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We see it on the news daily and in the newspapers we read. Our neighborhoods are filled with empty homes in foreclosure or abandoned by their owners. We watch as our family and friends lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Companies and banks are dropping like flies and people aren't spending as much money as they used to because they don't have as much money as they used to. People have lost their life savings in 401K programs and stocks. Our new president is seemingly attacking the problem head on, but we must have a realistic perspective about the state of our economy: It is bad and the road back to economic health will be long and painful for most of us. But, none of it is quite real until it happens to us. The day we all dread.

For months we've been walking around feeling grateful that we still have our jobs. We tell anyone who will listen to us how lucky we feel; as if just saying it out loud makes it more real, as if being grateful will protect our income. Driving into work that morning, we have no idea what the day has in store for us. We are still protected by our pink cloud of self-delusion. We've watched as our company has made cut after cut, month after month, and somehow we're still employed. We walk into the office and are almost immediately summoned to see the boss. An hour later, we are leaving the building with all of our personal belongings in tow and our boss's voice echoing through our minds, "This is not your fault. It's the economy." There is little comfort in knowing it's not your fault when you have no idea how you are going to pay your bills. And, for most of us this is where fear sets in.

And, now this is precisely the time when we have to replace our fear with courage. This is our responsibility to us and to everyone in our lives. We have to learn to walk through these hard times with our heads held high and our hearts full of hope. Because it will get better. It always does. And, in the meantime there are things we can do to cope with these harsh economic times.

When I was laid off, the first thing I did was trim the fat. And, if you're anything like me, it's pretty surprising how much fat there is to trim. My income was cut to less than half of what I was making and I was barely "getting by" on my full salary without tapping into my savings every month. Or so I thought. Upon closer examination and because I was forced to pay attention, I quickly saw how much money I wasted every month. Gym memberships I didn't use, tanning

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