By Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet

A financially-stressed Reddit user recently asked for advice: As the primary earner in their family, which includes two children, how could they keep up with a mortgage and other expenses once severance ran out?

Reddit users offered many helpful ideas. Filing for unemployment, looking for other forms of state assistance and finding a new job — even if it’s not perfect — were among the most popular suggestions.

When we asked financial experts how someone can best survive a period of unemployment, they echoed many of those same tips. They also emphasized the importance of budgeting, even before a job loss occurs.

Here are their strategies:

Cut back on all but the essential expenses

“Focus on your essentials, and cut that budget to as bare bones as possible,” says Danielle Byrd Thompson, a financial advisor with TPS Financial in Washington, D.C.

Thompson says using an online budgeting tool or budget app, which can help you stay on top of necessary expenses and uncover where you can freeze spending for the time being.

“What can be pared back without completely blowing up your lifestyle?” asks Lori Gross, a financial advisor at Outlook Financial Center in Troy, Ohio.

If you have multiple premium streaming subscriptions, for example, she suggests cutting them all except one basic subscription.

Lean on community resources

Local communities typically offer resources to people in need, Gross says, including food banks, crisis relief services and low-income assistance programs.

She encourages people struggling to pay for essentials to look up these kinds of local resources. The website 211.org can be a valuable resource to find nearby support.

Take advantage of hardship programs

In some cases, Thompson says, mortgage, phone and utility companies offer hardship programs that allow customers to temporarily pause payments when they are experiencing a short-term financial challenge, such as unemployment.

“Typically every provider has a plan,” Thompson says. She suggests calling, explaining your situation and asking about options.

While loan providers may also offer hardship programs, Thompson suggests first waiting a month to see if you really need to use it. After all, the debt continues to grow even if payments are temporarily paused.

“If you can afford to stick to the plan, then you should continue to pay, but if you can’t, pull back immediately,” she suggests.

Essentials like food and housing have to take priority if you are forced to make that difficult choice.

Earn income where you can

“No one is too good to bus tables, be a hostess or do food delivery,” Thompson says.

She suggests taking on these kinds of part-time roles to make money and fill the gaps before your next full-time position.

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“It puts cash in your pocket so you’re not totally depleting your savings,” she adds.

If you do earn extra income, Gross says, be sure to keep careful records of both your earnings and expenses. When you file your taxes, it will be easier to make sure you’re paying the correct amount.

At the same time, indicate on LinkedIn and other job-search websites that you are available for work, Gross suggests. That way, recruiters can find you and reach out if they have an opening.

“Be open to your options, even if they’re outside your normal parameters,” she suggests.

For example, perhaps you’ll find a job opening in an industry you worked in many years ago, even if it doesn’t match up with your most recent job experience.

When possible, prioritize emergency savings

Once you find a new job, Thompson says it’s time to begin rebuilding emergency savings. In fact, the period of unemployment might inspire you to shore up savings for next time.

Ideally, she says, everyone should aim to set aside three to six months’ worth of living expenses in a high-yield savings account. If that figure is too daunting, then saving a smaller amount can also help.

“Savings are the first line of defense when it comes to unexpected unemployment,” Thompson says. “Even if you start saving only $20 a month, make it a habit, then build from there.”

Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like budgeting and financial hardship, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about surviving periods of unemployment. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

INDIANAPOLIS — For the second straight year, the Vikings ranked No. 2 in workplace conditions, according to the annual report cards released by the NFLPA. The only team that outperformed the Vikings was the Miami Dolphins.

This process of players anonymously grading their respective teams was put in place by the NFLPA three years ago. The main goal was to hold each franchise accountable for how they treat their players.

The categories include ownership, head coach, team travel, locker room, weight room and training staff among a handful of other categories. A total of 1,695 players participated in this year’s survey, which, according to the NFLPA, equates to roughly 77 percent of membership

Some notable highlights for the Vikings were owner Zygi Wilf and head coach Kevin O’Connell each receiving an A+ grade. The praise for Wilf included his willingness to invest in team facilities and build a competitive team, while O’Connell was lauded for being highly receptive to player feedback.

Additionally, the Vikings also received an A+ grade for both their locker room and their treatment of families. They have long been viewed as the NFL’s gold standard when it comes to treatment of families.

The biggest jump for the Vikings came with their training staff. They finished with a B grade last year in that category and it was raised it to an A this year. The improvement showcases the point of the NFLPA releasing its annual report cards.

The only place where the Vikings regressed was with their/dietician. They received an A grade last year and a B+ grade this year. It’s a good bet the Vikings will make that a point of emphasis moving forward.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Vikings ranked in each category this year compared to last year:

Treatment of Families

This year: A + (first)

Last year: A (first)

Food/Cafeteria

This year: A- (ninth)

Last year: B+ (seventh)

Nutritionist/Dietician

This year: B+ (fifteenth)

Last year: A (first)

Locker Room

This year: A+ (first)

Last year: A (first)

Training Room

This year: A- (fourth)

Last year: A- (second)

Training Staff

This year: A (second)

Last year: B (ninth)

Weight Room

This year: A- (tenth)

Last year: A (eighth)

Strength Coaches

This year: A (second)

Last year: A (first)

Team Travel

This year: A (third)

Last year: A- (second)

Head Coach

This year: A+ (third)

Last year: A+ (second)

Ownership

This year: A+ (third)

Last year: A+ (second)

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By LORNE COOK and MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON (AP) — A planned meeting between European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was abruptly canceled Wednesday due to “scheduling issues,” coming as political tensions have increased between Europe and the United States.

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Officials from both sides blamed scheduling challenges for preventing the pair, who last met at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month, from meeting in Washington.

However, European officials said they were caught off guard, and, notably, Kallas had previewed her planned talks with Rubio just two days earlier.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has thrown the partnership between the U.S. and Europe into turmoil by pledging to charge higher taxes on imports from Europe that he says will match tariffs faced by American products. EU officials have traveled to Washington trying to head off a trade war.

Top Trump administration officials also have warned Europe that it must start taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, and sidelined the Europeans from their initial talks with Russia on ending the war. In a remarkable shift, the U.S. split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations this week and joined Moscow in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution.

In a bid to mend relations, French President Emmanuel Macron was in Washington on Monday for a White House meeting with Trump seeking support. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose country is no longer a member of the EU but often aligns itself with the continental bloc on foreign policy, is due to visit Thursday.

Kallas herself had said Monday that she would be holding talks with Rubio “on the issues that are of interest to both of us,” which for the EU are chiefly Russia’s war on Ukraine and transatlantic relations.

“It is clear that the statements coming from the United States make us all worried,” she told reporters after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Kallas said she hoped the EU-U.S. relationship can continue to function.

“So far, we do not have any indication that it would not. Of course it is going to change, that is very clear. But we should not throw something out the window that has worked well so far,” she said.

In a terse text message, her office referred all questions about why the meeting was canceled at short notice to the State Department.

A senior U.S. official said the planned meeting, which had never appeared on Rubio’s public schedule, had been pulled down due to “an unavoidable scheduling conflict.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Rubio attended Trump’s Cabinet meeting at the White House, which began late Wednesday morning.

The cancellation came less than a week after the State Department’s policy planning office sent an internal memo instructing officials who deal with Europe to highlight two specific issues in interactions with European counterparts. The Feb. 21 memo, seen by The Associated Press, also mentioned tentative plans for an upcoming Rubio meeting with Kallas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, not shown, at the State Department, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).

The two issues of concern identified in the memo were “Freedom of Speech and Free Opposition” and “Migration.”

On the former, the memo said Rubio and other U.S. diplomats should emphasize in their discussions with European officials the importance that the Trump administration attaches to free speech.

It noted that Vice President JD Vance had said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference this month that the West should “unite around free speech, halt censorship, reject suppressing opposition, jailing people for tweets and memes, etc.”

“The United States cannot continue supporting a continent that drifts in an authoritarian direction,” the memo said. “It’s bad for Europe and bad for us.”

On migration, the memo said U.S. officials, including Rubio, should refer to Europe’s “de facto open borders policy” as a “disaster” that must end. Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration and carrying out mass deportations a signature priority.

“The United States is changing course on migration policy under Trump,” it said. “It’s well past time for Europe to do the same. We want you to remain civilization partners and to do that, you must get this under control.”

It was not clear if the blunt language in the memo contributed to the cancellation of the Rubio-Kallas meeting.

Although her meeting with Rubio was pulled down, Kallas was due to meet with U.S. senators and members of Congress to discuss the war in Ukraine and EU-U.S. ties during her two-day trip to Washington and to take part in a talk about those issues at the Hudson Institute research organization.

Cook reported from Brussels.

By SUSIE BLANN and JUSTIN SPIKE

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A preliminary economic agreement between Ukraine and the United States would ensure long-term U.S. involvement in rebuilding the country, but the deal leaves the question of security guarantees sought by Kyiv to future negotiations.

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According to the final version of the deal obtained by The Associated Press, the United States and Ukraine will establish a co-owned and jointly managed investment fund aimed at financing the reconstruction of Ukraine and its war-damaged economy.

The agreement comes after two weeks of back-and-forth between Kyiv and Washington over how the U.S. could gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that specific assurances for Ukrainian security must accompany a deal on those resources.

U.S. President Donald Trump planned to meet with Zelenskyy on Friday at the White House to sign the pact, which will closely tie the two countries together for years to come.

Here’s more about what the agreement says, and what it doesn’t say.

What about security guarantees for Ukraine?

While the preliminary agreement references the importance of Ukraine’s security, it leaves that matter to a separate agreement to be discussed between the leaders of the two countries.

According to wording in the deal, the United States “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace,” and the U.S. has “a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.”

“Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments as defined in the Fund agreement,” it states. “The American people desire to invest alongside Ukraine in a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine.”

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said his country “needs to know first where the United States stands on its continued military support.” He said he expects to have a wide-ranging conversation with Trump during his visit to Washington.

The economic agreement “may be part of future security guarantees, but I want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?” Zelenskyy said.

A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told the AP on Wednesday that those discussions would take place independently from the establishment of the joint fund.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said Kyiv believes the establishment of the fund would itself serve to bolster Ukraine’s security since U.S. and Ukrainian investments would need to be protected amid continuing Russian attacks.

How does the agreement work?

Under the agreement, Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues to the joint fund from national assets including minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas and other extractable materials. Kyiv has hoped that access to those materials would incentivize the Trump administration to help secure a fair and lasting end to the war.

The idea to involve the U.S. in Ukraine’s natural resource wealth was initially proposed last fall by Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow.

Ukraine would also contribute half of its revenues from infrastructure relevant to the extraction, processing or transportation of its natural resources, but those contributions would not apply to assets that are already part of the Ukrainian government’s budget revenue, such as state-owned oil and gas companies.

Contributions to the fund will be reinvested annually in Ukraine to promote its “safety, security and prosperity,” the agreement says.

Is Ukraine giving away its natural resources?

The agreement states that revenues from its natural resources will go into the fund and be used for reconstruction of the country, not that ownership or control of those resources would be transferred to the United States.

On Wednesday, a senior Ukrainian official told the AP that the U.S. will not own Ukraine’s mineral and other resources. The official added that the fund would receive 50% of the revenues that come from natural resource deposits once they’re developed.

Is Ukraine paying off a debt for previous U.S. support?

The deal does away with earlier Trump demands that Ukraine pay $500 billion as compensation for Washington’s assistance until now. The senior Ukrainian official said that contributions to the fund do not constitute a repayment of any debt to the U.S. for its previous support during the war with Russia, but an investment in the future.

The agreement states that the U.S. will maintain a long-term financial commitment to Ukraine’s stability and economic prosperity, and could make further contributions outside the fund in the form of financial instruments and other assets critical for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Ukrainian payments into the fund could provide a mechanism for any future U.S. assistance to be recouped in the long term, the Ukrainian official said.

“We are not debtors,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday, adding that, while he is grateful for previous U.S. support, Ukraine had not entered into any agreements that would require previous U.S. assistance to be repaid.

“There were no such agreements in the past, so there is nothing to discuss in this regard,” he said.

The agreement will also seek to avoid conflict with any obligations Ukraine has to the European Union as it seeks membership in the bloc, or any potential conflicts with obligations to other financial institutions or creditors.

Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Vasilisa Stepanenko contributed to this report.