If you get laid off

The unemployment rate spiked to 7.2% in December and if you are part of that statistic then you may be wondering what to do next.

6 Steps to Take the Moment You Are Unemployed

By Laura Dawn Lewis

(couplescompany.com)

Step 1: Call Your State's Unemployment Office
Don't feel guilty about this. You and your employer have been paying into this fund your entire working life. You've earned the money you are going to receive through your own hard work. This is the very first thing you want to do the second you are terminated. Call your state's unemployment office. Most states begin the benefit period from the day you call, not the day you were let go. You will not get paid for the first week of unemployment in most states (although in some they count the day you call as the 1st week--let go Friday, call, become eligible the following Monday. ) It will take 3-4 weeks to get your first check, longer if you were fired because they must do an investigation. In most cases you will still receive compensation even if you were fired. The exceptions are termination for misconduct (lying, cheating, abusive language etc...) or criminal acts.

Step 2: Plan for the Best but be Prepared for the Worst
Make list of your liquid assets including stocks, bonds, 401K, IRA's, credit lines, savings, and pawnable items like CD's, VHS or DVD movies, electronics, jewelry and other items of value. Depending on your savings situation and monthly expenses, you may need to liquidate these to survive. If it appears you may need to access these assets, move any high risk stocks into to lower risk stocks or cash them out and put them in a savings account for this period. The last thing you need to happen now is watch your saving drop 98% with stock market (as many tech workers have seen). You can always switch the funds back once you are working again.
You will have the option of rolling over your 401K or cashing it out. Most financial advisors will tell you to roll it over. If you have to make a choice between being homeless without food or rolling over your 401K, use it to survive. If it is not essential to your ability to survive, roll it over. Cashing out a portion or all of your retirement is a last resort and should only be used if you do not have any other choice

Step 3: Make an Honest List of your Current Liabilities and Payments.
What can you cut? What cannot be avoided. If you have to miss payments, choose bills that will not directly effect your ability to survive like department store credit cards, health clubs and membership dues. To find a job you need a phone, electricity and roof. Your Internet connection is also critical. Car insurance is very unforgiving and you need a way to get to your interviews.
In a crisis situation, most credit card companies and automotive lenders will allow you to skip a payment or two, if you ask. You generally will still have to pay the interest and any late charges on the account so this may or may not help you. Utilities are less forgiving. In most cases your cable will be shut off at 20-days past due. Phone companies and the electric company can go as far as 45-days past due before you lose service. Car Insurance will cancel within 10-days of being past due. If you are a renter and can't pay your rent, it generally takes 60-days for the manager to legally have you removed from the premises although they will give you a 72-hour eviction notice if you are more than 3 days late.

Step 4: Prepay As Much as Possible
Since you've just lost your job, you've got the most money you'll have until you receive your first new paycheck. Pay as many critical bills as far in advance as possible like Insurance, phone and electricity. You'll be glad you did this when the other bills start rolling in. Stock up on essentials like toilet paper, shampoo, frozen and canned foods and pet food.

Step 5: Moving into Survival Mode
The average person is currently taking 4 months to find a new job. Plan on taking six months. This means you are going to need to adjust your lifestyle and move into survival mode. The first place to save is unneeded luxuries like maid service, gardeners, and even add-on convenience services like caller ID, call waiting, premium cable channels and pagers. The second best way to save money is on your food budget.

Step 6: Health
Most insurance companies will not allow you to do more than one month's worth of prescriptions at a time. Sometimes your doctor can request multiple months if you are to be out of the country for an extended stay. If you depend upon medicine for your health, get as many months as possible before your prescription card expires. That $10 a month prescription could turn into a $120 a month requirement you can't afford right now.

J.P. Taravella High School Band

They are marching to Washington DC for the Presidential Inaugural Parade on January 20th.

We were treated to a performance yesterday at Whole Foods Market in Coral Springs while we raised money to help them get there. In one hour we raised $2,283 to help these talented kids have the experience of a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who made a donation.

Our new puppy

Howard and I are getting a new puppy.

You may remember my Dalmatian "Geddy" I was privileged to have her in my life for 15 wonderful years but she passed away just over a year ago. I've missed her so much. A day doesn't go by that I don't think about her...she was so much a part of my life.

I can't imagine my world without a dog in it. So Howard and I decided to get a Basenji. Here are the latest pictures and we chose a female and we are naming her "Divot." I'll post more pictures of her after we get to bring her home next month. She is about 6 weeks old in this picture.

Aren't they cute?

You've won...now what.

Do you play the lottery? Have you ever won? If so, after you jump up and down, scream and hug everyone in site, there are a few things you should do.

(MSN Money)

Keep that ticket safe. Sockman says people do funny things with their tickets, such as keeping it in a baggie in the freezer, in a sock under the mattress, in a money-belt around their waist day and night, or most practical of all, in a safe deposit box.

Think about your job. A winning ticket is a grand thing, but it doesn't really count until you've got the cash. For now, consider just taking a little sick time or vacation, without explaining why, if possible. You're going to be very busy becoming a millionaire. You probably will quit eventually. Sockman says most winners do, even though at their original interview about a quarter claim they'll keep working. He explains, "They can't imagine how much money they've won. It's a life-changing event."

Find people you can trust. "The most important financial decision to make initially is who's going to be accountant, financial adviser and lawyer," says Hartigan. "And I don't think they should be the same person." If you don't have all of these people in your Rolodex currently -- and how many of us do? -- "talk to other people who use these kinds of services. Referral is the best way," Hartigan suggests. If none of your friends or family can recommend a particular professional, Hartigan recommends going to a major accounting firm, a major brokerage and a large law firm. "Ask what they'll do for you." Garrison agrees with Hartigan's advice and adds, "References are mandatory."

Decide on a lump sum or payments. This decision depends on what you want to do with your money and advice from your team of advisers. The lump sum will equal less than the total of the payments over however many years. "With the lump sum invested properly, you'll probably have more at the end," says Hartigan. "If you're a person who really can't control your spending, annual might be better." In Florida, the recent trend shows 75% of winners take the lump sum, says Sockman.

Arrange for a special account at the bank. You can't just deposit millions into your plain ol' checking account. And they don't really give you a paper check with a lot of zeroes. They give you the money by a wire transfer to your pre-arranged special account, says Sockman.

Change your phone number. Now that you're richer than your wildest dreams, everyone's going to want to reach out and touch you, and that will be a nightmare. So get a new unlisted telephone number.

What's in your wallet?

How many credit cards are in your wallet? The average person has from 5 to 10. I carry 11. I think it's time to cut back a little. Here is a good way to start.

Curing a Credit Card Hangover

By ELISABETH LEAMY

Do you have a New Year's hangover?

Not the kind you get from sipping champagne on New Year's Eve. I'm talking about a credit card hangover from all that holiday shopping. I got my first credit card hangover in college. I was like many students -- a company issued me a credit card even though I had no job and no way of paying. I quickly racked up about $2,500 in debt. My parents bailed me out. I racked up another $5,000 in debt. This time I dug myself out, dollar by dollar. What an achievement! I can't tell you how good it feels to be free of credit card debt.

Here are some strategies to help you liberate yourself too:

Cut up all your credit cards
Are you feeling the withdrawal symptoms yet? Credit cards give us a sense of possibility that we just don't have with cash. They allowed me to live beyond my means for years. But I paid for it. Just as an alcoholic can't drink a drop without relapsing, a credit card junkie shouldn't have any credit cards. Zero. Zilch.
When safe, use a debit card instead of a credit card
You may argue that in this high-tech age, it's impossible to conduct business without a credit card. True, you can't pay cash when you shop online and hardly anybody uses personal checks anymore. But your argument falls flat in the face of debit cards. A debit card allows you all the convenience of a credit card, with all the limits of your own bank balance. It's an excellent substitute. (Be careful using a debit card online though -- a great subject for another column.)
Keep just one card and freeze it!
If you believe you must have a credit card on hand in case of an emergency, I've got a creative suggestion for you. Cut up all but one credit card. Then take the lone survivor and drop it in a Tupperware container full of water. Pop the container in the freezer and put your credit card spending on ice! That way you'll have to think about it for several hours if you want to use the card. You're unlikely to thaw this consumer culture ice sculpture to make an impulse buy. But if you have a true emergency, it will be there for you.
Impose a spending freeze
My financial planner boyfriend (now husband!) put me on a spending freeze back in my debtor days. I wasn't allowed to spend money on anything non-essential. For me, that meant no new clothes, no home decorating and no dinners out. Not using your cards anymore really is the first step in paying them off. Most people who are in a credit card crunch charge their cards to the limit, pay the minimum each month, then spend right up to the limit again until they get their next bill.
Send payments more than once a month
After you stop spending, you need to start paying. Here's how I did it. I didn't make much money in my credit card debt days. I lived paycheck to paycheck. When my credit card bill came, sometimes I didn't have much money to send in, so I sent what I could. At other times of the month, I occasionally had extra money. In the old days, of course, I would have spent it! Instead, I began sending money to my credit card company even when I didn't have a bill due. I pre-addressed and stamped several envelopes so I had them ready. Anytime I had extra money in my checking account, I popped it in an envelope and kissed it goodbye.
Use your savings account to pay off your credit card debt
Your savings account is another source. Sound sacrilegious? I get into this argument with people all the time. I know lots of smart people who have a savings account and credit card debt. It's ludicrous! I know, I know, you feel it's important to save for emergencies. Trust me, credit card debt is an emergency. But here's my less flippant explanation. If your savings account yields 3 percent interest and your credit card charges 19 percent interest, you can instantly "make" a 16 percent "profit" by using your savings account to pay off your credit card debt. That would be an impressive gain in the stock market! Then, instead of pulling out your credit card to make impulse buys, you could fall back on it in emergencies -- a much sounder use.
Beware of debt consolidation loans
You could also look for a debt consolidation loan, but don't count on it. Reputable banks don't make debt consolidation loans to people with no collateral. Crooked lenders may offer you a consolidation loan, but you'll probably find that the interest rate is actually higher than what you're paying on your credit cards. They'll try to trick you by offering you a lower monthly payment than what you currently pay, but the loan will last so long that you end up paying far more money than you should have.
If you own a house, you may be able to take out a home equity loan to pay off your credit cards. This option sounds great because you can then write off the interest you pay. But beware! Home equity loans come with closing costs, which just add to your debt. And there's a real risk here. Think of it this way: If you miss a payment on a credit card, you just lose your good credit rating. If you miss a mortgage payment, you could lose the roof over your head.