Nothing is more frustrating than having a fulfilling career and social life that suddenly and unexpectedly comes to a halt. When an accident or injury takes away your capacity to work, you are left with no choice but to learn to manage your now minimal budget.

Many people are unable to go back to work after a major accident, whether it occurred at work, as a road user, or in a car. It makes no difference whether the injury was to the brain, back, legs or arm, or any other part of the body. If an accident has interfered with your capacity to work, you must figure out how to make life easier for yourself and your financial situation. 

When you are unable to work, you have options. In an ideal world, you will have set aside enough money in a six-month emergency fund. Alas, many people fail to do so or cannot afford to save money leaving them feeling anxious when they realize they have very little money. You can and should if involved in a car accident, hire devoted car accident lawyers to work on your behalf and get you financial help, but of course, that can take time to organize and process. 

Here, we look at some tried-and-tested tips to help you to balance your finances when you cannot work.

Set up a budget

When you are out of work, it is more important than ever to be assertive about budgeting. If you are used to a consistent income, you may require additional assistance in the form of a budgeting tool, such as an app or spreadsheet.

The first step in effectively living within your means while struggling to make ends meet is to develop an accurate picture of your expenditures. Make a list of all your current sources of income, if any,  as well as the funds in your savings accounts, then make a list of everything you spend money on every month. Split your expenses into two categories: essentials and non-essential – this will help you to plan where you will cut your spending.

Things that you might want to cut out include:

• Subscriptions such as Netflix and Spotify or cable TV
• Gym memberships
• Takeout coffees and meals

If you drive and rely on your car, it might be worth seeing if you can switch insurance providers to get a better deal on your auto insurance. The same goes for your electricity and gas providers and internet and cell phone service providers. 

You may have to make difficult decisions about which bills to pay, such as paying your energy bills before your standard credit card payment. You should make these decisions ahead of time before your financial situation worsens. 

If you call up places, you may be able to come to some agreement where you pause payments or reduce payments for a while, without it affecting your credit score. 

Look at the help that you may be entitled to

If you lose your job, you should apply for unemployment benefits through your state as soon as possible. Unemployment insurance payments vary widely across the United States, but the Brookings Institute reports that they typically substitute roughly half of your usual wages or salary for up to 26 weeks.

If you find yourself in need of grocery items while unemployed, consider applying to your state for support.  If you are eligible, you can use this program to purchase food for yourself and your family at local stores.

Even if you have lost your job, you can still apply for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Your healthcare plan eligibility and premium are affected by the size and income level of your household, not your employment status.

You may also be eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, depending on your income level.

Can you work from home?

Maybe your injury has prevented you from going out to work, but in some cases, you may still be able to work from home, if you feel up to it.  The working world is increasingly oriented toward the gig economy, which includes freelance work, flexible work, and remote jobs. Maybe you could look at freelance writing jobs, tutoring, social media management, virtual assistance, or various other things depending on your skills and experience. There are various gig websites to help you find this sort of work – Upwork and Fiverr are just two of them.