The last months due to COVID-19 many people lost their jobs. Even companies that were developing software had to layoff people or make wage cuts if their core business was in the area of transportation, tourism or something else that was affected by the situation.

This was a harsh reality check for programmers and other information technology professionals who in general are accustomed to be hunted by the recruiters and change jobs by choice and not by force.

In investment a popular idea is the diversification of the investments in order to protect the various assets for unpredictable - but probable - dangers.

In the same spirit and having in mind the uncertainty of the last decade I think that it is wise to apply a similar diversification strategy within a household when this is possible in order to protect the income of the family.

Some simple rules for the members of a family could be:

I have placed the above from the easier to achieve to the harder one. I mean, I am not suggesting to change profession (or spouse)! But in case in a family there is a big variation of professions this is good.

Of course there are advantages to work in the same company and/or profession. However, we need to sacrifice some advantages in order to gain more stability (where stability read don’t lose it all).

Among the advantages of working in the same company are:

Among the advantages of the same business domain and/or profession are:

However, despite all the above benefits the extra security that comes from the diversification means that probably in a time of crisis the household’s income won’t become 0$.

This means that even if the household’s emergency fund is in place (and make sure it is) it may be left untouched.

Also, the fact that a part of the family’s income still exists means that the member who have lost the job may search for longer period of time for a new one, feel less pressured and eventually make a better and more profitable choice.

I hope that my thinking makes some sense to you.