Not a good day

My DH got laid off today. No severance pay either. A couple of customers cancelled their restorations and so my DH is out of work.
Does anybody know what happens when you have signed up for health insurance through Obamacare and you get laid off? We can't afford to pay what we are now and I don't think you can switch till November 15.

I signed up for the state (Massachusetts) health insurance option. It is linked to the Obamacare.
That was in January. I am still not on their plan!
And I need to re-sign in November!!!
I was sent a letter 3 months later, that I was temporarily covered under the low-income insurance, until January of 2015!!!
I went thru the mill trying to find an agency that would help me apply, because the website crashed!
I spent 2 weeks going from one city to another, running around to welfare, social security, etc. No one would help me!
Finally, I found someone who told me to go to "my hospital" where I was a patient, where my PCP was affiliated. I had to go to the financial assistance office there.
I walked in there, so desperate, crying my eyes out. The social worker was so nice. She filled out the application for me, and faxed it in.
But I am still not on it!
They have not gotten around to approving all the applications!
While I was waiting to hear from them, I really needed health care coverage...I could not go without.
I ended up signing up for COBRA, thru my last job. It is so very expensive....
All I can say is good luck....

The entire system is so messed up..

My next door neighbor is 62. He gets laid off every two years. Finally, at 62, he said enough. He has bad arthritis in both knees so he got disability and retired. Must be nice. If my DH retires at 62 we will be standing in the line for the soup kitchen. Social Security will have us living at the poverty level. Not a happy thought. I believe that will be my time to exit this world.

Bugster2 wrote:My next door neighbor is 62. He gets laid off every two years. Finally, at 62, he said enough. He has bad arthritis in both knees so he got disability and retired. Must be nice. If my DH retires at 62 we will be standing in the line for the soup kitchen. Social Security will have us living at the poverty level. Not a happy thought. I believe that will be my time to exit this world.

DH will probably get another job soon; if not already.
I'm sure his job is in demand. That is a skilled profession restoration of vehicles.

When Tina and I were both working... when there was no more baby chit...we made a hunk of money, and that was in the 90's.
We did work hard, and long hours...and when we both retired, it was like ^%$Wham*!
Back to watching that piggy bank, and readjusting the SS for us both, and thankfully the both of our pensions from the Butchers Union for T and the Pipefitters Union for me.
I _itched when I had to pay dues, and never realized that later later on, it would help us (barely) as we mosied along.
We were planning to dump this state of NJ and sell the house, and move back to PA. But the housing market took a dump, and we are up the creek without a paddle now.
Stuck here with a Mortgage and $8,000.00 a year taxes. And we don't live in a ritzy area.
We are just like everybody else...living paycheck to paycheck.

I told T, if either of us dies... the survivor of this place will be up the creek. And not a sweet smelling creek.

So we take each day as it comes, and plan spending carefully. We just have to remember to take care of our health if possible. I told T, your 69 and I'm gonna be 70 soon. We better slow down. We are not 40 anymore.

This is so scary to read. My hubby is retiring on 9/4. We had to really cut back when I left my corporate job and again 2 1/2 years ago when I had to put my business on hiatus. Don't know how we can cut back much more.

It may be me, but it's been my experience you quickly learn to live on what you have available. Dane and I both worked for years, we made substantial incomes at times. We put some money into our retirement but not as much as we probably should have, nor as much as we could easily have.

But now that we are both retired I find we are able to live comfortably. We eat at home most of the time but we don't sweat it if we decide to go out to eat. We were careful when we purchased our villa to be sure it was in MY financial comfort zone, especially since we had not had a mortgage payment for many years.

I think you spend what you have and as long as you are sensible and not wasteful on a lot of unnecessary things you will be fine. I know we take in a whole lot less than friends of ours around here but we are just as comfortable as they are.