My husband lost his job last week. He worked in the food sector, one of the usually most dependable for job security. He had worked for nearly 6 years total in this same type job, worked his way up to not only a manager, but a 5% partner in the store he worked at, but none of that mattered. His was our only income, as I don't work because of several health problems. The main thing is, we not only need the income, we need the insurance coverage, as I have about 10 prescriptions I supposedly HAVE to take to keep me going, and even with insurance, they aren't cheap.

There are others in this country that have it much worse than we do, so I am not going to have a pity party. I am going to try to become creative in how I spend our money, and make a game out of seeing how well we can live on the least amount until he gets another job. Luckily, he knows a lot of business people he can network with, and the removal of the stress related to his last job has actually been a blessing. For the first time in years, we have time to re-connect, although we were laughing about the adjustment and getting on each other's nerves. I think the real key to keeping your sanity about a job loss is having faith not only that things will work out, but having faith in the person who lost their job, and letting them know you have that faith in them. Their pride has been stomped on, they may feel depressed and defeated for a few days, but how their family responds makes a huge difference in how they feel about themselves. Letting them know we have confidence in them and their capabilities is a huge part of getting them on their feet and out the door again. This is confidence they can carry with them when they go out that door for a new job interview. We, as their families, can choose to be part of the problem or part of the solution. I choose to be part of the solution. 

For the person who has just lost their job, they may have worked in the same line of work for years, but been miserable while doing so. This can be the perfect time to look at alternative and creative ways of bringing in money, or a career change that may have nothing to do with their old line of work. I am not saying have a mid-life crisis, lol, but remember that the only thing limiting you now is yourself and what you are willing or wanting to do, unless something requires more education. I realize we are in a recession, but "necessity is the mother of invention", and it is a great time to get inventive. As far as I am concerned, "if you can dream it, you can do it  

For the families of the person(s) who has lost their job, try to remain as upbeat and positive as possible. The now jobless person already feels they have let down their family (through no fault of their own), and guilt can also be a problem for them. Often they second guess themselves and their self esteem and self image suffer. When they are not out job hunting, pull together as a family by having "family nights" involving board games or movies and popcorn. Eat dinner as a family and encourage the job seeker to talk about their day. Even if they end up having to deliver pizza until something else more suitable comes along, let them know their family will not be embarrassed by it and will stand by them through the hard times. There is no dishonorable work as long as it is legal! Children can help clip coupons and go through their closets to help find good quality used clothing to take to the resale shop for extra money or donations. If you are active in church, talk to your pastor for faith and prayer. Many churches and towns have food pantries and other services for those who are financially struggling. Don't be too proud to utilize these resources, and when you get back on your feet, you can donate food, money, and/or time back to repay them if you wish.

If you get sick with a cold, flu or some other relatively easy to treat disease, let your doctor know your financial situation. They often have medications like antibiotics on hand from the drug company reps that the doctor can give you for free to get you well. Plus many blood pressure, cholesterol and other maintenance drugs are on the "$4.00 list" available at participating pharmacies if you have lost your insurance, and you can save a lot of money that way. Also, if you contact the drug company that makes the medication yourself, often they can help provide those medications for free, if you have a prescription for it and if you qualify financially. The qualification forms and amount of money you are allowed to make to qualify are very reasonable.I have used this option myself in the past. Back then, I believe the amount of money you could make for a family of two was around $34,000. That may have changed now, so don't hold me to that. There is also a foundation that Montel Williams used to advertise that was called "PPA" or something like that. I got several of my medications through them until we got back on our feet and got insurance again, but that was quite a while ago. I don't know if they are still active, but you can check.

Make a game out of seeing who can conserve the most electricity in your home with your children if you have kids at home. Reward them with a favorite homemade dessert or meal, or some other low cost reward. Teaching them to be energy efficient and working with a budget can never start too early. Most of all, don't keep the kids in the dark about the changes going on in the family. Even small children can understand more than we give them credit for, and there will be enough stress as it is without them being uncertain about what is going on. You can make them feel more in control of the situation in small ways by including them in things like coupon clipping, energy saving, and going through their closets for clothing and toys for items for resale shops or garage sales.  Think of all the extra room you will make and the sense of accomplishment you will all feel, working together as a family.

One more thing-I heard on the radio the other day that people waiting for interviews are often watched in the lobby by other employees. One of the best things considered to do while waiting is to review your resume. Some of the things looked down on were playing games or listening to music on your phone, gossiping or complaining about your previous job or boss, or making bad remarks about someone going in to interview before you do. Other bad things were talking about your own or other's personal lives, and for heaven's sake, make sure your Myspace or Facebook pages don't have incriminating photos or disparaging remarks about others or all the partying you might like to do after hours. Employees check these things out, and it can definitely be a deal breaker!

So, hang in there, good luck, and remember, everything happens for a reason. Someday you may look back and realize this experience ended up being both the best and worst thing that could have happened!

 Since writing this article, my husband has secured a new job in the same field he was in. When I said that "Someday you may look back and realize this experience ended up being both the best and worst thing that could have happened", I was right, at least in our case. His new job is not only considered a promotion, but it is much better paying, with a large corporation, the benefits are much better and it offers us much more job security. There is much more room for advancement where he is now, and he is actually in a program with the company that recognises people with a lot of potential and basically fast-forwards them up the ladder. They have already told him that eventually he could end up becoming a vice president if he continued to perform with the same type of work ethics and level he has in the past.

What I keep thinking about is not only how grateful we both are for this opportunity for him, but also how lucky we are because he was only out of a job for 2 months. It was an incredible amount of stress on both of us, and he felt the stress the most because I am still recuperating from my heart bypass surgery and have to take a lot of medications. Needless to say, we had no insurance, but we made it through it without too much problems, because my doctors would give me samples and our pharmacy gave us a $100 gift card out of the kindness of their hearts. Incredibly, our electric company gave us a $300.00 credit when they heard of our situation, which lasted for 3 months because the weather has been really nice, and I am very frugal with watching the thermostat and saving money every way I can. But I feel so grateful because I know there are families out there that are jobless and have children at home, and they are losing their homes and cars and wonder where every meal is going to come from. I now pray for these complete strangers, hoping they will find work soon and can go on with their lives.

Going through all of this has brought my husband and myself closer and more supportive of each other, during a situation when many couples would have had problems. He says I was his "rock" during our two months of joblessness. I told him marriage is never 50-50, sometimes it's 90-10, and it was my time to give the 90%. To all of you out there still without jobs, keep your chin up and keep looking. Each new day brings new possibilities and you can't lose sight of your end goal.