While the economy is causing many businesses and
employees alike to live in fear of the pink slip, there are many
families worried about where their next meal will come from if there is
no income to rely upon. However unexpected a layoff is, there are ways
to survive, provided you do a little pre-planning.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare and deal with a layoff should it happen to you:

Start Cutting Costs

It\'s never too early to start reducing the mount of money you spend
on your lifestyle. Start thinking back to the basics of life and cut
costs where you can. Think about creative ways to knock down your
grocery bills, utility costs, transportation expenses, and other things
you may not necessarily need. Start paying off the smaller bills you
have to decrease your outgoing debt payments.

Pay Minimums

While it does not necessarily promise a quick balance payoff, start
paying at least the minimums on the credit card balances you do have to
keep some spare cash on hand when times are tough. You do not want to
stop paying and you definitely do not want to keep spending money on
cards you can not afford to pay off.

Set Your Budget

If you don\'t have a budget already, now is the time to make one.
You need to understand where your money is coming from and where it is
going to go once it is in your hands. Budgets will help you not
overspend and be clear on what you are doing with your money instead of
saving it.

Stash the Cash

According to your budget, you should find at least a little bit of
cash week to put away into an emergency fund. It doesn\'t matter how
little - what matters is that you do it. A little bit here and there on
a weekly basis will make a tidy sum if you leave it alone until a real
emergency comes about.

Start Hunting Now

Be discreet about it but start getting your options figured out
while you are still employed. See what it will take to improve your
resume. Perhaps some new training will allow you to not only get a new
job but to find one that makes you more money that you are making now.
Check with your local unemployment office and see if they offer
consultations or training for a new job. Spread the word amongst
friends that you might be looking for a new job and see if anyone can
give you a referral. Make sure you don\'t burn any bridges at your
present job while your position stability is still up in the air.

Snag a Secondary Income

If you are not having much success with a full time gig, find
something part time that you can rely on to pay the bills and eat until
you can pick up steadier work. Depending on your skill set, you can
also try consulting work or freelancing to keep money coming in.

Be Open Minded

It will be a difficult situation for all to deal with a layoff and
the uncertainty that goes along with it but you need to remain
open-minded and flexible in order to get through the tough situation.
To some extent, you will need to do what you have to do to make things
keep moving forward.