<p>To 36,000? </p>
<p>Somebody I know is Going to go through that.</p>
<p>A friend just got laid off. He is going to get government benefits of 30,000 for one year…he was making about 50,000. ( i know some people hate that). He is 56. Then what? His net worth is probably 20,000.</p>
<p>Then what?</p>
<p>How are people coping?</p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please remember that political posts are not allowed on CC. We will close the thread if it becomes political.</p>
<p>I don’t want any political answers. </p>
<p>I want to read what is happening. How are people coping?</p>
<p>The two examples I used are real.</p>
<p>It’s too early to see what is going to happen to them, but I don’t see good outcomes.</p>
<p>If your friend has a good, needed skillset, he/she can become an independent consultant, doing short-term gigs until such time they find a FT job with a company. I’ve been doing it for 8 years and I hope I never be an employee again, but many go back and forth.</p>
<p>It’s too early to see what is going to happen to them, but I don’t see good outcomes. </p>
<p>neither do I. Its all part of the Hallowing out of the middle class that is happening almost everywhere in this country.</p>
<p>The person who got laid off is going to work in retail. Right now he and his wife live in California. </p>
<p>Where should he move to where the cost of living is lower? Both the husband and wife are going to work in retail. Can two people who work at Starbucks make it?</p>
<p>My friend is thinking of moving to Texas.</p>
<p>There are too many variables to apply to everyone. By the age of 56 many people have been fairly frugal and fiscally conservative throughout their lives, already paid off their homes, put their kids through college, and have a reasonably built-up 401-K, are healthy, and could cope reasonably well with the drop in income. </p>
<p>OTOH others have not lived frugally and bought the expensive cars, boats, vacations, etc., bought more house than they should have, took a bath on it when prices collapsed and have no more equity, paid around full price for their kids at expensive private colleges and used up any savings and obligated themselves further with loans in the process, and have little to show in a 401-K. And there’s everyone in between. And there are people who have been hit with health issues. </p>
<p>It can be hard - they need to think through what value they can bring to the table above and beyond someone much earlier in their career path, like a new or recent college grad, but this is something people need to consider all the time throughout their careers. It’s easy to get complacent and comfortable and expect that things will never ever change - perhaps especially for many government employees.</p>
<p>texas or florida maybe? the cost of living[ housing/ rent] in parts of Fla is really cheap .</p>
<p>
Most places other than California assuming they can find jobs in the other locations - Phoenix/Tucson is much lower cost for housing and within a one day drive to California if they want to visit friends/relatives (6 hour drive to San Diego).</p>
<p>Yeah…I was wondering what the job market was like in most parts of Arizona.</p>
<p>Looking around, it is scary and sad to see what is happening. Pensions are disappearing or being cut way back. Salaries and wages are sinking lower. People are laid off or companies are not hiring.</p>
<p>I always think of what my grandma would answer if I said, “How will I do without____?” She would respond, “You’ll have to do what the poor folks do: make do, or do without.”</p>
<p>I don’t know what the job market is like right now in Az but I wouldn’t expect it to be much better than California. However, given a retail job in Az vs a similar retail job in the major population areas of California, it seems that it’d be easier to pay for housing, the biggest single expense most people have, in Az.</p>
<p>I just looked at a job opening in Arizona for a job at Office Max…</p>
<p>$8 an hour.</p>
<p>[OfficeMax</a> Store Associate-Peoria](<a href=“http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/ret/2568819987.html]OfficeMax”>http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/ret/2568819987.html)</p>
<p>If my friend works 40 hours a week and his wife works 40 hours a week for $8 an hour…that is $640 a week gross…times 52 equals 33,280 gross…</p>
<p>Rents look cheap…12,000 a year tops…food costs…I don’t
know…10,000… Car costs… 7500…not much left…didn’t even look at taxes…</p>
<p>My friend is in trouble, and he doesn’t know it yet…</p>
<p>[Taliesin</a> West Bookstore Sales Associate](<a href=“http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/ret/2565897512.html]Taliesin”>http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/ret/2565897512.html)</p>
<p>Ok $10 an hour…better…</p>
<p>I would suggest getting a book called The Tightwad Gazette. You just won’t believe how far you can get on how little if you have to. And if you have to do it, you can make it fun. This author shows how.</p>
<p>That Taliesen job is probably competitive. Heck, I’d work there! One of the more dispiriting things about such jobs is how hard it can be to get them! Lots of people in the same boat, looking for any job, no matter their background and education. </p>
<p>My BF lost his job 2 years ago. He was editor of a weekly suburban paper that certainly had a fan base due to his writing, but was shut down by the publisher. Advertising revenues were falling. He tried starting his own, but that was problematic. This fall he starts driving a school bus, and feels fortunate. A career in journalism is not helpful in the job hunt these days. </p>
<p>Nicholas Kristoff has an appropriately titled column about jobs in this weeks NY Times. Would post the link, but don’t want it censured as overly political.</p>
<p>Re post #8, Florida is an expensive place to live. While there are more foreclosures here than just about any other state and houses are undervalued, it is expensive to rent. And if you buy, insurance is also expensive. Not to mention auto and health insurance. There is no income tax, but sales tax is high and many counties add a penny or two more. Property taxes are high. So if you do not have a great income, you are still paying in other ways, as if you had an income. Many retirees in Florida are moving to rural noncoastal Georgia, Mississsipi, Alabama and Tennesee. Others are moving to the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. I know because I am sending their medical records to these areas.</p>
<p>I’ve known a handful of 50-something folks in the 100-200k salary range who have been laid off (one person twice). They had savings to see them through the many months of job search but all of them found some very good jobs eventually. There is hope!</p>
<p>If one is into moving/downsizing/starting over, they might also look at a more promising location. Here are a few links for example:</p>
<p>[8</a> Small Towns With High Employment Rates - Investopedia.com](<a href=“http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1009/8-Small-Towns-With-High-Employment-Rates.aspx#axzz1WN8CxwwS]8”>http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1009/8-Small-Towns-With-High-Employment-Rates.aspx#axzz1WN8CxwwS)</p>
<p>[Unemployment</a> rates - Unemployment rates by state from CNNMoney](<a href=“http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/state_unemployment/]Unemployment”>Unemployment: Where does your state rank? - CNNMoney)</p>
<p>[Unemployment</a> rates - Unemployment rates by state from CNNMoney](<a href=“http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/state_unemployment/]Unemployment”>Unemployment: Where does your state rank? - CNNMoney)</p>
<p>Of course magazine lists are only a place to start, and gain some ideas, but deeper digging into one’s real possibilities, based on their skills and areas of expertise, might yield some good possibilities.</p>
<p>He is 56, made $100,000 per year, and his net worth is only $20,000? I guess he missed the lesson on saving for a rainy day.</p>
<p>Sell your house for whatever you can get for it and move into a cheap apartment. Sell your cars and buy beaters, or use public transportation. Shop at the low cost grocers (eg Aldi) and the dollar stores. Get your clothes at Goodwill (nobody will know unless you tell them). Don’t even think about eating out. Sell any assets that you don’t need that will bring cash (silverware, high-end electronics, antiques, etc.). Sell unneeded furniture and clothes at a yard sale. Cancel the Internet service and use the library’s. Cancel cable TV. Get rid of the cell phones. Apply for free or reduced price lunch at school and for fee waivers. See if you meet the requirements for the local food pantry or for Medicaid. Quit drinking. Turn off the air conditioner. </p>
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