High Agency Human

Somewhere along the way, North Americans got really good at two things: not saving for a rainy day and thinking that there should be no rainy days.

We’ve created an illusion that is bigger than we can afford. The illusion that every adult should own more house than they need, that eating out and fancy lattes are a daily occurrence, and that kids need to be in the best, most expensive programs. Smart phones and new cars for everyone, Botox, massages, and home gyms. What used to be indulgences or extras have now become essentials. There is nothing wrong with any of this unless it’s costing you your health, wealth potential, and peace of mind. Then something is definitely off.

We’re going to flip the living-up-to-an-illusion script and start by building a financial buffer. Because you can do and have all the things I mentioned above—after you solidify the foundation of having an emergency fund and are debt-free and on track to afford retirement.

There are multiple ways to succeed at building this buffer. You either focus on earning more, saving more, or both. Do it in small annual sprints if that helps, or choose a month and focus on increasing this buffer. Think about the skills, interests, and experiences you have and can leverage. Between skills, stuff, and connections, you already have what you need.

When my healthy six-figure corporate contract was unexpectedly cut in 2023, I was a homeowner with 80k in commercial debt, no emergency savings, and, suddenly, no earnings.

The first thing I needed to do was buy myself some time to make longer-term moves, so I signed up to dog-sit for the month, making an average of $600–$800 per week. I was at home figuring out what to do next, so it made sense to earn extra money while doing so. That was an easy $3,000 per month to add to my financial buffer and made me wonder why I wasn’t doing something like it once a year or so just to get ahead for a rainy day.

While dog-sitting, I sold household items that I rarely used or were no longer in use, including an extra couch, workout equipment, home decor, and tools. This brought in another $2,600. I sent clothes to the consignment shop and made $325 more. Then I used existing skills to create a website for a friend at the ridiculously low price of six hundred dollars. That brought me to a grand total of $6,525 for the month.

The narrative you tell yourself and others makes or breaks this experience, and I refused to feel embarrassed about boosting my finances by any means necessary. The reality is, these were smart, responsible moves that bought me much-needed time and space to make bigger decisions.

Some ways to save extra money include committing to eating homemade meals during the week, canceling subscriptions and memberships, renegotiating bills, shopping around for better insurance rates, challenging yourself to a no-spend month, carpooling to work or events, switching to no-fee banking and credit cards, trading skills with neighbors and friends, and having your social gatherings at home or outdoors in nature. I ended up saving another four hundred dollars a month by simply canceling and pausing subscriptions and memberships.

During this time, following experts on social media and listening to their podcasts helped me increase my financial literacy and maintain motivation.

Next up was checking organizations and associations I was a member of for available discounts and rates. For you, these might include university alumni associations, trade unions, workplace unions, veterans’ groups, community groups, etc. I cut my car and home insurance in half by simply asking if there was a group policy available for categories that might apply to me (e.g., veterans, nurses, or entrepreneurs). This gained me another $630 in savings.

Speaking of insurance, double-check that your policies still fit your lifestyle and goals. After twenty-plus years, I’ve canceled my life insurance. I’m not saying this is the right move for everyone or that I’ll never have life insurance again, but it is the right move for me at this moment since I have no dependents. Instead, I picked up disability insurance and am considering critical illness insurance. You must decide what’s best for you. If you have dependents, you might want life insurance. If you’re an employee, you may not need disability insurance.

It’s worth noting that insurance isn’t always the solution you hope it’ll be. Major events like the 2024 California wildfires can overwhelm insurance companies and potentially result in underpaid or delayed claims. If all your capital is tied up in your home and related physical assets, it can be hard to survive in the short term as you recover from the loss. Instead, consider speaking to a financial expert, creating a robust long-term plan, and diversifying your assets.

The month I lost my six-figure job, I earned a total of $6,525 and saved $1,030. I should have used my time in a high-paying job to create a financial buffer, and I could have done all these things earlier to accomplish that, but quickly reacting in this way was the second-best-case scenario. The world is chaotic at the best of times; create and diversify your financial buffer so that when the next hurdle comes, you have options and the ability to weather it.