Laid off workers rent summer home.

[Scanner]

I know we have all shared these kind of stories before but I must admit I found this one kind of amazing.

I am currently living in a mobile home near the beach so I take my toddler to the park yesterday right off the beach. Of course, the vacationers are down now becuase it's in season.

I get to talking to a husband and wife who are both laid off and on unemployment.

THey both tell me that since they are laid off and had nothing to do that they rented a summer home for 1/2 of the summer ($8000 but split it 3 ways between 2 other relatives so around $2700).

I must admit I found that mindset kind of amazing. No regular source of income, nothing reliable in the future (they are both electricians) and yet they are renting a summer home and enduring the commensurate entertainment costs associated with that (eating out, beach and boardwalk).

I don't know. . .I kinda get it. When you arent' working, you are bored, I guess so you spend more. I have been guilty of that on a smaller scale when I am slow. But I think I would be putting myself out there to at least do some "piddley" work for people (install switches, add an outlet) for a little chump change at least, instead of just waiting for work to come your way.

But then again, I have spoken to this before here. . .the "employed" mindset vs. the "self-employed" mindset that I just can't identify with. . .I guess they are waiting for Obama to "create jobs" or something and they'll just enjoy the time off in the meantime.

And of course, when Obama can't create jobs, everyone will blame him.

Anyway, not so much a criticism of these people but just noting a stark contrast in lifestyle and beleifs and how self-employed people approach the world differently.

[disneysteve]

In February 2000, I quit my job kind of suddenly. It had been coming for a while as I wasn't happy there but I didn't know I was going to quit pretty much until the day before I did it. I did not have another job lined up.

About a week after I quit, I came downstairs one morning and asked my wife if she'd like to go to Disney World. That was on a Tuesday. Saturday morning, we loaded up the van and headed to Florida. I think we stayed for 10 days. Had a great time, very relaxed with not a care in the world.

About 3 weeks later, we went to Vegas for a week for me to attend a conference that I was already registered for. That trip was planned long before I left my job. Again, we had a great time.

I took full advantage of the time off and pretty much treated it as a mini-retirement, doing things that I enjoyed doing and didn't usually have the time to do. I spent next to no time actively looking for work but eventually, I got a call from a doctor who was looking to hire a new associate and had gotten my name from a sales rep. I ended up going to work for him and that ended my early retirement.

If I had to do it all again, I'd do the exact same thing. The great thing about living below our means and having well-funded savings accounts is that we had the flexibility to do that rather than having to sit home and watch every penny we spent because I had no money coming in.

[Scanner]

Yes, I could be assuming too much - 2 "30ish" people with a 2 year old and a baby.

But who knows. . .they could have $50,000 in an EF stuffed away.

[am_vanquish]

The great thing about living below our means and having well-funded savings accounts is that we had the flexibility to do that rather than having to sit home and watch every penny we spent because I had no money coming in.

I suspect that you're the exception to the rule rather than the standard in this regard. As Scanner said, there's no way to tell for sure if the couple had a nice EF. If so, they're also in the minority.

I'd be willing to bet most people are closer to my Brother-In-Law than DS. After he lost his job at the beginning of 2008, he immediately purchased a home theater system (the works: huge tv, surround sound, video game consoles, all the best HD cables, accessories, etc). His philosophy was that (1) He deserved it for working so hard up until that point and (2) if he was going to spend so much time at home, he might as well enjoy himself there.

[disneysteve]

Yes, I could be assuming too much - 2 "30ish" people with a 2 year old and a baby.

But who knows. . .they could have $50,000 in an EF stuffed away.

At the time, we were two 30ish people with a 4-year old. I don't recall what was in our EF at the time, but it was more than enough to cover the 3 months I was out of work, 10 days in Florida and a week in Vegas.

Are we the exceptions? Absolutely. But I'm sure we aren't the only exceptions out there. I have no idea if this couple is or isn't. Just thought I'd throw in a somewhat similar story.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I've been similarly puzzled any number of times in my life. I know that lingering from my childhood/teen years is a heavy cynicism about future financial prospects. You would think I suffered through the Great Depression, but I did not. So it takes very little threat to tip me into super-conservatism with regards to money. In a way, I have envied people for their optimism about money things just working out, yet I have also usually thought something like, "You just don't know --yet-- how bad things can be."

A dear friend once was on her last $2 with no tangible prospects for employment. She needed food. She bought a bag of Oreos. I told her I would have bought a 2 bags of beans. She answered that, "You can always get more money." Hmmm, I guess that had been her life experience, but not mine. I was 21 and she was 24. I realized that she still knew her parents would bail her out of anything truly serious, while mine would be unable. Plus, she was a very social person with all kinds of friends who'd invite her for lunch, give her a semester-long house sitting job while they left the country on sabbatical, connect her with jobs, etc. Yeah, she might have been the type to spend her last $2700 on beach house rental with friends. And for her, it would probably have worked out, in part because of that social capital being eventually translatable to a job or other means of support. For me, no, such was not so likely to work out. However, I have tried all my life to be a little more like her, both in deliberately cultivating optimism and in building personal relationships.

[jIM_Ohio]

Life is short... a friend of mine died about 2 weeks ago at the age of 40. He lived a very full life and after attending 3 funerals the last 2 years for people age 50 or under, I can tell you the best time to take a vacation is when you want to.

That being said, I changed my plans last weekend to drive up to Michigan for the Memorial
Then I changed my plans this weekend to drive back up to Michigan for a vacation with old friends (wife and kids are staying home).
If someone called and offered me a vacation next week too, I would sign me up for that as well.

[disneysteve]

she was a very social person with all kinds of friends who'd invite her for lunch, give her a semester-long house sitting job while they left the country on sabbatical, connect her with jobs, etc. Yeah, she might have been the type to spend her last $2700 on beach house rental with friends. And for her, it would probably have worked out, in part because of that social capital being eventually translatable to a job or other means of support.

Very interesting point. As I said, when I was out of work, I truly made very little effort to find another job. I made a really half-hearted effort and mailed out some resumes to some area practices because I figured I should do something. But what ultimately got me my current job was the type of connections you describe here. One of the sales reps who used to call on my practice knew that I had left and gave my name to another doctor he called on. That doctor called me (we did not know each other) and offered me a job. That all happened without my knowledge or any input from me. I was too busy enjoying my freedom to waste time looking for work.

[parafly]

My wife and I both quit our jobs last summer and moved to Colorado. Instead of pinching pennies, we decided to make the most of our time off by doing some extensive hiking and skiing. While hiking was very cost effective and cheap, we spent quite a bit of money on ski equipment and season passes.

Of course, we had a substantial EF and could easily afford our adventures while being unemployed. I assume we are in the vast minority, but we are not the only people with the ability to live in the moment while being unemployed.

In case anyone is interested, I was able to find a new job after 3 months and my wife found a job after 6 months. I don't regret any of our decisions one bit.

[PrincessPerky]

While we are not spending money willy nilly, we certainly are enjoying the time off. I have a husband home all the time! We can go wherever we want, do whatever we want and the only time constraints are ones we make up!

Who wouldn't enjoy that?

BUT, we are not spending much money for that freedom, pack a lunch for a day at the park, zoo, museum, or wherever. Trips remain to places we can camp or stay with family.

Being unemployed doesn't have to mean sitting around doing nothing, that is a personal choice (and trust me my husband would like a little more of it!)

[mdcrim]

Life is short... a friend of mine died about 2 weeks ago at the age of 40. He lived a very full life and after attending 3 funerals the last 2 years for people age 50 or under, I can tell you the best time to take a vacation is when you want to.

That being said, I changed my plans last weekend to drive up to Michigan for the Memorial
Then I changed my plans this weekend to drive back up to Michigan for a vacation with old friends (wife and kids are staying home).
If someone called and offered me a vacation next week too, I would sign me up for that as well.

Sorry for your loss(es). I agree with you on this point (when my husband was 36 he was diagnosed, within 6 months, with a pituitary tumor and an unrelated cerebral spinal fluid leak). THAT put lots of things into perspective. He's doing great now but you never, ever know what tomorrow will bring.

When I was right out of college, living at home and jumping back and forth between dead end jobs, I took 3 months and went to Australia and New Zealand to travel. I spent about $1000 per month when I was there, which was less than what I would have spent if I had stayed home...

I think the main thing is to find a balance, the present with the future. We do a LOT of things for the present, some of which may help us in the future, some may not. But you need to be able to enjoy your life, to an extent.

[Scanner]

Yeah, I know what you all are saying but something bugs me about the fact these people are collecting unemployment (which yes, I know they and their employer pay into so it's there for that reason) but are out enjoying a beach home in a very nice, upscale beach town using that social benefit.

All this while Congress continues to vote to extend unemployment benefits, courtesy of China. So, it's not just like the employer and the employee are funding it - the taxpayor and China are co-funding it.

I am not Nutjob Conservative by any means, I happened to think we needed healthcare reform. .nor am I a Bleeding Heart Pinko Tree Hugger as evidenced by this thread. . .but the whole thing smacks of something extremely dysfunctional about the way matters are run in our country.

I predict Greek Austerity Measures in the US within 5 years and China will be playing Germany's role with us.

President Obama had better practice his bowing. We are all going to need it.

[disneysteve]

the whole thing smacks of something extremely dysfunctional about the way matters are run in our country.

With this I agree 100%. We as a nation definitely have our priorities screwed up. As for unemployment specifically, I know many people who use every penny of their available benefits before going back to work so continuing to extend benefits does absolutely nothing to help get people back to work. It actually delays getting people back to work.

[Scanner]

I'm all for unemployment. . .hell, we've all been there - but they should be directed into jobs in an FDR manner - our whole energy conduit infrastructure needs upgrading, along with basic infrastructure - hell. . .have them paint a bridge or some other conservation matter.

There's got to be something they can do and not peeve off the unions.

They keep extending unemployment and extending and extending. . .I don't know. . .maybe I don't know how to game the system enough.

You know. . .every summer I have hours at the hospital bugging out of me. I am working about 30 hours/week on top of my normal practice. . .that's the nature of the business - in the winter I slow a lot.

Someone told me I could collect "underemployment" during those times. . .in other words, if I average 20 hours/week with a job. . .and then in the winter I am working 10 hours/week, I could collect a %age of those 10 hours that I am deficient in. Just learn to fill out the forms I guess.

After all, they take out SUI out of my check.

I suppose for years as a self-employed person I have taken it up the rectal orrafice, I should capitalize off of this social benefit if I can. Do I "need it?" No, I have always survived without it but as I go thru divorce I can see it's all about "entitlements" - who's entitled to this. . .who's entitled to that. . .I have learned a bit how to think like that.

[disneysteve]

I'm with you, Scanner. I don't believe in collecting benefits or entitlements and gaming the system just because I can. When I was out of work, I got by on savings and ebay sales. I didn't apply for unemployment. I didn't need it.