There were over 1.1 million layoffs in 2025 (the highest number since the Great Recession/2009), and 2026 is unfortunately starting off with more-of-the-same.
If you're possibly in this boat...
You're allowed to feel all of the feelings. It's unknown. Scary. But a little less scary if you're prepared.
Cut expenses, reduce your spending as much as possible, and save that cash. That's the best thing you can do to help future you. The less you spend, the less you have to earn, and the longer the money you have will last.
Part 1 of the Layoff Chronicles details initial steps and things to manage. Take a deep breath and hang in there.
Career Update
My job search wasn't going well, partly because of the environment and the economy, but partly because a lot of roles I'd be perfect for note "MBA preferred" in the description. Our current reality is that AI screens resumes, prioritizing keywords (like "MBA"), and the algorithm is automatically filtering me out.
Rather than keep spinning my wheels, I called my old graduate program and asked if I could be readmitted. After creating a plan-to-graduation with my advisor (they don't want me to drop out a second time---fair!), approvals from the department chair and an academic committee of something-something, and a whole lot of paperwork, I'm back in school.
All eight of the core classes I took between 2014-2016 count toward graduation, and the other required classes aren't on the required list anymore, replaced with "Future-proof" classes like business analytics and AI. I have eight classes to the finish line. This semester, I'm pushing through four graduate classes---which is a lot, especially when I haven't been a student for 10 years. Doable, but a lot. Then two classes in the summer and two in the fall (one fall class is my capstone, though).
I'm doing the thing. I will have that check in the box by the end of the year.
Paying for Grad School
I knew up front that I didn't want to drain down our cash on hand to fund school. It would potentially put us at an unnecessary risk while I'm unemployed, because my husband's salary covers most but not all of our usual expenses and life still happens, especially when it's inconvenient. We can make more cuts to cover if legitimately needed, but we'd rather not have to at this point.
One of the nice things about IRAs is the ability to tap them for school without penalty, just paying taxes on the amount withdrawn. I thought that sounded great. I met with a financial advisor to confirm, who recommended student loans instead. The reason: Future earning potential is high, and it would be easy to pay off the loan once I started working again. Meanwhile, that tax-free growth space would be gone.
This sounded logical, so I went down the financing path. I'm a scholarship kid and cash-flowed the first half of my MBA, so I have no experience with student loans. I filled out the FAFSA, knowing they'd offer next to nothing due to our income. The result was an unsubsidized loan that only covered a fraction of the semester's tuition at an interest rate of 8.99%. I had to go back to the school and say "Hey, I got laid off, this FAFSA is incorrect now due to a change in our situation." After filling out more paperwork, I had to submit two years of W2s, 1099s, my separation agreement, paystubs, and a whole lot of other nonsense. What I didn't know is, since it's grad school, the FAFSA only offers unsubsidized loans and caps borrowing limits each semester. By the time I figured all this out, school was underway and tuition was due.
Next thought: a home equity line of credit, or a second loan (not giving up that 2.25%!). But that ended up a non-starter, because I'm unemployed. I'd actually reached out to a bank about opening a HELOC during my notice period, but opening it would come with hundreds of dollars in fees, plus we were required to take money out whether we needed it or not, and the line would be closed in three months if we didn't withdraw. Since our goal was to lower expenses and spend within our means, this felt extremely counterproductive, so we didn't do it.
The markets have been on a tear, and my parents' investments have grown substantially since they retired in 2019. They're basically making the same income---if not more---despite no longer working. With my loan kerfuffle, they kindly footed the tuition bill out of what would have been a future inheritance, paying the school directly so it doesn't count toward annual gifting limits. It's a huge privilege that I'm extremely grateful for.
Roth Conversion
My financial advisor also confirmed that being a full-time student with a part-time retail job is indeed the perfect year for a Roth conversion. Due to (1) the amount of money I have in my traditional IRA, (2) my lower age and (3) my desire to continue working in the future (likely at a higher income), they declared it beneficial in the long term to convert a portion of my traditional IRA and pay the taxes in 2026.
RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) were the biggest reason behind the conversion. I'd be hit hard and shoved into the highest tax brackets for multiple years in a row, no matter which way the advisor sliced it. Honestly, it's not a bad problem to have.
About 25% of the account was converted, and taxes are already covered with the tax refund from my severance (it was taxed at 22%, like a bonus). My advisor wanted me to convert more, but I wasn't sure I'd have enough cash to cover the required taxes, and conversions can't be undone. We'll see what the end of the year brings, since I still can convert more before December 31st.
Roth conversions (and contributions) while working are a polarizing topic in the FIRE space. However, there's no one-size-fits-all. That's why I worked with a fee-based advisor, focusing solely on the question of if I should (and if so, then how much to) convert.
Part-time Job Update
I've stayed with my part-time retail job, and overall, I've enjoyed it. Our team is great, and being out in the world while also not having to spend money to do it is preferable at the moment. I need to find some new hobbies. Sitting around the house isn't all it's cracked up to be; plan to retire toward something.
The Christmas season was busy with daily truck deliveries and an excess of shoppers, and the store needed a lot of help. Most weeks, I ended up working somewhere between 25 and 40 hours over 4-5 days. I did a full calculation of my hourly rate from 2025, and the numbers are... not great.
As of this week, I'm now eligible to invest in my 401(k), and I get a 5% match that vests immediately. (Yes, the current $0 balance is a blow to my ego...)
The store discount is hard to quantify, though the app tells me I've saved $1,200 between my employee discount and promotions (with some sales that I only saw because I was working). That said, I'm sure some stuff wouldn't have been purchased at all if I wasn't working (like our new front door mat), so the dollars saved are a toss-up.
With January and the slow season upon us, the hours were heavily cut. I've been appreciating the down time to focus on studying, and I still get the employee discount. More books, anyone?