How to Prepare Financially for the Next Government Shutdown
So, the 2025 Government Shutdown is over… Finally?
Time to get back to business. After 42 days, I was able to finish at least three Audible books, with a fourth nearly done. Beyond that, I didn’t get anything done. Well, I did something, but I guess I must explain what a furlough is.
After working for the federal government for 11 years, this is my first true shutdown. Turns out, even though we call it a government shutdown, it’s not quite as simple as that. Yeah, over 650,000 federal employees were banished to their homes, and there were still plenty of mission-critical people working. Half of which were still getting paid. We wouldn’t want the nuclear folks to go without their rent, for example. There are even some government employees who aren’t on the same budget code as the Continuing Resolution, so they get to work and get paid (ish). The -ish part depends on whether there is someone to certify the checks. This Senate Shutdown left 730,000 employees working without pay for 42 days. That part would suck.
Imagine going to work and not getting paid every two weeks. Wait, I went through that before. The game of who-done-it seems cheap when you can’t afford to pay your rent or put food on the table. Two missed paychecks for people already behind financially seems unnecessarily cruel. All while congressional members continue to pull in their checks while earning over $174,000 per annually. Again, the cruelty is unreal.
In the Marines, the rules were simple. To be a leader meant that we would gladly suffer before, during, and after if it meant protecting our people. I can’t imagine getting paid while my Marines weren’t. It would have been sacrilege. Congress doesn’t have leaders. It proves that it has nothing but well-paid bureaucrats.
Table of Contents
Shutting down and Enjoying
I’ve been through a few shutdowns, but due to my exemption, I was working like a slave while my co-workers in other teams were taking a nice break. This brings us full circle to why I didn’t get much done.
I was stressed before the shutdown and wrapped up all three of my key projects. The last two projects closed on September 30th. I went into the shutdown with an overarching goal of not sweating the details. Most people go into a financial crisis with so much stress that coming out of it worse seems counterproductive. That level of comfort came from being financially literate enough to know how to play my cards.
My wife and I fortunately didn’t have to take short-term loans or do any big financial steps; instead, doing nothing was the goal. Or more specifically, doing less. Like a lot of people, we were not financially prepared.
Since these government standoffs happen every couple of months, people should adjust and factor at least six months of expenses into their short-term savings.
For most families, that can add up to $30,000. While that amount seems astronomically high, start small with at least one month’s worth of expenses in a high-yield savings account. We had $1,250, not enough. This year has been marred by higher cost transitions that we didn’t plan for, as well as higher-than-expected costs for our mid-year trip. Switzerland is beyond beautiful, but it’s not cheap.
All of this, and we still have to contend with an aging water heater and a 2009 Nissan with an axle problem. The cost is costing. As the kids say, “we are cooked!”
Burn Rates, Cash Flows, and Government Shutdowns
What helped us is that our Burn-rate Basis (BB) is around $5,000, which includes our two mortgages, auto loan, and living expenses.
We were able to bear the brunt because of my wife’s income, my monthly VA benefits, and rental income. Beyond that, we slowed down on extra credit card payments and investments.
Additionally, within reason, we cut back on a lot of unnecessary expenses while keeping future expenses at bay until the government reopened.
I knew with near certainty that we would get back pay, so the shutdown turned into a waiting game. As more people suffered, senate democrats finally said, “Welp, time to vote.” After all that time, people are now asking what it was all about. I’ll tell you.
It was all for some votes on November 4th, but mainly for the narrative of saying Trump is the worst president because of the shutdown (that they caused).
Alas, at least the narrative war is over.
What would we have done if it lasted longer?
If push came to shove, I would have sold some stocks at a high. Although November’s investment performance has been choppy, we pulled in nearly $60,000 of gains in October. If there are financial lessons: keep your burn rate lower, invest your money, and keep some money in reserve for hard times.
What’s next?
My wife and I will keep using our financial plan, and I’ll do a better job accounting for our future savings. I always aim to learn from past mistakes. Beyond that, we are heading to Brazil again for our 5th wedding anniversary trip.
“Plan for the future,” but try not to be overly concerned with the minutiae. Money will be spent. Contrary to popular belief, my wife and I are heavy-handed spenders when it comes to traveling and Michelin-star restaurants. Those are the type of restaurants where you look tacky if you take pictures.
I’ve come to learn that if you do what you need to do on the front end, you will have all the room to breathe financially at the back end. That’s how you prepare financially for the next government shutdown or any future financial struggle.
With that said, here’s hoping that the stock market pushes an extra 5% to close the year. And standby, the Democrats might shut down the government again on January 30, 2026. This gives us about two months to prepare. It’s going to be interesting. For the record, I’m not a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. I highly value my own financial freedom because the future is expensive.
Turns out, your expenses are non-partisan.
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