MT1 | Layoffs Are Coming. Are You Ready?

Millions of people have lost their jobs over the past few months. It’s happening all over the world and across all industries. Even the cool tech companies – Uber, Airbnb, TripAdvisor – all of them have made or announced major layoffs and retrenchments in the recent past.

It’s pretty clear that the recession is already here. And it would be foolish to think that you or I would be protected somehow, that somehow we are immune to it. Unfortunately, we’re not. Layoffs are around the corner, even at your workplace. The real question is – are you prepared for it?

In this episode, we cover five ways in which you can secure yourself financially and make your way through the worst of it. As you can imagine, it’s hard to make good decisions in a state of panic. So being prepared is the best way we can take care of ourselves and those who depend on us.

Discussion Topics: Layoffs Are Coming. Are You Ready?

• Arrange for emergency cash
• Get your own health insurance
• Get a home insurance
• Consider having a backup credit card, for emergencies only
• Start proactively hunting for a job
• Consider a side hustle as a way to make a bit of extra cash

Transcript: Layoffs Are Coming. Are You Ready?

Hi, everyone, welcome to another episode of MoneyTok, where we help make personal finance and investing simple and accessible through both my own experience. I’ve been doing this for about 20 years now. This show is about money and wealth creation. And we talk about so many ways of making money, bought retirement planning about stocks, bonds, gold, real estate, crypto, so many kinds of things.

Ensure ready access to enough cash to pay for bills and basic needs for 3-6 months. In fact, at least a month’s worth should be with you at home in some safe location, so you have it ready at hand in case you can’t withdraw cash easily for any reason.

Visit the CrazyTok Resources page to access a simple calculator to help you decide how much that should be. To protect your privacy, the template itself is not editable. You need to make a copy of the sheet before you can edit it.

Healthcare costs are pretty high in many countries and we are all extremely reliant on our employer’s insurance. So you need to ensure you are covered in case you lose your job and need to handle a medical emergency, especially given the Covid pandemic that is currently ravaging the world.

If you are generally young and healthy, you’ll likely get a pretty low premium as well, much lower than if you took it closer to your retirement when you have all kinds of chronic ailments. So there is no reason not to do this right away.

In normal times, home insurance would help protect you against catastrophes like earthquakes and floods. But the recession also breeds desperation, so home insurance will also ensure you are covered in case of theft and burglary, sometimes even if an insured object is stolen outside your home. You also might get the surprising benefit of a payout in case you lose documents such as your degree certs, passports, ID, etc.

If you already have a number of cards, or just can’t control your spending, this may not be a good idea. But if you can keep one away for emergencies, it might not be a bad idea.

Get the basics in place. Update your resume and LinkedIn. Network and look up your friends and connections. Search for interesting jobs at companies you always wanted to join, and just start applying and interviewing. You can always decide to decline the offer, but having one will give you peace of mind and maybe even the impetus to get yourself that dream job!

Though companies are laying off people, they still need to get a lot of their work done. So I expect most of them will start turning to contractors and freelancers and you could benefit by offering your skills and working on short projects via sites like Upwork. Alternately, you could explore side hustles like selling goods on Etsy or Amazon. Finally, there is always the option to drive or deliver food on popular apps like Uber, Lyft, Ola, Grab, etc.