What should you do first after being laid off?

File for unemployment in the first week, regardless of severance; claims start when filed, not when separation happened, and the state decides how severance interacts with benefits. In the same week, find your COBRA election deadline (60 days from the notice or coverage loss), read your severance agreement for its payment structure, and write down your exact cash on hand. Those four items have clocks or set the plan; everything else can wait.

How long do you have to decide on COBRA after a layoff?

Sixty days from the later of your COBRA election notice or the date coverage ended. Election is retroactive to the loss date and the first payment is not due for another 45 days, so the window functions as a free look: you can decide deliberately while staying protected. Day 61 is absolute: there is no late election.

Should you tell your mortgage servicer about a layoff?

Yes, before the first missed payment. Layoff-specific forbearance and hardship programs are offered far more readily to borrowers who are still current than to delinquent ones, and the conversation costs nothing. The same logic applies to other large fixed costs: proactive beats reactive while the account is in good standing.

Is the first 30 days the right time to make big financial moves?

No. The first month is for meeting deadlines and stabilizing cash flow, not for redesigning a portfolio or making irreversible decisions. The 401(k) decision, for example, has no deadline for balances over $7,000 and belongs in days 30–60. The first 30 days are about not losing options; the bigger choices come once the immediate clocks are handled.

The First 30 Days After a Layoff: A Checklist

The short version

The first month is about meeting deadlines and stabilizing cash flow, not making big decisions. Week one is four tasks with clocks attached (unemployment, COBRA, the agreement, your cash position). Weeks two through four rebuild the budget and make the calls that are worth more while your accounts are still current. The bigger choices come later.

This is the operational version of the first month: a checklist you can work through, not a pep talk. It's free to read in full here; if you'd like it as a printable PDF plus a short email series timed to the same calendar, there's a signup below. Either way, the whole list is on this page.

Week 1 the four tasks with clocks

File for unemployment today, severance or not. Claims start the week you file; the state decides how severance interacts with benefits. See how to file while severance is paying out.
Find your COBRA election deadline and write it down. 60 days from the notice or coverage loss; election is retroactive and the first payment is 45 days out. See how the 60-day window works.
Read the severance agreement for payment structure. Lump sum or salary continuation? Which date? Subsidy until when? It drives your taxes, your unemployment, and your cash flow.
Write down your exact cash position. Checking + savings + severance actually received. That number ÷ monthly spend is your provisional runway.

Weeks 2–4 rebuild the budget, make the calls

Pause investing contributions and extra debt payments first. Biggest instant relief, fully reversible, no penalty to restart.
Cut subscriptions and discretionary recurring charges. Real money, low pain.
Call the mortgage servicer before any missed payment. Forbearance and hardship programs favor current borrowers. See the CFPB forbearance guide.
Separate the severance from spending money. Park it in its own account and pay yourself a monthly "salary" so a lump sum behaves like income, not a windfall.
Decide health coverage deliberately. The 2026 math changed. Run COBRA vs ACA against your projected income before the COBRA window closes.
Don't touch the 401(k) yet. No deadline for balances over $7,000; it's a days-30-to-60 decision. The one exception is an outstanding plan loan. See the four 401(k) options.
Protect your credit. Keep every minimum payment; utilization and on-time history matter most during a search.

After the first 30 days

Once the week-one clocks are handled and the budget holds, the work shifts to the bigger decisions: the full 90-day money plan carries the sequence through days 30–90, the company recovery guides cover employer-specific severance and equity mechanics, and the recovery statistics set realistic expectations for how long the search runs. If you're carrying the emotional weight too (most people are), the mental-health coverage is there, and 988 is available 24/7 if any week turns to crisis.

Still holding a severance offer you haven't signed? It's worth checking whether it's fair first: benchmark it against the market at SeveranceCalc.com (which shares a publisher with this site).

Frequently asked questions

What should you do first after being laid off?: File for unemployment in the first week, regardless of severance; claims start when filed, not when separation happened, and the state decides how severance interacts with benefits. In the same week, find your COBRA election deadline (60 days from the notice or coverage loss), read your severance agreement for its payment structure, and write down your exact cash on hand. Those four items have clocks or set the plan; everything else can wait.
How long do you have to decide on COBRA after a layoff?: Sixty days from the later of your COBRA election notice or the date coverage ended. Election is retroactive to the loss date and the first payment is not due for another 45 days, so the window functions as a free look: you can decide deliberately while staying protected. Day 61 is absolute: there is no late election.
Should you tell your mortgage servicer about a layoff?: Yes, before the first missed payment. Layoff-specific forbearance and hardship programs are offered far more readily to borrowers who are still current than to delinquent ones, and the conversation costs nothing. The same logic applies to other large fixed costs: proactive beats reactive while the account is in good standing.
Is the first 30 days the right time to make big financial moves?: No. The first month is for meeting deadlines and stabilizing cash flow, not for redesigning a portfolio or making irreversible decisions. The 401(k) decision, for example, has no deadline for balances over $7,000 and belongs in days 30–60. The first 30 days are about not losing options; the bigger choices come once the immediate clocks are handled.