7 Women On How They Got Through Redundancy Financially

The most scary thing about redundancy is the lack of money. Sure, there’s the shaken confidence, the jolt to the career plan, and the loss of hope attached to work. But when we boil it down, work is a transaction, and ambition aside, we’re there to make money to fund our lives. Suddenly being thrust away from a source of income — especially now, potentially heading into a recession — is only going to leave us with a gut-wrenching, sickening sense of fear. Those who’ve been through redundancy know it. It’s the kind of visceral fear that keeps you up at night.

While we’d rather not think about it, it’s hard to shake the threat of redundancy. Unemployment rates are rising both in the UK and America. It’s at 4.2% in the States, higher than it’s been since November, and 4.4% in the UK which is higher than it was in the same period the year before. Redundancy intentions have increased according to CIPD (an association for human resource professionals), with them being higher than ever before in the last decade. It’s a scary time, there’s no doubt about it. But, we believe that knowing that people have come out the other side of redundancy, or are in it now but are getting by, is just as helpful to know. 

At Refinery29, we’ve looked at how women bounced back after the shock of redundancy, but now we’re looking at the practical choices our readers made when it happened to them. The things they had to cut back on, outright stop, and help they had to lean on where it was available.

I took voluntary redundancy aged 26 when my role was cut and I was only offered a demotion. I went through my finances in detail, cutting back and listing out my 'basic' living expenses. I then knew I had enough for roughly three months with my tiny redundancy package and even smaller savings account as a security net.

I was scared but it was also liberating to take control of my situation. A month into job hunting, a friend offered me some casual shifts in hospitality. This made a small dent in my basic living costs and I ended up loving it. Not long after, I got a lead for a freelance job and worked on an exciting design project. I balanced both this freelance project and cafe role for a few months whilst I continued the job hunt.

Fast forward to six months later and I landed a new full time role, a title promotion and pay rise with a dream brand based off the freelance project I'd just worked on. It cemented the idea to me that each experience (whether it feels good or bad at the time) leads to the next and the unexpected twists actually enrich both your life and career.

I was made redundant in July 2024 just before my 31st birthday. I hated the job but the circumstances in which the redundancy came out were painful. I had just narrowly missed the two year mark to get a package and despite my arguing, I didn't get a single penny. The best they could do was pay in lieu of notice. I took August to lick my wounds a bit, started applying for jobs in September, and by the end of the month I was panicking about how I was going to pay rent. 

I managed to pick up some freelance work and got a Christmas temp job in a local gift shop. Even with all this though, I had to budget every single penny to make sure I could pay for rent and food. I ultimately decided to move out of my London house share when the tenancy was up in February and back in with my parents because I was working so much just to get by and get my bills paid, that I'd had hardly any time left over to actually apply for jobs and I had no way of guaranteeing I was going to be able to keep paying it. 

I got really lucky in November and got a massive tax rebate of over £3,000. I budgeted that money for all my remaining rent and moving costs so that then I could just use my remaining paypackets on everything else and possibly evening socialising again without it being such a fraught struggle. The job market is tougher than I've ever known it and I really feel for anyone else going through it right now. 

I’ve been made redundant three times. The first time was in 2023 and I was out of work for six months. The second time was in 2024, out of work for three months, and my third time happened in March and I’m still looking for work. 

Every time it’s happened I’ve set a strict monthly budget for myself to cover only essential bills i.e council tax, phone bill, etc. I’ve cancelled or downgraded non-essentials, like swapping from a boutique gym to Puregym, cutting back on visits to the cafe, and cancelled my YouTube premium. I’ve also picked up freelance work for local businesses and during my first redundancy took a part-time job as a receptionist. This helped cover my core expenses and kept me feeling productive.

Another thing I’ve done is place all my savings and the majority of my severance check in a high-interest savings account (I use Zopa, as it gives higher interest back than the average savings account). The remainder of my severance, I’ve invested in ETFs and my portfolios on Vanguard and MoneyFarm (this was keeping in mind that there is risk associated with it, and it is a long-term play).

Soon after buying my first property several years ago, I was made redundant and was out of work for six months. It was terrifying. I got a good payout which kept me afloat for a few months but then I also had to really change my habits to not blow the money I had. I stopped driving as much and going out to see friends. I cancelled my holiday that year. And really had to just focus on finding a new role. I was fortunate that my parents were there for me as a safety net for if things got totally dire, but through careful financial budgeting I got through it. 

My mum, who brought me up as a single parent, always said that you need to have enough money for three months in the bank to survive at all times. More recently, I was made redundant again, and I’ve kept this advice in mind which has helped.

I’ve now cut back again on things like coffees and eating out. I’ve also become a little more savvy with spending, so things like looking for money back and discount offers more when I do need something. I also turned my wardrobe out and sold a huge amount on Vinted which to my surprise gave me some serious cash quickly.

I was made redundant the early summer during COVID-19, and my savings pot was under £5,000 at the time. I also was one month out from hitting the two-year mark, so I didn’t get a pay out.

I could only spend money on what I needed vs. what I wanted. Every non-essential spend had to be considered. Hot yoga/gym memberships became running outdoors, drinks at the pub became tinnies in the park. It was basically like a continuation of lockdown for me — all those ‘normal’ things were gone. I had to say no to so many events like friends’ hen weekends and birthday dinners out. These were the most painful things to miss. 

On the side, I had been working on a business plan to launch a mobile wine bar. I went to the Universal Credit team. They had at the time a support scheme for entrepreneurs and agreed to support me for a year whilst I launched the business. This support was approx £700-800 per month but didn’t cover my bills and mortgage. I was reliant on my small savings pot and living a pretty stripped back life for a while.

I was later given a £5,000 business diversification grant to buy the stock and launch the business and got to work! Like many entrepreneurs just starting out, you can’t always pay yourself much at the beginning. I had my first proper payslip from my company in August 2022 which was two years after I had been made redundant.

I was made redundant about two years ago now and was recently single and a homeowner with limited savings. I managed to pick up freelance work for a few months and considered it full time until I realised I needed the stability of a salary!

I had about £2,000 in savings at the time, I hadn’t yet built up the safety net after a split and becoming the sole homeowner. I was very lucky that I had three months full pay which helped, as I had been completing getting a loan and would have needed to had it not been for this pay out. 

I got even luckier when my old company then needed me to freelance temporarily, so I negotiated a day rate that meant I earned in two days what I had previously been earning five days full time. I made about £6,000 freelancing in three months through this and other jobs I could pick up, many of which came via LinkedIn after I posted that I’d been made redundant. At the end of the three months, I then got a new full time job. 

I don’t think I have learnt from my lessons as I still don’t have the three months worth of savings you should have for a rainy day, and I often feel a bit silly that I spend my money enjoying life. I have it as one of my goals to build my savings back up over time and start being sensible.

In 2022, shortly after finding out I was pregnant, I was made redundant. I negotiated a payout to cover me for six months due to the pregnancy. Legally they did everything correctly, but morally I had to question if I had been made redundant because of it. 

The impact financially was huge. I have two other children — aged two and four at the time. My four-year-old was receiving funded childcare so I was able to keep him in preschool. However, I had to remove my two-year-old immediately from nursery, as he was going full-time and my partner and I couldn’t afford it. 

Without a job and no prospects to secure a new one whilst pregnant, I knew I was going to go on maternity allowance. My husband works full time, so he had to take over paying for all household bills. I could barely cover essentials for the boys like clothing and swimming lessons. This may seem like a small thing, but it felt huge to me as a parent who wants to provide for my children. 

I returned to work earlier than planned because I couldn’t afford to take a full maternity leave. That was financially and emotionally a really difficult time. I was applying for every role I saw and took a role which paid badly to simply start earning again. In the role I was made redundant from I was earning £60,000, so it was a huge adjustment. I’ve now found another role which is more suited to me and is financially rewarding, but it has taken a long time to get to this point.