Silver Lining

“As crazy as it sounds, losing a $70,000-a-year job has been good for Marty Morua’s finances. The former Wall Street stockbroker says the setback forced him to scrutinize his family budget and snip away at expenses. And soon, even with less income, their savings grew. First, he and his wife decided to live on her salary so he could be home with their 5-year-old daughter after school. Without a nanny, they saved $12,000 a year. He dropped services he didn’t use on his cellphone — texting and video games — to pocket $250 a year. He took a defensive-driving course for a 10 percent discount on his auto insurance and dropped car-rental and roadside-assistance coverage, for an extra $150 a year. For holiday gifts, he turned to thrift stores and gave home-baked cookies. ‘When I was working, I didn’t look at the price tag,’ he said. ‘In a strange way,’he added, losing the job ‘has been a blessing to teach me how to become aggressive and wise about saving and ways to save — areas I never would have thought about.’”