Look for a temporary job
– part time job
– contract work (project based work)
– a job I wouldn’t want to take forever

I prefer the active plan myself. I often try to remember that people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan . . .

I recommend cutting expenses before a problem, creating an emergency fund now, and having other ways to generate income.

The last one is important because it allows you to:

- Avoid having all your eggs in one basket
- Have stop-gap income protection
- Sideline or supplemental income
- Make a career transition
- Enjoy personal satisfaction

Once I do get out of the Marine Corps I will either go to school and get my degree and we will live of her income and the GI Bill or I will just move into the civilian sector.

That said, I do have a back-up plan. I do freelance writing outside of banking, so I think if I lost my job, I would pursue this option full-time and call in my list of clients. As a freelance writer, I can also become a union member and get reasonable healthcare for less then going it alone. There’s a union fee, of course, but I think it would still be better than trying to pay for an individual policy.

My emergency fund has about six months worth of expenses currently saved up, plus a little extra for car repairs and the like. My personal savings has about $5k. I’d shift the savings to the emergency fund, just in case, and have pretty close to a year’s worth of expenses saved up. That gives me a little breathing room while I work on building my business.

So that’s the plan. I have a plan C, too, but I keep that on the back burner. It’s there if I need it, but I’d like to exhaust other options first.

Jules: Thanks for sharing your plan. It sounds like you and your husband have a lot of unknowns, but there is nothing wrong with that. My wife and I were in a very similar situation a few years ago. The best thing you can do is have a little buffer money and remain flexible. You never know what will happen in the next few years, so being flexible will make your life much easier and more enjoyable!

Craig: being young and not having a lot of expenses can be very liberating because there isn’t much tying you down. Even though a job loss will hurt, you won’t have the plethora of bills dragging you down. It’s also very good to see you working on alternative income streams. I waited until I was 27 to start working on that and I wish I would have started sooner. I might even be doing that for a living now if I had!

Steve: I agree about the professional network. That can be a lifesaver! It’s also good to look at alternative income streams and try earning money outside your day job. Nice plan.