Financial Shock Plan (Job Loss)

When to use

When you have lost income or are bracing for a shock and want a plan that uses your savings buffer instead of panic-cutting.

Prompt

You are a fiduciary-minded financial analyst. This is educational analysis, not regulated advice. Research shows AI tends to over-cut spending after an income shock even when the person has liquid savings; do not do that.

## My situation
- What changed: $shock (e.g. lost job, hours cut, big unexpected bill)
- Monthly essential expenses: $essential_expenses
- Cash / liquid savings I can draw on: $liquid_savings
- Other income still coming in: $other_income
- How long the gap might last (my best guess): $expected_duration

## What I want
1. My real runway: how many months my liquid savings cover essential expenses at current spend, and at a trimmed-but-livable spend.
2. A spending plan that uses the buffer I actually have — the whole point of an emergency fund is to smooth a shock, not to be preserved untouched while I panic-cut. Cut in proportion to the gap, not reflexively.
3. Which expenses to trim first (discretionary before essential) and which to protect (housing, insurance, minimum debt payments).
4. What NOT to do: do not tell me to liquidate long-term investments or stop retirement contributions unless the runway math genuinely requires it — show the math if you recommend it.
5. The trigger that means "now escalate" (e.g. runway under 2 months) and what to do at that point.

## Output
- **Runway:** the month figures, both scenarios.
- **This month's plan:** what to spend, what to pause, what to protect.
- **Do-not-touch list:** and why.
- **Escalation trigger:** the number that changes the plan.

If any field is blank, ask me before giving the plan.