really hated to teach remotely when we made the switch in the spring and said no way for fall. I am qualified to teach it even though I don't have a PhD, and I am hoping to teach it as an adjunct when I am ready to retire in a few years as a way to transition out of the workforce. When I was given the "volunteer" opportunity, I said yes since (1) I wanted to pitch in and help us make budget and (2) this was a way to get my foot in the door to teaching it later. HR came back and said they cannot add that amount of duty to my job description without re-writing it and re-evaluating my pay, and they could not allow me to teach under an adjunct contract without pay (state rules, I think?). So I am going to get adjunct pay after all, which is still a good deal for the University. I am teaching the equivalent of two online classes for one adjunct salary, which is a drop in the bucket compared to a full-time professor's salary. Two of us are doing this, and there is a significant savings to the University. If I do eventually get laid off, I think I can probably swing some employment as an adjunct teaching this class and maybe even another one at the graduate level. I won't have any health benefits, but the income will help keep us afloat without hitting our savings too hard.
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Post by mom on Jul 14, 2020 22:23:17 GMT
DH was just laid off at the beginning of July. He's the only income for our family. I am so sorry. I am sending you a big hug. Hang in there! I will pray that something opens up for him soon!
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Post by gar on Jul 14, 2020 22:29:31 GMT
A lot of you are very lucky.
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msliz
Drama Llama
The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Jul 15, 2020 15:40:57 GMT
DH was just laid off at the beginning of July. He's the only income for our family. I'm so sorry LisaDV. That's awful
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Post by ntsf on Jul 15, 2020 16:14:35 GMT
our income has not been affected but I think it is a huge deal what is happening to the economy, small business and our country.. my parents lived through the depression.. and I think we are not "seeing" the worse..but I see the lines for food and there is a lot of pain and hurt out there.. I am worried.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,391
Location: Lost in my supplies...
Oct 26, 2014 17:02:56 GMT
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Post by kelly8875 on Jul 15, 2020 17:42:12 GMT
No. I thought maybe a salary reduction would happen, but our company qualified for the PPP funding, so it’s all fine. We never had to close, but we did have to reduce employees (union millwrights) because our customers were closed. But we are back in full force now.
I don’t think our household spending changed much. More in groceries was spent, but there was no take out or eating out costs, so I probably saved money.
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Post by heckofagal on Jul 15, 2020 18:08:35 GMT
I'm still working full time, but since I am now working from home I am saving on gas, food, and parking. However, we have been told that we will not be getting raises this year and that our retirement contributions will be halted for the next year.
My DH is hardly working any hours (4-8 hrs per week) but he is still getting a full paycheck so I am thankful for that. Overtime will likely not happen any time in the next couple years so essentially a pay cut of some sort, but that is fine.
My oldest DD is a social worker and has worked from home a bit and has been in the office or working outreach some as well. She was told that anybody going out into the public would receive additional hazard pay, but I don't think she has seen that. She was also told they were increasing the salary of the lowest paid personel so she was supposed to get a bump due to that, but I don't think that has happened yet either. Every little bit for her will help. It's crazy the education they expect social workers to have compared to the salary they receive.
My youngest DD is a college student who also works as a server. She was furloughed for about 4 months but she made out pretty well due to the COVID unemployment benefits. She has been back to work for a few days but is contemplating quitting as she does not feel like it is safe for her to be back, and she has health issues that would not play well if she got Coronavirus.
I am very thankful that we are still employed. I've been layed off 3 times and its taken its toll financially and emotionally.
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hannahruth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,616
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Aug 29, 2014 18:57:20 GMT
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Post by hannahruth on Jul 15, 2020 20:10:01 GMT
Being retired means our income has not been affected, in fact because of a couple of Government programmes we have had an injection of funds so that actually increased it.
However our spending has decreased considerably with no spending, less vehicle running costs, no movies, lunches, or other entertainment to spend on we have saved considerably so our bank balance is certainly much healthier than previously.
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Post by LisaDV on Jul 16, 2020 0:19:33 GMT
DH was just laid off at the beginning of July. He's the only income for our family. I'm so sorry LisaDV . That's awful
Thanks. It sucks. But he's had lots of calls from various people in his industry telling him they were looking for him. Fingers crossed.
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Post by anniefb on Jul 16, 2020 3:26:55 GMT
Yes, but just temporarily. I work in a law firm and we all had to take pay cuts. Mine was a 30% cut and it went on for 2 1/2 months. Then they announced the pay cuts would be ending AND we got all our lost $$ back as well as the firm did a lot better than expected in our shut down. I was very relieved because things were pretty tight for a while.
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