Preparing for a missed paycheck

Federal workers are on their way to missing a second paycheck because of the government shutdown with no telling when they will get their money.

While the gridlock in Washington is causing the mess, other emergencies in life could mean you do not get a steady paycheck anymore.

“I already have bills lined up from month to month. I depend on those funds because those funds are covering my cost,” said Richard Martinez, a Marina resident.

“Being a young person in this world, you like to get your bills paid on time so like you can build credit,” said Malaya Penamante, a Seaside resident.

For 800,000 federal workers, likely to miss another paycheck Friday, that predicament is already a reality. But life life can still throw different balls for the rest of us.

“Losing your job, your company goes out of business, you get laid off, you become ill, someone in your family dies, all those things are things that happen to people,” said Nan Lesnick, a financial advisor at Lesnick Company.

Lesnick runs her financial planning business mostly for retiring people. But she says she finds a lot of people are not prepared for those rainy days that will come along, such as a federal government shutdown.

“What I think is most important is that people say, ‘OK. If my paychecks stopped today, what would I do?’ Because that’s what has happened,” said Lesnick.

She says it is important to ask the right questions like what does it cost you exactly every month to live comfortably, to pay for housing, car and grocery expenses.

“The rule of thumb as financial advisors is you should have six months of living expenses set aside for just such a situation as people are seeing now, so that you can weather the storm,” said Lesnick.

But most people are in agreement: people who are working should get paid.

“I don’t think it’s right. I think people should get paid. I don’t see a point of having the government shutdown,” said Ariana Bonner, a Seaside resident.

“How can you work your tail off, day in day out, Monday through Saturday, nine to five, and not get expect to get paid by two checks missing? What’s going on here?” said Martinez.

Lesnick says it is also important for parents to start their kids in the habit of saving. She says it is a habit that will build on itself in the long run.