Recently a famous couple who have a large family came to the hard cold reality that although they had a large family, the cost to just keep that family together and living below the poverty line was taking a toll. A toll on the marriage, the health and well being of the children, and the family a whole. Now I don't know how this couple came to the decision to become a "reality" show but, they decided that this income stream would solve their problems and that they could fill their own hole of needing attention by going this route. Well you know what happened. Instead of providing (which was their initial intent), their lives, their marriage, and their family became the center of a media circus. This downward spiral to date does not have a happy ending and everyone has suffered and in my opinion lost out on what was a joyful family. Yes, they had tough times, but who doesn't. Yes, there are solutions, but critical thinking is need to see further down that road to see what might play out.
What is an "Essential"? Every single person who is reading this will have a different answer. I live about less than 4 miles from a drain basin of 4 rivers, within 45 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, within 40 miles of the mighty Hudson river which splits New Jersey from New York , but I am up on a slight elevated area so I do not get flooded. Down below me thousands of people are coping with yet another flooding of these rivers and the eroding of the beaches. Everything they own in many cases is destroyed by water damage and mold. These poor folks have nothing that they can salvage and their home is not inhabitable. What would you do? What is absolutely essential for you to take out of that home you have lived in to survive with the water level lapping up at your front steps. You have less an 1 hour to decide. What will you take that is an "Essential"?
In preparation for this post, I did some extensive reading on unemployment and on the importance of taking your "financial temperature" in your life. If you are employed, self employed, unemployed or just wondering how to budget, this post will help you. Let's get down to business.