Cramer: Steps to Take Right After a Job Loss
The list reads like a “who’s’ who” of great American companies – if the list was written by Stephen King.
I’m talking about the list of companies that have announced layoffs in 2008 and 2009.
Citigroup (Stock Quote: C) has lopped off 59,000 employees; General Motors (Stock Quote: GM), 19,000, with a huge early retirement buyout in the making that will shed even more jobs. Hewlett-Packard (Stock Quote: HPQ) is laying off 24,500 employees, and Alcoa (Stock Quote: AA) is shedding 15,000 more. Starbucks (Stock Quote: SBUX), Dow Chemical (Stock Quote: DOW), Morgan Stanley (Stock Quote: MS), Chrysler, Bank of America (Stock Quote: BAC) , the National Football League! – even NASA is issuing pink slips – 7,000 at last count.
That’s how bad it’s become. We can put a man on the moon, but if the man on the moon ever came down here, we couldn’t get him a job.
Hey, all we can do is make the best of a bad situation, and that’s especially true for those Americans who have lost their jobs in the economic collapse of 2008-2009.
For those folks, my heart goes out to you. As someone who's been fired from one job and had another vanish out from underneath him, I get it. In the first case I was able to go elsewhere, but in the second I just lived on my sister's floor until I got my act together: Not exemplary! But if you've just been hit with a pink slip, you can take some of the sting away, both over the short- and long-haul, by taking some key financial steps that I’ve outlined below.
Figure out your financial position – I’ve always been a big advocate of having the equivalent of six-month’s salary, or better yet, one-year’s salary, stashed away in an emergency fund. If you’ve managed that, you can exhale – studies show that people who lose their jobs usually find another one within six months. Sure, this economy is difficult, but companies will hire again. The extra cash will help you ride out that storm. For help in figuring out an emergency cash reserve, visit BankingMyWay.
