Prediction

Location: The corner of Union and Lancaster

Description: It's a foggy night and Lancaster street stretches on with street lights on either side. There are walkways in the foreground, green traffic lights in the mid-ground, and fog gradually obscuring the background.

Story: "So anyway, I was talking to my wife the other day and it doesn't look like our finances are that great. She lost her job recently and I don't feel too secure in this one, which is only added more stress."

"Why don't you feel secure here? You've been doing your job, everyone gets along with you, and your last three performance evaluations have all been great."

Tim nodded. "Yeah but, it's just a job now, you know? I don't have any real ties to this company, and no one is offering me anything. I've been here for three years now without a promotion, but I'm afraid that if I ask for one, I'll get turned down or perhaps even fired."

"Whoa there, I don't think that's going to happen." Sam refilled his paper cup from the water cooler. "Have you ever heard of the minimax principle?"

"Yeah, I've heard of it, but that's it."

"Well minimax is all about finding the worst case scenario, that's the max part, and minimizing its likelihood, hence the mini part. In your case you want to minimize losing your job, and ultimately your house."

"Ok, but how?" Tim shifted his weight to the water cooler, and refilled his cup. "I just don't know that I can get a raise safely."

Sam took a long drink. "Build a resume."

Tim shook his head. "No, I want to stay here with people like you, not go somewhere else."

"Building a resume isn't about getting a different job, but being able to present you skills and remember them. I update my resume on a yearly basis just in case, and it helps me remember all the big things I've done. Plus, I look at other jobs to know what skills I need to work on. Even if I never get fired from this job, I have a much better chance of getting a raise."

"That makes sense now. And even if I do get fired, I'm ready to jump into a new job as I'll have a resume and a good idea of how to market myself." Tim took a quick sip. "Ok, but how do I deal with my finances? Even if I get a raise, we have a child on the way and Paula doesn't have a job. I know employers aren't supposed to discriminate based on her pregnancy, but it's still going to play a part."

Sam nodded. "I wish you had asked before your wife got downsized, but the advice is the same. You don't know exactly what's going to happen in the future, spare the broad strokes. You know roughly when your child will be born, when they'll start school, when they'll go to university, etc. but you don't know exactly how much more a child will cost at each of those stages. You know how much you make today, but you don't know how much you'll make in a year and even less so in a decade.

"Your best move is to do what you can for right now and set the framework for the future. See what you can do about spending less, saving more, and preparing a resume. Look into loan rates, how you can improve your credit score, etc. Even if you don't know what tomorrow will bring, you know the general twists and turns. Maybe it won't rain today, but it's good to have an umbrella around."