How a woman went to the brink of poverty... and what she did about it...
 

Here's an interesting real-life story I came across... You might find it inspiring...

One woman went to the brink of poverty. She lost her job, and got another one - then lost that one. She was living on the meagrest of earnings, trying to make ends meet...

You can read her story here...

Now... read the next installment - of how she got out of it!

You can read the followup here...

I don't want to give it away... But I'm sure you'll probably find it inspirational!

Best wishes,

Dien

A lesson from that story...
 

Please only read on if you've already read the articles I linked to in my last post...

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One thing the lady did (as mentioned in the followup article) is to start a business - while she was also working a part-time job. I often think this approach could be more "secure" than getting a job alone...

Actually, she's working two businesses - a pet-sitting business and getting some freelance writing work too - in addition to her part-time job...

Now, I'm not saying that everyone should start a pet-sitting business or become freelance writers! But it shows that - you can get yourself out of a "tough spot" - especially if you know a little bit about business...

I see business knowhow has an increasingly necessary "survival skill" in the world today. People's jobs have just become less and less secure as the years and decades go by... If you're in a job, the reality for most jobs is - you could be let go at any time. Having a "backup business" - even a part-time one - could make a big difference...

Anyway, that's my take on it! :)

Best wishes,

Dien

Re: A lesson from that story...
 

Thanks Dien.

Could have done with a few more details...

A few good lessons from her:

1. Not spending her 401K and thinking about her future.

2. Having an emergency fund. (Having a 6 month cushion is recommended.)

3. Not hesitating to work on jobs that didn't pay as much. There are quite a few people who act snobbish when it comes to jobs. They won't mind staying un-employed for 6 months - but they will never take a job that pays less than their old one...

4. Being a home owner. Ownership makes you rich.

5. Controling her expenses.

6. Finding more ways to make money.

One more thing she should do:

Use Leverage. Without leveraging no one can grow insanely rich - so rich that they don't have to ever work again if they don't want to.

And she is a writer... she of all people should know the power of leverage. How she can write once and get paid again and again...

Great points, Ankesh...
 

Thanks Ankesh for "fleshing it out"...

I agree with you wholeheartedly - she made a lot of mistakes! But I guess that's part of the process...

I guess if she had been a regular reader here (or of your blog!), she could have avoided some of these mistakes!

Cheers :)

Dien