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Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Absolutely. I never stop improving my skills or learning new ones--even if they aren't related to my job. I have always taken advantage of tuition reimbursement. I've even worked 2 jobs (p/t, seasonal) in order to try out new careers. I also have a list of self-employment ideas to fall back on (range from being a nanny to accounting to selling fireworks in the summer (that one is a long story, but profitable in my area)). Important point is that I do not go into debt for these learning endeavors.
My backup plan is to retire early. We have our debt paid off and our mortgage paid off and if my job ends (which it may within a year), I am going to take time off for the first time since I was 16. I won't be able to collect retirement yet, but my husband's income will support us. In the meantime, I am saving almost all my income.
I am 32 turning 33 soon, got my house paid for, cars paid for, now working towards savings and will be off to retirement at 55 hopefully...but I don't think I can sit around and do nothing so will be traveling for the most part.
of all things considered, health is #1 priority on my list. I have no backup job...I can still survive without jobs for at least 10 yrs. I may run a small restaurant.
Save as much as I can. I put away about 1/2 my take home pay. That way if the worst happens I can career change out of science which is what I would have to do given my profession and the fact I would never work for a staffing agency again. My financial adviser told me that if I keep saving at the rate I am that in 10 years I could be in a work is optional situation so if I can hold out 10 more years I might not have to worry. I am 34.
My backup plan is that I have 25X annual expenses saved up in 401K, Roth, after-tax savings, etc so I'd be more than ok, maybe even thank them if they laid me off.
I have a cert hair, wrote book, travel and speak. I also and a cert personal trainer. These dont match my income; but allow me to build networks beyond work. I primarily shop at second hand stores. My family is out of debt (Dave Ramsey plan). We dont use CC or pay off in full as charged. We continue to down-size and save.
If I get laid off I'll go back to my freelance work doing transcription. I did it when I got laid off in 2009 and had steady enough projects to enable my unemployment benefits to last for 11 months until I found a new permanent job. I continued doing transcription at home for a few more months before stopping and telling my repeat clients I was done. I'm sure they'd all be happy if I got back into it (I've had more than a few contact me over the past year or two just to see if I was considering starting back up again).
I frequently have headhunters contacting me on LinkedIn for jobs. They're often contract and don't pay very well, but I think I could find some work somewhere fairly quickly if need be. My lifestyle might have to be dramatically downsized though.
This ^^^
It’s not exactly the same but similar. I submitted a few application recently and got a good response rate. I did about 10 interviews. Most did not get past the first interview because the salaries offered were less than what I am making. But at least I know that if anything happens, I’ll be in some demand – just may not make as much. Then again, I’ve been laid off before and found a gig at a place that offered me about 15% more so getting laid off may be the kick in the arse that some of us need.
My plan B is developing my knowledge and skill in my specific field, and making sure I network an OK amount even when I am not looking for something new. If my org or dept goes under, I can then more easily find something at a different place doing a similar job. It’s also a matter of anticipating where your field is headed and being in front of that by learning those skills. I wouldn’t worry as much about my company going under as I would about my skills becoming stale.
Always... and I've been paying into Social Security since age 12.
Most of my friends to this day are older and many have invested in Real Estate and I took their advice... so far so good!
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