Hi Diane,
Thank you for dropping a note to say hello!
I wanted to start by saying that what you did for your parents is absolutely commendable and important. I know that caretaking is one of those things that is way harder than it seems, so I know you have at least several qualities that would make you a wonderful person and employee.
As for your situation, I see it as two problems put together, so let's address them each one at a time.
Problem 1: Landing a job
If you are really financially strapped, I think a wise strategy is to get a part time job asap first. By doing this, you can a) start to have some money to help alleviate the financial stress you're feeling, b) start plugging up the gap of unemployed time in your resume, and c) doing it part time still gives you some time to look for a full time gig.
Don't wear your worry to your interviews. You may be concerned that your employment gap will be a red flag for potential employers, but it won't be if you speak to it with confidence. You can explain that your parents fell ill and you knew it was the right thing to do to take care of them. Say they no longer need your care so you are excited to get back into the workforce again. If you don't show them you doubted the decision, they shouldn't either.
Every time I job hunt, I refer to this amazing book called Knock Em Dead Resumes. What I love about their book is that they give advice on various parts of the job hunting process but they also give TONS of examples of solid resumes for practically every field. It gives you an idea of the kinds of skills and accomplishments to think of that help sell yourself. I never prepare for a job without it. (I also just borrow it from the library, so I don't have to spend money on it).
Problem 2: Making do with what you have
Until you get another job, your other challenge is to figure out how to make due with what you have. To see big improvement, I would recommend focusing on the top two expenses that most people have: housing & food. I don't know your exact numbers but from what you wrote it sounds like a dire situation, so you may have to consider major change. You would relieve so much of your pressure if you could either take on roommates or move in with family. With the latter suggestion, you could make it a win for your family member by offering to pay something to them, like a reduced rent. That way, you both end up paying less for housing than you would if you lived apart.
As for food, there are three things our family does to really slash our spending:
1) Choose a super frugal meal and eat that everyday for breakfast or lunch. For example, I eat oatmeal with banana slices every day for breakfast. Both are dirt cheap so I get one meal out of the way for very little, like maybe $30-$40 for the whole month. You can double the savings if you use a similar strategy for breakfast AND lunch (for me, it's a peanut butter & jelly sandwich). I find that this also saves me time in the morning since I don't have to think so much about what I'm going to do for food and also makes me enjoy dinner a lot more too 🙂
2) Do a pantry purge challenge at least once a month. That means I make every meal from what I have on hand in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. I might allow myself something nominal like $10 to spend on fresh produce, but that means pretty much I go the entire week without spending a thing on food.
3) Shop exclusively at a warehouse club like Sam's Club or Costco. I'm not sure if you have these particular stores where you're from but hopefully you have something similar. I try to limit my purchases to non perishable stuff because my family just simply can't eat 10 pounds of potatoes before they go bad, but this really saves us a lot of money because we buy everything freezable or non-perishable from here.
I think it takes a lot of courage to reach out and ask for advice, so kudos to that and good luck! Thanks for stopping by!
Sylvia
