Supporting your husband through a job loss

Marriage is hard, and then you find yourself the wife of an unemployed prideful man. The next steps supporting your husband are very critical to the success of your marriage. Just over a year ago, my husband unexpectedly lost his job. I’m thankful for the situation now and I thrilled I get to share how supporting your husband through a job loss can be easy.

Think like a man.

Men and women think 180% different. Just as our love languages are different we process things at a different rate. I wanted to tackle the problem head on and take action right away. However, it took my husband several months to even realize this was really happening and ignoring it wasn’t going to make it go away.

Stop talking so much.

Women love to talk and tend to listen better than man {or so they say} right? In situations like this a man can be more emotional and sensitive than normal. Don’t talk about your hopes and dreams for a new kitchen, or even the vacation that you had planned. If anything secretly get your money back or don’t it might be just want you need. My husband likes to travel and do things but when he lost his job I wanted to put the brakes on so I made this list of things to do instead of spending money, it helped me a lot.

Stay positive.

And pray. Everything really does happen for a reason and God has a plan for your future. Thinking positive might sound hard right now but it will be more beneficial than negative.
It will be hard but encouragement is what your husband needs right now! My husband never had any time off and he didn’t know what to do with himself. While he was unemployed I remember being quiet until I was sure that what I was going to say was going to make him feel good or at least not feel worse.

Being the breadwinner, men often feel ‘worthless’ we don’t want to add to their bad feeling.

Let him slide.

He isn’t his normal self, he feels worthless and your nagging him to burn the garbage isn’t going to help. You can instead try to help with the income, there are so many little things you can do to supplement a family income right away. You could even start a small business?

Get organized.

Remember your husband is stressed ridding the house of clutter will allow both of your heads to clear and it’s very therapeutic for everyone, it at least not add to the problem. This doesn’t mean you have to throw his things away you might need to just organize it. Decluttering makes everyone feel great. I know {since time has passed}, it’s really helping our marriage in ways I can’t explain.

Lastly, remember this is just a season, it will pass and be a memory. One that you both learned and grew from. You might think I’m nuts but I think my husband’s company closing was the best thing that ever happened for our marriage and family as a whole. It brought us to where we are now and that’s where we are suppose to be.

~Amanda

P.S. Even before my husband lost his job I was brainstorming quick and easy ways to save money, I hope they help too!