How to financially prepare for an impending tech or marketing layoff?
Impending layoffs in volatile fields like tech and content marketing leave professionals worrying themselves sick about whether their retirement savings will be enough. Anticipating a drop in income and a pivot to a less lucrative career makes it difficult to know how to adjust current financial planning.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Adjusting the budget to the expected lower income level ahead of time
- 2Building up a large emergency fund
- 3Reducing expenses as much as possible
- 4saving as much as possible in tax-advantaged accounts and emergency savings
- 5building a skill on the side to earn extra money
- 6starting a business utilizing current promotional skills
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“So without getting into details, my SO (42) and I (44) only have about ~160k saved for retirement.”source ↗
“I just don’t think it will be enough, especially because of my profession (content marketing) where layoffs are frequent.”source ↗
“I honestly worry myself sick about job loss and savings.”source ↗
“I’m (35M) looking for suggestions on any changes to my current financial planning given that my job in tech is likely to disappear in the next couple of years, and I’ll probably be pivoting to something less lucrative at least in the short term.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5When should I prioritize cash savings over retirement contributions?
- 4How to handle emergencies with no savings and bad credit
- 8How to balance saving for retirement and enjoying your 20s
- 4How to manage your money after starting your first job
- 6How to handle a house and mortgage before getting married
- 3Why am I so stressed about money after buying a house?