Ask Lemmy

I'm in that exact situation right now thought I have more savings than that.

I'm approaching job search differently in the way that I'm not in-fact looking for job. I'm taking my time to decompress, gather my thoughts and plan what I'm going to do in the future. I think I'm going to try entrepreneurship and set up my own company and start doing handyman stuff instead of just plumbing what I've been doing to this point. I'm not overly excited about the idea of going back to work for a company. I got to check this door first atleast.

$10k, no change, I would still be panicking.

$100k I would be more relaxed, pay off everything except the house to lower monthly cost and try to find something perfect, that provided enough to live on.

$1M, I would retire, probably, or work part time, not worry about making enough to live on.

$10M, I would absolutely start a business, profit sharing co-op.

$100M, I would set up an endowment for charity for those in my city and probably sell my house and just travel.

That would stress me the fuck out to only have $10k to live off of until I got another job. If I already had a job I’d just keep it until I found a new one. And it looks better if you have a job when you’re looking for a new one. What kind of employer wants to hire someone who doesn’t have good enough sense to stay out of that kind of situation? They’d have to wonder what could have happened to make you leave one job without having another one lined up. From their perspective how would they know if the problem was the other people or if it was you? And when there are other candidates to choose from, why would they choose the one that might bring a lot of drama?

Having adequate savings and/or additional income absolutely changes the job hunting game. This is one of the big reasons they having a 6-month emergency fund of necessary expenses is critical for financial health. It reduces the needs to make decisions that sacrifice long term benefit for short term survival. Like for many here, $10k is not that number for my household. We need much more in savings for a family of 4 with disabilities.

But let's talk about how it changes the job hunt. The big answer is that you do not need to take any given offer. You can hold out for the right offer. For my wife, that meant passing up higher-paying contract roles and roles with less-than-ideal management and work life balance situations. When she found the right job, the heading she was working with was very clear, "This is the type of company where the pay will not look as great as some at first. Look at the benefits. Look at the employee reviews. This is the last job I am ever going to find for you."

Having a safety net let us hold off until my wife found the right job. It was not about "knowing your worth" where you then ask for too much. It was about finding the best match. That ideal match has been very good for my family for many years now.