The list of tech industry layoffs continues to grow.
It sucks and it’s scary, but if you’ve prepared correctly, it won’t throw you off course.
#1 MAKE SURE YOUR EMERGENCY FUND IS INTACT
It should be a minimum of 6 months of living expenses. The higher up your role, the harder it will be to find the next gig. If that’s you, then consider doing 12 months instead.
We like an Ally Bank high-yield savings account for this.
#2 OPEN A HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT (HELOC)
A HELOC is a revolving credit line with your home equity as collateral. A lot of banks don’t charge fees to open one and it can serve as a backstop to your Emergency Fund.
Our mortgage guy told us that Telco Credit Union and Golden1 both do teleapps (meaning no appraisal) and have generous repayment terms if you have to tap into it.
#3 START DIVESTING YOUR COMPANY STOCK
Yes, I know your stock is down, but if they’re laying off people, guess what? It probably has further to go. And the absolute worst-case scenario is being forced to sell investments while they’re down because you need liquidity.
The danger of getting laid off is 1) not collecting a paycheck, and 2) needing to tap your investment portfolio while it’s down for groceries.
NOW is the time to make sure you have enough liquidity to prevent that from happening.
