As scary as it might seem as a possibility, it's not the end of the world. I was crushed both times I was laid off, but I landed on my feet rather quickly in each instance. And both times I ended up finding better jobs than the ones I lost. If you're good at what you do, there will always be an opportunity waiting for you. You'll be fine.
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"Saved money for a few years and had to use 95% of it on a down payment for a house. We spent thousands right off the bat in necessary repairs, further depleting our savings, which are now basically nothing."
Wow! And you work at a financial services company? We clearly need to offer better common sense money management training to employees.
Want through the lay off process too about 15 years ago. Not fun after spending and devoting your life with a company. Took me 2 years to find a job and had to take a 40% pay cut!!!!! Since it's different times after covid not sure how it will work out for those these days. But I wish you good luck because it was a very stressful time for me.
Late post - I've been through a layoff with big blue (I*M). They provided an "opportunity" to reapply for the same exact job, which most of my team did for 20% to 40% lower pay. Yes, really, we were doing the same job at the same location with no change in laptops or logins and just had new email and HR stuff from new employer. Anyway, to land on my feet took YEARS of preparation. I don't have a short term solution for this layoff, sorry. I can share how I planned in case of a layoff. My personal situation was:
- I was in my home for 20 years at layoff time
- NOT able to buy the same home at that time (20 years after purchase)
- Home was not paid off
- No auto or other debt, just home (bugged me driving 10 yr old cars, still does current car is 15 years old and it shows)
- For "savings", I sent extra money to utility companies for electric, water, natural gas, internet. I know interest rate is $0 for using utilities to "save" money but I sure couldn't get that money back going to an ATM or bank.
Again this took YEARS to establish, but when I was laid off making 40% less (yes 40% for exact same job) I had little stress my utilities and internet would be shut off BUT a lot of stress for long term goals. We mostly focused on making house payment and 2 years later was making a little more than before the layoff.
A layoff is stress for most anyone. Hang in there and when we all get to the other side of the layoff, focus on how to reduce financial stress for the next one. If it never happens, great. Hang in there and be strong, something I remind myself of daily.
OP, I think your post was well-intended, and I'm happy that you were able to bounce back on your feet, but it does come across as insensitive. People are entering into a job market that is very tumultuous right now. People aren't getting interviews, and the salary offers are extremely low, and jobs offers are being rescinded. Getting laid off su-ks, but it's agonizing to be laid off in this current market. Some people don't have a year of savings in their saving account. Most people are the breadwinners of their families. Most people live paycheck to paycheck. Most people are single, and don't have a spouse who can pick up the financial responsibility if you lose your job. The inspiring and positivity posts are well-meaning, but they aren't realistic. It's okay to be absolutely terrified, losing sleep, and scared because your income and livelihood are at stake. It's important that's acknowledged.
@qli+1p82a7AZ
I sure did. Put down $400K down, for a 15 year conforming loan, and house will be paid off in about 5 years. I still had $100K left, which is invested, and as an emergency fund when needed. On top of that I have $900K in my 401K. You can always do a hardship withdrawal with penalty. Never put all your eggs in one basket. You never know what the future holds. And never buy more house than you can afford.
@zuj+1p82a7AZ I’m in a very similar boat. Saved money for a few years and had to use 95% of it on a down payment for a house. We spent thousands right off the bat in necessary repairs, further depleting our savings, which are now basically nothing.
A month after all this, layoffs were announced. I’ve been worried about losing my house ever since, which is my worst nightmare because my family lost mine growing up due to foreclosure (traumatic experience to say the least). I make pretty decent money, but it’s really not enough and hasn’t kept up with inflation/higher cost of living.
I have 5 years of experience and am excellent at my job, but I can’t even get a call back for an interview after 100+ applications. People with high income and a lot of savings just don’t understand how bad this could be for those less fortunate. Not everyone has a a bunch of money in the bank
@kha+1p82a7AZ who can "afford" to make a down payment on a home without it significantly impacting their savings? Who can "afford" massive repair bills on house damage caused by something that should have lasted much longer? Who can afford to maintain a reasonable lifestyle when inflation over the last 3 years is like 20% and annual raises are what, 3% if we are lucky? How about property tax randomly jumping $400 per month? We aren't all late career executives that have squirreled millions of dollars away for a rainy day.
Well live beyond your means and look at what can happen. Stop spending more than you can afford.
If you choose to live beyond your means I suppose you might be worried about a layoff.
My concern isn’t so much losing THIS job, or finding another eventually. But we bought a house last year, had some unexpected repairs, and with inflation haven’t been able to rebuild savings to where we were. It will be very uncomfortable to lose one of our incomes and that’s the part that scares me.