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Don't know if this is the right thread for this, but I've recently been laid off, and am looking for areas of expenditure in which to make relatively painless cuts and methods of doing so. Using Magnetic North's budget for an example, $245/month for gas seems crazily expensive to me (I generally spend about $80), but $35/month for a phone plan seems crazily cheap (again, I spend about $80), especially if one's pulling in $65k/year and probably isn't using an old flip phone. I don't know if the differences are regional, or based on need (perhaps Magnetic North is the world's highest-paid-yet-completely-unreachable Uber driver?), but if region plays a significant factor, I'm in Los Angeles. And if I really oughta be posting this in another thread, could someone give me a heads-up?
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May 12, 2018 14:49
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PhantomOfTheCopier posted:So then, first step is to file for unemployment as soon as possible. Done. $450/week will ostensibly be coming in for the next 6 months. quote:figure out how long you have with current emergency savings before you're in big(ger) trouble. That's where I'm lucky: I could coast for several years without changing my lifestyle at all. But if making a few changes now means that I could do whatever coasting is necessary without having to live off cat food when I'm in my dotage, I'm willing to do Old Man Budgie that favor. quote:Next start in on the resume; I'm guessing you have nothing lined up nor any job conversations from the last three months since you didn't mention them. True. I've been at the same place for the last 16 years, and I haven't been looking. But here's a little wrinkle: I've been going to college part time for the last couple of years in order to finish my bachelor's degree. Up until now, the main purpose of my return to school was to keep my brain from atrophying. I'm majoring in screenwriting, so it's not an especially marketable degree (even in the industry, where scholastic achievement matters much less than connections, dependability, and -- a distant third -- talent). But most places demand that applicants at least have a BA, so... I'm thinking about going back to school full time. The way I see it: PROS: * Will allow me to shave a year off my estimated graduation date. * Will have time to attend seminars, workshops, film/screenwriting festivals, and other network-y gatherings. * Will have time to build a body of work to shop around town. * Enables me to take for-credit internships at production companies and/or studios. (Again, networking.) * Enables me to participate in other students' film projects. (Yet again, networking. The industry is notoriously about who you know, and helping Johnny Auteur make the short film that got his foot in the door could result in his willingness to pass along one of my scripts once he gets inside.) * Most scholarships are only available to full-time students, and my grades are well over the 3.0 minimum most of them require. CONS: * Money goes out, money does not come in -- at least not until tax time. * Not sure how taking a two-year break to get my degree will look to prospective employers, should my preferred career not pan out. Someone in another thread remarked that it's easier to get a job when you still have a job... but I was ousted within an hour of being informed that my services would no longer be required. quote:Also start using coupons again. Good point. Is there anywhere online I should look, or is coupon-clipping still mostly in the hard copy realm? quote:Depending on your expected length of unemployment, some here will suggest you start your own thread. This may be necessary if there are particularly extenuating circumstances or you otherwise intend to be unemployed forever. Not forever, but the prospect of focusing on school definitely has its appeal.
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May 12, 2018 19:09
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