MangeTout
member
Reged: 08/07/2007
Posts: 4123
Loc: Oxfordshire
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It's the prospect a lot of us are having to consider. Would it be a catastrophe?
Maybe you are financially prepared and feel confident you will ride the storm. It seems the divorce rate is set to rise as a result of the credit crunch. Would having no money be the last straw or the opportunity for you to pull together?
If you have been out of the workplace for some time, how would you feel about going back to work to supplement your income.
I got myself into serious debt during the last recession with a mortgage I could hardly afford to pay as the interest rate rose. I hope I will be okay in this recession but never say never. We would have to look at our position very carefully if my OH lost his job.
Hope you don't find this question too intrusive. It's not meant to be.
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Willows Forum www.phpbbplanet.com/willowskitchen/
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PurpleRain
member
Reged: 17/01/2008
Posts: 1423
Loc: South Wales
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Hi MT
Well it could happen to me and H anytime soon, but no not a catastrophe as long as our children, us and friends and family stay healthy. I would move to a rough part of town and take 3 jobs to keep us afloat.
When 3rd child was born, before he was 6 weeks old, I went out at night to work in the out of call dr's surgery, the only shifts I could sometimes get were the midnight till 7am. Come home see to oldest two who were 4 and 2 take them to school/nursery, go shopping with the baby, or try and get housework done, pick up nursery babe, amuse him pick up little girl, get through tea time and collapse when H walked in the door. That was around 15 years ago and glad to say have savings this time around. Wondering how some are going to cope and worrying for them, hard times ahead, just hope that people can be helped instead of b****y greedy bankers, read bankers with a capital W!
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To a kitten a mew is as good as a roar!
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Ashbee
member
Reged: 13/06/2008
Posts: 1160
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Without tempting fate, I think we'd manage for a while financially and probably manage emotionally too. Like you, MT, I was hit badly in the last recession and had always struggled financially until I married this time round, so I think I'd be ok coping on a shoestring. How Mr A would cope without a job is another matter...but he has a lot of resources so I hope he'd find something eventually. I could return to work but it might not easy as I've also been out of the workplace for about a year and at 51 there are a lot of younger women who could do what I do. Although what I could earn would be a fraction of OH's earning power it would be a start.
So, it wouldn't be the end of the world but it would be a challenge...
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anner06
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Reged: 18/03/2008
Posts: 819
Loc: Northamptonshire
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I am the only breadwinner in our family so yes it would be a disaster. Luckily I work in nursery education, which is a growth industry at the moment and I think my job is fairly secure. Having two children living with me I would be entitled to benefits, but as already said, I would take any job going if I had to.
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chilla
member
Reged: 05/09/2008
Posts: 5916
Loc: runcorn
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As Mr Chilla technically works for me, i suspect if one were to lose their job, the other would as well. (Could you tell your O/H, 'you're fired'?!).
If we were to decide to give up working and we are thinking about it, we would have enough to keep going for quite a while with the sale of the assets.
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I have the talent of single-minded determination and foc....hey, look, dog!
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dizeeblonde
member
Reged: 19/01/2008
Posts: 4633
Loc: Manchester
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Catasrophe, absolutely, as I am the breadwinner, would most probably lose my home unless I could find another job quickly
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Snowy1066
member
Reged: 08/07/2008
Posts: 4181
Loc: Southeast
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Hi Mange,well my OH did loose his job approx 2 yrs ago, well made redundant, whichever way you want to put it. Because he was a Director of the Company, he did get a 'handshake' as they say and they also had to pay him his pension so we were not destitute by any means. We had gathered, two years before that things were not going so well for him, and so we had a contingency plan, part of that was downsizing, and we sold our old family home and moved to a newer detached house on a smaller plot. But it meant we were able to clear our mortgage, so that when the crunch came, it wasn't quite so bad. But we did look at our finances and get rid of any unwanted direct debits that we could do without, and we started looking at our food bills, and sourcing cheaper places to buy food like farm shops. All in all not a lot has changed, because he started to work again after a year off, back with the same company on a consultancy basis, but only 3 days a week at the mo.
I know we are very lucky and that some are not as fortunate as us to have a pension, and savings too.
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di3
member
Reged: 24/11/2007
Posts: 88
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Hi MT, I've been thinking about this as my husband is 58, works abroad and his job is not stable. I suppose we would move to a smaller house, get rid of the mortgage. He has no pension which is a worry. I work but he is the main bread winner. Hopefully he would find work locally, but we live in a high unemployment area with not much available at the best of times. Just hope that we would pull together and work things out.
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beachbabe
member
Reged: 11/03/2008
Posts: 427
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it would be a total disaster for me and my family. I hope it never happens.
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MangeTout
member
Reged: 08/07/2007
Posts: 4123
Loc: Oxfordshire
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I hope it never happens too, Beachbabe. I sincerely hope everyone manages to get through this credit crunch.
It's a great concern isn't it.
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Willows Forum www.phpbbplanet.com/willowskitchen/
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suzie88
member
Reged: 02/09/2008
Posts: 811
Loc: Essex
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I agree MT.
What I can`t understand is how people afford to divorce as then you have 2 houses to pay for, 2 sets of bills etc.
I have already lost my job at the end of november, my OH works as an IT contractor so could lose his at anytime, its frightening.
Suzie88
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MangeTout
member
Reged: 08/07/2007
Posts: 4123
Loc: Oxfordshire
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I'm so sorry to hear that, suzie. I hope your OH stays in a job. It must be a worrying time for you both.
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Willows Forum www.phpbbplanet.com/willowskitchen/
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Mollymandy
member
Reged: 01/08/2008
Posts: 1511
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Wouldnt be too clever as son lives in my house back in Cambs and I could hardly turn him out. Retail is such a precarious business these days but so far bucking the trend. Have my state pension and a small private one: would be scary though and this thread has only added to my woeful mood.... roll on the cocktail hour when I can legitimately swig a g&t 
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cupcake
member
Reged: 15/02/2008
Posts: 5982
Loc: On top of the world!!
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Mr Cuppy hasn't worked for over 3 months. Nothing to do with the credit crunch but due to ill health. As he is self employed this means he has had no income at all. Luckily we have savings and I work. We don't have a mortgage and have never borrowed so have no debts.
He has, this last week finally received his lump sum from his personal pension, which he has taken while he's still able to enjoy retirement.
So he is now retired...partly, he can still do a certain amount of work, just nothing like the heavy and very hard work he has always done.
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miclor
member
Reged: 15/02/2008
Posts: 875
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As some of you kind ladies already know, my OH's employer recently announced a period of consultancy with a view to making around 25% of the staff redundant by the end of this month. The latest news is that he is NOT one of those affected this time and we are keeping everything crossed that no further cuts will be required and that the company order books start to pick up again soon. He is actually very busy at work, long may it last.
OH was redundant for about 5 months in 2001 and it was tough; we lived off our savings and something turned up in the nick of time. That experience put me off ever getting a bigger mortgage or any new debts and we are now in a better position financially, although we couldn't keep going indefinitely. My salary just about covers the mortgage, but little else.
Financial troubles are bad enough, but I think the psychological implications are possibly just as bad - I remember those few months, when OH said it was a full-time occupation just applying for jobs and attending interviews. At least there was hope, but it was still draining and demoralising. I dread to think how long it might take a man in his late forties to find another job in this current climate of doom and gloom.
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Brenda1948
member
Reged: 12/01/2008
Posts: 575
Loc: West Sussex
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There's only me in this house, and if I lost my job it would be difficult, but not disastrous. My mortgage is paid off, so at least I'd have a roof over my head. I've got a couple of small pensions, and I'm sure I'd be able to do something to earn some extra money.
I worry far more about my children than myself. I remember that our first mortgage was for 11,000 - and I worried because it seemed so big! When I look at the mortgages young people have to take out these days, it terrifies me!
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LadyGodiva
member
Reged: 19/09/2006
Posts: 794
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we have been here 3 times and now OH has his own business. Each time it was very scary and very stressful but at least once the decsion was made we knew where we were. On each occasion we battened down the hatches and tightended our belts. Now our approach to finance is very cautious and we have prepared for periods of no income but it would be hard and in truth it took its toll on us both individually and as a couple but here we are still together and coping with lifes ups and downs. We are not extravagant people and reasonably happy with the lifestyle we can afford and so do not yearn for more spending power (but of course it would be nice!)
My attitude to redundancy is that any financial gain is worth saving as much as you can so that when the time comes and things are on the up again you can use as much as you were able to save to make a significant difference to your life and this then becomes the reward for all the stress and anxiety caused by the whole experience.
I also bolster myself with the thought (which I am trying to imprint on my brain) that as one door closes another opens and the new door just might bring with it more satisfaction, success and pleasure than the one that has closed - of course it takes a while and a lot of heartache sometimes before you see the new opportunities before you.
Lets hope for us all this is a theoretcial discussion and for those for whom it is not I truly hope the anguish is replaced by relief very quickly
lady G
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McPhee
member
Reged: 21/07/2008
Posts: 1001
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Panic, to be honest!!
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McPhee
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Aprile
member
Reged: 28/07/2008
Posts: 523
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..eat cake.
Sorry, couldn't resist that one
Will reply more seriously once I've finished cooking the dinner as it is a serious post and no joking matter.
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Foxie
member
Reged: 09/08/2007
Posts: 7838
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It happened to us about 13 years ago. It was a complete shock and I was really pole axed initially. But, we took stock and Mr F. had several short term jobs before getting his present job. I had been a full time housewife and mother and I went to work initially part term but then full time.
Being in this situation really motivated me and I climbed the career ladder as fast as I could. I don't have a degree, but I went on every course and gained qualifications. If I didn't know who to do something, I soon learnt! When you have to, it is amazing what you can do!
Now everything is up in the air again. Every time you read a paper or listen to the news there is doom and gloom. This time round, I truly believe the recession is deeper and will last longer. Mr F. losing his job was one of the most stressful times in my life and we could have to face it all again, only this time we are more tired and older!
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I've learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou.
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