Getting stuck in between jobs can be a stressful situation – with no money coming into your bank account for the foreseeable future, dealing with tighter purse-strings and a smaller budget can be tricky to adapt to, especially if you’ve been used to a good wage.
There are many reasons why you might have found yourself in between jobs; perhaps you’ve just left a job that you could no longer do for any reason, or maybe your old employer has closed down, leaving you back in the market for a new position. Perhaps you’ve been offered a new job elsewhere, but there’s a waiting period of a few months to get through before you can begin your first day at work.
However, no matter why you’ve found yourself in this situation, the main objective is to ensure that you are able to survive financially. Here are our top tips.
Tip #1. Consider Benefits
During times of financial hardship, benefits and welfare are there to offer some financial help and support. If you are currently looking for a new job, for example, then you will likely be eligible for a Job Seeker’s Allowance type of benefit, which will provide you with a basic income to help you ensure that you can afford to pay your bills and buy essentials such as food until you’re employed again. Although this may not be for everybody and you might be unsure about how you feel about claiming any kind of money, remember that you pay taxes for benefits!
In addition, if you are considering borrowing quick loans or a credit card to help you financially, this will give you a regular income to pay it back with.
Tip #2. Borrowing Money
Borrowing money such as quick loans to help you get by in between jobs can be helpful, but it’s important that you approach this idea with caution if you are not sure whether you can afford the repayments. To help you figure this out, try utilising a loan calculator such as the one provided at 118118 Money so you don’t borrow more than you can afford to pay back.
It could be worth considering asking friends or relatives to help you financially instead since this will be more flexible and you can repay them once you have another job. On the other hand, if you have a job lined up but you need to wait to start, then borrowing loans or other forms of credit could be a good idea.
A short-term loan will provide you with a small amount of cash that you can use to see you through the waiting period and you can make repayments once you’re getting a regular wage once again. However, be careful that your first repayment isn’t due before you’re working since this could put you in financial trouble. It’s best to not use all the loan – keep some spare for situations like this.
Tip #3. Watch Your Spending
Even if you’re in a situation where quick loans can help you get by during your time out of work, it’s a good idea to watch your spending and try to scale back. Not only will this help you to be more comfortable and save money whilst you are out of a job; it’s also great practice for budgeting in the future and you’ll be surprised at how much you can actually live without.
Of course, if you’ve been used to spending a lot, tightening the purse strings can take some getting used to, but you’ll be grateful that you did in the end. For example, you could batch cook more meals, skip eating out for entertaining at home and go through your monthly expenses to determine if there’s anything you could do without. Once you get used to these new spending habits, you’ll have more money to save once you’re back in full-time employment, too.
Tip #4. Find a Side Hustle
It may be difficult to find a silver lining in being out of a job, but there are some good things that can come from all the free time that you’ve now got on your hands. For example, one of the best benefits of this is that you can use this new found spare time to find a way of earning an extra income from home, which you might even want to continue doing once you’re employed again to boost your monthly wages.
If you have a laptop or computer at home, then that’s all you need to get started – blogging, becoming a virtual assistant, affiliate marketing, content writing, or even web and graphic designing if you have the know-how, are all viable ways of making an extra income from home and can help you earn some cash to get you through the time between jobs. Don’t forget about other things that you could do around your neighbourhood – advertise your services as a pet sitter, dog walker, or gardener, for example. Or, you could earn some extra cash from your family and friends by offering to help with jobs such as housework, car maintenance, or even child-minding.
Did these tips help? Let us know in the comments.
