EmploymentDigest.net

The Three Things You Must Do When You Lose Your Job

Posted on 02. Mar, 2009 posted by Bill in Employment News

If you are one of the 7.3% of Americans that is currently unemployed, here are three things that you must do right now.

1. Reduce Your Expenses

It’s not fun and probably the last thing that you want to do, but it must be done. If you’re like I was when I lost my job, you may be thinking that you’ll find a job fairly quickly so you don’t need to change your lifestyle right now. Let’s look at some facts.

* The U.S. is in the worst economic condition in over 70 years.

* The current unemployment rate is 7.3% and expected to go as high as 9%.

* Nearly 1 million people a month are losing their job.

With the economy as bad as it is, more and more people will be looking for fewer and fewer jobs. The odds of you finding a new job quickly are aginst you – sorry.

Here are some things you can do to reduce your expenses:

* Stop eating out (obvious).

* Look to eliminate unnecessary services such as cable/satellite TV, dry cleaning etc.

* Determine if you need a home phone and a cell phone. Many people today are just using a cell phone.

* Eliminate unnecessary cell phone features. Do you really need the ability to sent text messages or surf the net from your phone.

* Eliminate unnecessary features on your home telephone (land line) if you decide to keep it (i.e. call waiting, call forwarding, etc. )

* Cancel or don’t renew magazine subscriptions and/or memberships (gym).

* Ask you doctor and/or pharmacist about generic drugs.

* Ask your credit card companies and other creditors to reduce your interest rates.

That brings us to the next action you must take.

2. Contact All of Your Creditors

Again, this may not be pleasant but it is essential. It is much more unpleasant if you don’t contact them and then fall behind in your payments. In this situation, they start calling you at home. You’ll start to cringe everytime the phone rings. Then, to make the calls stop, you end up having to explain your situation to them anyway. It’s much better to contact them upfront. Your creditors will be much more willing to work with you to find a solution (i.e. repayment plan) that will work for you.

3. Prioritize Your Bills

Even if you have worked with you creditors to reduce your payments, you still may not have enough money to pay all of your bills. Let me be clear here. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pay a bill(s). You have a moral and legal obligation to repay any and all money you have borrowed. But when you don’t have enough money to pay all of your bills, you have to prioritize your bills.

How do your prioritize your bills? Here is a suggestion (in order):

* Secured Debt – These are bills that have collateral (i.e. your house, your car, etc.). Why are these the first bills you pay? Because if you don’t pay them, your creditor will take away the things you bought.

* Essential Utilities and Services- The most obvious are your gas and electric bills. If you don’t pay these bills, they will turn off the service. I would also contend that internet access is also an essential service during your job search so make sure you pay for it.

* Unsecured Debt – These are bills such as credit cards. Again, you have a moral and legal obligation to pay these debts.

You’ve lost your job. You may be unemployed a day, week, month, or longer. Follow the steps above right away. If you find a job quickly, these steps will still help you improve your financial situation. Good luck.

Losing my job two years ago was life changing for me. At first, I did all of the things listed above to survive. Now that I have an income again, I still follow these principles.

After several months of looking for a new job, I made the decision to start my own business and I’m glad I did. Now my income now comes directly from my own efforts. I have no boss to report to, I make my own schedule, and I have more freedom than ever before. To see how I did this, click here I used my unemployment to change my life. You can too!

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