Comments on: Ten Recession-Busting Money Tips for Young Professionals

By: Shaky Ground

Shaky Ground — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:27:51 +0000

Velvet. I agree that nobody is indispensible. But if you spend your time making your boss’ life easier (doing his TPS reports, handling his customers’ problems, Etc.), and a co-worker doesn’t, who do you think the boss is going to let go first?

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:32:23 +0000

@5. Network with people in your industry: Network outside your industry too. That is where the best opportunities within your “industry” lie.

@MissMartha: I used to hit garage sales in nice neighborhoods, not only could I find suits for cheap, when I explained I was a college student (or recent grad), they would usually knock some off the price.

@velvet jones: You are right on! Also, “indispensable” translates into “can not be promoted or moved.”

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:38:30 +0000

Great tips Jim. I see with a lot of people at my work spending their money on some of the stupidest things. They have bought brand new expensive cars, go to bars and restaurants all the time and spend tons of money each time they go. Many of their expenses are just stupid and they will not recoup any of the money they are spending on these items.

By: thomas

thomas — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:52:16 +0000

Good list. I really like #7. Definitely have some items that can and probably should be cut down. In the past year I’ve dropped my cell minutes, looked into insurance, decreased my Netflix subscription, and stopped getting “extras” at the grocery store.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:21:43 +0000

Great points Jim – my company is not currently laying anyone off, however, we were just purchased by a major pharma company and there will undoboutedly be massive layoffs due to duplication of roles between the two companies. Even in that regard, I think I’m pretty safe, but in the meantime, my wife and I have started cutting back and have started to bump up our emergency fund. We were also looking into buying a new TV and a “new” car for my wife, but we’re going to put all of that on hold for the time being…

By: velvet jones

velvet jones — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:18:46 +0000

The only thing I disagree with is the “make yourself indispensible” bit. Impossible. Everyone. EVERYONE is replaceable (didn’t you hear that Beyonce song? I kid!). While there are things you can do to make their decision more difficult (like everything you mentioned), however I believe there is nothing out there that can’t be done by someone else, and for less money. Another thing to consider: Just because you’re the only one who can do something, and it may be seen as valuable, you can still get laid off. If you work for a large firm, there is no one person that makes the firing decision. If the CEO, their leadership team, and the board of directors decide to go in a completely different direction, they can say that having that one guy that knows that one thing is no longer needed.

Hedge your bets, sure. However no one is untouchable.

By: MissMartha

MissMartha — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:10:14 +0000

As a young professional I loved to see how much I could save each month. I made it a game to see how many days that I could eat on less than $3, or find cheap ways to entertain myself. Its hard when you come out of college and haven’t had any money for 4 years to suddenly have a few extra dollars. Be careful not to let them burn a hole in your pocket.

The biggest waste of my money was buying new work clothes. I didn’t have any “business casual” or “business” clothes when I graduated. I had lots of jeans and sweaters but nothing that I could wear to the office (minus my interview suit). I would recommend only buying a few staples and then work for a month to see what everyone else wears. You may find that all those sweaters that you own go great with a nice pair of dress pants and you only have to purchase a few pairs of pants. This will save you $$ on all the “outfits” that you may have wanted to purchase!

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:05:12 +0000

Standard tips