How to deal with Paltry Hikes and Bonuses

The gloomy economic conditions prevalent in the West and most parts of the world call for some specific strategies from professionals who need to deal with them. To start with, it is a fact that working professionals have not seen salary hikes and bonuses for the last few years. Even in cases where they have been given, they are paltry and do not amount to the quantum sums that were the case earlier. This means that professionals need to budget for reduced hikes and bonuses and at the same time take into account inflation when they calculate their expenditure.

In other words, professionals are being hit by a double whammy of little or no hikes and bonuses and rising prices and cost of living. This means that while their inflow of money is constant or decreasing, the outflow is increasing because of inflation.

Indeed, the situation is dire for many in the West who previously held jobs but are now on unemployment benefits or dole and this means that not only they have to worry about finding a job, they also have to worry about what happens when the unemployment benefits expire.

There is No Alternative to your Present Job

The other aspect of the gloomy economic conditions and its impact on professionals is that finding alternative jobs or changing jobs has become more difficult.

In other words, professionals have to ensure that they take into account the fact that finding another job might be next to impossible and hence, they have to perform and outperform in their current jobs no matter how much they dislike their present jobs.

Next, because of the gloomy economic conditions, being heavily in debt has become common. It needs to be pointed out that excessive debt is one of the reasons for the present crisis and therefore, a sensible strategy for working professionals would be to not take on more debt and payback the existing debt.

As any financial expert would tell you, more debt is not the answer to the existing debt and hence, this must be your guiding principle when contemplating buying anything of value.

Third, if you have a mortgage, it is better to calculate the advantages and disadvantages of holding on it by performing a cost benefit analysis and then acting accordingly as to whether you must conserve your savings for the future or must pay back the existing mortgage.

Graduates Entering Careers

Turning to the aspect of what to do if you are a student about to graduate from a business school or an engineering college, the clear implication for fresh graduates is that the rising costs of student education means that most graduates need to payback the student loans. Therefore, instead of spending your salary or your savings on buying homes, cars, or other high value items, you must instead focus on repaying the student loans as far as possible.

Many Generation Yers in the West are living with their parents to save on the costs of renting separate homes and paying for living expenses. This is indeed a wise strategy as you can get your feet back on the ground and find your bearings by saving on some essentials by the time you settle down in your jobs.

For working professionals with families, it is better to acquire new skills and find an alternative job in addition to the existing job so that one can make some side income. Of course, this is only possible when your day job employer lets you work part time in another job.

Further, it would be better if you put aside some money for retirement and your children’s education needs right from now so that you have some comfort or cushion to fall back on if you are out of a job.

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