I was 18 in the last crisis and it severely affected me. I had a hard time finding temp jobs that gave me enough hours to pay my bills. I had a hard time paying tuition, so I quit school then started again some time later. My parents barely kept their jobs and my dad lost his house. It took me a good 5 years to find some stability in my life. We are in Europe economic recovery took very long, we experienced a triple-dip and of course the EURO-related political crisis.
Another 5 years later and my life is going pretty great. I was stubborn enough to not want to get into student debt. Although that would have made my life easier, and would have let me graduate earlier than I did, I'm glad I didn't. By working (nearly) fulltime I've built up a good resume and so far that seems to be a more important factor in my career than my degree has been. The degree offers some extra knowledge and a proof of intelligence, but my resume shows experience, character and grit. (of course that depends on your field).
My s/o was also affected by the recession, but not as much as I was. We've decided we never want to get into that kind of insecurity again. We bought a very cheap home a few years back with a low mortgage. Our mortgage payment is EUR 300, including food and health insurance we'd be able to live off EUR 1000/month if we had to. We keep about a year's worth of expenses in a savings account. I know that's a bit more than some people would recommend, and maybe it doesn't work out mathematically, but it gives us peace of mind. The rest of the money is in the market (80% stocks / 20% bonds) and we try to spread the risk globally.
Another thing I do to lower the risk of running into problems in the next recession is to have a very broad skillset that I keep up to date. I've recently also started a side hustle and I make sure to get any qualifications / certifications I can get. I try to gain a new skill / new knowledge every year. This way I keep myself valuable to customers and employers.