Generally a frugal person but now I'm back to square one as a bulk of savings were used for wedding and study loans. Might lose my full-time job soon, what should I do?

Earn more, spend less, review finances

Earn more

Make sure full time job is stable

Get a part time job

Do side hustles

Spend less

Find out what are the non-essentials and spend less

Review all your debts

Review finances

Do balance sheet, cashflow and income statment of yourself

I make videos about interesting stuff at youtube here​​​

1) don't panic.

2) Check your expenses (average 3 months at minimum, if you can do full year that would be great). Note which are the fixed non-negotiable items (housing loan payment, hp bills, power / water, s&cc, tax, insurance) and average your other variable expenses (eg eating, recreation, travel, shopping). Work out how much you would need monthly.

3) look at your bank balance and divide by the monthly amount in (2).

If you have less than 3 month coverage, you will need to find the variable expenses to trim or scale back without affecting your overall life (some examples include cable TV, netflix, movies, travel). This will make the cash last as long as possible. Your priority and focus will switch to making this buffer as fat as possible to tahan 6 mths, while you work and control spending.

if you have 6 mths or more, you are in a better position, you could just control the spending and put more focus on finding a better long term job.

Don't quit your job, hang onto as long as possible. If you lose your job, ask for retrenchment benefits. Work through the math and budget. Knowing your numbers will give you more confidence and helps you keep calm.

If you have more than enough time to do all the above, you can also try this - I do two budgets, one assuming (a) everything is normal, no loss of income, and (b) I will lose my job and the next one has a 30% pay cut. I plan out what are the things I will already cut to balance budget (b). Doing these two budgets have made me overall a calmer person.

No need to panic. Money is everywhere as long you put your mind to making and finding it.

Firstly, we need to have a complete understanding on our cashflow. Through this process, we will understand our earning ability and spending habit.

Here is a Guide:

Understanding Your Personal Cash Flow

In essence, there is one thing that you should do: Increase your net cash flow.

You can achieve this by increasing your income, e.g. part-time work on weekends.

Alternatively, you may also choose to take some time to understand your expenses and evaluate how to reduce it. This is especially for fixed expenses. (explanation in the post above)

Moreover, you may also use this opportunity to upgrade yourself so that you remain relevant to the employment market.

All in all, create a budget that is capable of helping you to save up as much money as you can during this period. The best way to do this is via automation.

How I do My Budget:

How to create a Monthly Budget

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