In civil service circles it's well known that you need a month of cash on hand late in the fiscal year. Basic Ramsey stuff, just way more predictable, and you know exactly when.

For most GS, it's just a free vacation and they love every minute since they know they'll get back pay. Some of them even book open-ended refundable vacation plans every Oct just in case.

For essential workers it should just be a wash, minor nuisance.

But that's for Oct. Going beyond one month I would say is where many might reasonably start running out of free cash. Don't really want ATC controllers with 10 hours off between shifts driving uber instead of sleeping (they should still be able to use fatigue calls, which of course impacts staffing).

Most should not be destitute but if I were in their shoes the pain point would be pulling money out of qualified retirement accounts and paying tax and penalties.