Employee - What do I do during recession?

Markets
- We all know that markets have slumped
- We read about job-loses in news papers
- People talk about at least 24 months of recession
- Early entrants are not getting jobs
- Companies are closing
- Sales are not picking up
- Suddenly cash has evaporated from the market
- Profitability is severely hit

I am employee
- I need to keep my job
- I need to pay EMIs
- I have a family to run
- I need to keep working to sustain myself
- I need to feel secure
- I need to save a little money for a rainy day

Basic Don’ts
- Do not take too much vacation
- Do not ask for promotion. Don’t ask for a salary increase. If you ask, you may soon not have a job. Remember, there are people available with better skills at lower salary levels.
- Do not complain
- Do not waste time gossiping
- Don’t resist a transfer
- Don’t resist travel
- Don’t resist a salary cut
- Don’t resist extra-work load
- Don’t resist extra time at office if needed
- Don’t change jobs in this market. It is too risky.

Basic Do’s
- Be punctual to office
- Ensure you pick up new skills
- Ensure you deliver as per deadlines
- Ensure that you contribute to knowledge forums etc
- Do something innovative
- Take training programs
- Organize team meeting to improve productivity
- Always be engaged & productive
- Work doubly hard and save money for your company
- Remember, your boss is always right and is the best (recession or no recession)
- Be cheerful, keep smiling, life goes on

Daily Expenses
- Take a stock of your expenses – actually write it down
- Tick “Need to have” vs. “Nice to have”
- Knock off all “Nice to have expenses” – Right Now!
- Assuming you didn’t have a job – Plan for cash to survive for 24 months. Apparently, this recession will take at least 24 months to come out of. Sit on cash!
- Other tips to cut expenses –
o Going to malls is expensive
o Good restaurants are expensive
o Impulsive shopping is expensive
o Taking flights is expensive
o Eating out daily is expensive
o Check services which you are not using but have subscribed to
o Going on vacations is expensive

The big loans
- Home Loan & EMI
- If you own one home and you are living in it and paying EMI, then see if you can partially fore-close it.
- If you have two homes and paying EMI on both –
· See if you can rent the second home – don’t bother about amount of rent. Rent to get cash flows going. Don’t feel bad that rental is not good enough. Trust me – it will soon be a great feeling to rent.
· If you have enough money, then fore-close a significant part of it. If your interest rate is less than bank FD (which I doubt), then you don’t have to fore-close.
· If you think the property will fetch a decent value, then sell it (though it is a buyer’s market)




Do I buy anything now? Do I invest?
- Investing in stock and mutual funds?
o Generate spare money every month – take a Systematic Investment plan (about 15% of your salary) – keep buying at low values for the next 24 months
- Buy an asset – buy a house/apartment/land?
o If you have cash and feel secure, this is a great time to buy. You can negotiate hard with builders/developers. Actually, you can write your own terms on the agreement.
§ First preference – Buy Land (always buy small sites, it is easier to dispose. Else farm land is a great option – big land, low cost)
§ Second preference – Buy House + Land (again buy from known developers)
§ Third preference – Buy apartment (you always wanted to buy that 3-bed/4-bed apartment from a reputed builder, but could never afford) – now is the time to ask for free. Some are being sold at ridiculous prices.

These suggestions are tough – do I live life or not?
- The new principle – “Happiness is inversely proportional to expectations/desires”. More the expectations / desires – lesser the happiness and vice versa
- Some other ways to live great life –
o Spend time with family – go for a picnic in a nearby garden
o Exercise and walk a lot, drink lots of water
o Listen to Radio, watch some TV
o Visit Libraries, read books which you purchased, but never had a chance to open them
o Go to friends place a for a dinner
o Enroll into a hobby – music, painting etc
o Do social service – start teaching, mentoring etc
o Spend more time with your children
o Join laughter forum, attend conferences and meet interesting people