If years of pandemic have taught us anything, especially flight attendants, it is that you cannot rely solely on one source of income all the time. As you might have experienced yourself, massive layoffs have happened throughout 2020-21 in the aviation industry and no one expected that to happen. Many flight attendants were put on furlough or worse, laid off and forced to seek for other means to sustain their life.
This is why managing your finances is very important. We all know that the earlier you learn about financial literacy, the greater the chance you will get successful financing in the future. A good financing prepares you for all kinds of circumstances like getting old or sick. However, it is the most reliable particularly when you are facing uncertainties. So, where do we start?
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Emergency Fund
Emergency fund or savings is a sum of money you have set aside specifically for unexpected situations. This could be a fender bender, an unexpected medical bill, or even a damaged cell phone. Now matter how small or big the “emergency” is, the point is to not disrupt your other savings or cash flow because of this. After all, sometimes the biggest financial hits come in the worst time possible.
The rule of thumb to saving your emergency fund is this; have a cash reserve for emergencies with the amount of your monthly income multiplied by six. Although there isn’t actually any rule of how much you must save, the amount of your half year income should suffice for any kind of emergency. For example, if you are a flight attendant who suddenly gets laid off, you can use this fund to live while searching for other options of income.
Budgeting
Now that you have set the goal to complete your emergency fund, or any other savings, you need to seriously budget your expenses. This might be particularly hard for flight attendants since they travel a lot. Perhaps it makes it easier to buy things such as trinkets or foods. Worse, if those things happen to be something you already want for a long time.
As a matter of fact, there is nothing wrong with buying things you want. However, you want to budget it so it doesn’t go overboard. This is why budgeting is important. For every total of your monthly income, set aside at least 30% of that to your savings, but the more the better.
Investing
Having only one source of income is not recommended by many financial advisors. The obvious reason behind it is because once you were laid off, then there’s nothing reliable to sustain your life. Here is where investing plays a great part, especially for flight attendants who have rigorous work hours that make it hard for them to have side-hustle (although not impossible).
Wrapping up, learning how to do your personal finance might take more time than you expected. This is because half of it requires resilience and self-restraint on your own part. You might have read all the financial literature available out there but if you don’t have the will to do it then they are all to no avail. So, buckle up and toughen yourself because nothing like overcoming the worst part of ourselves!
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