How do I recover financially after losing my main contract and income?

B

BonesMDUncannyDoom

New Member
Not a flex at all, honestly.

It’s really a bit of grounding for anyone worried they’re behind.

I’m 33, self-employed for years now. I was an early adopter of crypto, gold and lithium explorers, NVDIA and the like in my early 20s. My fiancé and I managed to buy our first home after years of looking—right at the peak of the market, just when quantitative easing reversal was announced.

As the cost of living keeps rising, I laboured for others to fill the gaps as my business grew. Sometimes I had to reduce positions at suboptimal times, after never taking profit. Things were hard, but we hustled like everyone else.

Last Q of 2025 was meant to be my strongest yet. I had 6 weeks work from a 3 year subcontract inbound, that I signed 2 years before and had serviced since. Had other work throughout the Q as well. I left my casual work to go as hard as I could.

The primary contractor didn’t tell me they had lost their contract. Still haven’t, actually; I broke the rules and contacted client directly.

Big mortgage with interest rates that had doubled, little to no work, a bathroom stripped to the dirt, a wedding to pay for, decimated net worth and a huge tax debt.

Had to sell my car and exit the last of my positions. I may need to close what’s left of the business, as I’m spread too thin to juggle what’s left with labouring again and keep up with the overheads.

I’ve been a mess, but recently reached out to older ears and they’ve assured me that failing isn’t a bad thing, working for someone else for a while isn’t a bad thing, and I have plenty of time to keep working, learning and developing myself.

Guess I just wanted to gently point out to those reading all of these big money posts; most of us haven’t benefited from the gains that others have (and didn’t foresee). Many, many people are struggling, but we will all be okay. It’s okay to take a step back and protect what you do have. There’s always time—bad times become pauses if you hold on, take a deep breath, and remember the things that make you happy.

Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet.
 
It can all turn around so fast !!!!!!

I was house poor... crippled by my mortgage 2024... I was also a very early adopter of crypto and didn’t listen to anyone who told me it was a scam, etc... I held it for 12 years

Fast forward to today...

35

All debts paid (no mortgage)... enough change to even buy a custom off road caravan.

Within the space of 12 months I went from t he poorest in my friend group to being one of the wealthiest... the best part is the fact no one really knows I only told a few close mates.

Just hold on through the shit times... they never last
 
It’s scary how fast savings can disappear. I had a similar experience. I found a great contracting gig at 3x my annual salary. I reted out my house and moved for the work. Even during COVID, I was making good money. I loved the work and hit the customer’s goals early and well.

Renewal came. An external security clearance agency did random reviews. Because of COVID, their timelines were months, not days. Parts of the project stopped without me, but they couldn’t act until I was cleared to return.

In those 3 months, our tenants moved out of our home interstate. We burned through everything fast. It wiped out what we’d saved over the year. Moving for that work was pointless.

It sucked. But I’ve learned that an emergency fund of at least 3 months is a necessity now.
 
Been there. Got ou slowly but surely cracked on career wise, dream house, etc. Got made redundant struggled to find consistent work wife walked with the cash 18 months of legals (still going) back there again. I'll get out and be back on top that much I know. Huge tip I will give those in financial hurt there's always a way. If Richard Branson, John Symonds, etc can go bankrupt multiple times and still get where they have so can you. I'm not saying jump to bankruptcy FYI but there's so many tax, insolvency and other corporate laws that can help. There's always a way...
 
Not everytihng that shines is gold.
Most of those on big bucks writing posts pondering where to put their money when they make 300–400k a year, with fully paid mortgages and whatever toy cars they drive in their mid 30s might not tell the whole story. Family background, hineritance, etc etc... there's a lot to consider.
You've done incredibly well to start from the ground up, and it's not something that everyone can do.
Failure is the next step up, and an opportunity to do it better.
Good luck, mate you're not alone.
 
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