Could you survive missing a paycheck?

[Soph0571]

I am fortunate. I have had a reasonable enough career, and being mortgage free, means I have 2 years salary in my bank account, not including my investments. I have worked bloody hard to get to this point, and January being the longest month in anyone pay I have 'lent' several hundred quid to employees who are struggling to get to the end of the month. I see those hard working individuals, living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and really feel for them - I was there 15 years ago. I would have been able to survive 2 pay checks at a stretch.

Could you survive if the economy goes to shit?

[2naSalit]

1. Nope.

[Downtown Hound]

2. Yes. But only because my wife works

Otherwise, no.

[onecaliberal]

3. My husband had a massive stroke days after dump was elected. Thank god I had 6 months expenses

Saved. That was 2 years ago, these days we’re living off my pay and SS.

[underpants]

4. Yes

We aren't great with our money but we do a pretty good job. We bought a 13 year old car with cash a few years ago. We spend loosely but not horribly. We have at least 6 months worth of food in our house.

I have a couple of emergency credit cards. I also put away money per payday - I have a goal of handing my daughter $10K when she graduates high school.

[LisaM]

6. A two-year old?

LOL, I'm guessing you don't mean a two-year old child! But it made me laugh.

[underpants]

14. Typo

This new iOS is a mess.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Not for long

I get by on SS and a part time job. If I lost one or the other I could survive 8 to 10 weeks.

[Iggo]

7. Yeah, but not too many of them.

I'm 57, no house, no wife, no ex-wife, no kids of my own, and no debt. (Not as great as it sounds...lol.)

I'm not anywhere close to being well-off. But over the past fifteen years one of my main goals has been to put as many paychecks as possible between me and the street. Been there. Don't wanna be there again.

[Loki Liesmith]

8. Yes

[Igel]

9. Yes.

At every point since I left home I had a cushion that would have kept me going for a few months

If I'd used it at any point in my life, the result would have been relatively good conditions followed by the baseline that I had to endure without spending that cushion. So instead when conditions changed I reverted to that meager baseline. And kept the cash reserve.

Working minimum wage, 2/3 time for six months? Scrimped like you wouldn't believe. Ate simply, cheaply, lived in really dilapidated quarters. Kept the cushion.

Went to grad school, took out loans and lived on $12k/year in West Los Angeles in the '90s. Kept the cushion.

[Initech]

10. Right now yes because I do not have car payments.

I made my last one a few weeks ago. But when I did have car payments that was a very real possibility.

[underpants]

15. 11 more payments and that baby is MINE

Another year for my wife's car.

This is the first car I bought with a loan.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Since I'm retired with enough of a nest egg plus SS, yes, at least if I'm careful.

There have been times during my working life, though, when it would have been a serious problem. I do recall one occasion many years ago when a paycheck I was counting on did not come because my employer lied to me about whether I would get paid vacation time. So I took my allowed one-week vacation, but then, when my paycheck came, a week's worth of pay was not there. When I asked about it I was told I wasn't entitled to a paid vacation (which is not what they told me when I was hired). The result was that I didn't have enough money to pay my rent, but my employer (a law firm!) told me that wasn't their problem. But I made it their problem by taking the matter to small claims court (they caved before it went to court). Then I found another job and quit. In the meantime I had to borrow money from my family - and I was fortunate; I was young, had no dependents, and a family that could afford to help me. I'd have been in deep shit if I'd had kids to support and a family that couldn't help. I remember that incident like it was yesterday (still pissed off about it even though the guy who screwed me is dead now), and I have the deepest sympathy for those who do live paycheck to paycheck, which I continued to do for many years. It's very stressful.

[smirkymonkey]

12. No, I would have to borrow from family or take a loan from my 401K/Profit Sharing account.

I only have a small amount of liquid savings.

[mainstreetonce]

13. Yes

I am fortunate

[safeinOhio]

16. I sure don't want

to find out

[Ron Obvious]

17. Easily.

We've always lived considerably below our means. No material goods or possessions outweigh financial security, IMO.

I understand not everybody is in a position to do this, but many are and choose not to put money aside.

[ChazII]

18. nope n/t

[Moostache]

19. I am in no hurry to test it out...

We could probably manage up to 6 months but the last 3 would be going into debt on credit cards and not really surviving as much as signing up for indentured servitude after...

In reality, we have 2-3 months mortgage and expenses that currently resides in the "rainy day fund", but if we got hit again with the appliances going out - washing machine and dishwasher failed in December - that fund gets hit hard. We have considerable living expenses though so what we have would probably run out faster than we think.

No question it would be hard, although I always have about 6 weeks of dried foods (rice, beans, canned meats and vegetables) available in case of a natural disaster (New Madrid fault is going to let loose some day...just hope it doesn't shift the Mississippi River flow again when it does!!!)

[roamer65]

20. Yes.

[Leith]

21. Yes

I'm a saver. Whatever is left after all the bills were paid and all food bought goes into the savings account.

[GaYellowDawg]

22. Not right now.

I had a ton of medical costs in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, and then had to go a month without a paycheck after switching jobs. I'm maxed out. I can make a lot of headway as long as I don't have another disaster in the next 6 months.

[helpisontheway]

23. Yes..nt

[LakeSuperiorView]

24. I've been missing paychecks for 16 months...

Haven't touched retirement funds. My savings have dwindled quite a bit, but having my mortgage paid off has helped.