How To Survive The Recession

You show up to work, your boss asked you for the keys to the company car back, and shown the door. You have no savings and no income. Now What?

You CAN survive the recession. You can keep your home, you can live below your means, and within your needs and here's how..

First, you  MUST  eliminate  everything  you  don't  need: Your next job is not right around the corner.

1. Call Unemployment right away. It will be weeks before you recieve your first check. 2. Call all credit card companies and close all the accounts.     No more charging. You must use only cash or checks for purchases, and make sure you have free checking.     Make between the minimum monthly payment and the regular monthly payment, otherwise      it will not affect the balance. 3. Cancel the cable, broadband, Cell phone texting and internet                                                  You Save:     Cable: If you spend $60 a month or more, you can put that in your pocket.                                             $60 Broadband:  Guess what? You can use broadband at your local library. If you must have internet access at home, you can find dial-up plans for $15 a month or less. If you spent $60 a month or more on broadband,  you can put $45 of that in your pocket.                     $45 Cell phone texting and internet:  If you must have a cellphone, switch to the cheapest plan   .   $100                                                                                                                                                                           Total:      $205                                                   You've just saved $200 a month! 4. Consider renting out rooms that are vacant in your house. This is a biggie, and will help you make           your monthly payments. If you are not a family, a house can become an asset, and a house renting        rooms gets tax breaks!        Consider converting your master bedroom into your own studio apartment. Easily done with a mini-frig,        microwave and toaster. Rent out the rest of the house and you have your studio apartment. 5. Drop your hefty Medical insurance or COBRA and sign up for local health assistance.

That's the big stuff,  but don't stop there,  every little bit helps.

6. Stop eating out entirely. You cannot afford this.  Consider buying groceries at the dollar stores. 7. Sell the $40,000 gas-guzzling SUV and use the proceeds to buy a $25,000 - $30,000 Prius.      (this is not an ad, but simple math, 17 mpg vs 50 mpg = Big savings).           If you are a "lead-foot" and can change your driving habits, you can get 60 mpg! It IS possible.       Slower really does get you more! 8. Have a garage sale. You'll only make $50 - $100, but you'll gain space. 9. Recycle aluminum cans and glass bottles, most states will pay you for them by the pound, and you can use this      to pay your garbage bill. 10. If you have any incandesent bulbs in your home, get rid of them and get CFLs      (this is not an ad, but simple math, 13 watts vs 60 watts or more). 11. Don't buy firewood. Pick up any scrapwood you can find. Some lumber yards have a free wood bin that will      help keep the house warm through the winter. 12. Challenge your family to think of everything as a commodity and what ideas they can think of to help save money.         Check in your area for special programs that will give you a break on utilities, phone, etc.      Use gas, electricity, hot water, gasoline, sparingly. But there's more: 13. Recycle more and throw away less. Some garbage companies will even give you a break on once a month pickup! 14. Consider giving up smoking.  That's $5  a pack.  This will save a bundle, and is good for your health! 15. Consider buying selzer water over soda drinks. Store-brand selzer is a $1.25 a six pack, conpared to sodas, $2.69. 16. Consider buying wine over beer. You can get a gallon of wine for less than a 12 pack of beer, and it's better for you. 17. Consider using parsley instead of lettuce ($.99 vs $2.50) ! 18. Consider growing your own vegetables! 19. Using a laptop instead of a desktop will save you more money (65 watts vs 350 watt tower). 20.  Cut back on the heat, bundle up and set the themostat to 55 in winter, especially if you have a fireplace.      Use space heaters in individual rooms and only when you in them, and keep their doors shut.      It costs less to heat one room than the whole house. You can find cheap 30-minute timers that will turn      them on and off every 30 minutes.. You'll be amazed how much money you will put back in your wallet each month which you will need just to pay for the necessities...and you can learn to live on just the necessities. One More Thing:           If you are lucky enough to get a job, do not revert into your old ways.       Continue this regiment for at least one year after employment.        Why? Because there is this 'thing' employers practice...           The '90 days' or '180 days before eligible for medical benefits' then lay you off on day 179.        It's awful to work for a company for a company six months, forge relationships, and let go.           This is a fact, this is modern business, be ready for it. Remember the rule: eliminate everything you don't need

...and lastly, folks,  for God's sake,

Use Your Blinker, Folks!

Thank You.