As a non-managerial salaried worker with an SO of the same status, I figure that the following have to hold true, in descending order of immediacy, for us to not be financially harmed in this period, i.e., ‘keeping it together’:
1. Keep jobs without significant cuts in hourly pay and monthly hours;
2. Pension plan, 401(k), savings to not be trashed in a stock market downturn;
3. Home to not sink in value due to real estate downturn;
4. Prices of essentials to not rise significantly due to inflation or scarcity.
Other, longer term considerations are: cost of education for kids, worth of inheritances, possible government confiscations, social unrest and crime, international tensions and war. All the above can have deleterious effects on personal finance.