@mynewsteemit, best of luck to you! I have been in that sort of situation... actually twice in 12 months... 1st time the company just announced it was going to close, overnight... found another (really good) gig and 5 months later they were sued so they laid off 70% of their people.
Like many, I had no viable "plan B" and certainly not enough cash to live for several months, especially the 2nd time.
Your suggestions are good... I was saved by "living cheap" (NO going out/eating out) and by pounding temp agencies for a while till I could find something permanent. Actually, though, that second sudden layoff prompted me in the direction of eventually becoming self-employed.
I'm sorry that happened but I'm glad you are pushing ahead! What did you end up doing to be self employed?
Well, this was quite a long time ago... I was in IT related work, but I was always good at writing, so I went to several temp agencies and let them know I'd gladly take short term gigs as a technical writer... and the taught myself all the basics of technical writing in a week. It was a good field... most companies don't actually want to have a tech writer on staff... don't need it enough, but there was demand for someone willing to work as a contractor. So I did that for a while... started to get a few referrals, then struck out on my own... writing anything from online help systems to radio advertising scripts.
Now, what needs to be told with this story is that I accepted (and incorporated into my life) that it would been a 70% pay cut, for a while... which mean moving from a house in the burbs to a 1-bedroom apartment and other cost cutting measures. But it's hard to put a dollar number on independence and peace of mind.