Which means the Freedom Fund will get another cash injection (or an additional buffer between job loss and the streets Mom & Dad’s).
Recently, the recession has hit home when one of my relatives lost her job at a tech company. She is poised to weather the layoff well (she received a good severance, her husband has a well-paid job, and they own a couple of different properties), but the news is still disconcerting.
Many newspapers are touting the need to bulk up one’s emergency fund, but how much can you really save with only a few months’ notice? It has taken me more than a year and a half to save my emergency cash.
What I’ve learned from everything that’s going on around me is that in good times, I need to prepare for the not-so-good times. In this economy, it seems that nothing is guaranteed. I’ve read account after account of laid off bankers, consultants, marketing managers, engineers, IT workers (not to mention the scores of auto worker) who made good salaries but are now having trouble finding work after several months of searching.
I’ve been a saver mostly because of Mom’s influence – she has taught me through words and actions that saving for a rainy day is important. Living through my first recession as a working adult (a recession that may be the stormiest of a generation) has made the lesson just that much sharper.
So come Friday, I’m going to take my paycheck, pay my rent, and put everything else into the Freedom Fund. $30,000, here I come.
***Okay, having said all that above – as long as I still have a job, I’m going to keep eating out. Not every night at a $50 a plate restaurant – but, to give up dining out entirely? No can do.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
it’s all about balance!
If only restaurants around the area had good food, I wouldn’t mind paying for it. But BF is the best freakin’ cook, EVER. He has spoiled me for pizza, pasta, roasts, fries and cakes. Whenever I go out to eat something now, unless it’s sushi or high-end gastronomic food, I always think: “BF can do better..
I’m disappointed now.”
LOL
Yep, always better to prepare in good times yet we never become aware of the need till the bad times. I was downsized in 2002 and had very little emergency fund so I cashed out my 401k! I hope Friday comes quickly for you.
Agree about how much can you do in a few months. My efund took about 2 full years to save. Preparing for the bad times when things are good? I wish our state and our nation had such good sense!
She says as she sends me DineLA emails. *eyeroll* LOL.
Seriously, it’s all about saving when you can for the times that you can’t. It’s taken me the entire 4 (5? holy crap, I’m old) years since starting this job to get my family out of tons of debt and save a healthy amount for emergencies. Of course, I’m Chicken Little some days, and no amount will seem to be enough.