Don't Just Stay Put
People always say that you need to write about what you know. I may know some stuff about computers, but I really have a lot of experience changing jobs. My grandmother once praised me for sticking with one employer for over eight years and not too long after that I decided I had been in that job quite long enough.
Never stop looking for your next job
Well, you do need to get some skills along the way. I can't say that I immediately start looking for the next job when I get the last one, but there is certainly a two-year-or-so itch that happens with great regularity. I do many things out of boredom, so I am getting exposure to more and more all the time. This exposure looks to be the secret sauce to a job hunt and needs to be capitalized often by marketing yourself yet again.
Never Dismiss a Potential Opportunity
I had turned 45 toward the end of the eight year stint at the same job. I don't know how the mid-life crisis figures into any of this, but I was debating the prospect of working that job through until retirement. I knew so little about myself that I thought that could possibly work.
I don't remember if I heard it from somewhere or if it was inspiration from God (is there much of a difference?), but I decided one day that I would take advantage of opportunities and see where that took me. It has been the most amazing ride since then, moving me about, providing me with new experiences that frankly paid me more and more in ways that I can't count.
For instance, my wife and I decided one day that we would be pretty happy if we made USD80k a year. I think we were making something less than 50k at the time. Now, I make significantly more than 80k and it amazes me that in just a handful of years, I blew past what might be called a “goal” in life.
This doesn't mean you have to say “yes” to everything - this isn't that interesting “Yes Man” Jim Carrey movie. You can say “no”, just don't say it before you give the opportunity some effort. I was trying to follow (poorly) in the path of “loyalty” to my present employer and wouldn't even give thought to doing anything else.
I think I did some research on successful people, which is strange because I really don't care much about success like most people do. Honestly, I don't care much about much at all, but my wonderful wife is a pretty standard person and income is very meaningful to her.
Quit before They Fire You
I don't think it is very healthy, but I have this idea that I am never what an employer really wants. I hear later, usually after I am gone from a job, that the boss was fine with my performance, but I never really thought so myself. I always figured I was one step from being fired.
It turns out that most people are inches from being walked out the front door with their personal items in a cardboard box and under security escorts. It may actually have nothing to do with your job performance, but the fact that you said something wrong to the wrong person or offended someone you hardly knew. These are the days when losing a job is way too easy and might have nothing to do with your actual work.
Take the pension at soon as you can
waiting is like gambling with life insurance - they hope you die before you collect!
Stockpile the pension money in things that you need and will use
this is the essence of 'food storage' concept. Money deflates over time so is a poor store of value. Creating a cache of food and supplies is far better, especially stable foods.
The word of wisdom itself says meat is best for times of famine, which are coming. Pemmican is amazing stuff. Jerky is magnificent and pretty easy to make.
Water doesn't go bad but needs filtering . Store the filters. Buy the pumps.
Invest in Yourself
Get More Knowledge and Put it to Work
Invest some money but not much
Mitsubishi Mirage
my car is cheap and not really designed to last long, like a cheap razor. Yet with some care it goes and goes because it is light.
'Saving the earth'
Electric cars are pretty bad ideas to look trendy.