What do you do if you're a journalist in late career and need to secure your financial future?

Whether you've recently been downsized thanks to the instability of the media industry or you've recently been bought out of a contract, it pays to get your ducks in a row and figure out what you're financial status is. What are your debts and obligations, where can you trim expenses and what kind of cushion do you have to fall back on. Being downsized sucks and it pays to take time to first take care of yourself and then dig into the nitty gritty of picking yourself back up.

This is one of the many things I frequently tell any journalist who's either looking to go freelance or in between jobs: Always look for ways to parlay your experience and skill covering a specific sector into another. Say you're interested in covering technology but your background is in personal finance. You can use your experience covering complex personal finance topics and even fintech to begin to expand your coverage into general technology. All you need to do is take that first step and figure out how your experience can apply to the new sector you want to move into. I offer a lot of other tips on how to diversify in my weekly Six-Figure Journalism Jobs newsletter.

It’s probably the best advice you can get – no matter at which point in your career you are – to diversify your income. And that doesn’t necessarily mean any other work related to journalism. I know a lot of people, including myself, that make money from Public Relations and consulting as well as from journalism, writing books etc. It will keep your cashflow steady and yourself more flexible.

Actually, I think that’s a bad advice. The question is rather: How will you still be able to live the life you want? A lot of journalists I know never took care of their financials. I started in my 40s to diversify my income and also using a certain percentage to invest in ETFs and other stock market products. Of course, there’s always a certain risk included. But the biggest risk is always to not do anything or just keep some funds in your bank account, knowing inflation will eat it all up.

One thing to know about planning healthcare especially if you're in between jobs or freelancing is that you can also look to the ACA for coverage. It's not cheap, but it can provide coverage in a pinch. You can also look for gigs that offer contract work with benefits. Those kinds of jobs exist and are becoming more common in journalism and I offer many of them in my weekly Six-Figure Journalism Jobs newsletter. They can be a very valuable way to help bridge the gap between full time work. Also don't underestimate the power of getting on your spouse or partner's plan. It can literally be a lifesaver.

Other things to consider: Sign up for quality journalism jobs newsletters that are carefully curated with high-paying freelance and full-time jobs (I offer one called Six-Figure Journalism Jobs). It's well worth spending a little bit of money to have the job listings brought to you. That way you can spend time applying, honing pitches and more.