Budgeting for unexpected time off from work is the same as budgeting for unexpected expenses. You have to have a budget in the first place to cover for the times you are sent home without pay. There are a lot of reasons you may have to miss work unexpectedly and lose some income. Having a plan, and being prepared is the best way to offset some of the issues that can crop up when you are paid less than you normally would be.
Avoiding The Problem
Not every problem that will keep you home from work unexpectedly can be avoided, but many of them can be. For example, if you have kids, make sure they get the proper dental care and medical care, and here is why. About 51 million hours are missed from school because of dental-related problems. If your kid has a dental problem, that means not only are they going to miss school, but you are going to miss work. Preventive care will take this issue right out of the equation.
Other reasons that people unexpectedly miss work include
- Transportation problems.
- Childcare problems.
- Illness.
Avoiding some of these common reasons for missing work can be as simple as making sure your vehicle is serviced regularly, having a backup plan for childcare, and living a healthy lifestyle to avoid getting sick. You cannot avoid every problem that will keep you home, but the ones that you can, you should.
Have a Plan In Place
It is always best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If you lost a week’s worth of wages how would you cover your bills? This simple question is one that everyone should be asking themselves. Deciding how you would manage before you need to manage this problem is a good way to stay prepared.
Not having a plan can back you into a corner you never want to be in. Some people make very bad choices when they are in the midst of a financial crisis. They look for quick money schemes online like payday loans with ridiculously high interest rates that affect their income for months to come. Additionally, internet crime is on the rise, and many of these get cash fast schemes are a rip-off. Internet crimes are crimes that are fraudulent representations or false representations about products or services, and many times focus on desperate people in need of cash.
Saving and budgeting is the best way to be prepared for both unexpected expenses and unexpected loss of income. Having an emergency fund will ease the stress of lost wages and let you stay home when you need to with peace of mind.
Ask Your Employer How You Can Make Up the Time
Some employers can be flexible. It does not hurt to ask your employer how you can make up the time you missed so that you do not lose the income. Your employer may or may not have options, but it never hurts to ask.
Before you make the call be sure that you have a couple of solutions in mind. For example, can you come in on the weekend or on your regularly scheduled day off to make up the time? It’s always worth asking.
Make The Best of the Situation
Yes, it can be stressful to think about losing income, but while you are home, you can actually get some work done that will save you money in the long run. In 2020, homeowners spent on average about $8,305 on home improvement. The cost of home improvement increased by about $745 from 2019 on about 2.77 projects. If you did some of the work yourself while you are at home, that could be significant savings for you.
Money saved is in fact money earned. You may come out on the winning end of things when you compare what you saved by doing it yourself and what you lost in wages for the time you were home. No matter how bad the situation seems, just keep moving forward in a positive direction and it will all work out.
