What saved me is consciously writing out the reasons that I want to buy anything more than $20 that wasn’t food, and waiting a few days to see if that reason really made sense. Then I cut up all credit cards and only use my debit card (just make sure you get overdraft protection or you’re likely to incur more in fees than savings).

For food, I buy whatever is on sale that lasts a long time, and I stick to a cash budget that I withdraw on a weekly basis.

For all those services that you pay for, just call and cancel ones you don’t really need. I was surprised how many of them offered me reduced rates, even my cable company!

- Slacker
http://www.theslackermethod.com

In short, I am an event entertainer, I do balloon art and face painting at parties. It is not a rocket science. Most mothers can do it, and fathers too.

And, yes, families and companies are still party this holiday season and still pay $100 per hour and up to entertainers. Granted this line of work is not for everyone, but it surely beats many low to moderate paying jobs. And can be a real life saver for NO MONEY, NO JOB situations.

If you have any questions, please do ask me by e-mailing me from my site.

http://www.linkedin.com (professional networking)
http://www.monster.com (keyword job search)
http://www.realmatch.com (matches jobs based on skills)

good luck to those looking.

Some thoughts I’d like to share with the writer:

Determine what your biggest expenses are, and figure out how to reduce or eliminate them. Cutting out your $50 cable bill may not have much impact (and may result in unintended extra spending, due to boredom).

For us, that was mainly food. We’ve adopted a much cheaper diet (beans, rice and pasta dishes, sandwiches, soup, pancakes, eggs, baked goods, canned food) and started buying what we need for this in bulk. We’re actually enjoying doing all of our cooking at home, and trying new recipes. I’m thinking about planting a vegetable garden come spring time.

For you, one of your biggest expenses may be automobiles. If you have more than 1 car, figure out if you can get by with just 1. Maybe that 1 car should be used and paid for with cash, so you can carry liability insurance only. Or maybe you don’t need a car at all (public transit)?

I’d recommend that your goal be to figure out how to live on only 1 income. Any extra money coming in (like when you find a new job, collect unemployment payments, or your husband gets a 2nd job) should go into savings. No one knows how long this situation is going to last, and even if you find another job, you may be laid off again a few months later.