Recent grads check out this (free) e-book by Charlie Hoehn on how to be recession proof and land a job in this crappy economy.  Recession Proof Graduate is 30 pages of thinking outside the box for landing a job, and not just any job, a job you actually like.   What he recommends actually working, putting yourself out there and capitalizing on skills you currently have.  It feels very much like a prequel to The 4-Hour Workweek (I promise I will review this book soon b/c it really changed the way I work and will work in the future).  It’s 30 pages, but a crazy big font, I read it over breakfast.

Read it and tell me what you think.

peace,
e.

(via Iwillteachyoutoberich.com, yes I read everything Ramit tells me to)

Although we’re not officially in a “recession” it sure does feel like it. Gas prices are going up and down, the costs of groceries are higher than ever, and most people are too scared to check their 401k. Fortune 500 companies like Yahoo!, Google, and Lehman Brothers are laying their employees off left and right. Pundits on cable news shows warn us everyday of the failing economy and how it’s only going to get worse. In the meantime what exactly are we (the middle class) supposed to do to keep our head above water until things get better again? How do we prepare ourselves and our finances for the hard times ahead?

1. First and most important, is Job Security!  There is always a huge possibility that you can lose your job. Companies often times choose to cut back on operations when profit and sales lag, and employees are the first to go. It’s always good to be prepared, if you’re not 100% sure, put your resume out there. A great new site, Uboast.com allows you to market yourself through video resumes and personal profiles. Invest in yourself, you’d rather be safe than sorry!

2. Restructure your budget. Pulling back on your daily and monthly spending is a necessity. Cut out any unnecessary spending and start concentrating on your emergency fund. If anything were to happen, it’s nice to have a fund that you can count on to get you through at least 3-6 months of unemployment. If you don’t have an emergency fund, start one immediately!

3. Clean up your balance sheet.  Do not charge bills and shift payments during a recession, if you do, you’re heading for financial turmoil. The worse off the economy is doing, the higher your minimum payment will be on your credit card. If the interest on your credit card is high, consider shopping for a low interest rate that will allow you to switch your balance over.

4. Shop Smarter.  Although you should always shop smart, during a recession never spend more than you have to. Instead of throwing your neighborhood circulars away look through them carefully. Concentrate on finding good deals in your local grocery stores, dry cleaners, and surrounding businesses.

5. Consider All of Your Skills. Many of us get so caught up in our 9-5 jobs that we sometimes forget how much we have to offer in other fields. If you have other passions like writing, teaching, art, and music, explore them! There’s nothing like getting paid a little extra money for doing something you love.

Lastly, don’t be scared! Remember, history always repeats itself.  In recent times, the U.S. went through a recession in 1973, 1980, and 1991. Yes recessions do happen they’re painful, unfortunate, and tend to make people lose faith; however when they’re over, strong periods of growth and expansion arise. Keep the Faith!

~Mia

Our economy lives and dies on debt, and before I get into this financial crisis and the absurd hypocrisy of this bailout plan, let’s get back to basics.

Previously , I referred to Debt as Savings’ evil step child.  The relationship comes from the fact that the money that banks lend out in the form of credit cards, car loans, and mortgages is in fact the money you have saved in the bank.  Americans love this.  It means we can buy crap that we can’t afford in the short term, and pay for it over time.  The evil part comes from the risks involved in being heavily indebted, and this crisis has been a painful demonstration of that risk.

It has been estimated that the average American adult carries about $4,200 in credit card debt alone.  But what’s so bad about that?  I mean, we’ve got all this time to pay it back.  The fundamental problem, though, is that we do not save.  So when something bad happens – say an unexpected hospital visit or the loss of a job – we do not have the cash cushion to weather the storm.  If Americans have an average of $700 in the bank at any given moment (I made that number up), it doesn’t take an investment banker to figure out how little time it will take to burn through that cash making your credit card payments.  From there, bankruptcy is right around the corner.

But what does this have to do with the bailout?

More fingers are being pointed than you can count, but it is this simple idea that really underlies the whole crisis.  Banks, it turns out, carry debt too.  They borrow from each other to make investments and cover operations (to me, this is like transferring balances from one credit card to another).  But they carry a hella lot of debt.  Whereas on an individual level, Americans may carry $18 in debt for every $3 they have in the bank, some of these banks were carrying as much as $100 in debt for every $3 in the bank.  I am sorry, but that is plain friggin’ dumb!  So when their income streams unexpectedly slowed – when people started missing mortgage payments, for example – and their creditors kept knocking on their doors, you can see how a bank can vanish in an instant.  Lesson: when you have debt, you gotta have savings.

It’s obviously deeper than that, but this was the fundamental root of the problem.  People try to pin it on other things, and some of it makes me angry.  One scapegoat has been the Community Reinvestment Act, which merely stopped banks from discriminating against people of color–a practice they got so comfortable with that they actually had maps outlining minority neighborhoods where they refused to lend.  People claim it forced lending to people that couldn’t pay, but CRA was enacted over 30 years ago and can only be tied to 20% of the crappy mortgages.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are even older.  Yet no banks were collapsing until a rules change in 2004 let them take on too much debt relative to their cash on hand.

What pisses me off the most though is that only a year after this rules change, Congress changed the bankruptcy code to make it harder for individuals that get in trouble by taking on too much debt to declare bankruptcy.  Yet when banks took the same risk, but to an obscenely higher degree, Congress hauled ass to bail them out.  This basically lets them declare bankruptcy, wipe out their bad debts, and immediately get back to borrowing.  Individuals, on the other hand, get their credit handsomely screwed for at least 10 years.  That’s just not right.

-MannyFresh

America is in a recession right now, and according to statistics 4.8 percent of this country is already unemployed and as of last month, an additional 71,000 were laid off. Moreover, since the official declaration of the recession, over 350,000 Americans have lost their jobs through company cutbacks and layoffs. Due to the decline of the mortgage and real estate industry, as well as the current war on Iraq , America is suffering a huge economic loss. Companies are scrambling to keep their revenue and their ass-ets while simultaneously giving hundreds and even thousands of workers the pink slip at a time. It is almost as indiscriminate as life or death, being unemployed can happen to anyone—it can happen to you.

I lost my previous job five months ago, and I have to tell you it was the most agonizing experiences—at first. It was frustrating, depressing, and self-depreciating. I wallowed in self-pity for a long time; simply because I lost something that I felt was the only source of income, which I practically defined my whole life by. However, after some time I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and did some things which I will explain over time through this blog to make your life a little more bearable if you ever encounter this life changing experience.

What does one do when they lose their job? When I first got notice that I would be losing my job soon, and I had thirty days to get my affairs in order, I was mortified. I didn’t know what to do. I cried to my boyfriend in despair. “What do I do?” I sobbed. However, after the crying was done, I pulled myself up and buckled down.

1. First thing I did was to get my resume together. Mo put together some pretty excellent ideas to spruce up your resume. Depending on the nature of your termination, you can still list your current job as part of your experience. I do warn you though, do be prepared to explain to every interviewer (as I did) as honestly as possible how and why you lost your job.

2. Put together a list of references from your current job. If you have gotten in the good graces of others through your experience and time on the job, take their names, emails, and phone numbers down. Make sure you ask them if you can use them as a reference. This will prove helpful when looking for work, especially if you are going to list your current job on your resume.

3. Start applying to jobs immediately. Assess what jobs will suit your needs, skill set, and career path. Then start directing your resumes and cover letters toward them. Good places to post your resume and look for jobs are: idealist.org, craigslist.com, monster.com, and careerbuilder.com. Some of them even have job targeting searches and features that can even send your resume to mass employers simultaneously.

Chances are you may get hired before you’re laid off, and you can resign from your current place of employment without suffering any real feelings of loss – money, pride, or otherwise. Unfortunately, not every one that does the above (such as myself) escapes the dreaded pink slip. Not to fret though, there are other things you can do besides pulling your hair out of your head.

1. File for unemployment, immediately. Yes, as young as you are, if you have worked at a company (any company) for over six months you qualify for unemployment! Although your company may not want to offer you a pay check, they still will have to compensate your pay through unemployment benefits insurance. Most states have a website that residents can go to once they become unemployed and apply; just search the word “unemployment” and your state abbreviation. During my five months of unemployment I never had to go in person to an office to apply or pick up my benefits. Specifically, NY State Unemployment offers direct deposit as well as debit cards provided by Chase bank to disperse monies to recipients.

2. Apply for health insurance benefits. Many of you may be aware of COBRA and its health insurance package so you can still retain your benefits. However, COBRA itself costs an arm and a leg when depending on your unemployment benefits. There are many state supplemented programs for the unemployed. NY grants Medicare and Medicaid, as well as supplemented health insurance through Healthy NY, which gives you several providers and plans to choose from according to your county and your income.

3. Get a support group. As closed in or vulnerable you may feel at this moment, please do not go into seclusion! Studies show that depression from job loss can be just as impactful as or even more impactful than losing a loved one. To add insult to injury, many people even after becoming re-employed never regain peace of mind. Please do not allow this to happen to you! Make sure that you have some loved ones to lean on and lend a hand during this season of drought in your life. They will serve as an aid to help lift your spirits and even lift you out of unemployment in helping you find a job.

4. Do not lose hope! Remember, this is only for a season. Despite your current circumstances, be positive and continue to be diligent in your job search. Eventually, a job will come your way.

I hope this helps anyone who is down on their luck at the present moment. In the future, I will be elaborating more on this topic. Be blessed all and have a wonderful week.

-LD