Planning and preparing for lean times

Layoffs are a fact of life these days. It is rare that you will work for your company for the next 30 to 40 years. And even though we all know this to be true, we still do not prepare or have a plan for when the unfortunate event happens. Sometimes I hear Christians make a simple statement like, “Well, I’ll just put it in God’s hands.” While I do admire the person’s faith, I also see this person has no plan. God wants us to have faith but he also gave us the ability to plan and prepare for lean times in the future. If you don’t think so, just look at the wise ant in the Book of Proverbs:

Layoffs are a fact of life these days. It is rare that you will work for your company for the next 30 to 40 years. And even though we all know this to be true, we still do not prepare or have a plan for when the unfortunate event happens. Sometimes I hear Christians make a simple statement like, “Well, I’ll just put it in God’s hands.” While I do admire the person’s faith, I also see this person has no plan. God wants us to have faith but he also gave us the ability to plan and prepare for lean times in the future. If you don’t think so, just look at the wise ant in the Book of Proverbs:

Consider the Ant

In Proverbs 6:6-8 (KJV) Solomon says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

The common response to layoff preparation is, “Well, I’ll just go draw unemployment.” That’s not a plan. Did you know that unemployment compensation is about the minimum wage which is not a living wage in America? Drawing unemployment compensation is an individual choice. I personally prefer not to and having been laid off twice have yet to run to the unemployment office. The problem with unemployment compensation is that it goes against the Biblical truth of “If a man does not work he should not eat” and it places an enormous burden on our social systems.

1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV) says, But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Options: Think outside the box

The best way to prepare for a layoff is create other sources of income that you can fall back on when you lose your job. For example, many computer programmers are losing their jobs in America to companies in India. What should a computer programmer do? Well, the computer programmer can work just like the person from India and be an independent outsourcer of computer programming services too. The American programmer may have to reduce prices in order to compete with offshore programmers but over time prices can be raised as customer demand and satisfaction increases.

That’s just one idea. People have been known to start handyman services for when things break around the house or something needs maintenance. It doesn’t take much to start out as a sole proprietor. It just takes finding out what you are good at and then going for it.