A criminal picked the wrong bank and the wrong teller. Last Tuesday, a man walked into a Key Bank branch in Seattle, placed a bag on the counter and demanded money from 30-year-old teller Jim Nicholson. Instead of handing over the money, Mr. Nicholson asked the man where "it" was, referring to a weapon. When the man didn't answer, Nicholson lunged after the man, who ran out of the bank.

Mr. Nicholson gave chase, and caught the man with the help of a passerby. He held him down and waited for police to arrive, he told the Seattle Times.

Then we enter bizarro world. Because he violated the bank's policy of quickly getting robbers out of the bank, pardon the pun, he got cashiered. Mr. Nicholson is out of a job because bank officials say trying to stop robberies puts employees and customers at risk.

I am all for following policy. But does the bank have a zero tolerance policy that goes with that? Couldn't it have been a stern lecture, perhaps even some additional training for Mr. Nicholson?

Mind it--no one got hurt. The bank did not lose a penny. Not even a dye pack. And in a tough job market, a brave man who did something instinctive is out of a job.

One comment that sums up the feelings of this blog perfectly:

If I were a Key Bank customer, at 9:01AM I would not be. Key Bank should re-hire Nicholson, pat him on the back, strongly "suggest" that he not do that again, buy him a steak dinner, and put him back to work! If they didn't, I'm sure another bank would like my business.

What is wrong with Key Bank management?

If you are a Key Bank customer, or even if you are not a customer, let them know what you think about this:

Be polite, be nice.

Key Bank: 1-800-539-2968.

Or you can contact them online: https://www.key.com/html/key-bank-general-contact.html

Hi all. It's been awhile since I havve posted. I have pretty much run out of money. I worked on a 1099 in 2009. I just made the first pass on my taxes, and I will owe over $8k (ouch). Also needed to buy a new computer for my livelihoood. At least I got that expense in in 2009. I'm already late on my home equity loan. Primary mortgage loan default may follow soon. I'm considering declaring bankruptcy too. My nexty step is to speak with an attorney about what options are best for me. In the meantime, I'm liquidating the contents of the house and have moved into my girlfriend's condo.

On a good note. I have an interview for a real job this Friday. If I get it, it may pay as little as 50% of what I made at my peak, but I'll have steady work, benefits, and the opportunity to enhance skills that could be leveraged for something better in the future.

So I was layed off 2/13 and just panicked.  I'm single and had only been employed 4 months after a previous 5 month lay-off!  In that 5 months I depleted my savings account (thank god I had one) staying alive - you know paying the mortgage and car payment.  So when I was layed off again I have really freaked out.  I had built up a two 1/2 month cushion and once again am depleting it to stay alive.  my stock is worth nothing right now; we all know what our IRA's look like!  I have no one else here with an income to assist me.  I see myself losing my home, I see a car being taking back and so forth.  I am a very smart, intelligent woman and have always been very successful in sales.  It is disheartening to think I can't get a job?  Oh there are plenty of sales jobs out there BUT all offering a commission only status...that's not so bad if you have funds to survive while building a book of business.

So the purpose of my blog?  I will begin documenting all the steps I've been going through to secure a new career.  Let me start by summarizing the last month. 

I have responded to about 5 job postings DAILY via Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, Indeed and CraigsList.  I have run my own personal ad on Craigslist offering temporary assistance with hiring needs; resume writing assistance, interview technique assistance.  I have offered to clean, paint, do yard work, run errands, buy your gorceries!  Just anything to bring in some money.  I have entertained multi-level marketing companies.  I have offered to walk door-to-door putting pamphlets on doors, telemarketing...I have signed up to do some "courier" work.  AND I HAVE GOTTEN NOWHERE.  NOT ONE NIBBLE!!

So am I freaking out????  You bet!  Do I lay awake at night in a panick?  You bet!

SunnyT

Pardon me while I put on my sarcasm hat, because the following gem is from an "alleged" expert--someone who has apparently helped 20,000 people with his resume writing skills.

Oh my, wake up the kids; why didn't I think of this? Let me ask you, Mr. Expert, how exactly is one supposed to find WHO the hiring manager is? It's not like job postings say "this position reports to Jane Smith in Production, and her mailstop is B16"!

When are people going to stop giving out this type of advice that is not actionable?

We actually show ways to find out who the hiring manager is, how to find out her contact information and how to decide whether to contact her or not. You can read more about these "actionable intelligence" methods in our book, The Laidoff Ninja.

I would be interested to work with others to create laws to protect workers rights & make employment situations more transparent. Now on my 3rd RIF, I researched my Fortune 100 company and found they were in good fiscal standing - however if I had had more transparency, I would have learned they weren't.  For those of us trying to re-enter the workforce, we are the most vulnerable to layoffs due to the lack of seniority. Here is what I would like to see:

*   Collective work history score for the employee: If you have been a good employee then you would receive a score from employeers that travels with you from job to job, much like a credit rating based on criteria that reflects a good employee. If your RIFed over and over, it would not count against you or make you look unstable if you had a score proving otherwise. It would make you a valid canidate for the next opportunity.

*   Collective score for employers: Score would reflect criteria giving transparency to fiscal strength, RIF's, layoffs and employee terminations, & employee promotions. Employees interviewing with a company would be able to determine risk for accepting a position with the employer.

*   Re-write state statutes that repeal the "termination at will" and ensure there is a legal contract in place for new hires that guarantees them an alloted period of time that they may remain in the job given they meet performance expectations. If there is a challenge to this, bring in a 3rd party to review the situation and ensure there is a valid reason to terminate the employee

*   Make it illegal for employers to intimidate workers to step down into lower paying positions. Per the contract above, an employer must validate with emperical data that they can not afford the position and re-negociate the contract with a 3rd party overseeing. 

While I am aware the above reflects the concept of UNION, I would offer that it be considered to have a public oversite organization or a commercial operation that would act as the 3rd party. This is because starting a union in some organizations can get you fired & because present unions do not always try to create a win-win situation with the employer. The 3rd party could offer workers assistance to organize into a union, not organize or become a collective entity unto themselves. I believe calling it something other than Union, would give the advantage as there is not legalese in place to stop it.

Finally, I feel strongly that American workers hold much more power than anyone realizes. If you are middle class - you are carrying the interest of the rich and the poor on your back. That is a lot of power. We need to figure out a way to collectively use that in a win-win, but with our own interests at the forefront.

Thanks.

twothirdsdutch@yahoo.com 

While on LinkedIn today I came across the URL for the Layoff Support Network. Just by finding it my spirits lifited to know that I am far from alone in facing a lay-off. Thank you to those who have developed this network and continue to work on it, I have enjoyed reading the blogs of others and exploring various resources contained herein.

So yesterday I spent the morning once again scouring the job boards; so frustrating!  I applied for the following:  Account Mgr/Construction industry - WiMax Sales (I\'d like to do this!) - Office Support staff ( in my cover I offered my sales skills for free to market their product while I did the office admin duites, they\'d get more for the salary) - Account Mgr for Day Wireless and applied to walk door to door selling Dish Network services.  I really want to get back to work.  Wednesday I will be attending a networking event and I\'m really looking forward to putting on some professional clothes and seeing the business world! 

I have been researching all the grant money materials that are supposed to be available per President Obama but have had no luck- does anyone know where to find the grant application for a start up company?  Everything I find on researching grants is all about wanting us to pay for the materials?  So I broke down and paid but still can\'t find what I\'m looking for and I\'m a smart girl!

The other thing I did yesterday while in front of the computer was some research on these \"modified home loan\" programs.  I\'m a payment behind on my mortage so I thought I would be an excellent candidate for this right?  First because my payment is 31% higher than income ratio and second of all I could eventually face a foreclosure.  I figure I\'m at risk!  Well without a job you can\'t qualify to get a lower mortgage payment!   So even on this, I appear to be out of luck!

There\'s nothing to do around the house when I already keep it clean!  I am racking my brains to come up with some inventive idea to market, I\'ve had 2 great product ideas in the past that I didn\'t know what to do about but you can buy those ideas off the shelf now!  I dabble with writing and have been thinking of going down to the portland waterfront (on good days) with a blanket and get back to writing. 

In the meantime how do we all pay our bills?

SunnyT

Welcome to the first entry of my stinking blog. I am glad that you are here. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "He didn't mean that". Well, yes I did. That is exactly what I meant. The thing is, misery loves company. The more of you losers there are; the less I (King Loser)  feel alone. Therefore, the current headlines about the fall of the economy and all the people that lost jobs just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Okay, I am joking about that. I would never wish what I call "unexpected unemployment" on my worst enemy. There are few things more painful than being notified you are just a number to your company. I think the last time I got laidoff, they called it a "riff". That was the politically correct term that the cheerful HR representatives used. I wanted to shove a "riff" right up her....... but I digress.

Just the fact that I'm taking the time to write this blog shows what a caring human being I really am. A prince of a guy...no a King. Because, as bad you might feel for being laid off, and as unfair and unfortunate a situation it may be, when you read about my experience you at least will know your life could have turned out worse. And that is my gift to you, fellow loser.

In this blog I will tell you about my life's experiences with "unexpected unemployment". I will also mix my postings with articles I have found that are relevant to the topic at hand. I promise you that everything I write in this blog is true. Aside from my profile picture, the events depicted here are all true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

As a point of reference I will tell you my age. I am 50 years old. Oh man, that hurts to say. I never would've imagined that at 50 years old I would be at a point where I had to be worrying about economic survival.

I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. When I was a kid I was a pretty average student, kind of average looking and not very athletic. In high school, for some reason I became very interested in photography. I really wanted to be a  photographer. Coming from a middle-class Jewish background, when I told my parents I wanted to be a photographer they offered me two choices. Go to college or we will have you killed. I decided to take door number two (and for those of you my age, you know the reference). I did go to college.

If you went to college, I'm sure you knew many people who picked ridiculous majors. Majors that we all knew they couldn't possibly find a job in. Psychology, Art Russian Literature, Poetry... ridiculous majors. I was much more practical. I decided to become a Marine Biologist.

So now you're thinking, "what does this have to do with being laid off"? I'm getting to that. When I was 18, I got the biggest career break I would ever get in my life. While Marine Biology majors around the world were accepting jobs selling tropical fish, I literally fell into one of the most prestigious jobs in the field of Marine Biology. I worked for the next two years for one of the top shark researchers in the world. I was living in Miami and working in Key Biscayne. Much of my time was spent in the Florida Keys.  During the infamous "Blizzard of 78", I was spreading Coppertone all over the bare back of an 18 year old beach-babe. Life was good.

One day, while lying back under the Rickenbacker Causeway I was watching the pelicans hit the water and scoop up fish. To my right, was a group of young college girls romping about in small bikinis. It was at that moment that my now, 19-year-old brain decided it would be a good idea to move back to the frigid temperatures of New England and get a job at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Believe it or not, that is exactly what I did. I got a job, at 19 years old, at (arguably) the most prestigious Marine Biology center in the world.

I moved back to New England and started my job at Woods Hole. One week later, the government (run by that peanut eating schmuck, Jimmy Charter) cancelled the grant that was funding my project. I was laid off.

That was my first experience with a layoff.

Laura Bassett @ The Huffington Post writes:

Still waiting for a response to the 300 resumés you sent out last month? Bad news: Some companies are ignoring all unemployed applicants.

In a current job posting on The People Place, a job recruiting website for the telecommunications, aerospace/defense and engineering industries, an anonymous electronics company in Angleton, Texas, advertises for a "Quality Engineer." Qualifications for the job are the usual: computer skills, oral and written communication skills, light to moderate lifting. But red print at the bottom of the ad says, "Client will not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason."

WTF? How do you break this Catch-22?

Read the article. It made my blood boil.

Let me make clear that I don't think all recruiters play these games, but enough of them are guilty of these to give the rest a bad name. If you, as a candidate, have seen these or similar tricks, or want to defend recruiters, let us know through your comments. If you are a recruiter and think that we are being unfair, add those comments too.

These are excerpts from our book, "The Laidoff Ninja."

1. A recruiter will contact you, tell you about the job, and send you a job description, but won't tell you the name of the company because they are afraid that you will either apply directly or go through another recruiter. Really.

2. Many recruiters will often advertise phantom jobs to build up a candidate pool. This often results in the scenario described above where they would not tell the candidate the name of the employer, because there isn't one.

3. Recruiter will say to a candidate: "I am having lunch with the hiring manager tomorrow." Craig, the co-author of The Laidoff Ninja, called a recruiter to see how his lunch with the hiring manager went. It was obvious that he didn't even remember saying it. He fumbled for recovery by saying, "Oh ... yeah ... that is tomorrow."

The purpose of a recruiter saying "I am having lunch with the hiring manager" is to imply that he or she has a real-life relationship with the hiring manager. This one falls in one of hte plausible but unlikely scenario.

4.Recruiter: "We will only handle you if you come in and interview with us first."

Why? If you have a recruiter who is saying that you have to meet in person, insist on finding out his reasoning.Is it an ego trip? Is it pre-screening? Why can't it be done over the phone?

5. Recruiters will ask one candidate about interview experiences, and then pass on the experience to the next candidate. Is it ethically and morally OK? As I am not a recruiter I don't know, but here is what I do know:

Candidates: Unless you knew the recruiter previously and considered him a friend, remember that he is NOT your friend, and he does NOT have an exclusive with YOU. He gets paid when ANY of his candidates gets hired; he does not particularly care if it's you, Adam, or Eve, as long as he gets paid. So when your recruiter asks you how the interview went, he may actually try to pump you for information. By passing on that information, he improves the chances of the next person, but what he really is trying to do is improving the chances of getting paid himself!

If you have never asked a recruiter what other candidates were asked during their interviews, why should the recruiter get that advantage and pass it on to other candidates who go in after you?

Give him your general opinion or questions about your personal history or resume, but DO NOT share difficult or interesting technical or job-related questions you may have been asked.

I was once lost but now - oh I'm still lost, confused on where to go next. Not even sure if my situation is even going to be met with anything.

  I was working. I was in sales. But admittedly not very good at it, I sucked. Refused to abandon my integrity, my ethics, my convictions and most of all myself for the reward of a few more sales, a lousy company-paid trip and as important as it is for survival, money.

  I felt just by being in door to door sales, I had sacrificed myself about as far as I could and still sleep.

  to be continued

I couldn't help but relate to the guy in this article. Except that he got $188k in severance. I got $0. You work your way up to the top, but there is only room for a few at that level.

I am (was) and Information Security Officer. If a company even has an Information Security program, there is only one ISO. Very, very small job market ... not that I'm complaining. I get to spend my time here!

I am a 32 year old professional. I've owned compaines, assisted with start-ups, and maintained a positive investment portfolio. I got laid off 5 months ago because of "cutbacks" and because I was the last one hired...I drew the long straw. I was getting pretty desperate and sent out a few resumes..nothing...a few more....nothing.....shit! what do i do!? I fill out on online application for Target in my area. Here is the email I received:

Jason,

Thank you for taking the time to apply with us. We are unable to offer you a position at this time, but we do appreciate your interest in Target.

Target Thornton

Completly dumbfounded, I replied:

Hi, I am curious on why you passed on my application? I am a 32 year old IT professional that was laid off in Febuary. I am competing with thousands of other IT specialists and decided I might need a career change. I've done the research and Target is one of the fastest growing retail companies in the world. As Anti-Walmart and a dedicated Target shopper, i've convinced myself that applying and working for Target might be a great idea as long as the advancment opportunity was there. You guys have actually rejected me and with shopping at target, Ive noticed that I would outshine 50% of the employees you currently have working there. Please reconsider my apllication or at least let me know why I wasn't qualified as much as the pierced and dreadlocked (blonde white guy) 18 year old playing tag with one of the other employees. Thanks for your time.

Jason

Was that too rough?

The One Page Resume & Other Urban Legends

Man oh man alive. Geeeeez. Holy Mackerel!

It is now my turn to speak on the subject of the one page resume.

I have NEVER been involved in such a complete fiasco as the unending discussion of whether you should or should not have a one-page resume.

I want to first say that this is a laborious subject, so I will try to spice it up with some pointed, irreverent comments that are sure to tick off some of my conservative readers.

First...some of the comments I have personally heard:

• Well, Joe Blow (insurance salesman) said I should have a one-page resume
• Well, I read a book and it said you should have a one page resume
• I can't really go into what I really did because if I did, it would take more than one page
• Gosh, I wish I could put my job at IBM on my resume but if I did it would make it more than one page and I was told never to have the resume be more than one page long so I hope people figure out (from Tarot cards or Ouija boards) that I worked there because that really was my best and longest job.
• I'm confused, should my resume be more than one page? I FEEL like it should, but I don't want to break the rules because if I do, I might be abducted by evil agents who will ruin my chances for getting employed.

Is this enough? NO. Here's another one.

• People just don't read resumes that are longer than one page.

I have heard some more, but we can start with these.

There is no scientific answer about whether a one-page resume is right or wrong. It all depends on who you are and how much experience you have.

The first thing to look at here is the PURPOSE of a resume. I will state for the record here and now, the purpose of a resume is TO GET YOU AN INTERVIEW. If the resume gets you an interview, it can be considered to be a good resume. If the resume isn't getting you interviews, then you should probably change it, unless you are a bricklayer hopelessly applying to be a CFO (in which case you should be reading a different article entitled "Megalomania and your Unlimited Target Market."

As someone who has read a zillion resumes, I can tell you that the biggest mistake you can make on your resume is to make it hard to read. Lots of graphics, small fonts, borders, boxes, footnotes and really really creative designs are not a good idea these days for a couple reasons. One, scanners don't like these oddities. Two, it can make the resume harder to read. I have seen many seasoned candidates using a 6-point font so they could get the resume on one page. Big mistake. Resume readers do not like eyestrain. If the resume is mechanically challenging, they might just throw it aside for one that is easier on the eyes. You might say that this is unfair and you are right, but since we want to deal with reality, you need to know the truth. There are LOTS of resumes out there and that is part of the problem these days.

If you are a college graduate looking for your first job, a one-page resume is probably just fine. If you have had a job, you should tell the reader what you DID. Also, in light of the current scanning scenario, more pages is not a deterrent because someone who doesn't care about anything but lunch break will automatically scan your "document" into the database. Once it is in there and searchable, you have accomplished one of the goals of resume distribution.

After the dust settles, remember that the resume must tell your story. If you have a longer story, the resume needs to be longer. And please, put the experience you had with each job under a section for that employer so we can tell WHEN and for WHOM you did WHAT. Resume readers don't have time to guess and most won't call to clarify. They will just move on down the line. Short resumes for people long on experience are not appropriate and the real audience for these short resumes is people with short attention spans and low IQ's. I assure you that if the resume gets into the right hands, it will be read thoroughly. If you have omitted significant chunks of your experience, it could be assumed that you do not have the experience in the first place. Heinous, so when in doubt, TELL YOUR STORY.

Here's an ironic twist.

Guess what group collectively has the worst resumes?

RECRUITERS!

Come on my brothers, get it together.

Oh, and by the way, another important point... Wait! ONO..I have to stop, it's going to be more than one pa--

Steve Eddington

Electronic Search, Inc.

seddington@electronicsearch.com

Interesting article about what some people are willing to do to get noticed

Desperate Times

Bad News

In February, CareerXroads released their 8th annual Source of Hire Study, a comprehensive report of how 309,600 job openings were filled during 2008. It contained some very interesting information for job hunters!

How did respondents fill open positions?

38.8% - Internal transfers and promotions
27.3% - Referrals
20.1% - Hiring company's web site
12.3% - Job boards (not counting the hiring company's web site)
7.8% - Direct Sourcing
3.6% - College
3.2% - Career Fairs
3.1% - Temp-to-hire
2.7% - Agency
2.4% - Rehires
0.8% - Walk-ins

From the list above, let's break the job board percentave down further by major sites:

3.55% - CareerBuilder
2.82% - Monster
1.23% - Hot Jobs
0.03% - Linkedin
0.01% - The Ladders
4.45% - Niche sites combined (such as Craig's List, etc.)

According to CareerXroads, hiring from job boards has peaked and will begin to diminish. Monster and CareerBuilder represented 50% of job board hires and only a little over 6% of overall hiring combined! Over the past year, Monster has lost ground to CareerBuilder and they both are rapidly losing ground to "niche" job and social sites.

Why is this information so important? It shows you where to concentrate your energy for the greatest impact! I can't tell you how many books and papers I have read telling people to print out resumes and go visit companies to tap part of the "hidden" job market, yet walk-ins represent less than 1% of overall hires! That sure as heck doesn't sound like a good use of your time, energy and gasoline!

On the other hand, referrals represent over 27% of hiring- once again indicating how important networking is. If you combine referrals (networking) and company web site postings, you hit almost 50% of the hiring "sweet spot." Now, there's a good use of your time!

Good luck!

The report can be found at: Report

Scott Adams goes to the heart of the matter again.

Being a glass-half-full kinda guy, this is my interpretation:

If you don't have a job, don't spend money on $7 lattes, and don't hold your breath thinking the next job is just going to land on your lap. But don't be pessimistic like Ashok.. set the bar at a realistic height.

The recent forum posts about being overqualified are true.. and when the same topic showed up in Dilbert I had to post. This is about survival, folks--take the job you can get, not the one you want to get. Or as that philosophers Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young said, "If you can't have the one you love, love the one you're with"

You may end of working for an idiot, but just grin and bear it. Remember: this is survival

Yes, sometimes you will get jobs that are meaningless

Just don't go medieval on some young upstart's ass; live and let live

 "Tis better to build a fence at the top of a cliff rather than a hospital below," or at least that is the way I remember the saying...  Today cliffs seem to be numerous.  Just last week, Warren Buffett said our entire economy has gone off one.  I suspect there are a lot of us who could have told him that a while back.

But what I find remarkable is not the lack of fences above our many cliffs; it is the absence of hospitals, ambulances or even Band-Aids below.  Recall the tragic story of the husband and wife from LA.  After both were laid off, they chose a most insane and horrible solution.  I remember as bodies were being removed from the home, someone said they should have sought help.  Easy to say but how do you get help when you are suddenly in the midst of a scenario you never contemplated?   Where do you go when all of the systems were not quite set up for the dilemmas of 2009?

While I can never understand their decision, I look at my own situation and can understand the helplessness and desperation that couple must have felt.  A year and a half ago, I was a productive member of society.  My retirement savings was twice what it is today and I merrily went about my life, unable to see the enormous chasm that would be the "crack" I would fall through.  I couldn't see that months later I would be out of work.   I did not know that because of a technicality in the law I would be without any unemployment benefits.  I had no idea that any draw down of ones 401k to eat would result in a penalty because starvation does not qualify as a "hardship."  

But today here I am.  I look up and hear the voices of those above me, out in the working world, on the TV, and well beyond this valley in which I now find myself. They seem to understand there are dangerous cliffs out there but they do not seem to understand how far is the fall and how dark is the valley floor. 

I look around dreaming of how it could be, down here and up there.  Down here, I dream of triage centers for those who fall.  Up there, I dream of fences, walls and safety nets.  In both places, I dream of new laws and codes; not ones that never contemplated an entire lost society but ones that are written for the workforce of yesterday's "new" economy.  I dream of a new TARP; not one to protect banks from troubled assets but one to protect troubled Americans from failed systems. 

I dream for help and hope for all, regardless of the cracks they fall through...

I am a transplant to New England from thousands of miles away, and one of the things I first read about when I moved to Boston was the 'Yankee Sesnibility', AKA 'Being Cheap.'

In these tough times, being Frugal is a necessity, but when does that morph into being cheap? Here is a quick exercise. Open a notepad window (or a blank email, or some other document--don't waste paper. I consider that frugal. Would you call it cheap?)

Are You Frugal Or Cheap?

1. Do you eat out (not counting lunches at work, if you have a job, that is)?

1. All the time
2. 2-3 times a week
3. 2-3 times a month
4. Never

2. When you eat out, do you?

1. I order whatever I crave
2. Order an entree for each person and take leftover to go
3. Share our meals to save some money
4. I don't eat out!

3. What do you drive?

1. The latest and greatest 2 years lease can buy
2. I buy new car every few years
3. I always buy used car
4. I don't own a car

4. What kind of TV do you have?

1. 1080 HDTV, of course!
2. A flat screen TV, but not the latest and greatest
3. I still have the one I bought 10 years ago
4. I don't have a TV

5. What cable/satellite package do you have?

1. Premium channel with everything under the sun
2. Just the basic channels so I can watch the news
3. Whatever I get with the rabbit ears
4. I don't have a TV

6. You have some old clothes, do you?

1. What are you talking about, I don't have old clothes.
2. I donate them when they get a little older
3. I turn them into rags
4. I am still wearing them

7. When you buy something, do you?

1. I buy what I want, whenever I want
2. I occasionally splurge on what I want
3. I only buy what I need, clip coupons, use discount cards, etc.
4. I avoid making any kind of purchases

8. When you receive gifts, do you?

1. I take them back to the store to trade up
2. I keep all my gifts
3. I may return or re-gift some
4. I sell them on eBay for cash

9. When you buy clothes, do you?

1. I always shop brand names
2. I usually buy when they are on sale
3. I usually shop at goodwill and thrift stores
4. I ask my friends and family for hand me downs

10. Regarding your lunches, do you?

1. I always go out to the local restaurants
2. I mostly eat low cost take out lunches
3. I occasionally pack my own lunch
4. I always pack my own lunch

Rate Yourself

For each question, give yourself: 1 point for any #1 answer, 2 points for #2, 3 points for #3, and 4 points for #4. Add up the points and rate yourself:

• 35+ = You're definitely cheap
• 25-34 = You're frugal. Good job!
• 16-24 = You're not frugal, but you appear to be reasonable with your spending habits
• 10-15 = There are a lot of opportunities for you to save money

So how did you score?

Good News!

I received my tax refund money! Though it was the first time in 30 years I filed before the last possible second, it paid off.

Why is it good news for you? Because it means I can continue paying for LSN (who do you think pays for this site?).

This site is one of the most significant "pay it forward" efforts of all time. Not because of the actual amount of money spent developing it, but more the fraction of available resources that was contributed to the site by its staff.

Many of the "experts" that are responding to posts and contributing advice are not unemployed. Aside from their social conscience, they have no reason to be concerned with what happens here. Though I do it in numerous places on the site, I would again like to thank the people that are adding so much needed information to the LSN.

To those of you that donate to its operation, I would particularly like to thank you as well (every dollar you put in is one dollar less that I have to beg, borrow or steal to keep the LSN going).

***Begin Shameless Plug ****

If your company is located in or around Massachusetts; and is in need of a seasoned Chief Information Security Officer, feel free to drop me an email: craig@layoffsupportnetwork.com

***End Shameless Plug****

So it's been 5 weeks for me and I"m still not really missing going to work.  I drove my son to school early this morning, because it was too icy to walk, and I decided to stop into Starbucks for coffee afterwards.  This is something I haven't done for awhile since I started making coffee at home after being laid off.  But today I was out of coffee so I splurged on a "grande mild with room".  As I sipped from the familiar paper cup, I held the door open for a well-dressed man who was obviously in a rush to  get his coffee and make the train which was due to leave in 4 minutes.  I waited for that twinge of nostalgia or anxiety that I expected to feel over not being part of the working world anymore.  But I didn't feel it.  I was just glad that it wasn't me rushing for the train as I had done so many mornings in the past.  I used to wonder about those people I'd see hanging out in Starbucks in the morning, reading the newspaper, chatting to friends, many in sweatpants.  In those days, as I waited inpatiently for the people ahead of me to order their coffees with the long names and special instructions, I had been envious of the people who were able to hang out at Starbucks on a Monday morning instead of truding to work.  So now I was one of them ... and yes, I still had my nightgown on underneath my sweatshirt, tucked into my fleece pants so no one could tell.     

Welcome to my blog. I am going to use this blog to explain some concepts that people seem to find foreign. First of all, I am not "cheap". I am frugal. There is a big difference between "cheap" and "frugal". Cheap, is just not wanting to spend your money and compromising for less. Frugal, is spending your money as wisely as possible thus stretching your purchasing power.

Aside from my current state of unemployment, I have had a successful career. When I was employed, I had a six-figure income. But just because I had the money didn't mean I was going to spend it unnecessarily. While my friends may have purchased a sweater at Bloomingdale's for $300, I would shop at T.J. Maxx and get the exact same sweater for under $100.

I bring my trash to the town dump every week. At the dump, there is a table called "pick and take". When people in my town receives a gift they don't need, or for some reason want to get rid of, for example: a set of classes; they might leave it at the "pick and take". When I am at the dump, I will walk by the table and see what is there. I have often found some good stuff. Does this mean I'm cheap? I don't think so. I think I'm just being frugal.

Anyway, I plan to share what I know about frugality in the groups and forums at this site. If you are recently unemployed, I suggest this might be a good time for you to think about being frugal.

If you have both a landline phone and a cell phone, and don't have a job, consider if you can get rid of your landline phone.

This will of course only work if you don't spend hours on the phone, and your cell phone plan has enough minutes. Remeber this: cell phone companies love people who go over their plan minutes and then squeeze as much as 50 cents per minute out of you for the additional minutes.

With those caveats, sit down and figure out if dumping the landline will work for you. If it does, you will save at least $25/month. Yes--it may not sound much. But trust me, when you are scraping bottom, you will be thankful for even $25 extra per month.

If you want to keep a landline, consider one of the VoIP services, and not just the ones offered by Verizon, ATT or Comcast (or whatever cable provider you may have).

MagicJack gives you 1 year of unlimited US/Canada calls for $40, after which it is $12/year if you buy 5 years at a time. But you need a working broadband Internet connection, and a computer that has to remain on all the time you want to use the phone.

For $249, you can get a Ooma box that gives you 3000 minutes to USA/Canada per month. You can pay $13/month to get extra features.

There are lots of other options available. Let others on LSN know your experience or comments so we can all cut our costs.