FWIW, my wife and I weren't laid off within ten days of each other after a night of poor decisions and cocktails at the club. We've both been employed since we were 16 and have never ever missed a payment on anything in our lives. In a normal world, we'd be on our way to our first interviews before the ink dried on our first unemployment check. In this world, however, that's not very likely as everybody's at home and will be for the foreseeable future.

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I hope and pray this passes soon, but your new job now is finding a job. What line of work are you in?

@Yep : Thanks. I work in energy services as an engineer. The wife is business development. Life was pretty good till about 15 days ago. Funny how fast things can unravel.

Yes, its scary how quickly it happens.

[ Removed By Request. ]

@WeveBecomeEastHouston : Don't give up! Things might look completely different in a month or two!

Welcome to the land of "Moocherville".....May wanna get up on some of those "entitlements"....Hope you'll have a "change of heart" about them when you get on the "receiving end"...BTW....If you do get SNAP, make sure you don't spend any at IHOP....Some "High-Brows" frown upon that kind of thing....

@EddyFree : Great advice! Invest in real food that will nourish your body, not kill it.

@EddyFree : Oh, now I get it. You think my situation compares to those who abuse the public safety net (even in good times). If I'm still collecting unemployment when IHOP opens up, I can guarantee you I won't be wasting it on pancakes.

[ Removed By Request. ]

@nikkiole :Karma....

@EddyFree : Be careful you're not sowing the seeds for yours....

@WeveBecomeEastHouston : Don't listen to anything less than positive on this post. We had this happen in 2005. Our income dropped significantly because I went from making $70k to showing up for work, called into a meeting with our entire group and being handed a severance package because the company got sold out. We had excellent credit and thriving but ultimately, we had to consult with a Bankruptcy Attorney. We filed Chapter 13 and established a payment plan and paid it timely. We paid cash for a car a dropped car notes, etc.
Five years later, we paid the chapter 13 off. The debtors got paid and we bounced back. 🙏🏼💕

@WeveBecomeEastHouston : In my opinion the best course of action might be to contact the various creditors that you owe and let them in on your situation. Especially during times of national crisis companies become quite understanding. In that regard most if not all of them might be willing to extend to you a level of courtesy in regards to making the next bill payments.In my case I've been receiving notices from businesses I deal with to inform should I need anything from them such as temporary economic relief, all I need do is reach out. So I say give it a try. You never know....

@rocket : We've been doing that, and they have been very kind. Thanks for the advice.