You  are a blue or white collar professional. You have been employed by the same company for the last 15 years. You have a retirement account and you get employer provided health insurance. You show up for work all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Your boss calls you into the office and tells you that you are the victim of a reduction in force plan and you are let go.

The immediate shock hits and you think about your stay at home wife and  your two kids and how you will provide for them. You're not too worried at first because you are a skilled professional and you can draw unemployment benefits for a while.

You try to find work, but no one is hiring. Weeks turn into months. You realize that you are one of the 33% of the unemployed who are still unemployed after six months of no job.

Could the above scenario be you? Let's look at where we are currently at. We still have up to 3 million foreclosed homes that banks are sitting on that have yet to hit the market. We have 1.8 million alt-A defaults from 2008 whose houses must be sold. Of the over four million people who have lost jobs in 2009, a third will be unemployed for over 6 months. Official unemployment is at 10.2%. True unemployment is 18%-20%.

During the Great Depression about 25% of the country was out of work. At that time, the population was about 122 million. Today our population is around 300 million. In the aggregate, more folks are unemployed today than in the Great Depression. It was recently reported that 52% of recent high school and college graduates cannot find work. Most  student loans require a co-signer and they are not dischargable in a bankruptcy (or they weren't as of a little while ago). So, many parents will be taking an extra financial hit.

Being one of the long term unemployed is something no one wants to happen to them. As I mentioned in an interview that Specular conducted on me a while back, my employment situation has been bad for some time now. I was self-employed and my phone stopped ringing in September of 2008. I did not have a job until June of 2009 and it is only part time 15-20 hours a week at minimum wage. The wife found a part time job, but my age and a few other issues makes me finding a job at my previous rate of pay next to impossible. For several months our family's protein came from meat that was picked out of dumpsters, so the current bad economy  is not just some theory or abstract concept for me.

The main purpose of this post is to describe some of what one will think and feel as one's income and future outlook decrease.

Most men, and especially Christian men, who try to operate a household according to scripture, understand that they are supposed to be the primary bread winner. The wife has her biblically mandated duties as well, but it is the job of the man to provide financial stability and leadership to his family. This is why it is such a hit to a man's pride when he is unable to properly care for his family. We also tend to equate poverty with being a slacker or loser, but as David Cox points out so well on his blog, you do not have to be a lazy assed loser or slacker to find yourself in the poor house today. I have found my own situation to be very humbling.

At any rate, there are some things that can and must be done if you find yourself on a downward economic slide. I have always tried (since some of my past jobs were in commissioned sales) to sock away a few months income for use in a financial emergency. (This time though, the money ran out)

If you were not able to put some money away and you find yourself unemployed, go to plan B. Start immediately cutting back. The main purpose of this blog is to offer advice on how to cut costs. If you have lived a middle class life and have never had to do without, at least for the basic necessities, you will have to get in an entirely different frame of mind, especially as to what constitutes necessary items as opposed to items you want but do not need. Your basics are going to be shelter, clothing and food as well as transportation. (hence the previous post on vehicle maintenance)

There were many things I took for granted when I had money coming in. I had a brand preference of toilet paper, for example. When money gets tight you need to switch to the cheap generic, forget about the brand preference. Some items, such as paper towels, may no longer get purchased at all or only very occasionally.

You must stop and analyze what your NEEDS are as opposed to your wants. Carefully plan and limit your driving and try to control your utility usage. We are at the point where we cannot pay all of our bills every month, so we try to ration the payments out so that we will have utilities for the winter. The thermostat gets turned down low and the blankets come out. We have a wood burning fireplace and a month or so of surplus firewood, so we will use the fireplace for some of our heat this winter.

I personally had some difficulty transitioning from a middle class mentality to a survival mentality. As it now stands we are living off about one sixth  to one seventh of my previous income. We have not been kicked out of the house yet, but that day is coming and will require more lifestyle modification.

Another piece of advice I can offer is to try not to get angry. Anger simply clouds your thoughts and prevents you from concentrating on dealing with your problem. Getting jealous at others who are still employed and not having problems will not help either. Never give up hope, but remember that you may never regain your previous income or status. Adjust your thinking to this possibility.

The particularly bad thing about this economy is that it affects us older folks in really bad ways. I have 15 years of retail sales and management experience, but because I am over 40 I am basically unemployable in that profession as most retailers will not hire anyone for management who is over 40. The real estate appraisal market (at least for the honest ethical appraiser) is toast due in no small part to the HVCC legislation. (Thanks Obama) So, that career path is out.

The bottom line is that many of you who do not think you will find yourself unemployed need to understand that you might. Even if you keep your job, you should be prepared for the worst. If you are a conservative, you may want to rethink your ideas about government assistance and universal health coverage. Although the wife and I are still uninsured, we finally got our son on some state child health insurance. On his latest trip to the doctor his meds would have cost us approximately $891.00 had we not had insurance.

The right frame of mind and the willingness to do whatever it takes to keep your family sheltered and fed can make a big difference. Despite anything you read to the contrary, we are not out of the woods yet. Good luck and best wishes to you all.