Building a time out fund

There is a possibility I will be jobless or at the very least a cut back in hours in the near future. The business I work for is for sale and my job security is currently uncertain for the first time in years. On the one hand I am a little worried about this but on the other it is quite exciting. You see I've been feeling as though I am stuck in a rutt for quite a while and this may just be the kick in the pants I need to help me figure out what I want to do when I grow up. That is both scary and exciting. Scary because I don't know which direction I want to head in and exciting because I feel it could be the start of a new chapter if only I could figure out which book to pick up.

Also on my mind is the money issue. If I cut back my budget to bare essentials (no Mother new clothes are not an essential) then I can make do and just break even while unemployed. This is great news as it means I can take a break without going backwards. I will not however be able to continue my mortgage reduction plan at it's current level. In fact not at any level other than the standard minimum repayments. I am concerned that I will not cope well in that situation at all. So much of my life has become revolved around the mortgage. Without this as my purpose for being frugal will I manage?

So to make life a little less stressful and to enable me to continue babystepping my mortgage I have decided my coin jar that I place all my little savings into will be my babystepping fund. When unemployment hits and things feel like a struggle to go forwards I will open my hopefully full tin and place that money on the mortgage. Hopefully seeing that amount reducing the mortgage will pick me up again and remind me why I make an effort doing the little money saving activities.

This fund will also serve as a back up emergency fund. I already have one of these but this will give me a bigger buffer in the case of an emergency. Pretty good reason to be frugal now I say.