When you lose your job, the most important things you can do revolve around damage control:

 

  1. Don’t panic. Redo your resume, get online, buy relevant papers and journals, and get yourself right back in the job market.
  2. Don’t be proud. Now is the time to ask family and friends for financial help, if needed.
  3. Ask credit card companies if you can pay interest-only for three months, while you get another job.
  4. If paying bills is going to be difficult, consider a temporary job, but keep hours flexible so you can attend interviews.
  5. Cut your “Me” money to zero until you get another job. Your social life can revolve around home for a while.

Reprinted from A Girl's Guide to Money by Laura Brady with permission from Ulysses Press and Axis Publishing Ltd. Photo © Mehmet Dilsiz/Fotolia