Lessons Learned

For those of you who may not know, my husband was told last Thursday that he would be losing his job at the end of the school year. The state of California is having some major issues with their budget and are in a major financial deficit. In the district my husband works for, 96 teachers were given notices of losing their jobs. They went entirely off seniority. My husband is in his 2nd year of teaching, even though he is fully credentialed, as compared to other teachers who have taught longer, but are not done with their credentials. As of today, Monday March 9th, things have worked out and it looks like his job will be okay. 

I wanted to write a little bit about some things I learned from this experience. 

When Dan first told me he was losing his job, I was just about to eat lunch. After getting off the phone with him, I suddenly viewed my lunch making resources a lot differently. Should I use less peanut butter than normal? What if our situation got so bad that we couldn't afford peanut butter anymore? What about the jam? We buy a slightly more expensive kind because it tastes SO much better. All of a sudden, the comfort of having a steady income, was slithering away from me. For the last few months, I've heard about thousands of people losing their jobs. I've always felt bad for them, but was comforted knowing that Dan still had his and we didn't have to deal with that. Now, I have experienced a little more what people go through. Our situation was nowhere near what some people go through, but I was starting to understand and feel more for them. I'm now feeling a lot more THANKFUL for what we have and feel so BLESSED that it appears Dan's job will be okay (fingers crossed). 

After hearing the news about Dan's job, we started to assess our situation. We have no debt (other than our mortgage), a good amount of savings and food storage. I've been working really hard on getting our food storage going and now have a good substantial amount. After thinking about it, I wasn't as worried as I first was about Dan losing his job. I knew that we would be okay for a while. Which leads me to my next point.

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." 

Isn't that what we've been hearing for years now? Get out of debt, have money in savings, get your food storage, etc. My testimony of following the prophet has really been strengthened the last few days. When you do what they tell you to, you don't have to worry. I didn't have to worry about how were we going to pay a credit card bill if Dan lost his job. I didn't have to worry about not having enough food. I was a little worried about our mortgage, but I knew our savings would cover us a for a while. We don't live month to month on Dan's paycheck. Heavenly Father knows what's going to happen with the world and wants His children to be prepared. I think we are finally starting to see how quickly the stability we're used to can change so rapidly. 

However, being prepared, has come with a price. What I mean by this is we live pretty frugally, compared to the world's standard of living. I've always been pretty frugal. My family would always make fun of me for this. We don't eat out a lot (maybe once a month). I don't get my hair or nails done (my hair doesn't require a lot of maintenance). If we go to the movies, it's usually to the dollar theater. I make a lot of meals from scratch, so our food bill isn't usually too high. I have always felt that when it came down to it, I would much rather have savings and food storage, more than really nice furniture or expensive clothes, the latest cell phone, an expensive ipod, a new car, etc. Sure those things would be nice, but I don't dare buy them till I'm in a financial state to afford them. And only after I've put priority over the more important things. 

Let's say Dan did lose his job and it took him a long time to find another one. What if we hadn't been prepared for this? I think I would have a lot of regret, having spent my money on less important things. I can't eat a car or my clothes. An ipod won't pay the bills or buy diapers. Furniture I couldn't have afforded to begin with won't pay the mortgage. The world says I NEED these things and I need them NOW. I say they're nice to have, only if you can truly afford them and if you've first prioritized what the prophet has counseled us to do. Because we were prepared, we didn't have to fear. Of course we were worried and concerned, but we knew we had done our part and Heavenly Father would help us. 

I'm so thankful that we've been blessed for Dan to not lose his job. I really feel for those who are not so fortunate. I hope that these difficult economic times will pass and that we can all learn a lesson from them.