How to Prepare for Being Laid Off
May 19, 2010
Being laid off often comes as a nasty surprise; many times its something you didn’t expect and in some cases something you didn’t plan for.
Losing your job is quite a traumatic experience, not only is it financially chanllenging since your income is suddenly reduced, it’s also emotionally taxing as well. My wife found out yesterday that her whole department was being laid off due to budget cuts so she’s experiencing the roller coaster of unemployment first hand.
In her case it wasn’t unexpected, she had been hearing talk of it for a while now, but it still wasn’t any easier getting the news. Of course, it’s always somewhat easier if you’ve prepared financially for losing your job. Over the last few years I’ve covered the topic of getting your finances ready for a layoff a few times and thought I’d consolidate them all here.
- Liz Weston shares her tips for what to do if you lost your job.
- I share a previous scare I had about losing my job and our emergency fund.
- Here’s a list of things you can do to get your finances in order for being laid off.
- A few suggestions about coping with the fear of being laid off.
- Here are some job tips for being laid off and how to find your next job.
It’s interesting how being laid off gives you a different perspective on your job. When you have a job it’s easy to complain about all the things about your work you don’t like. However, as soon you lose your job, or even are threatened with losing it, suddenly you feel much more appreciative of being able to go in every day and get that steady paycheck.
Hopefully some of the suggestions above will help you prepare for being laid off to get you ready in case you ever find yourself in that situation.


All posts by Ben Edwards
One of my biggest methods for being prepared for a layoff is to always have a solid self employed model. Given the economy today, people are being laid off left and right, some left to fend completely for themselves.
If I had to indenture myself to drudgery for a while and ended up getting laid off a year or two down the road, I’d do some commodities trade on the street. The legal, real-asset commodities! I don’t mean the bad stuff. Hah! You know, like gold, silver, and base metals. Great way to stave off unemployment while turning a profit.
One should always think what would you do if you lost your job. I have been their a few times and life gets hard.