What would a recession mean for us?

The answer is that nobody knows. If we were able to predict the timing, size, and scope of recessions before they happened, we wouldn't have recessions.

During recessions, companies tend to be either short on cash, or nervous about spending their cash. As a result, hiring slows down. If the recession continues to worsen, companies tend to start laying off nonessential positions, as well as entry level employees. If they become even more pressed for cash, then they may start broad layoffs to all positions.

You cannot prevent or predict recessions, but you can mitigate your risk: 1. Have a degree. As noted in the link below, even during the great recession, unemployment of degree holders only increased from 2% to 4.7%, as opposed to 7% to 15% for job seekers with a high school education. 2. Have a 6-12 month emergency fund. This should be kept in a high-interest savings account. High-interest to keep up with inflation, a savings account because keeping it in the bank is low-risk. 3. Keep your everyday expenses down. If you are used to living on 30k-40k even when you take home 60k-80k, your lifestyle won't be upended in the event of a job loss. 4. Tangentially related to the previous point, be careful about how much and what kind of debt that you owe. This is especially true if you are married. A double income household often increases the amount of debt you can qualify for, while also increasing your risk of losing a job and becoming unemployed. Let's say you are a software developer making 80k, and are married to a spouse making 60k. That means your take home would be 140k. Because your combined salary is so high, a bank might tell you that you qualify for a 700k mortgage. And again, since your combined salary is so large, you might actually believe you can afford that mortgage. But you can't. Over the course of the 30 year mortgage, it is not so unlikely that one of you gets laid off or is unable to work for some reason. Although your combined income is high (140K), your spouse's single income is low (60k). You would default on your mortgage if you ever lost your job (especially if you didn't the emergency fund advice).

https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/LaborMarkets_fact_sheet.pdf

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