Keep Calm and Carry On

 Our world has been disrupted. Covid-19 keeps spreading. Working or studying from home almost feels normal. If we are still working, many coworkers, friends and family are not. Multiple industries have cratered. Among ~400 engineers with notice will need a new job in November, and ~12,600 laid off this year in WA. Far from alone.

 

The expression above is British. During the nightly bombings they slept in bomb shelters not knowing if they would survive. In the morning they went to work and prepared for war. This extended months and years with no clue as to when it would end. Admire the people who went through World War 2 daily despite the hardships. They planned and executed projects to win a four and half year war. Frankly they saved the world.

 

Few people thrive in uncertainty. Who does? It is stressful, hard to make plans, confusing what to do next or figure out your options. Usually are too many choices in life. Second everyone wants to know when is it going to end? But no one knows.

 

Remember this too shall pass. Take a deep breath and pick something to do now. Does not have to be the perfect thing to do. Something else will be next. Just break things down and start small. Give yourself grace to make mistakes.

 

Decisions don’t have to be made immediately. Talk with other people who have been in or are in your situation. There are support groups for near any situation. Helping support other people will help you cope. Create more options by researching industries and careers using your skills. You need plan A, plan B and maybe more during a recession. Unemployment normally covers 26 weeks with a 13 week extension. Not much time to find work.

 

My plan A - Laid off from Boeing Commercial Airplanes, find work within Defense Space & Security or Global Systems. Plan B - nationwide job search for production/manufacturing engineering positions in aerospace, defense and space. Expand target industries if not finding opportunities. Plan C - supplement earnings with gig work. So far networking and implementing plan A.

 

Able to relocate, an option most people don’t have. They have to look for alternate careers in their neighborhood. Look at what is important to your life. Having relocated several times, do not recommend relocating for most people. Difficult to give up family, friends and support systems to start over.

 

If you are in this situation, feel free to reach out to me. Been here before and still saying my prayers. Start by reading Change Comes in a Minute. Adaptability, resilience and resourcefulness are learned by experience. You will be surprised how much you already have.

http://problem1solver.blogspot.com/2020/07/change-comes-in-minute.html  

Transitions at Work

Today 3 people retired and 5 people were laid off. Sorry to see everyone leave. Wish we all had work. Instead the few left will pick up more work.

The retirees are in good shape. They saved money, paid off debt, planned for collecting social security, and have interests to keep them busy. Very happy everyone was ready for the opportunity.

My laid off coworkers are in pretty good shape, with savings and little debt. A lesson aerospace workers learn early in our careers. Was told a joke when I starting out, “There are two types of aerospace workers - those who have been laid off, and those who will.”

Anytime you are not working, life gets hard fast. Unemployment does not cover rent, bills and food. Your savings has to cover what spending you can’t cut while you are job hunting. Everyone needs a minimum of 6 months savings to cover bills. I prefer over a year of savings on hand for emergencies.

How do you start building your emergency fund?

Put ~10% on your first or current job into your 401K. At least put enough to get the employers matching funds.

Then put money aside for emergencies, vacations, car repairs and hard times. Start with ~10% after taxes. Automatically deposit this to your savings account. You won’t see it, so you are less likely to spend it. Live on the 90% or less after taxes deposited to your checking.

When extra spending is necessary, you can transfer funds to your checking account to cover it. Most people may need to do this once or twice a year.

Secrets to financial independence:

1) Spend less than you make. Credit card debt not paid off every month ruins more people’s finances than any other mistake.

2) Every time you get overtime, a bonus, or a tax return: Put 10% in checking to spend on a treat. And put 90% in savings.

3) Every raise increase the percentage saved in the 401K and savings. 10% becomes 12%, then 14% and more. You aren’t use to spending the raise, so you don’t miss it.

Properly invested savings earn compounded interest and grow faster than you believe possible. When medical expenses occur, you can pay off the credit card. 6 months of job hunting becomes manageable. Eventually you can afford the down payment on a condo or house.

Good habits make you rich. Poor habits stress and shorten your life.