9 Tips to Help You Rebound from
Unemployment
Lay offs, terminations, and job closures have become a common practice in American society. It is no longer surprising to see major corporations reducing staff and closing offices every day. Yet, the millions of people who are affected are often left surprised and unprepared to manage their finances. They are often living paycheck to paycheck without an emergency fund to cover their expenses until they can get back on their feet. To make matters worse, the business sections of major newspapers and magazines continue to provide an overabundance of information on how to manage debt and increase savings for the upper and middle class populations leaving the remainder of the population in desperate need. In hopes of filling this information gap, I have compiled a list of nine tips to help individuals rebound after a job loss.
#1 Organize Your Bills
It is very depressing to receive billing statements day
after day that you are unable to pay.
Though pushing them aside and leaving them unopened may provide
temporary solace, you must continue to open each and every single one and
organize them by due date and order of importance. That way when you do have money to apply towards these expenses
it won’t be difficult or overwhelmingly time consuming to determine how to
allocate your money.
#2 Trim Monthly Services
During hard times you have to think smart. Do you really need call waiting, call
forwarding, caller id, or three way calling in your telephone package? Not really.
What about DSL or Internet service?
Do you really use it every day?
Is it a necessity? Perhaps you
could forgo these luxuries to minimize the outlay for expenses that you can
control unlike a mortgage. Take advantage
of the free CDs promoting new Internet Service Providers with free hours on
line. You may be a little reluctant,
but how serious are you about getting things under control? You could always add reinstate these
services after you have gotten things under control.
#3 Sell Unused Items
Most of us are pack rats.
Our homes are cluttered with stuff that we don’t use. Take an inventory of your home. Set aside any items that you haven’t used or
worn in the past 12 months. List your
items on E-bay, your local Pennysaver Magazine, or have a garage sale to
generate funds to help with some of your expenses. If you decide to go the yard sale route, try to have your sale
around the 1st or the 15th of the month to coincide with
pay cycles of potential buyers. It is
also help to have a covered area so that your sale won’t be postponed because
of the weather.
#4 Temporarily Cut or Reduce Personal
Services
Do you really need to have a manicure, pedicure, and your hair done every two weeks? Consider doing them your self to save even more money. We often convince ourselves that we deserve to treat ourselves after a long week or overly stressful day at the office. You may well deserve it, but do yourself a favor and pass on a few on these nonessential services so you can meet your monthly obligations. After all you can’t look good sleeping in the dark or worse on the street.
#5 Reduce your Grocery Bill
We tend to spend a lot of money on processed food products
like microwave-able diners, chips and cookies.
Save money by making things from scratch and only buying loss leaders,
those items advertise on the front and back pages of your weekly circular. It also helps to plan your meals for an
entire week prior to going to the grocery store. Finally, reduce the temptation to purchase other unnecessary
items by shopping with a list.
#6 Sign Up for Budget Plans
Many utility companies and other service providers have wonderful plans in place to help you manage your expenses without an interruption in your service. If you are organized and have a few dollars, there is no reason why your services should be interrupted. These companies are more than willing to work with you.
#7 Continue to Sow Seeds
The single most important principle that can’t be
emphasized enough is charitable giving.
You may be asking yourself how you can afford to give when you don’t
have enough to cover your monthly expenses.
My question to you, how can you afford not to? It may seem logical to stop giving during hard times and use that
money towards your bills, but we’ve all heard the saying you reap what you
sow. Now is not the time to totally
eliminate this category. The key is to
plan your giving and give it as high a priority as you give your bills.
#8 Release Your Frustration
Don’t bottle up your frustration. Communicate with trusted family members and
friends about your financial problems.
They may even have a creative solution for your situation. Find ways to reduce your stress through
meditation, yoga, or prayer.
#9 Contact a Local Consumer Credit
Counseling Agency
If all else fails and you are unable to get your situation
under control, contact the Consumer Credit Counseling Service to help you get
in touch with your creditors to address your financial problems. You can find more information on Consumer
Credit Counseling Services by visiting the web site at http://www.cccsintl.org.
After the Storm is Over
Once you have gotten things under control, continue
practicing these tips. Use the amount
that you have remaining to build your emergency fund. You establish a goal to have a minimum of three to six months of
your living expenses tucked away for a rainy day.
Finally, pick up a magazine and start to employ some of
the strategies to further build your net worth by creating other streams of
revenue to supplement your income.
Areas for Additional Savings
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Category of Savings |
Resource(s) |
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Telephone Services |
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Reducing Grocery Expenses |
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Unused Clothing and Household Items |
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© 2005. Michelle
P. Sharrow.