Enter black swan, stage left
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Not Pretty, Not Rich, a newsletter designed to help you level the playing field. If you were forwarded this email and would like to subscribe, you can do so here.
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This week: The black swan just flapped on in
The coronavirus outbreak is a unique event — a “black swan” event, actually. And it’s going to cause a lot of problems going forward. Everyone will be affected, even if you don’t get sick. So anticipate that we’ll likely slip into a recession (hopefully a brief one), and that there will be many layoffs and furloughs.
Get Pretty: Quarantined? Put that time to use
I’ve been sent home from work for at least the rest of the month, and millions of others are likely to follow suit. I’m fortunate that I can do my job remotely, because that wasn’t always the case. So, if not having a commute or your workplace shutting down is leaving you with some extra time on your hands, use it.
Revamp your resume, apply for a new job, or develop an exercise routine you can do from home. This is all stuff that’s probably on your to-do list anyway, so if you’re stuck at home, you may as well knock it out. It never hurts to declutter, clean your bathroom, and find things around the house that you can donate — a lot of people are going to need help in the coming months.
And stay the hell away from everybody, seriously.
The takeaway: If you have extra time because of our current situation, put it to good use.
Get Rich: Save your money
You’ve heard it from everyone, and I’m going to reiterate: This is why you need to have savings. I remember not too long ago when all I had was a few hundred bucks in cash, stuffed in an envelope and hidden in my closet. It was tipped saved up from working as a valet, and it wasn’t much. But it was something.
And times like this are when reality unfolds — if you can’t go to work or end up getting laid off because of what’s going on, and have no savings? You’re in trouble. So if you haven’t, start saving money now. Do some extra odd jobs, deliver some food, or otherwise find ways to make a few extra bucks. And save it.
The takeaway: Get on that emergency savings fund, stat.
One other thing: Another newsletter worth checking out
My friend and former colleague Lance Lambert is now publishing a premium newsletter over at Fortune. It’s data-driven, informative, and pretty damn interesting, so you should check it out.
What I’ve been writing about:
John Bennett said I should share this video I did about recession preparation, and he’s one guy that I always listen to, so here you go!
Interest rates are at zero again.
Even Republican Senators are starting to talk about basic income, so here’s the big old primer I wrote on the topic last year.
If you want to check those articles out and share them, I’d appreciate it.
That’s all for now. Arrivederci.
Sam
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