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Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Willravel
I know to not spend more than I earn, but what if I lost my job? I have about a year's worth to sit on while I work my ass off to find a job, but what if my next job is only $36k a year? $24k? What if my income dips below the point where I can realistically cut spending? I don't think I could live on $12k a year even with extreme budgeting. If I lived with many room mates in the worst place imaginable, ate nothing but the cheapest food, walked to and from work and the store.... and what if I had a wife and several children to support on that amount? It'd be easier if they lived in an impoverished nation where the USD still had value, but if they were here in the US making sure they were fed and clothed could become very difficult.
Is this probable? Not yet, but unemployment and low paying jobs are on the rise even here in the SF bay area. If the USD continues to fall, gas continues to rise, and unemployment and low paying jobs continue to grow I could find myself having to relocate to a different country in order to keep from being impoverished. Oddly enough I'd be more likely to find decent work in more socialist (relatively) countries like Canada, Japan, and many European countries.
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I don't know what you could do Will. I can say that you probably cannot get work in Canada, Japan, or many European countries unless you already have a work visa. I've been trying to get expatriated for over 10 years now and still haven't been able to. It isn't that simple as deciding to move. Do you really believe that any country will just allow someone to waltz in and take a well paying job from a countryman?
As far as the unemployment, low paying jobs, etc. I can only tell you what I did for me.
I originally filled this with lots of detailed personal history, but suffice to say since 2001 I've been laid off several times, hospitalized, and had other "rainy days."
Yet with all this strife and layoffs, I've done what was required of me, which is spend less than I earn and try to maximize my earnings in some fashion.
In comparison to other friends who were struck by the same layoffs, they have not recovered their salaries, they took paycuts and remained with the cuts they took. Some didn't even take jobs that would have tied them over claiming something like,"I'll lose more if I take this job than what the state will give met..." Meanwhile they lost their house, their cars, their credit rating. One friend filed for bankruptcy because he could no longer afford to pay the credit cards that fueled his continued lifestyle after getting laid off.
I'm sorry Will, I can't be worried about how the guys in NYCHA projects are making ends meet. I have to worry about how I'm going to pay my monthly bills and take care of my own family first before I worry about someone else. Once that's covered, I'll extend myself to help another person. But like they say on the airplane, "Put the mask on yourself first, before assisting someone else." There is some simple logic there that makes sense.
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