Having no or less income than usual is difficult. Even if you’re an unemployment recipient, in the back of your mind you know the unemployment payments will end eventually. The day in and day out job search is strenuous, taxing, and uncertain, even in good times.
When you and 30 Million fellow Americans are unemployed, in the middle of a global pandemic, that adds some additional stress into the mix.
On top of searching for a job, and all of the intricacies of selling yourself to your new future company, you still have a life going on.
Bills that need to be paid, tax returns to file, needs of family members. Unfortunately, normal life doesn’t stop during a job search. If anything, the stress just adds to the fire.
While there is so much out of our control at the moment, what we do with our personal finances, savings (if we have any), or other temporary income is completely in our control.
Sometimes when the future seems uncertain, we put a massive freeze on all spending, and in our experience, that can actually be detrimental mentally, and emotionally as the job search drags on.
Here are 4 areas we recommend you should spend money during a job search:
- Spend to Cut Longer-Term Recurring Expenses
What does this mean?
It is wise to reduce overall recurring expenses. You don’t know how long your job search is going to go on for – and so taking the time to cut expenses upfront will decrease your monthly expenses over the long term, making it easier to find temporary employment to cover your needs if needed. Here are a couple ideas where to start:
-Pay off the phone contract if you financed your phone and get on Mint Mobile. $20/mo for 8 GB of data per line. Unlimited Talk and text.
-Invest in haircutting equipment and cut your own hair.
We recommend the Hatteker Cordless Hair Trimmer.
Here’s a great video on how to give yourself an easy haircut:
-Have a car you’re not using or don’t need? Now might be a good time to sell it. You’ll have the extra cash, and you’ll decrease car insurance, maintenance, and gas payments. Spend to fix the car a little if needed to sell. Don’t forget to check Kelly Blue Book for your car’s value.
-If renting and in a lease, see what the fee is to leave. If you do find cheaper rent that you can make work, and you’ll make your money back in 3 months, it might a good time to make a switch.
2. His/Her Budget or Personal Spending Budget
Regardless of what life stage you are in, you need money to spend – just because. Even if it’s $5. At Centsei – we recommend that if married you have a His/Her budget. This is money that each money in the relationship can spend no questions asked every month. If you’re single, give yourself $5-$10 minimum you can spend on entertainment, a meal out etc. This is healthy and sustainable.
3. Your Health
In one of Aesops Fables – we read about a farmer who found a goose that laid a golden egg everyday. Soon the farmer began to grow rich, but impatient. He decided to kill the goose to get all of the eggs inside, but when he cut open the goose, there were no eggs.
Don’t kill the Golden Goose!
You are the golden goose, and it’s important to stay healthy -mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, and especially in your closest relationships.
It’s wise to take time for you and your spouse if married – go on a cheap weekend getaway or camping trip if needed.
Make sure you exercise daily, and eat healthy. Don’t cut your grocery budget. In fact you might need to increase it if your previous employer covered meals.
If you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed, don’t be afraid to talk to a counselor. You can even do it virtually with Talkspace.
4. Online Courses and Other Education to level up your Skills
Regardless of your profession, there are always ways to get better, and to learn new skills that will make you more valuable as an employee, and increase your chances of getting hired. This might be a good time to make a career shift, or who knows? Maybe even start a business.
Below are a few of some of my favorite course platforms depending on your profession that might be interesting to you:
I wouldn’t spend more than $500 on a course or certification unless you know there will be a guaranteed ROI. (e.g. CPA certification for Accountants), luckily there are a lot of great courses for under $500 out there!
Udemy has thousands of extremely inexpensive courses – on all sorts of topics. If you can’t find a course on something you’re interested in, or something that won’t improve your skillset, I’d be surprised.
If you’re new to coding – I’ve personally taken this course, and it was fantastic. Check it out here:
Angela Yu’s Coding BootCamp to begin coding on Udemy
Masterclass brings experts from all different industries to teach you how to apply the skills these world-renowned experts have developed. Think Steph Curry, Natalie Portman, and more.
This Negotiation Masterclass from Chris Voss is one probably every human being should take:
Is one of the neatest start-up companies out there today. You go through a 6 month or 1 year program and don’t pay a cent until you’ve gotten a job. If you’ve ever thought about learning how to code – you should check them out.
Good Luck!
These 4 areas should be guilt-free spending zones – but don’t put your family or yourself at risk by going into debt for them. If you want to spend money here, make sure you have the money. If you don’t get a temporary job – don’t be afraid to deliver pizza in the meantime if you have to. Best of luck!
P.S. Do you know someone else who is job searching? Feel free to send them this link, and also to get job alerts from Refer.io.
Dan and Mikayla Ockey are the Co-Founders of Centsei, an online personal finance course company that offers the Personal Finance Accelerator™ (PFA™) program. This helps couples and individuals increase their personal finance effectiveness by 2-3x by implementing systems and tools to help students make real financial progress. You can learn more here.