Today I want to talk about money and career/jobs and ask if you are prepared for your next move.
When we are in such an uncertain time with a forced stay at home order, some may be able to survive by just working their jobs at home and some will have to take a layoff order and file unemployment.
If you have your own business, the physical brick and mortar locations are forced to close while other service types or sales businesses that can be worked from home tend to slow down and even come to a halt because people are scared to spend money.
Which of these are you?
Me, I fall into a couple of these categories. I have a full-time accounting job (that I was laid off from, called back in 24 hours later, and now am just waiting to see what happens next), and since I started writing this, I was laid off again.
While the stay at home orders were being issued all over the state I live in, I was still having to drive to the office every day. My company didn’t believe in working from home. It’s all about butts in seats for them. A very old-school way of thinking. That is, until our Governor made it mandatory state-wide. I was able to work from home for 2 weeks and I am so grateful that I had that time to keep earning.
I also have my coaching practice. This, I do from home, but I recognize the state of the economy now and am shifting a bit with my focus and offerings. I aim to be visible and available while offering as much support as I can.
And, I have my husband. He is considered “essential”. He is in the construction industry, which thank goodness, has not ceased yet. He also holds his Master Plumber license so he can provide service to those in need of a plumber.
What would happen if we became unable to work?
My husband and I talk about this at length. Although we are so grateful he still has his job during this unsettling time, the reality is imminent. We could both become unemployed…at any given time.
Are we set up for this? I have to honestly tell you, no. We are not.
You see, we were doing great, but he had to step away from a better paying job at the end of last year so that he could improve in his career. He took a month off to study and test for his Master Plumber’s license and then had to take a position with a company making about 60% less than what he was making.
He had to do it though. And the timing wasn’t great because here we are.
My practice slowed down quite a bit so my secondary income has also slowed down quite a bit.
I have become unemployed, although temporary, I just don’t know for how long.
And out of this, we have used most of the savings up because of living between his unemployed month and reduction in income.
So we are sitting in the same place as most of you all are. And knowing that unemployment really only covers about 1/4 of our living expenses is no help.
But our mindset is that of survival. We are grateful now for what we have and we have faith that we will come out of this just fine.
So what do you do?
First things first. Check-in with your mindset. Are you freaking out? Are you ONLY focused on what you DON’T have? If so, that isn’t going to help your situation AT ALL.
You need to make a plan. You need to make a plan NOW, not when it’s over.
- Look at your spending habits over the past couple of months. Where is that money going? Is there anything you can live without for a couple of months?
- How about TV/Cable? Is there any miscellaneous spending you are doing for things that are not necessities?
- Create a budget
- Base your income on the guaranteed minimum. If it is unemployment, base it on that amount first.
- List out the necessities and dollar amounts of things that you NEED to survive:
- Rent/Mortgage
- Electricity
- Gas
- Water/Sewer
- Phone
- Auto-lease/note
- Food
- Auto-Gas (if you are still working and need to drive to get there)
- Is your income enough to cover these items? If the answer is no:
- Figure out how much you can pay for each one if you can pay any of it.
- Don’t look at the payment as what you are SUPPOSED to pay, rather look at it as how much you CAN pay at this time over the next month or so.
- Contact the companies and tell them your situation and how much you CAN pay, if any. Believe me, these companies are going to work with you.
- Get your resume updated!
- People are still hiring. You can take a temporary job until you figure this all out. Let go of your ego! Go work at the grocery store stocking shelves. Go work in the Amazon warehouse. Find something to supplement your income for now.
- You need to be applying to jobs all over the place. What if your current company doesn’t come back from this? You need to be prepared to hit the ground running. Plus, interviewing is a great practice!
- Take that class/training you have wanted to take but haven’t had the time for.
- Have you thought about starting your own business? Do it now!
- It doesn’t happen overnight, so get it all ready today so that you can be ready to hit the ground running.
Don’t wait for this to be all over before you get started, guys. This is too important!
Remember to focus on only the things you CAN control and you CAN control how you respond to all of this. Take a proactive stance. Stop being reactive!
And don’t forget, I am here to help! If you need someone to bounce ideas off of. If you need some added support. If you are already a boss babe or are looking to become one, I can help with those wanting to grow their businesses or ladies who are just starting and need some help. If you are considering becoming a coach, I can help with that too! NOW IS THE TIME LADIES!
I have space in my 1×1 Action for Change coaching program for those who are ready to take some action TODAY so that they can be ready for tomorrow.
If any of this is appealing to you, let’s talk about it! Book some time on my calendar for a free 30-minute breakthrough session so that we can where you are headed!
