by Jen Thorpe

Created on: April 01, 2010

The experience of suddenly losing your job is extremely stressful.  In the blink of an eye, you go from being a financially stable individual to someone who must rely on help from the government in order to pay your bills and continue to eat.  I was devastated when this happened to me, convinced that it was the end of the world.  Instead, I learned how to live while on unemployment. 

The first thing you need to do is sign up for unemployment insurance benefits.  Do this immediately!  In my experience, it can take more than a month from the time you sign up to the day you get your first check.  You can sign up for unemployment online, and it doesn’t take long to do.

You should have some money coming in from your previous job.  Most people get at least one last check for the amount they were expecting.  Some people will also get a check for the vacation days that they did not get to use while they were still employed.  Use these checks to pay your current bills.  Try to put off having a late payment for as long as possible.

Did your previous job offer you a retirement plan?  You may want to consider going after that money.  Don’t expect to get the full amount, because when you cash out a retirement plan, they always take a cut of your money before issuing it to you.  In my experience, you will have to make multiple phone calls in an effort to get this money, and it will take a while before this check arrives to you. 

Keep looking for work.  In most cases, you are required to keep looking for work in order to keep receiving your unemployment benefits.  Every day, get online and check out the local Craigslist, and any other local job websites.  Look at job websites such as Monster.com for more options.  Start sending out resumes, and contacting these employers by email.  Try not to get discouraged when most of these employers don’t bother to respond. It’s not a personal reflection on your resume, your personality, or you as a person.  This is just how things work now.

Eventually, you will start receiving unemployment checks.  Don’t make the mistake of assuming that these checks will arrive in as timely a fashion as your paycheck once did.  I learned this the hard way.  If you filled out a claim form differently than how the unemployment department wanted you to, this will delay your check.  It is not unusual for your checks to be three or more weeks behind the actual calendar date.  You may be asked to do a telephone interview with the unemployment office, or more than one.  Each time they assign one of these, they will stop sending out your check not only until the interview is over, but also until they fill out the required paperwork about the interview.  I’ve gone several weeks at a time without receiving a check, as I wait for the bureaucracy to catch up.

It is time to start cutting back on things.  Eat your meals at home, instead of going out.  Check out the dollar stores before going to your usual grocery stores. Coupons are valuable things!  Put off the vacation you had planned, and use that money to pay your bills.  Being on unemployment isn’t fun.  It’s stressful, and exasperating.  Just keep in mind that you won’t have to live like this forever.  This too, shall pass.    

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