Never did I imagine that my husband would be laid off when we just relocated our large family to East Texas. It was a hard move for all of us. We were heartbroken to leave our friends and our church family. None of us does good with change.

When my husband informed me the evening before my birthday that he no longer had a job, I was speechless.

Really?

Would God really forsake us after we had started making a new life here?

Ashamed, I asked God that question over and over.

And to top it off….The company was not paying any sort of severance to the 35-40 employees they just laid off. It just wasn’t in their budget.

My husband was out of work earlier in our marriage for 11 months and we survived and grew tremendously in our spiritual walk during that tough time, but I certainly didn’t want to relive that challenging time.

I immediately asked the Lord for wisdom and peace while frying up the bacon we were going to have for supper that evening.

I had a sense of peace and the Lord immediately reminded me of how I wished I would have handled the job loss situation last time differently.

Needless to say, I wouldn’t have won any Wife of the Year trophy in those 11 months.

Here are the 13 tips that I made a priority in supporting my husband during his job loss this time around.

13 Tips on Surviving Your Husband’s Job Loss

1. Encourage Him.   This is the most important thing you can do for your husband right now. Husbands tend to be the providers and can battle low self-esteem during a job loss. He needs you to be his biggest cheerleader.
2. Pray for Him.     Praying daily for strength, courage, and peace during his job search will help your husband know you believe God has a plan for your family. God does provide, ALWAYS.
3. Cut all necessary expenses.     This might seem overwhelming initially, but once you and your family realize that you don’t really need to have cable, Netflix, order pizza, and see every Disney movie, you will be amazed at how much money you can save. Remember it is only temporarily, but you just might find those extras aren’t what they are cracked up to be.
4. Apply for Unemployment.     I recommend that your husband does this the very next day. It takes a few weeks for it to all take effect. Help him if he needs assistance.  You can do this process all online and you don’t have to use it if you don’t need it.
5. Think of the Positives.     Keep a running list of all the positives that take place each day. It might just be something little, but when you look back on these days, you will be able to tell others the blessings you encountered.
6. Menu Plan.     To assure that your grocery bill is consistent, make a 2 week menu plan and rotate it. Your grocery should be around the same each period if you stick to this plan.
7. Yard Sale.   Start decluterring and have a yard sale. We ended up selling one of our cars, but God provided a nicer and a more reliable vehicle a few months later. We also have sold animals, such as, dairy goats and puppies. It cost a lot to feed them during this time. You can always add to your flock later on.
8. Creative Meals.     This is the time to empty out your pantry and cupboards. We made the most interesting meals. Trust me, your family will be able to survive with something out of the ordinary, such as, rice and cream of mushroom soup with saltines.
9. Stay at Home.     We had to cut our extra-curricula activities in half due to the gas expense. All of our trips into town were purposeful. We tried to kill two birds with one stone if possible. Church was our main priority.
10. Help with Resume.     More than likely your husband will have to update his resume. Ask him if he needs some help or suggestions. Offer to do the research for him or with him. Make it a joint effort. This can take a load of stress off of him.
11. Seek Counseling.     I recommend seeking counsel from your pastor at this time or at the very least be active in a Bible Study group. Having prayer warriors that were indeed looking after our best interest was truly a gift from God. I was able to cry on their shoulders when I had a stressful today and always had prayer support during interview times. It’s a blessing.
12. Family Nights.    You and your husband can still have date night, but at home. Almost every night ended up being family night because we were home most evenings. We played games, read books, threw darts (not at each other) and just enjoyed each other.
13. Small Jobs.     My husband took small jobs during this time, such as, mowing lawns and helping a friend with his plumbing business. Encourage him to seek outside the box.

My husband is still unemployed, but we are praying and anticipating a job offer momentarily. God has provided for our family and we have never gone a night without a meal. God is good.

We always end up stronger as a family when we encounter an unexpected challenge. God will do the same for your family, too!

I pray a few of these tips will help you during this difficult time and please feel free to share with anyone who might be experiencing a job loss.We need to stick together and pray for one another.

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Are you trying to survive your husband’s job loss? Do you have any tips to add?