Reducing Economic Vulnerability
Keywords
financial preparation, decision making, future plans
Abstract
Financial shocks may be in your forecast. Decisions now will determine how well you weather future storms.
I have two friends, whom I’ll call Bill and Bob. Both live in the same city, are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are in their early 60s, and have five children. Bob spent most of his career as a midlevel administrator for a regional health care system, earning $60,000 per year. After Bob’s last child entered school, his wife began working part time at a neighborhood school, earning $12,000 per year.
Bill has a tenured faculty position at a university, earning $100,000 per year, which he has supplemented for years with some consulting arrangements paying about $25,000 per year. Both Bill’s and Bob’s employers provided excellent benefit packages and both men contributed to a retirement savings plan.
A couple of years ago, each experienced an economic crisis. Bob lost his job in a round of downsizing and Bill’s longtime consulting business ended. Who was better off?
Original Publication Citation
Godfrey, P. C. (2004). Reducing economic vulnerability. Marriott Alumni Magazine, Summer, pp. 16-20.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Godfrey, Paul C., "Reducing Economic Vulnerability" (2004). Faculty Publications. 9816.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/9816
Document Type
Other
Publication Date
2004
Publisher
Marriott Alumni Magazine
Language
English
College
Marriott School of Business
Department
Marketing
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