Gather Little by Little

Last week, MoneyNing posed a question to his readers: Should I be a work at home Mom? Of course the first thing that came to my mind was the iconic 1980’s movie, Mr. Mom. Personally, I would love to be a stay at home “mom” and in some ways, Mrs. Stew is more suited to work outside the home . . . she likes being around people. As for me? Let’s just say that a cabin on the top of a mountain in Alaska sounds like a dream come true most of the time. But his article caused me to reflect on the past six months in our family. Many of you will remember that our family wrestled through the issue if a stay-at-home parent v more income last summer. You can read about our decision here and here. Currently, Mrs. Stew stays home with our children. She home schools our two older girls and also provides in-home daycare to several other children from other families.

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I changed jobs a couple of years ago. For the most part, I am happy with the change. The new job is better for my family and I like our new location better. However, it has become clear to me that “Corporation B” is not as good at strategic planning and cost benefit analysis among other things as “Corporation A”. I am a little nervous about how this will affect my job in the long term, and I thought I would share one small example of this kind of thinking.

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Author: Mike.

Times are rough these days; if you have managed to keep your job so far, your neighbor, your friend or a family member probably lost their’s. You work pretty hard each and every day, no doubt you look at your budget periodically to make sure you are still on track. You navigate through a pleuthera of frugal ideas to help save a few bucks and ask God to watch over your family and possesions in hopes to avoid bad luck. You don’t really have any other choices yet this lifestyle can be stressful and tiring. Then, someone you know, a good friend, gives you a call and his voice appears as a ray of light over your head; he has found a solution, an easy way to make more money!

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At the beginning of the month, the most recent unemployment statistic was published. The USA reached double digits while Canada was close behind with 8.8% (as of June). The scariest aspect about these statistics is to think that once you stop receiving unemployment support payments; you don’t count as “unemployed” anymore. Therefore, the unemployment rate might be 10% in the States, but it is even higher in the “real world”. People stop receiving unemployment support but not necessarily because they have gotten a job.

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My first post here on Gather Little by Little started out as an advice article for readers. It turned out that several comments in the thread that followed contained some good questions and even more good advice. In my previous article on staying employed during a recession I listed the following suggestions for people who might be worried about holding on to their job:

• Go the extra mile
• Make sure they know your name
• Distinguish yourself from fellow employees
• Take initiative, but be a team player
• Understand the mission

Earlier this year, the organization where I work was forced to lay off ten percent of our full time workforce. I survived this particular round of layoffs, but  I knew that I would have to make a conscious effort to make sure that I stay employed. I am not necessarily scared of unemployment, I trust that God will find a way to meet our needs. In fact, there is actually a part of me that looks forward to seeing what might unfold under such a scenario, but this does not mean that I am going to volunteer for unemployment. I plan to be thankful for and content in the job I have. I hope to be a good steward of what has been entrusted to me.

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I’ve been working from home now off and on for a few months. It started with 1-2 days at home, then 3 and within a few weeks I’ll be working from home full-time. Personally I love it, but it’s different in more ways than I anticipated. Working from home also isn’t for everyone. I’ve found it to be highly productive for me, but it does require a great deal of discipline. Here are just a few tips I have for those that are either already working from home or might be considering it:

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When I was eleven years old, I was exposed to my first computer. I loved working on it, entering complex instructions and seeing the computer do what I had told it to do. I drove my Dad nuts until he finally gave in and bought me one of my own. I cannot even imagine how many hours I spent programming that computer, but I would suspect it just might be one of the best investments my father ever made.

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I’m often asked what I do for living. My answer? “I’m an IT manager and internet entrepreneur.” IT manager doesn’t sound too exciting, but internet entrepreneur always grabs people’s attention. I used to answer the question with “blogger” instead of internet entrepreneur, but people really don’t understand what “blogger” means and my internet activities have expanded beyond just blogging. I now run a few different blogs and currently have 3 different online stores.

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This is a guest post from Todd who blogs over at HarvestingDollars. Todd writes on personal finance topics including behavioral finance, retirement planning, goal achievement, frugal living, and wealth building strategies. If you like what you read please subscribe to HarvestingDollars.

Clearly careers differ greatly from one person to another, as do each of our career goals. Although I’m still relatively young (33), I’ve been blessed with a wide variety of work experiences, including:

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• working low-level jobs like fast food, tutoring, and entry-level construction jobs
• driving a dump truck
• working as a high-end technology consultant