How long could you last without a job?

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589 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2647179 4-Feb-2021 16:19

I am in a different situation (I would not last long without work income).

I have not worked since April/May last year, the company I work for have continued to pay my wages while I recover from some

serious medical conditions.

I ended up in the ICU/HDU for 3-4 months, about 2 of those months was in an induced coma (big thumbs up to the staff at Middlemore Hospital !).

This happened in the second Covid lockdown in Auckland and the wife took advantage of the Banks Covid support on mortgage rates and my employer

continued paying my wages ( I will not be able to take holidays for years when I get back).

I saw my team of surgeons last week and they said it will be at least April/May before I can return to work.

I am very greatful I am still getting an income otherwise I would be homeless.

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Geektastic

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#2647232 4-Feb-2021 16:54

Probably long enough that it would cease to be a problem before the money ran out unless we were stupid. My wife’s likely to outlast me by some margin so it would be more of a concern for her.

Given we plan to be 75% retired in 10 years, we’re already in the process of putting the necessary things in place for that so effectively we’d just have to start early and stretch things out longer I guess.

Handle9

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#2647237 4-Feb-2021 17:12

Zeon:

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!

Cash savings is a horrible way to build wealth. If you have substantial cash savings, and don't need immediate access to them, you are losing money compared to investing in productive assets.

There's a balance of course but cash sitting around is eroded by inflation.

mudguard

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#2647262 4-Feb-2021 18:23

Fred99:

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)

It's hard to tell how serious you are, but income protection insurance is expensive. And no doubt like all insurance, you'll only find out how good it is once you claim. Mortgage holidays weren't a thing when I worked at Westpac a few years ago.

The only thing we'd do is if people had built up a buffer, and let them draw down on that for the payments. If you didn't have it, it wasn't easy. The only holiday I can think of now is they might push the interest to the end of the term temporarily or something?

I'm still saving for a house, so could probably go a year if I had to. But if you were to ask me that question after I buy then I'm sure it wouldn't be long!!

Fred99

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#2647451 4-Feb-2021 19:29

mudguard:

It's hard to tell how serious you are, but income protection insurance is expensive. And no doubt like all insurance, you'll only find out how good it is once you claim. Mortgage holidays weren't a thing when I worked at Westpac a few years ago.

The only thing we'd do is if people had built up a buffer, and let them draw down on that for the payments. If you didn't have it, it wasn't easy. The only holiday I can think of now is they might push the interest to the end of the term temporarily or something?

I'm still saving for a house, so could probably go a year if I had to. But if you were to ask me that question after I buy then I'm sure it wouldn't be long!!

I was being somewhat sarcastic (hence /s tags)

I shudder at what I see now.

quickymart

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#2647659 4-Feb-2021 21:12

Probably not more than a few months in my current situation.

Handsomedan

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#2648026 5-Feb-2021 09:09

Having been made redundant 4 times in my life, I have to say I am still woefully underprepared for this inevitability...

With that said, you learn pretty quickly just how lean you can live when you're out of work. Last time I thought I had just enough for 3 months unemployment...after a month, I was able to recalculate and work out we had just enough for a year.

Not the case now, unfortunately. Maybe a few months at best...but I could still sell the family home, rent and have a good amount in the bank, which would/could ease some pressure, but it would mean that we'd likely never own a home again.

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MurrayM

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#2648117 5-Feb-2021 12:51

antonknee:

antoniosk:

Assuming you'd get it. You'll find the qualification criteria exclude a tremendous amount of NZ, which is why the temporary covid payment was so heavily criticised (it was a LOT easier to qualify to get by comparison)

Yeah, you're not wrong. A lot of people have the impression the dole is very easy to get and encourages people to just sit around and get lots of money for nothing. This really, really is not the case.

The criteria are much stricter than people think, there are plenty of obligations around seeking work and other activities while you receive it, and you only get $280/week.

I just had a quick look at the Check what you might get tool on the MSD website and I note that one of the things it asks you is how much cash you've got saved (also the value of all your assets). I assume that since they ask this question that means that they take it into account when calculating any dole payment that you might be eligible for. So does this mean they make you use up your savings before you can get any dole payments?

Handsomedan

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#2648124 5-Feb-2021 13:02

MurrayM:

I just had a quick look at the Check what you might get tool on the MSD website and I note that one of the things it asks you is how much cash you've got saved (also the value of all your assets). I assume that since they ask this question that means that they take it into account when calculating any dole payment that you might be eligible for. So does this mean they make you use up your savings before you can get any dole payments?

I'm fairly certain that's how it works.

It's the same if an elderly person goes into care...it's paid out of what savings/investments they have before any assistance is given.

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dafman

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#2648568 6-Feb-2021 10:16

A recent statistic is that 40% of Americans would have trouble finding $400 for an emergency expense. A sad indictment on the world's most wealthy country.

MadEngineer

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#2648625 6-Feb-2021 11:17

When we purchased our home the mortgage was split 50/50 floating/fixed. Result now after a decade is that we have half of the value of the house as available funds. The floating account is our day to day account where any deposits go directly against the mortgage with no penalties.

I’m optimistic and happy go lucky. The way I see it is what’s the worst that could happen? Sell up and move to a caravan on a camp site. That’d be an adventure.

Certainly no point stressing over money.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

alasta

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#2648632 6-Feb-2021 11:36

I hold a contingency fund which would have enough to comfortably cover me for about three months, plus I would get a month or two of redundancy pay.

After that I could keep going by raiding cash that I am currently holding to cover things like car depreciation and future medical bills, but I would want do avoid doing that as it would cause some pain further down the track.

Tinkerisk

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#2648705 6-Feb-2021 16:09

'til natural EOL. The last shirt has no pockets.

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#2650137 9-Feb-2021 11:41

Handle9:

Cash savings is a horrible way to build wealth. If you have substantial cash savings, and don't need immediate access to them, you are losing money compared to investing in productive assets.

There's a balance of course but cash sitting around is eroded by inflation.

Any investment carries risk and/or ties up your money for a long time.

When there is significant inflation, cash value erodes fast. But currently it's not a huge issue.

Fred99

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#2650884 10-Feb-2021 10:44

frankv:

Handle9:

Cash savings is a horrible way to build wealth. If you have substantial cash savings, and don't need immediate access to them, you are losing money compared to investing in productive assets.

There's a balance of course but cash sitting around is eroded by inflation.

Any investment carries risk and/or ties up your money for a long time.

When there is significant inflation, cash value erodes fast. But currently it's not a huge issue.

That depends...

Low headline inflation is a pretty useless measure if the cash you are saving is intended to be used as deposit for a house that's been inflating at 20% PA.

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