If you lose your job and could not collect un-employment how long could you last?

[Member 3687]

If you lose your job and could not collect un-employment and only moving or taking a very low paying job is your option how long could you last?

So, we all prepare for SHTF in different ways and for different things, some prep for the Zombie Apocalypse, Red Dawn situation, tyrannical government, Cascadia fault line and basic civil unrest in your own neighborhood.

We have food, water and firearms to protect us and we may shelter in place or go to a bugout location but how many of us are prepared for financial ruin.

With all the vaccine mandates and folks getting fired it has got me thinking, so you get fired from your job for whatever new mandate that might be coming down the road, speaking out about the government, going to a school board meeting and labeled a terrorist, you happen to be white, black, red, yellow or rainbow it does not matter and you can not collect un-employment and very few jobs or only very low paying jobs are the only ones open to you because the mandate is state wide.

Do you have the financial means to stay a float and for how long? Do you have the money to move to a location where jobs are available?

I ask that this does not become a pissing match about the vaccine because the way the world is going and if a precedence is set that mandates are ok who knows what mandate is next. This is a question on how long could you survive before loosing everything and have you thought about what options you might have if it were to happen.

Are you a 2-income family and could make it on one income or could you retire early, do you have stocks, savings put away for a rainy day, lots of guns you could sale or are you like millions of folks and are 1 month away from bankruptcy?

I do not want to know your finances but how long you could honestly last before ruin, many of us never plan for more than a short time being off work and maybe we should.

To start the conversation because of the current mandates I chose to early retire at 63.5 so the social security is much lower and I do not have the retirement plan I would of at 67 so I taken a part time job at a local sporting good store to help supplement the income (play money). I am lucky as my house and cars are all paid off so I just have to worry about the lights, water, power and phone on a month to month and then the taxes and insurance yearly. But honestly 3 years ago I would probably have lost everything as I would not had the option to retire and I still had a house payment and owed on 2 cars.

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[oremike]

I've always had tools and the knowledge to use them. With just a chainsaw and a pickup I can make a couple hundred bucks a day cutting firewood. I've owned a scrap metal business in the past so know how to play that game as well. I can work on small engines and equipment. I retired 6 years ago at 59 &1/2 and started an ammunition manufacturing business. In other words I stay busy for fun and profit.

 

[Stomper]

I have a minimum of 6-months of take-home pay saved at all times to cover all living expenses.

Plus, I too have a broad range of skill-sets that are in demand that would keep me gainfully employed.

 

[P7M13]

I'm one of the dumbest people I know. I'll be forked.

 

[Idaho44]

If no one is buying or has the means to buy, what bargaining is possible? What do you trade?

 

[Member 3687]

The thing that really got me thinking about this was my last day of work was on Thursday September 30th and talking to a couple of the guys you could tell they had no plan. One person has a payment on a 2019 truck and a payment on a new 30000-dollar boat and another payment on a 32-foot camp trailer and I am not sure how he pays for gas to do anything. If he loses his job with no un-employment he is done for and he admits it as an entry level job would not pay his day-to-day bills much less all the toy payments.

I too could go back to work at a smaller shop and have had offers to work other jobs as I have done a lot in my life but I did not ever think that a mandate would cause me to do what I did.

So as you prep for the end of the world do not over spend because the whole world may not be what fails or ends just yours and your payments still need to be paid.

 

[The Heretic]

If you lose your job and could not collect un-employment and only moving or taking a very low paying job is your option how long could you last?

The rest of my life.

Do you have the financial means to stay a float and for how long? Do you have the money to move to a location where jobs are available?

The rest of my life.

I do not want to know your finances but how long you could honestly last before ruin, many of us never plan for more than a short time being off work and maybe we should.

I lost my job last year along with 200+ other people at my workplace. I prepared for this kind of thing happening for 2 decades, and prepared for retirement. I wasn't going to retire until this year, maybe later - if I still had my job I would probably be retiring soon, but I effectively entered retirement last August, although I was diligent about looking for a new job until last month when unemployment benefits ceased for me. I banked the UI benefits and they will help pay for a new roof for my kids.

Before I came to Portland from Seattle, I had paid off all of my debt and had sufficient savings to last 2-3 years, not including my retirement funds. Once here I maxed out my contributions to my retirement funds. Last year I started taking Social Security - I had reached full retirement age - that is what pays my monthly bills now. My cash savings are used for discretionary purchases and emergencies. If SS ceased to be, I would have enough income from retirement funds (assuming the market did not crash) to pay my bills without touching the principal - but it is more likely that SS will continue until I pass.

 

[Alexx1401]

I guess right now many could live a good long time. If renting you can just stop and no one can do anything. Own, same stop paying and nothing can be done for years. It would of course suck but, you could keep roof over your head. So only thing needed would be enough to eat. Many seem to not realize there are a LOT of families now were you see at least 2 generations sometimes 3, who have never had a job. This is not "new". I see a lot of families like this. People my age, with kids who are like mine, late 30's early 40's, who none of them in the home have ever worked. Many of them see nothing wrong with this, its just how its done to them. This does scare me as some day this will have to crash, just a matter of when but, for now it works. Many who have just worked all their life really don't comprehend that for now its really amazingly easy to not be homeless and not work. Now when it all crashes? The least of our problems will be getting kicked out of the house.

 

[Alexx1401]

The thing that really got me thinking about this was my last day of work was on Thursday September 30th and talking to a couple of the guys you could tell they had no plan. One person has a payment on a 2019 truck and a payment on a new 30000-dollar boat and another payment on a 32-foot camp trailer and I am not sure how he pays for gas to do anything. If he loses his job with no un-employment he is done for and he admits it as an entry level job would not pay his day-to-day bills much less all the toy payments.

I too could go back to work at a smaller shop and have had offers to work other jobs as I have done a lot in my life but I did not ever think that a mandate would cause me to do what I did.

So as you prep for the end of the world do not over spend because the whole world may not be what fails or ends just yours and your payments still need to be paid.

Well that's a little different. If the "big thing" is having toys you let some bank buy for you and you suddenly can't keep paying. You of course then just lose the toys. Hopefully most who have this situation can at least get out from under the toys and not still owe. If they are upside down on them and have to take a loss? Well maybe it will teach them to be a little more careful next time.

 

[The Heretic]

Well that's a little different. If the "big thing" is having toys you let some bank buy for you and you suddenly can't keep paying. You of course then just lose the toys. Hopefully most who have this situation can at least get out from under the toys and not still owe. If they are upside down on them and have to take a loss? Well maybe it will teach them to be a little more careful next time.

My policy has been to not buy anything on credit. If I don't have the cash, I don't buy it. The one exception has been real estate. I am planning to sell my property and hopefully have enough equity to buy land, build on it, and not have a mortgage, or a very small short term mortgage. We'll see if I can swing it.

 

[Alexx1401]

My policy has been to not buy anything on credit. If I don't have the cash, I don't buy it. The one exception has been real estate. I am planning to sell my property and hopefully have enough equity to buy land, build on it, and not have a mortgage, or a very small short term mortgage. We'll see if I can swing it.

VERY wise way to live but, VERY few are willing to do this. Most who do made mistakes early on and learned the hard way. All this easy credit is always a nasty temptation for people.

 

[OldTengu]

I'm not telling.

 

[Stomper]

The thing that really got me thinking about this was my last day of work was on Thursday September 30th and talking to a couple of the guys you could tell they had no plan. One person has a payment on a 2019 truck and a payment on a new 30000-dollar boat and another payment on a 32-foot camp trailer and I am not sure how he pays for gas to do anything. If he loses his job with no un-employment he is done for and he admits it as an entry level job would not pay his day-to-day bills much less all the toy payments.

I too could go back to work at a smaller shop and have had offers to work other jobs as I have done a lot in my life but I did not ever think that a mandate would cause me to do what I did.

So as you prep for the end of the world do not over spend because the whole world may not be what fails or ends just yours and your payments still need to be paid.

So it's TRUE!


"The borrower is a slave to the lender."



Shoulda listened to them boring old Bible thumpers about a few things.

 

[The Heretic]

VERY wise way to live but, VERY few are willing to do this. Most who do made mistakes early on and learned the hard way.

I learned the hard way - almost went bankrupt when I lost my job - I was in over my head with credit card debt.

Fortunately I managed to survive until I got a new job. That was about 25 years ago, and since that time I made a concerted effort to pay off all debt and not acquire more - which took about ten years (I was unemployed again for 2 years out of that decade of trying, and had to run up more debt), but I kept at it. Once all of my debt was paid off then I started saving for a down payment on real estate, was shopping for a house when I got laid off again. Helped the kids buy their house, moved here and then I bought my current house - now I have about $500K equity and hope to use that to move next year.

All this easy credit is always a nasty temptation for people.

Yes it is. Creditors and retailers often push buy now, pay later really hard. It is no longer whether you can afford to buy something, it is whether you can afford to make the payments - especially with things like cars and discretionary item spending. I do use my credit card for online purchases, but pay the balance in full every month - I never create a balance that I cannot pay off with my cash reserves. Now I have to cut back on those purchases to not deplete my cash reserves.

Talked to my financial advisor and he raised the issue of me spending my retirement funds instead of letting them grow. I let him know I did intend to travel and spend a little, but those funds are not to the point where I feel comfortable spending their growth - I want to double the principal in ten years.

 

[nwslopoke]

I have a minimum of 6-months of take-home pay saved at all times to cover all living expenses.

Plus, I too have a broad range of skill-sets that are in demand that would keep me gainfully employed.

I don't think crossing guard, is really a skill set.

Seriously, unless you are single this is an issue. Since this is philosophy or morality based, couples and families may not agree on future plans.

Also, age is a consideration. How much financial risk? Cashing out 401k to live bill free now and risk retirement? The tide could completely turn come mid terms.

 

[The Heretic]

‘It doesn’t seem fair': I have $131K in student loans and can’t afford my life, despite making $110K a year. How to get out of student-loan debt faster

Strategies for digging out of student loan debt.

www.marketwatch.com

 

[Stomper]

I don't think crossing guard, is really a skill set.

Seriously, unless you are single this is an issue. Since this is philosophy or morality based, couples and families may not agree on future plans.

Also, age is a consideration. How much financial risk? Cashing out 401k to live bill free now and risk retirement? The tide could completely turn come mid terms.

I'd be a terrible crossing guard…. I'd be sticking out my foot and tripping all the dummies looking down at their "smart phones" while walking…. Which would mean EVERYONE.

 

[Hueco]

VERY wise way to live but, VERY few are willing to do this. Most who do made mistakes early on and learned the hard way. All this easy credit is always a nasty temptation for people.

Credit is a nasty temptation but it's also a great investment tool for those without capital to begin making investments.

Example: I bought my first pro camera set-up on, mostly, credit. There's no other way I could have done it and trust me, I tried. 18 year old with no credit history, small savings, minimum wage income, and only a beat up old truck KBB value of $2500 to my name. Banks weren't exactly lining up to give me a small biz loan. So credit it was! New cards often have 0% for 12month deals - which is all I needed.

Living within your means is one way to play the game. Another is to use credit to make riskier plays with your skills and the market. With risk comes greater reward, and greater failure.

To the OP - got about 3mths of coverage now, though that's going up if the daycare bills cease. And it goes to zero if the student loan people come a-callin'.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

We own our own business. It's mobile, with next to no overhead, and can be practiced anywhere we want.
Even if we lost that for some unexplainable reason, we could sell our house, buy a cheaper place outright, and still have enough money from the sale to figure stuff out.
My wife and I bought our first house before we could legally drink, and our current house has doubled in value over the past 4 years.
Thankfully, we're pretty set. Not rich by any means, but comfortable. A job loss wouldn't be a make or break deal.

 

[The Heretic]

Also, age is a consideration. How much financial risk? Cashing out 401k to live bill free now and risk retirement? The tide could completely turn come mid terms.

I am reluctant to pull any cash from my IRAs/401K due to taxes. The Roth is my backup emergency reserve.

I am planning to do a backdoor conversion next year - from my IRA to my Roth, or convert part of my 401K to a new Roth (different account/provider). But only enough to just stay under the 12% tax bracket. I will do that each year as much as I can, for as long as the rules don't change - the democrats want to eliminate that possibility altogether, but I am hoping they don't/can't - the chances that they can do it for high income individuals is higher though.

It doesn't make sense to me to pay 10%+ taxes on a IRA/401K distribution in order to pay off the mortgage that I am paying 4% interest on. But I may need some $ to build on the land I buy - not sure how willing lenders are to give me a mortgage if I only have SS income - even though it is clearly enough to pay my current mortgage.