Any basic financial advice would tell you to have 3-12 months worth of emergency fund ready for unexpected events. Losing your job is just another unexpected event. If you’ve got a 6-12 month runway of money, why wouldn’t you take a little bit to destress? And if you’re laid off in most tech roles, getting some (often substantial) severance is pretty common. You may not even need to tap into an emergency fund.

Even with a wife and kids, all that means is that you have more household expenses. Just means you’d need more money in said emergency fund.