It's amazing how quickly everyone is in a state of panic in the face of a little adversity. To keep one's head when all those around are losing their's... something to think about maybe, eh?
IT hasn't hit the fan yet, folks. Better get a grip on reality.
This "economic decline" has barely started, yet already there is clearly no lack of "weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth". If you have any doubts, read a few of the recent blog posts on this site. At a time when people and communities should pull together, it is far too easy to place the blame everywhere but where it belongs. Everyone has thrown out all the mirrors at home I see?
It's sad to see jobs lost, no doubt. But it happens to lots of people, all the time. If this is you first time unemployed, you'd better get your head cleared...FAST. It's not YOUR fault, it's not THEIR fault, whatever...it just happens.
The first thing you'd better do is see if you can open an Unemployment Claim, which will generally be less than 50% of what you were making at work. Don't wait, because IF there are no glitches in your account filing, it will take at least 3 weeks before you see a penny.
Hopefully you haven't been living beyond your means, putting all your wants and whims on plastic, rolling all your material desires into ever-growing bank loans. If so, it won't be long before the creditors start calling. You now however have 3 priorities: Food, Shelter and Family. Everything else is unimportant.
Second start looking for one of the mostly non-existent, rapidly disappearing jobs, that you probably aren't qualified for, at one of the places that probably aren't hiring and probably won't pay you enough to make ends meet. Keep yourself entertained by doing a little math, $6.50/hr multiplied by (X)Hours a week = My Financial Solvency. You might not be impressed with the answer to the equation, but it might make you laugh and raise your spirits momentarily.
Third and last in this pathetically "unfunny" post, Self Evaluation and Planning. Reality check, what are your abilities? What can you do for yourself? What are your marketable talents? Where do you go from here?
Look around, if you think any government ANYTHING is gonna fix things any time soon, you are sadly mistaken. If you think any industry really has your best interest in mind, you are fooling yourself.
"Who is the wisest man? He who neither knows or wishes for anything else than what happens." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Good Luck, Stay Strong.
