Think Cash - Personal Finance and Money Saving Discussions
Work & Unemployment => Unemployment => Topic started by: ThinkCash on March 11, 2014, 02:52:44 PM
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Not planning for Unemployment can turn a bad situation into a disaster
Unemployment is a lot like a car accident. No matter how careful you are, and no matter how good or safe of a driver you may be, sooner or later someone else’s mistakes could cause you to have a nasty accident. So, just as you’d wear your seat belt in a car, observe speed limits, and possibly even take safe driver courses, you should also take some precautions with regard to your work life and the ever present possibility of losing your job.
Take Steps To Prepare for the Worst and The Best
For starters, make a budget that eliminates all but your basic necessities, and any expenses related to your work. Test drive that budget for a week, and see where you can cut down on costs. You might just surprise yourself on how little you can survive on!
Next, take a hard look at your pension. In most cases that’s money you can’t touch until you retire. If you’re saving too much, you might find yourself between jobs, trying in vain to reach into an inaccessible pension fund. Instead, save up six months worth of your full salary as a safety net in case you lose your job.
Now that you know how much you need to earn in order to survive, and you’ve got some savings, you can look at jobs that will provide you with enough income to survive on. For some, that might mean flipping burgers, but it beats begging for change or chasing dog ends in the park. Whatever it is, make sure you always keep your C.V. up to date, but not jammed in the printer of your current employer.
Keep an eye on the company and look out for other opportunities that are out there - work on your networking skills and build up a good network of friends and colleagues. Use networking sites like Linkedin or Facebook groups to keep up to speed on what's going on in your sphere of work. Build up your profiles, and show the world your expertise in your field, be it through a blog on the comments that you share. Remember that you and the skills you bring to the party are your biggest asset!
By planning how you would live if you lost your job, you can be prepared to take action, should anything ever happen. Being prepared will put you ahead of most other people in the market – and in cases where many people are losing their job, rather than fretting over budgets and cutting costs, you’ll be the one focused and ready to get new work elsewhere.
We’d love to hear your tips and suggestions too. Let us know below.