Link: http://whistlecorps.com/blog/

The unemployment thing bores me. I’ve had enough. Besides, after seven months kvetching about the shocking lack of free will in the free market (“Hey, you’re a great worker, but, you know, gotta keep the shareholders happy, blah-blah-blah …”), I’m ready to reclassify us:

Unemployed; Liberated

(Thanks to www.encore.org, that most excellent source of inspiration, for punctuating our transition from corporate rejects to independent individuals.)

Since we lost the salary and false security of traditional employment, we’ve found new ways to cut our expenses and live better on less – living better on less?

What would you do if only you could? What if you can?

Here are some strategies that worked for us:

HSA Account
If the prospect of living without health insurance keeps you tethered to a career you’d rather cut loose, then consider a high-deductible HSA insurance plan partnered with an HSA account.

You get (1) gigantic monthly savings on premiums (we pay less than $200 p/month for a family of three), (2) tax deductible contributions and (3) tax deferred growth. And, you can fund your HSA account with a one-time rollover from your IRA.

In the next plan year following the rollover, any contributions you make are 100% tax deductible. Earnings on the account are tax-deferred, just like an IRA. Take the money out whenever you need it for qualified expenses: co-pays, glasses, dental work, ibuprofen PM (a girl’s best friend), whatever. The list is long, and there is no “use it or lose it” clause.

Insurance Checkup
I’ve been with a certain gecko-loving insurance company for almost 20 years. Accident free, household disaster free – generally, I’m a model of zero liability. Apparently, “cash cow” is not enough status to earn one the best rates or most appropriate policies possible.

Enter Steve Purdy, Innovative Insurance Solutions (www.innovativeinsure.com).

We did his new Web site back in September, 2009. In the course of editing several emphatic customer testimonials, I became convinced that Steve might offer some guidance during this new and volatile financial period of our lives.

Steve looked at our whole financial picture (including our insistence on keeping our daughter in private school), reviewed our insurance policies and helped us formulate a strategy to protect us through this salary-less time and cut our expenses by more than $1000 a month.

Call Steve (434.979.7588), he’s a terrific guy, or find someone just like him in your area. There were no out-of-pocket expenses and the savings make a difference.

By the way, the lizard never called to ask why I cancelled my policies. Talk about your 20-year, one-way relationships ...

Bank Change
I found out in October that we (as county residents) are eligible to join the local credit union. Better rates, lower fees, better service and we’re out of the big bank system.

Sure, it’s a nightmare to disentangle from old bank accounts, but the payoff is grand: an enduring, empowering sense of independence that changes our relationship with our money. Plus, it’s cheaper.

www.moveyourmoney.info – I’m sure you’ve heard of it, now go and check it out.

These three simple changes freed us from having to replace the old telecom job with its doppelganger: high-salary, high-risk, lots of hours and low-reward. We’re now free to develop our small business on our own terms.

Maybe you can do the same? Or free yourself to find greater fulfillment and even security in a lower-wage position? Or go back to school and become the teacher or nurse you always wanted to be?

The fences around your field of possibilities, you may find, have vanished.