Do this one thing now before the scary 2024 recession steals your job

Jan 15, 2024

More and more, I’m running into articles like this one about massive lineups at job fairs for low-paying retail jobs.

It reminds me of perhaps my most re-watched movie of all time, The Big Short.

In that tale of the 2008 financial meltdown, there are these two numbskulls who are meant to embody all that was wrong with the predatory mortgage lending market of the time.

Once arrogant and flush with cash, the movie’s final montage shows them at a crowded job fair lining up for a potential position at IKEA or something.

Now it’s no secret that people are already struggling to make ends meet.

Crazy high inflation has taken a huge bite out of family budgets and high interest rates are making things even worse.

I strongly believe we’re headed into a recession in 2024, too, which means the potential for monster job losses if everything goes sideways.

Most people are either blind to the risk or cheerfully dismissive of it.

“Ho ho ho, they’ve been telling us there’s going to be a recession for 18 months already,” they’ll derisively laugh.

What they don’t consider is the canary in the coal mine that is commercial real estate, eroding economic conditions noted in more than a few stock market earnings calls lately, layoffs at major tech companies, cost-prohibitive borrowing rates, and what I think will be the tipping point: a raft of mortgage renewals at sky-high interest rates.

Now let’s say for a moment that I’m right and the comedy boys are wrong.

What’s your plan if the economy crashes again?

Do you have one?

A sad woman who has just lost her job. — Do you have a plan if a recession takes your job in 2024? (Licensed under the Unsplash+ License)

The only road to freedom

If I got canned tomorrow, I’d be fine.

Would I go through a tough adjustment period?

Sure!

I’d definitely be taking a pay cut, which wouldn’t be fun.

But I also have an escape hatch that I’ve been working on for the past 15 months or so.

That escape hatch — my content side business — now delivers a consistent $50 per day now.

Currently, I’m working on a project to see if I can retire from commuter life within a year (you can see my day-by-day progress below) by publishing every day on several platforms and investing my money in passive income instruments.

I’ve calculated that I need an average of $250 per day to do so.

But even though I’m still a ways away from that goal, my business already provides a cushion should economic catastrophe strike.

First, it’s an insurance plan.

Second, it provides me with one of the most priceless gifts of all: options.

I could keep doing what I do now — work a day job, build on the side, and keep pumping up my investment portfolio with my side hustle earnings.
Or I could write and make YouTube videos, fill my other hours driving for Doordash, and be just fine.
Or I could quit and go pedal down on content with the cushion that my side business already provides.

The point is, if I lost my job in a massive economic downturn tomorrow, I wouldn’t be in panic mode.

I’d be in planning mode.

Get to work

So I hope you’ve figured out by now what I’m getting at.

Costs are skyrocketing, the economy is slowing, and fast interest rate hike cycles are known to cause market crashes.

So start building a side business.

Now.

Not tomorrow, not a week from now … NOW!

Too many people are already living on the razor’s edge financially, with only their employer protecting them for oblivion.

Let me tell you something: your employer doesn’t care about you.

You can read all the flowery messages from HR about how valued you are, but at the end of the day, you’re simply a number.

You’re a staffing decision.

So start taking control of your own life today.

It doesn’t need to be writing or a YouTube channel like me.

But it should be something.

If the 2024 recession takes your job, you’ll be happy you got started now.

Publish Every Day project update: Day 64

I’m experimenting to see if I can make enough money to leave commuter life behind within a year by publishing every day on different platforms and investing my earnings into passive income vehicles.

How much I need to retire: $250 CAD per day

What I earned on Day 64: $36.78 (writing) + $1.58 (YouTube) = $38.36 total

Publish Every Day project total earnings: Day 64

Publish Every Day project earnings by day: Day 64

What I’ve published over the last couple of days:

This post about the 1 silly myth preventing you from making huge money writing online
This YouTube video:

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James Julian's Publish Every Day

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