Saturday, January 23, 2016

Save more for a rainy day

Had a lot of uncertainty as my company was finalizing the corporate strategy over the last few months, and it was finalized a few days back.

The result? A retrenchment exercise a few days earlier. It's my first experience of seeing colleagues just disappearing from office. A call from a conference room, a chat with the line manager and HR, and off you go. Sounds cold and harsh but that's the way it is. Office appears colder and quieter in the aftermath.

Supposedly the package offered is reasonable. Not very sure, as the 'chopped' workers did not return to their desk to speak with us after the conversation with HR.

Had a couple of thoughts going through that day.

(1) Wonder how those foreigners on employment pass cope - without a job, they need to leave the country in a month's time.
(2) Grateful that I wasn't on the redundant list
(3) If i was made redundant, how long would i need to get another job in these economic climate?

Guess it was at thought (3) that it really strikes home that you really need to have a buffer of emergency cash in case an unfortunate incident happens (even though there's a redundancy package). Also, multiple source of income is crucial. We should not be overly reliant on 1 source of income, or an employer, and having adequate reserves is most important.

Ultimately, my wealth is my business. No one cares about my personal finances more than myself.

6 comments:

  1. Yes, always save for rainy days so that we will have a buffer should we lost our job one day.

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    1. Hi starlight - yes, a lesson that was brought closer to home the past few days. be financially independent!

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  2. wah i forgot you are in that company. its a blessing you came out of that unscathed

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    1. Yea, unscathed for now, but not sure how long it will be before the axe swings again.

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  3. Hi, may I enquire which industry are u in? I work in the civil service and it is still very much an iron rice bowl. I am considering resignation as I am bored, but I am concerned about the bad job situation. There is no retrenchment package for me if I leave service, but I am not too worried as I have enough to substain myself for a while. Still, it seems that companies are cutting headcount and it is tougher to find work now.

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    1. Hi An9elfire, i'm in the banking industry, which as you may be aware is very volatile.
      Changing a job/industry is always nerve-wrecking, especially if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.
      My 2 cents is that what could help is if

      (1) you are very clear about what you want to do [ie: nature of work, industry you want to be in] and you have gained the necessary qualifications you need for that work

      (2) As you mention, you can sustain yourself for a while. Have you tracked your expenses, and do you know and can forsee what kind of expenses you have? Some are lump sum 1 off expenses which may not be factored for. Do you have dependents?

      (3) Why not secure the next move before resigning? This way you do not incur as much risk as leaving service without another job.

      Hope the above helps :)

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