What do you do when you lose your job??!!
I have personally lost my job…twice. No notice, no severance, no nothing, just gone.
If you have recently lost your job, what in the world are you supposed to do??!!
Here’s my caveat…If you have 6 – 12 months of monthly expenses saved up, just ready to cushion your fall, first off, GREAT JOB!! Second off…you probably don’t need this article, cuz’ you already know what side of the street the sun shines. 😉
However, if you’re like MOST of us, you probably don’t have 6 – 12 months of monthly expenses saved up. So for you, I have some ideas that will help!
1. BREATHE! Yes, seriously breathe. More oxygen in your lungs means you will stay calmer and have more oxygen in your brain to help you solve this.
2. Don’t panic. Ok…panic a little bit, just enough so that you take it seriously, then go back to instruction #1 and breathe. I personally believe that everything happens for a reason, and that reason is there to SERVE you. This is easy to believe when everything is rainbows and butterflies. Harder to accept when you just lost the way you pay your rent. But try it on anyway, it will help.
3. SIMPLIFY!!! Take a good, hard look at your spending and get rid of anything (and I mean ANYTHING) that you don’t need! Starbucks, take-out food, expensive wine, going out, mani-pedis, golf, movies, CABLE TV (yup, I said it.) You can still watch your favorite shows on Hulu, and that’s FREE!
4. Implement a “Spending Freeze”. This is different than simplification. This is different than looking at your budget and getting rid of unnecessary spending. This is literally, stop spending money. Stop taking money out of your wallet. Do you need some food, and some gas and to pay your electric bill? Yes. However, that trip you planned to Vegas, new mascara, getting your car washed, and the $3 tank top that’s on sale at Target is off limits. (Just for now. This will not last forever, you just need to make sure you stop any possible financial bleed while we get you back on your feet.)
5. Get CREATIVE. Do you already own a business?? (If not, START ONE. It’s always a great idea to have multiple streams of income.) If you own a business, focus more attention on how you can increase your cash flow with your business right away. The name of the game right now is CASH FLOW. So, can you run a promotion, do some free marketing, go to some networking events and PROMOTE? What you don’t have is a job…what you have more of is TIME. Get creative with your time so that the activities you’re doing are bringing you more cash flow. If you don’t have a “business”, where else can you create immediate cash flow? Remember the name of the game is getting creative and thinking outside of the box. And seriously…if you don’t have a business or some other stream of income, start looking for that too. You don’t want to be caught with no other income stream ever again.
6. Don’t wait. Don’t wait to get your resume out, call your business contacts, run a promotion for your current business, start a free (or super low-cost) side business, etc. Do not wallow around in your sadness and fear over losing your job. I’m not saying deny your emotions. Feel your feelings…and get moving! Put the word out to people that can help. Let your smart friends and smart business contacts know that you’re available for work, and ask for suggestions. (Remember I said your SMART friends and business contacts. Don’t let your broke friends drag you down lower.)
7. Trust. You’ve come this far my friends, you WILL be ok. Especially if you’re getting creative and moving towards cash flow. 🙂
8. Stay POSITIVE. I know it’s hard right now. I promise you, I know. But you already lost your job. Now it’s up to you to choose how to live each day. I guarantee you that staying positive (which helps keep you in motion) will help.
You will have a new job, or business, or more cash flow before you know it. So, take my advice. It helps. I promise!
If you have any tips of your own, please leave them as a comment!