Saving While Job Hunting

Vince Tran
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read

Growing up, in school, out of school, and randomly I was told to follow my dreams. Followings one dream is not the easiest especially if you do not know what the dream is. I finished school and did what any young person would do in my situation, couch surf and go home.

While I was sitting back and enjoying the scenery of not having any kind of schedule I obviously had to live! My style of living was hanging out with friends, going out to eat occasionally, and binge watch a few TV shows. Over time my bank account started to show my ever need for employment.

I wanted to share some good methods to survive by saving. I’ve split up the section into the people that are planning and for those that had life come at them a little too fast.

Planning

If you plan to step back and take a break or continuing the search for the perfect job, then you should also plan to save. Save for living expenses, some going out money, and the occasional round trip to see your friend in Wisconsin.

Budgeting would be the best bet in planning for the long term. If you have Microsoft Excel you could use one of their many budget templates, personally I like the family budget template.

To save money you must also accumulate money, getting a job while in college and saving a percentage of the check would be the easiest way to plan. Planning to travel? I think couch surfing would be a great choice to travel and look for work. I looked into www.couchsurfing.com where you can connect with people and stay with them for free. If you plan well you could also get there for free or atleast cheap with https://www.erideshare.com. Erideshare is a carpooling site where members post where they are going and other members fill up the car.

For those big ticket items you can also use ROSCA Finance, a money pooling site with a community looking to help one another. For example, if you wanted to go on a cruise, but you could not afford to pay a lump some you find a ROSCA circle to help you pay. The Rosca circle will tell you when you will receive your lump sum while you pay in small increments.

Unplanned

Now for those who find themselves right in the job hunting process without a budget and/or no money. You are going to have to make some decisions, going home or staying with a friend.

After you decide on where you are going to sleep you are going to look at how you are going to survive. This process is similar to planning but the is reversed. Now you have to make money, a budget, and a career. Saving will be crucial the moment you understand you will be looking for work, please save!

Some apps that I use:

I think this batch of apps helped me understand my current and future expenses. Robinhood to help me save and invest my money, Chase app to know what my finances are whenever, and MOHELA for the ever coming student loans I will have to pay back.

For when you go out with friends and did not bring your wallet, venmo and the cash app help transact money and not have to pay that 3 dollar fee at a random ATM.

You may feel the urge to work or need some quick cash, Wag and Fiverr give you the opportunity to make some money and not have to work at your local fast food restaurant.

Finally, if you have something specific you want to do maybe you should see if its on groupon rather than pay full price. Now, how are you going to get around? Well Uber is a great short term way of getting around. Lastly, maybe your phone bill is too much you could save by just turning it off or getting a data plan and just using Google Voice.

Best of luck on your search for the perfect job!

Rosca: Community Banking 2.0

Rosca is building a community for short-term savings and credit that allows individuals to collaborate and resolve each others’ financial needs

Vince Tran

Written by

Rosca: Community Banking 2.0

Rosca is building a community for short-term savings and credit that allows individuals to collaborate and resolve each others’ financial needs

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