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The antidote to loss of income due to unemployment is to accumulate enough assets that can generate enough passive income sufficient to support you without you having to work at a job. If you think about it, this is the same antidote that will prevent you from starving during retirement., which reinforces the point that unemployment and retirement are functionally equivalent.
If you need $40k a year to live on, then you'd need $1 million earning 4% to be able to quit your job for good. So the faster you can accumulate $1 million (or more), the closer you will be to unemployment on your own terms (also known as "retirement"). You will never ever have to worry about being fired from a job again.
get a peddlers license and get a coffee stand on wheels.
And a little monkey for a partner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself out of work?
Apply for unemployment. Probably cancel cable TV but definitely keep cable internet at all costs. I've already cut most of my budget down to a near-unemployment/emergency state, but I'd wring as much out of it as I could. I'd contact the executor of my trust fund to see if he would release funds, knowing that there's probably no chance of that (they haven't given anyone money for education, transportation, surgery, wedding/honeymoon, so I wouldn't expect it for this either). I'd definitely start looking for jobs, starting at the top tiers but also at the retail level. I wouldn't be opposed to working two retail jobs. I'd sell some of my bond fund and transfer to my bank. I'd probably look into gap health insurance -- I had a thread here two weeks ago where people had some great ideas for unemployment health insurance for someone as healthy as me.
I'd also give thought to going back to school, which I've considered over the past year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!
How would you pay your mortgage or rent? How would you buy food?
Unemployment would pay me $378/week for 26 weeks as far as I can tell, which is more than ample to pay all my expenses including the gap health insurance. Beyond that, I'd make a decision about whether to move in to my parents' house. If I stayed in my apartment, I have two years of living expenses in savings if there were no new income. If I raided 401K I'd have another four or five years. I'd be hoovering my savings though, so I'd still want to get a job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!
What are your prospects for finding a new job?
The job market here is still pretty good, but companies are still downsizing. I think the chance of me getting something anywhere close to the salary and perks and benefits I enjoy now right away is very unlikely. I'd be peppering Southlake Blvd. with applications -- restaurants, retail places, offices, etc. I think I'd get a job within a month or two.
One problem is that a retail job would pay me less than unemployment, and two retail jobs would be exhausting (80 hrs/wk) and suck away time to look for a better job if employers started filling the ranks again. Unemployment/retail would let me tread water but wouldn't be a good long-term prospect since I wouldn't be building any retirement or non-retirement savings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!
Would you pack up and move to a new area?
I would not. Well, maybe within D/FW, as I like a commute under ten minutes. But this area is as good as any for long-term job prospects. It would have to be a very compelling definite offer with long-term implications for me to leave. I also have an aversion to cold, having almost no body fat, so north Texas is really as far north as I ever want to live.
I have tenure and won't lose my job, although it would be hard to live on my income only.
I wouldn't mind moving back home, but selling this house might be a struggle.
Fortunately, we have 8 months of frugal living expenses in the bank, everything is paid off except the house, and we bought only half the house our lenders tried to get us to buy.
Losing your job tomorrow is no different from retiring tomorrow. The effects on your finances are the same. So if you have been preparing for retirement this whole time, you are at least (theoretically anyway) mentally prepared to deal with unemployment.
Yes, but retirement is not available until a certain age without taking a HUGE penalty. If I take out retirement before (I think it is age) 60, I take a 60% cut in my retirement pay.
Retirement is completely different than savings.
Dawn
Quote:
Originally Posted by ndfmnlf
The antidote to loss of income due to unemployment is to accumulate enough assets that can generate enough passive income sufficient to support you without you having to work at a job. If you think about it, this is the same antidote that will prevent you from starving during retirement., which reinforces the point that unemployment and retirement are functionally equivalent.
If you need $40k a year to live on, then you'd need $1 million earning 4% to be able to quit your job for good. So the faster you can accumulate $1 million (or more), the closer you will be to unemployment on your own terms (also known as "retirement"). You will never ever have to worry about being fired from a job again.
Cable TV, internet, land line gone.
Apply for unemployment
Shop at the warehouse store for groceries.
Stand in the government food, free handout place once a week.
Apply for every possible government hand out program possible.
Live off the emergency fund.
Cancel all life insurance policies.
Quit driving if possible, hitch hike everywhere.
Live like I am a starving student.
It's important to think about these things because a lot of people are going to lose their jobs in coming months. During the Great Depression, you'd find apartments with six people living in them. I wonder if people will be more open to renting out rooms and living in close quarters again.
I would celebrate for a few days.
I would email my updated resume to my two recruiters.
I would live off my savings and any unemployment, but we usually don't get unemployment in my industry. (They find a way to make you not eligible.)
I would enjoy seeing my son right after school instead of at 6:30pm.
I would make finding a job my full time job, will at least from 9:30-3:30 every day, which is what I have done in the past.
I don't think I would cut much. We live pretty simply as it is.
-cash in 401K after current checking/ savings gone.
-Get any job I could doing anything- fast food, odd jobs, clean out barns, toilets, anything
- sell one of the cars
-maybe try to get a job taking care of someones estate/farm in exchange for living, even if it was in the barn when the 401K money ran out
- Worse case scenario sell all our stuff and if still no luck-- we have a tent and camping gear and my hubby is a survival specialist so we could live in the woods if we had to.
In a nurse though so I think my job is pretty secure. We thank God for my job because my husbands business has been way down with this economy. But he is working on getting another deer and boar to fill the freezer and that will help a lot with the food bill.
If myself or DH lost our job tommorow
1. Cancel the gym membership between the two of us thats $65 a month
2. Cancel cable= $60 a month- hold onto internet as long as possible for job searching
3. Quit going out to eat- save a ton
4. Dogs would have to eat human leftovers and store brand food.
5. Spend on day enjoying time off and figuring finances then get right ot the job search.
I just added it up and we could survive on one income if we cut our several things. We have made it a priority to be able to pay ALL our essentials(mortgage, cars, and simple food) on just one income.
Our mortgage is less than almost ANY(safe) apartment in the city so honestly selling our home and renting would actually COST us more. If things got really bad then we might move in with my parents and rent our house out. If all the crap hit's the fan then my parents have already lost their house and will probably be living with us since my home can be maintained(mortgage and ALL utilities) for less that 1k a month.
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