If you've been fired and can't find a new job, or are a recent graduate who's never had a job in the first place, you may be feeling increasingly desperate the longer your job search drags on. Even if you're lucky enough to still have a job, you may be worried that it won't exist much longer, or that your pay's been cut and you can't cover the bills anymore.

This hub offers a few ideas for ways to stay active and keep your mind off the rising unemployment rates in the country, while hopefully earning a little extra money to help your family survive the recession.

Please feel free to share your own stories and ideas in the comments at the bottom of the page.

For many people, the most difficult part of holding a garage sale is finding the time to plan and set one up. If you're unemployed, planning and running a garage sale is a great way to keep busy and make a little extra cash in the process.

You can also sell stuff online at websites such as eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Craigslist, and more.

There are two ways to do this.

The first way is to go bargain hunting at garage sales, thrift stores, library book sales, flea markets, and similar places. When you find a bargain, buy it and resell it for a higher price from your home or on any of the websites listed above.

The second way is through affiliate marketing. Use extreme caution if you're thinking about trying to get into affiliate marketing, as there are many, many scammers in this business and plenty of good reasons to be wary even of some of the most established affiliate marketing companies, such as Avon and Tupperware.

For beginners, a good rule of thumb is, don't pay money to make money. Test your skills on a free service such as HubPages or Squidoo first, then graduate to hosting your own websites. For example, this excellent guide to making money with the eBay affiliate program explains how to set up an easy website to promote ebay affiliate products.

If you have extra space in your house, a finished mother-in-law's apartment above your garage, or similar spaces, you may be able to take in one or more tenants. Many families who are reluctant to take in strangers have even opened up their homes to adult children, siblings, cousins, family friends, and others. The tenants help pay the mortgage and perhaps food or utility bills, depending on the nature of the arrangement. In return, they get a place to stay, perhaps at slightly below market rates.

Rooms aren't the only things you can rent. Cars, bicycles, electronics, yard and garden tools, jewelry, artwork... the list is nearly endless.

Everybody has skills, some related to former jobs, some not. With a little creativity, you can turn your skills into a source of extra cash, or even a whole new job.

Some skills are service related. If you can mow lawns, sharpen knives, balance a budget, repair cars, walk dogs, braid hair, translate business letters, or water plants, you have serviceable skills. Spread the word around your neighborhood that you're willing to do these things for a reasonable fee, advertise in local papers and bulletin boards at grocery stores, and put an ad up on your local Craigslist to start looking for people looking for people with your skills. Websites such as odesk and elance also connect skilled people with people who need their skills.

Some skills are product related. If you grow the biggest, juiciest tomatoes or the prettiest, most colorful dahlias on the block, if you bake a killer apple pie or mix the best marinades, if you can make furniture by hand or refurbish a classic car, if you sew your own clothes or knit your own socks, if you paint or throw pots, then you have production skills. Start selling your work at farmers markets, craft shows, and through the classifieds or on websites such as eBay, Cafepress, Etsy, or Foodzie.

Sit down and write a list of everything you do really, really well. Then make a list of everything you do pretty well. Look it over and see if there are any skills you can turn into money, or even simply barter for services you yourself need.

If nothing jumped out at you on your first two lists, sit down and write down one more. This time, list all the skills you want to learn, but have never had the time or money to sit down and actually do.

Some of these skills may be unrealistic, even now, but others may offer genuine opportunities. Maybe you've always kept a nice vegetable garden and have dreamed of having a few hens scratching around eating bugs and weeds among the rows. Even many urban and suburban areas allow hens - get a few, see if you like it, and if you do, get a few more and start selling the eggs.

Maybe you've always wanted to write a novel. Sit down and pursue your goal seriously. Set yourself a good, achievable goal - two pages every day, rain or shine, holiday or weekend, even if your two yesterday was actually ten.

Unemployment can also be a good opportunity to go back to school. Talk to your school of choice's financial aid office to learn about scholarships and grants offered by the school, the government and other organizations.

Another option is to stop worrying about making enough money to survive and start thinking about how to survive without money. There is a growing movement towards urban self-sufficiency in the United States, and if you live in a suburban or rural area, you will have even better chances of reducing your need for outside income by growing your own food, generating your own energy, and more.