Layoffs Preparing for a Long Unemployment
Gone are the days of thirty five years at the same job and retiring with the requisite gold watch. If you have never felt the need to be prepared for the possibility of unemployment, consider it now. If you are still gainfully employed, look for ways and means to build up your "rainy day" fund.
Many of us have not prepared for the future due to a wide variety of reasons. We may be caught up in day to day living and barely scraping by. We may be young and faced with the expense of a new mortgage or marriage or children. Whatever your circumstances are, take time out of your busy life and research the benefits of planning ahead.
Whether you are twenty, forty or sixty, you need to plan for the future. This doesn't mean you ignore it or don't think about it, this means you start your savings plan today. No matter how successful you are in life, there are unseen or unimaginable obstacles that will rear up and derail you. This is not pessimistic thinking, this is real life.
This is basic finance 101. There are no tricks or nuances here. Our economy is changing rapidly as we speak. No matter what stage you are at in life, you are not immune to the downward trends of our economic realities. You need to take care of today and plan for tomorrow.
The earlier you learn to live within your means, the better it is for you. Many of our self-absorbed generation have spent too much money and time keeping up with the proverbial "Jones." We have lost sight of basic family values and have displaced needs with wants. In short, we are a spoiled generation raising an even more spoiled group of children. Our supposed entitlement has surpassed our basic needs of food, water and shelter.
Jobs are declining with rapid, almost rabid, regularity. It may be quite some time before our economy recovers. Meanwhile, we are left with the necessity of survival equal to nothing we have ever seen before. You have only two options here. You can climb into a hole and hope it goes away, or you can buck up to the challenge and make the changes necessary for your family to survive.
Start downsizing right away. Clear out your closets, basements and garages. Sell all the stuff you have accumulated over the years and have never or rarely used. Look for ways to make extra money on the side and include the kids in this plan as well. Even young children can run errands to make some extra pocket change.
Look at this time as a good time to upgrade your skills, or to make a complete career change. There are many government subsidized programs in place to help in adult training and retraining. They have excellent studies available to help determine which areas have the potential for future employment needs. Health care and any IT functions are two such examples.
Make financial planning a family affair. This can be an excellent time to not only save money, but also to teach your children the value of a dollar. Earning their own way will fill your child with pride and confidence. Do not look at this as a time of gloom and doom; look at it as an opportunity to get back to basics in regard to family values.
