Due to the pandemic and the economic crisis the world is going through, job security has become a major concern. The Pink Slip comes unannounced like a bolt of lightning and one can never be prepared for it. Getting a new job with the same or similar perks may take some time; here are a few tips to manage your financial situation while looking for the next job.

• Use The Emergency Fund Judiciously – One of the important steps of financial planning is creating and maintaining an emergency fund for a rainy day. The general thumb rule is to maintain a corpus equivalent to about six months of the current monthly salary. If you have created an emergency fund then use it if necessary, because there can be other unexpected expenses for which you will have to be prepared. Also, replenish the fund as soon as you are financially stable. 
• Re-budget expenses – Re-assess all the expenses and list them down and cut down on any unnecessary expenses. Curbing non-essential expenses will free up money to meet the essential expenses like rent,  electricity, water, etc. This way you can try to sustain with the cash available and not dip into the emergency fund or liquidate any of your investments.
• Foreclose expensive loans – Low-interest rate loans can continue but the ones with high-interest rate like credit card loans should be repaid at the earliest. 
• Continue essential insurance – Ensure you continue with medical/health and life insurance. The health cover provided by the company will cease to exist upon termination. Hence it is advisable to continue with the health insurance as it can cover expenses pertaining to medical emergencies. Life insurance should be continued as it is a financial blanket for your family in any untoward incident. 
• Whether to continue investments?  – Ideally, you should continue the current investments if there is enough cash flow. It may look like a good idea to offload the investments or discontinue the SIPs but this will only off-balance the long term financial goals. 
• Look at avenues to get additional income – Getting a good job with a decent paycheck may take time; in the meanwhile look at avenues where you can earn some income. This could be a part-time job, freelancing or tutoring; any income at this stage would be a breather and give confidence till you get the desired job.

It is advisable to be mentally and financially prepared for the uncertainty considering the current scenario. This will allow you to handle the situation with maturity and practicality. Build an emergency corpus, stay low on debts, up-skill oneself, keep the credit rating clean and invest wisely.