1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: tip is to recession proof your life. It's unclear exactly 4 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: what will ever happen in the broader economy, but regardless 5 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: of what happens, you can take steps to make your 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: own life more resilient. Doing so is wise whether you 7 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: ever need that resiliency or not. As I am writing 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: this episode, a number of large organizations have announced significant layoffs. 9 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: For the most part, these have been concentrated in tech 10 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: and media, which is why they've gotten a lot of attention. 11 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: But in any case, we can all read the headlines 12 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: and we can start to fret. Layoffs are hugely disruptive 13 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: to people's lives and their families. The hard truth is 14 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: that if you work for a large organization, you generally 15 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: cannot control whether you keep your job or not. When 16 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: a whole division is laid off. It doesn't matter if 17 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: you stayed late much of the last year, or got 18 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: good reviews or anything else. Unless you are one of 19 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: those very rare folks who has lifetime job security, it 20 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: is possible that you might lose your job with short notice. 21 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: Even if you are very good at your job, this 22 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: can happen, so it is wise to consider what you 23 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: might do to make that possibility less disastrous. The first 24 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: step should be to make sure sure that you can 25 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: afford to house and feed your family even if you 26 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: were out of work for a while. An emergency fund 27 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: is not the world's most exciting topic, but that cash 28 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: does tend to matter if you need it. Lots of 29 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: people suggest saving up six months worth of expenses, but 30 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 1: whatever you can get to is good. One month will 31 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: feel better than nothing, Two months will feel better than 32 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: one month. If you have gotten to six months, maybe 33 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: this economy nudges you to push that to seven. Most 34 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: stints of unemployment are relatively short, so with any reasonable 35 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: emergency fund, you will most likely figure something out in 36 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: those few months. But the peace of mind that buys 37 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: is priceless. Whole are losing their jobs all around you. 38 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: You can also recession proof your life by making sure 39 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: your expenses are low relative to your income. Maybe you 40 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: can't change the big pieces right now, but the next 41 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: time you move or purchase a car, aiming a little 42 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: on the cheaper side can buy a lot of breathing room. 43 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: Another way, to recession proof your life is to get 44 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 1: to a place where you are pretty sure you could 45 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: get another job relatively easily. So how sure are you 46 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: of that? When's the last time you looked? The point 47 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: of networking is not collecting business cards or for my 48 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: more online listeners LinkedIn connections. It is about making sure 49 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: you have a handful of folks who have told you, hey, 50 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: if you are ever looking for a new job, call 51 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: me first. If you need a new job, you will 52 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: call these folks and one of them will come through 53 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: for you. You You build such a network by doing really 54 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: good work and by building relationships with other talented people. 55 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: Over time, I really mean over decades. The people I 56 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: have seen emerge unscathed from even relatively rough situations tend 57 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: to have built such a safety net. Lots of people 58 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: genuinely like them and want to work with them, And 59 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: over the years, some of those people wind up in 60 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: positions of authority. In any case, all of these ways 61 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: to recession proof your life are long term projects. The 62 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: best time to start such a project might have been 63 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: twenty years ago, but that is what it is. You 64 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: can start building up savings from anywhere. You can tend 65 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 1: to your network at any time, and now might be 66 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: a really good time to start. And the playoffs are 67 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: imminent at your company, and you're feeling a lot of 68 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: anxiety about it, given that there isn't much you can 69 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 1: do in the face of division wide cuts. Taking care 70 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: of your own mental health is another way to recession 71 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: proof your life. That is, make sure that your happiness 72 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:35,600 Speaker 1: is not totally tied up in your job. Nurture your 73 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: relationships with family and friends, get lots of physical activity, 74 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 1: get outside every day, Go to bed on time rather 75 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:51,559 Speaker 1: than staying up late. Doom scrolling, reading scary headlines won't help, 76 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: but sleeping enough does make you feel better about life 77 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: in general. You trust that whatever happens, you will be 78 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: capable of dealing with it, and that is the ultimate 79 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: definition of being recession proof. In the meantime, this is Laura. 80 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:20,480 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 81 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 82 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 83 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 84 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four then Breakfast 85 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 86 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before 87 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters, thanks so much, 88 00:06:53,120 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast 89 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. 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