Being fired is one of the worst things that can happen to a person at the very beginning of his or her professional life. However, there is one thing – being prepared for anything is your major superpower right now.
First of all, you should be completely honest with yourself about the amount of money you have in your bank account. If you currently have a job, you need to stop wasting money on useless stuff and unnecessary problems. Stop having that coffee in the morning, because it is more expensive than you think. Make a high-yield savings account at Ally or Marcus and put as much money there as possible.
Try to accumulate at least three months of your basic expenses like rent, food, and your phone bills. Do not use these funds even for some concert or something like buying a new hoodie. Think of this money as a reserve.
Then comes the budgeting. Sit down and write down all the expenses you make per month with the help of any spreadsheet program or YNAB app, for example. Knowing where your money goes is always better than guessing.
If you have some credit card debt, try to get rid of it as fast as possible. Interest rates are rather high and if you do not manage to deal with them properly, they can harm your savings greatly.
It is also time to review your resume and make some useful contacts. Refresh your profile on LinkedIn about your recent achievements. It can never hurt to contact some of your old teachers or managers just in case.
Learn some new skills while you still have money to earn. There are many free online courses on Coursera and YouTube which can help you to gain some experience in some field.
Do not forget that you being fired usually has nothing to do with you personally. The decision is made solely based on some spreadsheet and no emotions are considered. Thus, losing a job cannot hurt your self-confidence in any way.
Be aware and tight-lipped. Financial stability is a marathon, not a sprint. You have plenty of time to create a fortress. Just start building it.