When government shutdown looms, it pays for affected employees to be prepared for the worst …
When government shutdown looms, a lot of things hang in the balance.
If the government shuts down, various actions are triggered, including closing of national monuments and museums, suspension of non-essential services, and furlough of many government employees.
Government shuts down, but government reopens
The good news for the affected employees, even after a lapse like this, is that the government has started up again fairly quickly, so the effects of the shutdown are temporary.
Still, though, it's wise to prepare, both mentally and fiscally.
Get in the right mindset
Getting furloughed isn't particularly fun, but having a good mindset is one of the first things to do.
A furlough, almost certainly, is not a catastrophe, and it's not the loss of a job. It's not cause for panic in most cases.
It's helpful to be in a good mindset because people will feel the pinch at some point.
Run the numbers
If a shutdown happens, the reduction in the paycheck will get real, quickly.
Running the numbers is advised, to see what the actual damage is going to be.
Sometimes there's time to prepare; running a furlough practice budget — one where you reduce your expenses to the furlough level prior to the furlough hitting — can ease the transition.
Weather it out
Before you tighten the belt, there may be other financial resources that you have available to you. Check on those.
Beyond that, there are really only two ways to make up the shortfall: spend less, or make more.
Since working during a furlough is strongly prohibited, think of creative uses for that time off. Doing a side hustle to work toward reducing complete dependence on a single source of income is good to do, furlough or not.
Keep it going
After those wishing to take advantage of the crisis are done taking advantage, things get back to normal.
But that doesn't mean that your finances have to bounce back completely to normal.
They can just bounce most of the way back to normal.
Maybe you created a budget that you were able to stick to. Now that things are “normal,” you can go be almost to normal and be saving some money each month.
May your paychecks be long, and your shutdowns short.
