WEBVTT - Recession-proof your life

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to recession proof your life. It's unclear exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what will ever happen in the broader economy, but regardless

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<v Speaker 1>of what happens, you can take steps to make your

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<v Speaker 1>own life more resilient. Doing so is wise whether you

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<v Speaker 1>ever need that resiliency or not. As I am writing

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<v Speaker 1>this episode, a number of large organizations have announced significant layoffs.

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<v Speaker 1>For the most part, these have been concentrated in tech

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<v Speaker 1>and media, which is why they've gotten a lot of attention.

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<v Speaker 1>But in any case, we can all read the headlines

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<v Speaker 1>and we can start to fret. Layoffs are hugely disruptive

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<v Speaker 1>to people's lives and their families. The hard truth is

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<v Speaker 1>that if you work for a large organization, you generally

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<v Speaker 1>cannot control whether you keep your job or not. When

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<v Speaker 1>a whole division is laid off. It doesn't matter if

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<v Speaker 1>you stayed late much of the last year, or got

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<v Speaker 1>good reviews or anything else. Unless you are one of

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<v Speaker 1>those very rare folks who has lifetime job security, it

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<v Speaker 1>is possible that you might lose your job with short notice.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if you are very good at your job, this

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<v Speaker 1>can happen, so it is wise to consider what you

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<v Speaker 1>might do to make that possibility less disastrous. The first

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<v Speaker 1>step should be to make sure sure that you can

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<v Speaker 1>afford to house and feed your family even if you

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<v Speaker 1>were out of work for a while. An emergency fund

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<v Speaker 1>is not the world's most exciting topic, but that cash

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<v Speaker 1>does tend to matter if you need it. Lots of

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<v Speaker 1>people suggest saving up six months worth of expenses, but

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<v Speaker 1>whatever you can get to is good. One month will

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<v Speaker 1>feel better than nothing, Two months will feel better than

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<v Speaker 1>one month. If you have gotten to six months, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>this economy nudges you to push that to seven. Most

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<v Speaker 1>stints of unemployment are relatively short, so with any reasonable

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<v Speaker 1>emergency fund, you will most likely figure something out in

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<v Speaker 1>those few months. But the peace of mind that buys

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<v Speaker 1>is priceless. Whole are losing their jobs all around you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also recession proof your life by making sure

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<v Speaker 1>your expenses are low relative to your income. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>can't change the big pieces right now, but the next

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<v Speaker 1>time you move or purchase a car, aiming a little

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<v Speaker 1>on the cheaper side can buy a lot of breathing room.

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<v Speaker 1>Another way, to recession proof your life is to get

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<v Speaker 1>to a place where you are pretty sure you could

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<v Speaker 1>get another job relatively easily. So how sure are you

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<v Speaker 1>of that? When's the last time you looked? The point

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<v Speaker 1>of networking is not collecting business cards or for my

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<v Speaker 1>more online listeners LinkedIn connections. It is about making sure

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<v Speaker 1>you have a handful of folks who have told you, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are ever looking for a new job, call

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<v Speaker 1>me first. If you need a new job, you will

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<v Speaker 1>call these folks and one of them will come through

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<v Speaker 1>for you. You You build such a network by doing really

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<v Speaker 1>good work and by building relationships with other talented people.

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<v Speaker 1>Over time, I really mean over decades. The people I

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<v Speaker 1>have seen emerge unscathed from even relatively rough situations tend

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<v Speaker 1>to have built such a safety net. Lots of people

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<v Speaker 1>genuinely like them and want to work with them, And

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<v Speaker 1>over the years, some of those people wind up in

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<v Speaker 1>positions of authority. In any case, all of these ways

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<v Speaker 1>to recession proof your life are long term projects. The

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<v Speaker 1>best time to start such a project might have been

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<v Speaker 1>twenty years ago, but that is what it is. You

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<v Speaker 1>can start building up savings from anywhere. You can tend

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<v Speaker 1>to your network at any time, and now might be

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<v Speaker 1>a really good time to start. And the playoffs are

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<v Speaker 1>imminent at your company, and you're feeling a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>anxiety about it, given that there isn't much you can

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<v Speaker 1>do in the face of division wide cuts. Taking care

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<v Speaker 1>of your own mental health is another way to recession

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<v Speaker 1>proof your life. That is, make sure that your happiness

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<v Speaker 1>is not totally tied up in your job. Nurture your

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<v Speaker 1>relationships with family and friends, get lots of physical activity,

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<v Speaker 1>get outside every day, Go to bed on time rather

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<v Speaker 1>than staying up late. Doom scrolling, reading scary headlines won't help,

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<v Speaker 1>but sleeping enough does make you feel better about life

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<v Speaker 1>in general. You trust that whatever happens, you will be

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<v Speaker 1>capable of dealing with it, and that is the ultimate

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<v Speaker 1>definition of being recession proof. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters, thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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