Build a plan to deal with things you can’t anticipate and keep your work on track. Lazy_Bear / Shutterstock.com
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on FlexJobs.com. It seems like no matter how well you plan your week out, you get derailed at some point. You’ve taken a look at your daily schedule, revisited your lists, and learned how to set boundaries. Still, something always seems to pop up and throw your workweek off-kilter. The reality is that whether you work remotely or not…
Layoff activity isn’t particularly robust these days, but you could lose your job at any time. Read on to see how to prepare.
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Despite many warnings of a 2023 recession, last year, the U.S. economy managed to avoid one. And all told, the economy is in pretty good shape right now from a jobs perspective.
The unemployment rate is at 3.7% on a national level, which is consistent with the jobless rate before the pandemic. And historically speaking, 3.7% is a fairly low level — not one of concern.
Plus, data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that U.S. employers announced 34,817 job cuts in December. That might seem like a lot, but it’s considerably lower than the 45,510 cuts announced in November. And it was the second-lowest monthly total in 2023 after the 23,697 job cuts announced in July.
Despite that, U.S. workers seem to be worried about job loss in 2024. A recent survey by MyPerfectResume found that 78% of respondents expect the U.S. economy to enter a recession in 2024, and 85% are concerned that their jobs will go away this year.
If you’re worried about a 2024 layoff, you’re clearly not alone. And it’s hard to say how concerned you should be.
While the economy may be in good shape, that doesn’t mean your employer is in good shape. And some companies may opt to lower their headcount this year to conserve costs and allocate more resources to other initiatives, even if they’re not necessarily doing poorly.
That’s why it’s a good idea to be prepared for a layoff at any time. Here’s how.
The loss of your job could upend your personal finances in a big way. Even if you’re entitled to unemployment benefits, those generally will not come close to replacing your paycheck in full.
To ensure you can pay your bills after losing a job, make an effort to build at least a three-month emergency fund. If you have enough money in your savings account to cover 90 days of essential expenses, that buys you a good number of weeks to dust off your resume, network, and look for a new job before having to resort to charging bills on your credit cards.
Being great at what you do unfortunately won’t guarantee that you’ll be spared if layoffs hit your place of work. But you may be less likely to lose your job if you have a lot more knowledge and bring more skills to the table than the majority of your colleagues.
In the coming months, try to learn new skills and add to your resume. That could mean shadowing a more seasoned professional at your office or taking free online courses in your spare time. Even if having additional skills doesn’t prevent you from getting laid off if your employer decides to make cuts, it might make it easier for you to find a new job.
The idea of your paycheck disappearing completely can be scary. One way to mitigate that fear is to join the gig economy and take on a side hustle. That second job can be something that’s convenient for you. So if your only time to do extra work is over the weekend, signing up to deliver food or drive for a ride-hailing service may be a good bet.
The upside of having a second job is that you’ll have additional income to boost your savings. Also, you may have the option to increase your side hustle hours in the event of a layoff. That way, you’d be able to earn more money while looking for a new full-time job.
Getting laid off can be a huge emotional and financial blow. But the more you do to prepare for a layoff, the more peace of mind you might give yourself.
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Skiing is perhaps one of the most expensive sports you might participate in. Read on for ways to lower your costs.
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Many people love winter and can’t wait for it to kick into full gear. While those feelings might, for some, come from a desire to spend their days wrapped up in blankets enjoying hot cocoa or chili, for others, that love of winter stems from the start of ski season.
Skiing can be an exhilarating sport to participate in. But it also has the potential to be expensive. You have to get to a mountain or ski resort, pay for a lift ticket, rent gear if you don’t have your own, and, in some cases, pay for parking. All told, you might have to dip into your savings account in a serious way to get out and ski with your family this winter.
The good news, though, is that there are steps you can take to spend less on skiing. Here are some tactics to employ.
If you’re looking to ski as a family, going during the week probably isn’t feasible unless you want to be that parent who pulls their kids out of school at random. But if you’re a solo skier with a flexible job, you may want to hit the slopes during the week and then make up the work on a weekend if that option is available to you.
Not only might you spend less on a lift ticket, but you may find that your go-to mountain is a lot less crowded on a weekday.
A family of four might spend $1,341 for a single day of skiing in Vail, Colorado, or $1,167 in Killington, Vermont, according to lifestyle publisher Outside. Given that these are popular ski destinations, that’s not so shocking.
But your family may not need a popular ski resort if you’re mostly beginners or even moderate skiers. So before you bust your budget on a well-known mountain, see what it costs to ski at a nearby resort most people haven’t heard of.
The cost of lodging can make skiing even more expensive. Before you shell out the money for hotel stays, do some research to see if any mountains are drivable in a day.
For the most part, though, that probably means limiting yourself to 90 minutes of driving each way or less. Skiing can take a lot out of you, and you’re not going to want to face a three-hour drive home in the dark when you’ve spent the entire day on the slopes.
The cost of renting gear can add to your credit card tab when you go skiing. If you expect to ski a lot this season or in general, consider purchasing gear to avoid having to pay a rental fee every time.
That said, new gear can be expensive, so you may want to buy yours secondhand. Sites like Facebook Marketplace could be a good source, and your local ski shop may even have some secondhand inventory it can sell you.
At Mountain Creek, a ski resort in New Jersey, an all-access season pass costs around $499. A daily ticket, on the other hand, costs $119.99. If you think you’ll ski four or more times this season, the pass makes financial sense in this example.
That said, if you’re going to buy a season pass, make sure to choose a mountain in relatively close proximity. It may be feasible to hit the slopes on multiple weekends when you’re talking about a mountain that’s 90 minutes away or less. But are you really going to make it over to a mountain that’s a five-hour drive numerous times? That’s questionable.
Even in a best-case scenario, you’re looking at spending a significant amount of money to go skiing this winter. But if you follow these tips, you may be able to lower your costs and enjoy some time on the slopes.
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Love Costco? Read on for ways to eke out more savings during your regular shopping.
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Many people shop at Costco regularly and use their memberships to load their fridges and pantries with food and supplies. If you have a Costco membership, there are probably a number of items you buy consistently, whether it’s toilet paper, soap, milk, or eggs. But you should know that a few savvy moves on your part could help you save money on the things you buy all the time. Here’s how to eke out savings on your typical Costco haul.
Costco.com may be a convenient alternative to visiting your local Costco store, especially if you’re someone with little patience for crowds. But Costco’s prices are almost always less expensive when you buy your groceries and household essentials in person. So rather than fill an online shopping cart, fill a physical one.
If crowds are an issue for you, aim to visit Costco at off-peak times. That usually means doing your shopping during the week instead of on weekends.
Costco’s regular inventory goes on sale at different intervals. The next time you get your monthly Costco deal book, read through it. Then, hit the store and stock up on items you use all the time that have staying power. If your favorite brand of paper towels is available for $5 off the usual price and you usually go through several rolls a week, buy two mega-packs instead of one if you have a place to store them.
Kirkland is Costco’s signature brand, and you’ll find it on everything from clothing to baked goods. You may be inclined to stick to the brands you know and love when it comes to things like food, household cleaners, and laundry detergent. But buying the Kirkland version will often mean spending less.
Case in point: Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean Free & Clear HE Liquid Laundry Detergent costs $19.99 online for 194 fluid ounces, or $0.14 per ounce. Right now, Costco.com has Tide Ultra Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent on sale for $5 off of its usual price. Even so, it’s $24.99 for 170 fluid ounces, or $0.17 per ounce.
An Executive membership at Costco costs $120 a year, versus $60 for a basic membership. But an Executive membership also gives you 2% cash back on your purchases. If you shop at Costco very often, you may find that the higher-priced membership results in more savings on your purchases because you’re getting money back each time you go.
As an example, let’s say you spend $100 a week at Costco on staple items. With an Executive membership, you’re getting $2 back each trip, or $104 back in total for the year. The upgrade to the Executive membership only costs $60, so you’re gaining $44 in this example.
The cost of a given Costco item can change from one week to the next. It’s a good idea to keep tabs on prices, because Costco will give you a price adjustment if something you’ve purchased goes on sale within 30 days. All you need to do is visit customer service and ask. And for online orders, you can request a price adjustment online.
Saving more money at Costco could work wonders for your personal finances. Employ these tips so you’re able to load up on the things you need while spending less money in the process.
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Traditionally, home sellers had to consider what they’d pay an agent helping someone buy their home. Read on to learn how that could change.
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If you’re selling a house in the United States, you’re most likely going to want your property listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS is the most widely used database of for-sale homes. Real estate agents use it, and so do basically all of the online websites that you can think of where you’d go to search for houses you want to buy.
The National Association of Realtors has rules for listing a property on the MLS. Only an agent can do it, so if you aren’t working with a real estate agent to help you sell, you’ll need to use a flat-fee MLS service to list your home for you. And when you list your property, you’re required to offer a reasonable and fair commission to a buyer’s agent and specify what that commission is.
Many sellers have basically felt forced to offer a 2.5% to 3.0% commission to a buyer’s agent, since that’s the industry standard and sellers may be afraid that agents would deter buyers from coming to see their property if they don’t. This helps to explain why the average commission paid to a buyer’s agent by home sellers was 2.63% last year.
Soon, however, this could be changing — and selling a home could potentially get a lot cheaper.
Under the rules set by the National Association of Realtors, buyers and sellers agents usually split a commission of about 5% to 6%. Paying these costs is usually the price of entry for home sellers, or the cost you’d have to pay to get onto the MLS.
This means most people who are getting a mortgage and buying a house hire an agent. It doesn’t seem to cost them anything on the surface, since the seller is the one paying the bill. In reality, of course, sellers price properties knowing they will pay a commission to a buyer’s agent. But buyers often don’t think about the fact their agent’s services come at this high cost when they are buying a home.
READ MORE: The Ascent’s Complete Guide to Mortgages
Still, many sellers believe the NAR have artificially inflated the commission prices buyer’s agents get since there’s really no chance for a seller to meaningfully negotiate this cost with someone else’s agent. And a group of home sellers recently brought a class action case against the National Association of Realtors alleging that this was unlawful, anti-competitive behavior.
The court in Missouri hearing the case agreed with the sellers, and NAR was ordered to pay $1.8 billion in damages. Similar cases are likely to follow. While NAR is appealing the verdict, if it stands, it is entirely possible sellers will no longer need to pay any commission to the buyer’s agent as a condition of listing their home.
MLS databases are actually run by local organizations, and while some have already changed their policies to allow for $0 commissions to be listed for buyer’s agents, others haven’t yet done so. So, whether you can immediately benefit from this change depends on your local housing market.
If you’re hoping to end up with more money in your checking account after a home sale by way of paying less commission, you may want to wait a bit (if your selling timeline is flexible) so you can see how things shake out. If you’re selling a $500,000 home and you can end up saving the 3% commission you’d pay to a buyer’s agent, you could end up with $15,000 extra in your pocket. So the delay might be well worth it.
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Money is money, right? Not necessarily. Learn why tapping your retirement savings early can cost you in a few ways.
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Figuring out how to allocate your money toward different goals is something a lot of people struggle with, and if you’re fortunate enough to have been able to save and invest money for retirement, you might assume it’s okay to use it for other purposes if you need to.
Clever Real Estate amassed personal finance data for 2023, and found that 26% of Americans surveyed admitted to dipping into their retirement savings last year. It’s their money, and using it for purposes other than retirement may have saved them from taking on costly debt, so what’s the harm? The impact could be huge, actually.
If you have a 401(k) plan through your employer or a retirement account you opened on your own (like a traditional IRA), the money in the account belongs to you, and it might be tempting to withdraw money if you run into a financial snag. Unfortunately, if you do, you’ll face some unpleasant consequences.
First, your early withdrawals from a tax-advantaged account (meaning, you fund it with pre-tax dollars) are subject to taxes and penalties. The IRS notes that unless you qualify for an exception (such as by being totally and permanently disabled), you’ll have to pay income tax on the money you withdraw — and there’s likely to be a 10% penalty on top of that.
But the biggest impact of an early retirement plan withdrawal is the loss of compound interest growth (when your invested money earns more money). The money you save and invest for retirement could possibly earn a 10% average annual return over time (this is in line with the stock market’s performance over the last 50 years), and by pulling out some of that money early, you’re stunting its growth potential. Of course, past performance does not guarantee future returns.
Consider this: A $10,000 withdrawal from your IRA in 2024 might just equal $10,000 now. But if you left that money invested in the account and earned even just an 8% return over the next 30 years, it could grow to be worth more than $100,000. Clearly, it’s best to leave your invested cash alone. But how can you deal with expenses that your normal budget won’t cover if you don’t want to withdraw from a retirement account?
If you’re struggling to cover surprise expenses beyond your everyday bills, you’re in good company — according to SecureSave, 63% of workers couldn’t handle a $500 emergency expense out of their savings. For many people who have retirement savings, dipping into that money is a way to avoid taking on debt for an unplanned bill. The best way forward is to work on saving an emergency fund, but your current salary may not support this endeavor.
Ultimately, the most effective way to improve your financial circumstances and give yourself more wiggle room to cover life’s little (and big) emergencies is to increase your income. I spent years in a career with low earning potential, and it wasn’t until I changed careers and then became a full-time freelancer that I managed to break out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle (and I have never had retirement savings of any kind to tap).
This move is likely a bit drastic for most people (what can I say, I have a long history of jumping into things with both feet), but it’s not your only option to increase your income. Maybe you can talk your way into a raise at your current job, or add a casual side hustle (such as driving for a ride-hailing service a few nights a week). Any extra money you can bring in won’t already be earmarked for bills, and you can stick it into a high-yield savings account for a rainy day.
Consider reducing your regular expenses, too — and not necessarily by giving up all your fun spending. You’re likely overpaying for some aspect of your regular life. You could shop around for a new internet service provider, cellphone plan, or insurance coverage. It takes a little time to do the legwork, but you really could shave significant money off your bills — my colleague Dana George saved $1,646 in 2023 by switching insurers.
Your retirement savings are for your retirement — and it’s a lot harder to cope with a lack of money at a stage of life where it’s apt to be a lot more difficult to increase your income by working. Do your future self a favor and try to leave your 401(k) or IRA balance alone to grow for your golden years.
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