How long could you last without a job?

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tripp

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#281177 4-Feb-2021 09:16

So yesterday we got news that that unemployment dropped down below 5% (yay)

But I wanted to ask the question, if you got notice today that your job is gone in 4 weeks, how long could you last (in weeks) before you're in deep $$ trouble?

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#2646760 4-Feb-2021 09:23

If both my wife and I lost our jobs we could probably go a year or two before we would need start drawing down on a mortgage.

Lias

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#2646791 4-Feb-2021 10:03

About zero weeks.

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floydbloke

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#2646794 4-Feb-2021 10:07

With only 10 - 12 years until retirement we wouldn't get into financial dire straits, but it would severely hamper the lifestyle I'm accustomed to and our retirement plans.

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gehenna

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#2646795 4-Feb-2021 10:07

This is just a "how much money do you have" thread.

chewster

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#2646796 4-Feb-2021 10:09

On my own in the current situation, about 6 months off savings and outstanding holiday leave owing. But if things really got that bad I'd probably pack up and head to the parents, luckily I have that option.

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#2646855 4-Feb-2021 10:22

I was in that boat recently. I went down to my local New World and started working there part time.

So to answer your question, probably about a month before the proverbial hits the fan.

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#2646884 4-Feb-2021 10:49

Im 59 so my job prospects arnt good if Im made redundant (perhaps near zero ? ).
I would be in serious issues within a month , when I had to pay power, internet, rates, water bills . Any issues with my car & I'd be truley stuffed without transport .
Luckily Im mortgage free

The real killer will be credit card payments . I'm trying to get my CC debt down , Ive cut it by about 1/3 .
Im a compulsive spender so have zero savings , only overdraft & CC .

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Fred99

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#2646891 4-Feb-2021 10:58

gehenna:

This is just a "how much money do you have" thread.

Inevitably for some.

OTOH it's probably a reasonable idea to prompt people to do a hypothetical "stress test" every now and then to work out where you're heading.

It must be so much easier and worry-free for young folks to buy places these days than in the days we first bought - when things like income protection insurance and mortgage holidays hadn't been invented (/s).

YOLO. Everyone should max out on everything. (also /s)

Senecio

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#2646940 4-Feb-2021 11:04

From pure cash savings alone and without changing how we live, about a year. This includes continuing to pay down our mortgage.

If we change our lifestyle habits and liquidate assets/investments, probably close to 5yrs. But then we would be at rock bottom and rebuilding from scratch for retirement which is 15-20 yrs away.

jonb

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#2646950 4-Feb-2021 11:12

Fred99:

gehenna:

This is just a "how much money do you have" thread.

Inevitably for some.

OTOH it's probably a reasonable idea to prompt people to do a hypothetical "stress test" every now and then to work out where you're heading.

It must be so much easier and worry-free for young folks to buy places these days than in the days we first bought - when things like income protection insurance and mortgage holidays hadn't been invented (/s).

YOLO. Everyone should max out on everything. (also /s)

Also about having some kind of investments/side hustle which is recommended (I don't), in addition to your salaried job.

For me I would be burning through the revolving credit facility on the mortgage so basically going further into debt. Would also probably need to move back to a bigger city for another IT job or retrain as a truck driver.

frankv

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#2646956 4-Feb-2021 11:22

1101:

Im 59 so my job prospects arnt good if Im made redundant (perhaps near zero ? ).

Exactly that happened to me. In Nov 2019 I got notice of redundancy at 31 March 2020 at age 62. I immediately increased the revolving credit limit on my fully-paid-off mortgage, just in case, and figured I could live on that and savings and dole for 6 months if need be. I sweated Seek & Trademe Jobs and did a couple of AWS quals over Xmas/January, and was starting to consider long-distance commuting. But I started my new job (not using the AWS quals) mid-March (and pocketed a handy redundancy payout :) ) just before lockdown.

So, depending on skills, and admittedly some luck, it's not necessarily a death blow.

Zeon

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#2646958 4-Feb-2021 11:29

Culturally, it seems that many New Zealander's don't have a strong propensity for cash savings. Some have assets beyond their homes like investment properties. I suppose if you have an investment property in a big city and held it at least for a few years you can probably live many years without a job just by selling it these days!

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surfisup1000

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#2646959 4-Feb-2021 11:30

I've been out of work for 4 years now ... problem is , I'm a bit older (late 40's), could try to learn new skills, but, those coding jobs seem to go to younger people. Appled for a few jobs that kind of matched my skills but more in management but heard nothing back.

Kind of given up......fortunately i was very clever and good at negotiating so managed to save a few million dollars over my career.

What should I do? Feel like I am in forced retirement. Looked at buying a business but the only good one I found wanted a huge price compared to earnings.

[edit] i think my difficulties relate to working for overseas companies for so many years and moved to a place where I had no contacts. It is all about networking probably. And, I have none where I live. IT is one of those jobs where the older you get the less job security compared to professoins such as accounting/engineering/law/medicine.

tripp

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#2646974 4-Feb-2021 11:45

Hi All

Thanks for the feedback, I did not mean to ask it as "how much money do you have". I have no idea of your weekly burn rate etc. Some people could last on $400 a week others need $1200 etc.

With how the last year has been I was just wondering how long people could last if it happened and what a good safety net would be.

If this question has made you think about it as well then that is a bonus :)

Fred99

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#2646986 4-Feb-2021 12:03

Zeon:

Some have assets beyond their homes like investment properties.

All their eggs are in one basket. Just because the basket hasn't dropped for the past 30 years doesn't mean it won't over the next 30.

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