by Peter Mccarthy

Created on: March 14, 2009

Exciting times loom large with the current financial hiccup and events may overtake us without our having any possible influence on their arrival. It depends on where you sit in the structure as to just what you are able to do to influence the outcome.

But on a personal level the ball is "in our court" to a certain degree. From the stand point of providing for your family, it helps a great deal if your level of debt is on the light side and this includes the dreaded credit card monster.

Do you have more than one card?

Are they maxed out and costing you interest?

Do you clear them before interest payments are accrued?

At the very least, you should be clearing this insidious beast. If you are carrying debt at this level you are living beyond your means if the pink slip turns up in your next pay packet. Even if you feel your job is "safe", why not practice getting this under control just to prove you can? The sudden shock of facing unemployment could be softened if you have been practicing the financial equivalent of a fire drill.

For the big ticket debt, is your house bigger than it needs to be now the children have left home? As long as you own a fair percentage of your home you may find downsizing is an exhilarating change in your life that may clear your debt altogether. It's cheaper to maintain a smaller house and as long as you have a spare room for the kids to stay over there is no loss of lifestyle.

Should the unthinkable happen and you find yourself free to pursue your hobbies full time, NEVER vent about your previous employer should you score an interview for a new job. As obvious as this sounds, some folk ease their frustration at interview by offering commentary about how harshly they have been dealt with. Don't go there. This goes for getting things off your chest on your social networking pages too. If you are out of work you cannot afford the luxury.

If you are awaiting your next career and things are slow on the opportunities front, start looking to where your skill set may evolve to. I myself, am studying to become a qualified trainer having been out of work for some months. The reasoning being that there are going to be a lot of folk having to retrain and I imagine trainers are going to be in a strong growth industry.

Finally, don't waste time blaming yourself for your current situation. Better to spend your energy on embracing the new opportunities that will soon present themselves.

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