Wednesday, 27 May 2009

• Why Unemployment Can Be Good For You

  If you're currently employed, it must be a great feeling. If you're unemployed, you're probably looking for a solid job to pay your bills and take care of your family.
  
  But being unemployed doesn't have to be so bad.  Billshrink.com gives us some pros and cons to being unemployed.  Here's a snippet of their post.
  
  Pros:
  
  Unemployment Benefits
  
  

  
  

  source

  If’ you’ve paid enough into it, unemployment benefits can be quite satisfactory. It’s usually enough to live on, and you don’t have to do anything to receive it. To make matters better, due to the recent Economic Stimulus, the first $2,400 in benefits is tax free. In this sense, individuals collecting unemployment can fare better than members of the workforce, and they get to wear sweat pants while doing it.
  

  Retraining/Education
  
  

  
  

  source
  

  For those that have always wanted to go back to school and pursue a different career, one of the best times to do this is during a period of unemployment. One of the main reasons why people don’t go back, is because of the need to earn money, as opposed to taking out student loans. Furthering one’s education with Uncle Sam paying for room and board is quite the arrangement.

  
  Cons:
  
  Savings
  
  

  
  

  source
  

  Even though unemployment benefits can be enough to sustain oneself when not working, they typically do not leave overage for savings. For those that remain employed, they are able to continue saving and putting money away in their retirement funds. And with employers that match contributions to a retirement fund, this can be that much more important. Additionally, for those trying to pay off debt, earning more than unemployment certainly can help.
  
  Stability
  
  

  
  

  source
  

  While the recession has caused many individuals to take a pay cut, or even a reduction of their employee benefits, there is no denying the importance of financial stability. While there are many Americans now on unemployment benefits, there are many that could not afford to live on this. For these individuals,  it would be beneficial to stay with a company that reduced pay or benefits, if they were still earning above what they’d be collecting from unemployment. Every little bit counts.

  To read the entire Billshrink post, click here. 

  Do the pros justify the cons?  If you're currently unemployed, what are you doing different to get yourself back on your feet? Have you thought about going back to school? 

  
  

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