Comments on: Why Taking a Pay Cut is a Great Idea

By: Jerry Sheehan

Jerry Sheehan — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:54:34 +0000

I’ll take the unemployment offer and enjoy my life. To me quality of life is much more important than a job that cannot pay well. Taking a pay cut doesn’t make sense and it only adds to the stress and distaste for the job. This affects your health and overall well-being. Great article but it’s not a fit for everyone.

By: Miss T

Miss T — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:08:03 +0000

This is a very good post! Good food for thought but I won’t post all my thoughts here since I’m a girl and tend to ramble… ha ha! I will post a personal blurb though…

Mr. T and I relocated last year when he retired from the military. Mr. T took a very big pay cut, but his military pension did much to fill the gap. It’s still not as much…but…we don’t regret for one second our choice to move for a job that paid less money. Mr. T is home every night and is doing a job that he truly enjoys. When he was encouraged to apply for a supervisory position it was a no-brainer – NO WAY. After 20 years of moving and being stressed to the max in the military, we knew were not going to go back to that life. Our two darling little T’s get to see their daddy every day and every night.

There’s more to life than money – yes, it’s nice to have but it’s not everything.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:08:01 +0000

Nice analysis of opportunity costs of unemployment and “under-employment”.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:50:31 +0000

I think you make some great points here. A lot of people are probably in a similar boat, thinking that they will get what they had before (or something better). In this economy, that’s just not the case. Employers can be way more picky than employees right now.

By: No Debt Plan

No Debt Plan — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:39:09 +0000

That would be something I would place under the Other Unemployment Factors to Consider.

But I would also question — how many people do you know personally that if they lost their job today would be “fine” after several months of unemployment?

By: ty

ty — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:33:08 +0000

What about the pleasure Joe gets out not working for a time? Maybe he has worked nonstop for 30 years and looks at his job search time as a time to enjoy life, and get paid for it (via unemployment)? Joe could have a sizable bank account, and does not need to “recover” the pay differential. For Joe, it might not be best to take the first job offered to him.

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:20:51 +0000

Kevin,
great article, I remember thinking through this the same way as you described when I knew I was getting laid off. My conclusion was that I had to get work ASAP, even if it didn’t pay as well…

By: gurgle

gurgle — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:20:23 +0000

Thanks for the post. I think it’s basically, more than ever, about weighing up the options and taking the best one for you. It might be that a break is what you want, or it might be that you need the money, even at a lower rate. Consideration is key.