This is directed at the people who started their careers since 2012. For many of you, you only know the good times. The idea of being stuck in the right seat at a regional making less than $50,000 for 10 years is unimaginable to you. That was my reality.
Now I'm at Delta and facing a potential furlough. For some of my peers, this is the first setback in their career and they are woefully unprepared. They are panicking and are worried about how they will support their family. I started my 121 career in 2009, and up until 2016 it pretty much sucked. The silver lining is that it prepared me for a furlough. I'm in a fortunate position to actually looking at a potential furlough as more of a sabbatical. I plan to do some epic bike and camping trips. The only reason I was prepared was because I was mentored by captains who experienced the 9/11 downturn.
Here is what I did to get to a "furlough tolerant" position:
1. Don't plan on making anything more than min guarantee at an FO wage. I don't care if your current upgrade at your airline is 18 months, plan on making FO pay only. Even after you upgrade, only budget for FO pay. They can always downgrade you and the last thing you want is a mortgage you can't afford on FO pay. I made the mistake of buying a new car based on making 100 hours a month. 3 months later, the airline made every line 76 hours. Luckily, I was able to sell the car and only lost $1,800. Fast forward to Delta, and I'm able to upgrade in less than a year. I went from $80,000 a year to $240,000! Again, I was tempted to that my rule and increase my budget. Luckily, I didn't because 6 months later, Delta decided they had too many MD-88 captains. If I had bought the house we were looking at, I'd be screwed.
2. Don't have your spouse quit their job. Major airline pay is a life changer. When you factor in childcare, it can be very tempting for your spouse to quit since child care may count for 50% or more of their earnings anyway. Don't do it! If you are in a situation where you may experience a pay cut (downgrade or furlough) the means the economy is in a downturn anyway. If your spouse has been out of the workforce for a year or more, it will be nearly impossible for them to get a similar job again. A spouse making $50,000 a year when you are at a major may seem pointless, but if you are furloughed, that job will be a lifesaver.
3. Have 6-12 months of savings. If you find yourself half way up a major airline seniority list you probably don't need it all, so feel free to buy that boat, but until that point, don't do it. Everyone who found out I upgraded in less than a year asked what I did with the money. When I tell them nothing, they looked at my like I was crazy. My wife and I only have 1 car. We thought about getting a second when I upgraded, but we found out it was cheaper to use Uber to get to the airport. Factor in the time saved by not going to the employee lot, and Uber is way better than a second car. For the few occasions we do need 2 cars, we just rent.
This advice might seem extreme. My wife disagreed a lot about my finical philosophy since all of our friends were buying houses and we weren't. Lots of my coworkers also thought I was crazy for only having one car and no toys. But now I'm facing a furlough, yet I plan on building a new bike to go camping with, we have my wife's gym membership paid for for the next 24 months, and we will be able to take 2 vacations during the furlough.