Nearly half of all renter households in the US were cost-burdened in 2023, meaning they paid more than 30% of their income towards housing costs, according to new government data.
This kind of sounds like one of those Boomer “I got a job at 18 and started saving and paid for college and bought a house” things that are no longer possible in 2024.
How do I plan for job instability? By interviewing at many places continuously. By keeping my job skills and interviewing skills sharp, while interviewing continuously. By keeping my eye on the market and my value, by interviewing continuously, and evaluating the incoming offers.
It’s not easy, but it’s pretty straightforward. I picked a job sector with lots of opportunities and upward mobility, but also tons of instability. I picked a place to live which gives me physical proximity to those opportunities. I work smart and stay agile. All of that without a college degree.
Stuff is expensive and we don’t always have everything we want, but we’re secure enough to have everything we need, with a healthy risk management plan.
I do live in a major city in the US, so I have more local opportunities than someone in a small town. But I’d argue that my decision to live near where there are job opportunities was part of my planning process.
Again, how do you plan for that? Most towns only have one or two companies per type of occupation.
Bear in mind that 78% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck so regularly moving elsewhere is not an option.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-statistics-2024/
This kind of sounds like one of those Boomer “I got a job at 18 and started saving and paid for college and bought a house” things that are no longer possible in 2024.
How do I plan for job instability? By interviewing at many places continuously. By keeping my job skills and interviewing skills sharp, while interviewing continuously. By keeping my eye on the market and my value, by interviewing continuously, and evaluating the incoming offers.
It’s not easy, but it’s pretty straightforward. I picked a job sector with lots of opportunities and upward mobility, but also tons of instability. I picked a place to live which gives me physical proximity to those opportunities. I work smart and stay agile. All of that without a college degree.
Stuff is expensive and we don’t always have everything we want, but we’re secure enough to have everything we need, with a healthy risk management plan.
I do live in a major city in the US, so I have more local opportunities than someone in a small town. But I’d argue that my decision to live near where there are job opportunities was part of my planning process.
Didn’t you start this by saying people should move out of cities and get homes where they are affordable?
Sounds like you need to make up your mind.