Al's Morning Meeting

• Go to the unemployment office. How hard is it to find work at the beginning of a new year?

• What work is there for construction workers who used to build homes?

• How do people find jobs these days? Online? In the newspaper? On Monster.com?

• Are community colleges and other vocational schools seeing a surge of people who have lost their jobs and now need new skills to land new jobs?

• I have heard from friends who lost their job and tell me they are going to graduate school. I wonder if there is anything to this since, as I have reported in Al's Morning Meeting before, schools are seeing many more graduate students these days. Is a master's degree the new bachelor's degree? Is there really evidence that shows employers want a grad degree for most jobs?

• Losing a job is not just about the income. It is also about the benefits. How much does it really cost to buy health insurance, and what options does a jobless person have?

• For some people, a job is about income. For others, it is about self-esteem. Let's talk about the psychological effect of losing a job.

• How do you tell the kids you don't have a job anymore?

• What would you learn if you opened your Web sites to people who needed a job and let them post for free?

• I wonder if newspapers would consider running a free ad for any employer willing to hire at least five full-time workers if the jobs pay at least 25 percent more than minimum wage. The paper would be doing a good thing, and there would be a reason for people to read the classifieds.
  

Guide 1: Talk to your family about the situation. Let family members know what decisions must be made. Talk about what is important and what is not so important.

Guide 2: File for unemployment benefits. Take your social security card and go to the unemployment office or location nearest your home as soon as possible. They will help you file your claim. If there is a waiting period between the time you apply for unemployment benefits and the time your check begins, you may be eligible for public assistance. Also, if you are not eligible for unemployment benefits or if your unemployment benefits run out before you find another job, you may be able to get public assistance.

Guide 3: Evaluate the ways your family uses money. Many times people buy things, not because they need the things, but because they want to spend money. Now is the time to tighten the purse strings and eliminate needless spending. Do you see yourself in any of the following examples?

• Do you have a "get even" philosophy? In other words, do you feel you deserve to buy something for yourself just because someone else gets something new?
• Do you buy things you don't really need now because you think, 'tomorrow it may cost even more?" Or because "we might be even less able to afford it later?'
• Do you use money to bribe or reward others? Or do you withhold money as punishment?
• Do you spend money as a way to work off frustration or to relieve boredom or anxiety?

Guide 4: Take a financial inventory. Look at what your family now owns. A few minutes spent calculating your family's net worth just might boost your spirits. Add up the total value of all your belongings and subtract from that total the amount you owe. Remember to figure the value of everything at today's market prices, not the price you paid for it. In other words, how much could you sell it for?

Guide 5: Find ways you can cut corners.

• Cut down on your spending.
• Make a list before going shopping and weigh the importance of each item before buying.
• Write down everything you spend money on for two to four weeks.
• Reduce the number of shopping trips you make.
• Plan ahead for big bills, such as insurance payments.
• Agree with your family that every purchase over a certain amount, say $50 or $100 will be brought to the family for discussion before buying.

Guide 6: Talk to the people you owe money to. Don't ignore bills or you may lose what you already have. Immediately contact your creditors: the finance company, bank, credit union, and department stores. Make an appointment to explain your problem. Here are some solutions you and your creditors might work out:

• Make smaller payments that you can afford for a short period of time.
• Refinance your loan. You can make another contract for smaller payments over a longer period of time. The new payments will be smaller, but the overall cost for the loan will be larger.

Guide 7: Examine your insurance policies. Chances are that you were insured under your former employer's group health plan. If you were, the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Resolution Act (COBRA) of 1985 provides you the opportunity to continue group health insurance for up to 18 months after you have been laid off. You will need to apply for this. You will have to pay the premiums but you have 18 months to find other insurance. If your former employer provided you with group accident and life insurance you will probably have a 30-day period from the day you left the company to reapply for an individual policy with the same insurance company without having a medical examination. The premiums for an individual policy will probably be higher than the premiums you paid for the group policy. But you need insurance now perhaps more than ever.

Contact the Department of Children and Families' Food Stamp Office of to find out if you are eligible. Your family's resources and family income determine eligibility.

When you apply for the Food Stamp Program, take with you your rent receipts or housing payment book, utility bills, proof of medical bills (doctor, hospital, etc.), and proof of income for all working members of your household, including all benefits such as Social Security and public assistance, bank books, or any papers showing what you have in savings.