Surviving Unemployment

Losing your job may be the toughest financial blow you'll ever have to take, yet people do survive unemployment; in fact, they often emerge on firmer financial footing (because they've quickly learned to budget and cut back) and with greater confidence in their abilities. This section shows you how to move from desperation to success. Sorting Out Severance Packages and Unemployment Insurance Your first step should be to assess how much money you may still have coming in — usually from two sources: Severance pay (a lump-sump check from your employer) and unemployment insurance. Many companies don't offer severance packages, so its' certainly not guaranteed. If the company is laying off employees because it is having financial difficulties, you probably wont' be offered any severance pay,...

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Surviving Unemployment

Losing your job may be the toughest financial blow you'll ever have to take, yet people do survive unemployment; in fact, they often emerge on firmer financial footing (because they've quickly learned to budget and cut back) and with greater confidence in their abilities. This section shows you how to move from desperation to success. Sorting Out Severance Packages and Unemployment Insurance Your first step should be to assess how much money you may still have coming in — usually from two sources: Severance pay (a lump-sump check from your employer) and unemployment insurance. Many companies don't offer severance packages, so its' certainly not guaranteed. If the company is laying off employees because it is having financial difficulties, you probably wont' be offered any severance pay,...

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Freezing Your Spending for the Short Term

If your spending is getting the best of you and creating more and more debt for your family, try freezing your spending for the next several months. Freezing your spending isn't easy, but it can stop your accelerating debt dead in its tracks. What Freezing Really Means Freezing means going cold turkey on your spending — you temporarily stop buying. For the short term, you cut out all but the most essential spending; your cuts will include personal appliances, home appliances, clothing, shoes, CDs, DVDs, decorative items, linens, computer accessories, and so on. You freeze your spending for a predetermined amount of time — usually six to twelve months — and just stop shopping. Of course, you can still buy groceries and the required supplies for your home, but you don't buy anything else. Reducing...

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Adding Income

If you've reduced your expenses as much as you can and still have trouble finding the money to reach your financial goals, consider temporarily or permanently adding to your income and putting that money toward your debts or into savings. Recognizing What Additional Work Can Mean for You Extra work can be both a blessing and a curse. Extra income can help you pay off nagging debts that you just can't seem to get anywhere with any other way. Working a second job can also help you build new skills that could lead to a different full-time job or a new business of your own. And nearly anyone can put up with a crazy schedule for a few weeks or even a couple of months, especially if you know exactly when the long hours will end and can count down the days — and add up your extra income. But...

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Sticking to Your Budget in an Emergency

Too often, a budget gets derailed because of an unexpected expense, especially in the first few months. Ideally, you want to keep money in savings for such emergencies, but in case you haven't had time to build up your cash reserves, this section gives you ideas for sticking to your budget even in the worst of times. If Your Car Breaks Down Most people on a tight budget have one prayer: “Please don't let anything happen to my car.” That's because car repairs can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and you often can't get back and forth to work without a car. So what do you do if your car does break down? Immediately Find a Way to Work Whether you have to arrange for a ride from a coworker, ride a bike, take the bus, rent a car, or walk, if you're in an accident or your car isn't...

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Saving Money for College

Saving for college is on the lips and minds of nearly every parent in America. Although few people are actually able to save the total cost of tuition, fees, room, and board needed by college freshmen, the pressure of trying to do so is still stressful to parents. This section will help to reduce some of that stress. College costs can be a bit confusing; this section clears up what these costs are and what the average is today. Tuition and Fees This covers the salaries of professors, maintenance of buildings, use of school medical clinic, and so on. Basically, it's the cost of being a student (whether a commuter or resident) on a campus. At public colleges, this number is currently averaging just under $6,000 for in-state residents; it is over $22,000 for private schools, and about $2,300...

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