Losing income and a job bites every time. Even if it’s bittersweet, there are psychological and financial impacts from lay offs.
A lay off often brings a lot of uncertainty. In times of uncertainty, one of the best thing we can focus on, is what is in our control.
Whether or not you have a job, what happens with the money you already have or temporary income you may earn during your job search is completely in your control.
3 Steps To Take With Your Personal Finances
- Track your Money
Even before a job loss this is vital. The worse feeling in the world is when you have to ask yourself the question, “Where did all that money go?” You should NEVER have to ask that question.
For free, simple tracking, we recommend Mint.com. With bank-grade security, hook up your bank accounts and credit cards and…..presto! You’re tracking your money.
This is a lot easier and more effective than a spreadsheet or just checking your bank account.
2. Build An Automated Money System
Too many people stress over finances. Your personal finances should hum like an automated machine. As much as possible should be automated. Savings transfers should be automated. You have so much to worry about in your life the last thing you need to think about is if car insurance or rent was paid on time. Just automate it!
Tons of free tools, tips and tricks exist on how to do this.
More on this in a minute.
3. Cover Expenses Temporarily
In a life/money crisis there are really only 5 things you need to specifically worry about:
- Clothing
- Shelter
- Food & Water
- Transportation
- Your Health (emotional, spiritual, physical, mental etc.)
While that covers a lot, everything on top of this is not necessary – at least for the time being. After tracking your expenses, take some time to identify these 5 categories and know exactly how much you need to live every month.
After you’ve established that amount, try to find temporary income to cover the bases. Reach out to your network about part-time work, don’t be afraid to deliver pizza or work at the grocery store. Check out VIP-Kid (teaching english to Chinese children)
Having income that covers your bases will remove a lot of the stress accompanied with a job search, it will also allow you the time and freedom to be more selective with your next employer.
More Tools
If you want a complete walkthrough that has helped couples and individuals save hundreds of thousands of dollars towards financial goals while building an automated budgeting system – take this course.
The Personal Finance Accelerator™ was built to help couples and individuals save money towards their goals faster through building an automated money system. This includes how to use Mint.com most effectively, the Cap Budgeting System, The Financial Roadmap, and the Simple Banking Infrastructure (the types of bank accounts you should use.
Regardless of your situation, we wish you the best of luck in your job search and beyond!
Dan Ockey is the Co-Founder 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.