Skills for Survival

When times are good, it's often easier to simply replace something that breaks. The time and money it would take to repair it have their value too.

But as things get tight, being able to repair things when they break can free up the money you would otherwise use to replace them so you can put it to something else. And when you're really struggling just to make essentials like food and rent, being able to fix something is the difference between being able to make it last a few more months and having to go without altogether.

For instance, what do you do when the switch on your table lamp starts to go bad? Or when a sock develops a hole?

Breaking the Experience Catch-22

Even in the best of times, it's difficult to be a first-time job hunter. Employers want people with experience, but how can you get experience if no one will hire you in the first place?

In these trying times, it's even harder for the simple reason that there are so many more experienced people out of work and competing for jobs with people fresh out of high school and college. It's very easy to become trapped in a Catch-22 by which you can't get the experience you need to get a job because you can't get a job to give you experience.

One of the things to consider while still a student is the possibility of an internship with a company in your field. Through an internship you can get experience that's actually relevant to your career plans. Although part-time minimum wage jobs do show that you're able to work on a schedule and under close supervision, they don't necessarily tell anything about how well you'll perform in a professional office environment.

And since times are tight, the prospect of working for no pay, or even having to pay to work, may be financially daunting for students who are already struggling to finish their degrees. But it is possible to get an internship that actually pays you money, although it may be only a stipend to help with travel and lodging.

Taming the Monster of Job Hunting

Although the news media is trying to soft-pedal employment statistics in order to keep people's spirits up, people are still losing jobs and new hires simply aren't keeping pace. Thus the possibility of being out of work and unable to get another job is frighteningly real to many Americans.

However, the situation doesn't have to be a hopeless one. Check out I'm Out of Work, I Need a Job for job interviewing tips and reviews of books on job hunting.

The Time to Plan is Now

You know the advertisements that show the house being torn apart by the flood or hurricane or whatever disaster, that says "Now is not the time to plan." If you haven't planned out what to do in an emergency, you're going to be panicking too much to think straight when it actually happens.

And it's not just the big, catastrophic disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes and your house catching fire that you need to plan for. Especially when money is tight, planning ahead for the little disasters can be just as critical.

For instance, what would you do if you walked out the door tomorrow and discovered that your car wouldn't start? What backup plans to you have for getting to work on time, or to whatever other obligations in your life require the transporting of your physical presence to another location? How would you go about getting your car fixed so that you can get to those places by your own resources again?

For people for whom money is always there to fix whatever problems arise, it's easy enough to call the shop to have the car towed, then call a cab to get to the office. But when things are tight, having to pay a towing fee and a carfare means that money won't be there for other vital expenses. This is where doing some advance planning can really help, because you know who you can approach to ask for a ride without getting your head bitten off about presumptuousness, and you'll know someone who can fix your ride for a price you can afford.

What other crises can cost a lot of money to deal with when they arise, if your only recourse is to grab the yellow pages and hunt up the first name of a shop that deals with it?

Don't Waste Your Health Care Dollars

If you think you have the flu, don't waste your time or your money badgering your doctor for a prescription for antibiotics. Flu, including the current swine flu, is caused by a virus.

Antibiotics only work against bacteria. If you do develop a secondary bacterial infection as a result of your body being weakened by influenza or another viral infection, antibiotics will help those secondary infections. Until then, taking antibiotics will not help keep you well, and in fact may lead to worse sickness. First, the excessive or incorrect use of antibiotics can lead to the development of resistant strains of bacterial illnesses, so that the antibiotics won't work when you really do need them. Secondly, antibiotics purge all the bacteria in your body indiscriminately, including the helpful bacteria that are normally resident in your gut and help you gain nourishment from your food.

So save your money for medicines that will actually help you get and stay well.

Staying Healthy in Hard Times

You've probably been hearing about the swine flu outbreak that's spreading around the world from Mexico. Especially if you're without health insurance or afraid you soon may be losing your employer-provided health insurance, the thought of rapidly spreading deadly illness will be particularly terrifying. How will you pay for care if you get sick?

First and foremost, don't panic. Fear can lead us to do counterproductive things, even harmful ones. Remember that even if you have no money, there are still ways to obtain essential medical care. Most cities have free clinics that can provide some basic health care, and there is at least one hospital at which the emergency room will treat anyone with a life-threatening illness or injury, no matter their financial situation.

Second, remember that prevention is the best medicine. There are many ways to avoid becoming infected in the first place, including such basics as regular hand-washing and avoiding people who are ill. You may already have cut back on driving in order to reduce gas costs, but it will also help you avoid being exposed to people who are ill.

Eating healthful foods and keeping rested may seem easier said than done. After all, it seems like crap carbs and fats are always cheaper than good, solid fruits and vegetables, and if you're working three part-time jobs in an effort to keep ahead of your bills, sleep's one of the first things to get sacrificed. But this is a good time to jettison the junk foods you piece on without even thinking about and cut back to only those foods you actually eat as part of a meal, with a plate and silverware. And you may want to re-examine some of your non-work activities and see if some of them can go by the wayside without too much pain.

And you might just find that you feel better even without a looming pandemic to spur you on.

Penny Wise and Dollar Foolish

When times are tough, it's tempting to cut down on everything. However, cutting out some expenditures can actually cause bigger expenses in the long run.

For instance, don't skimp on the routine maintenance on your vehicles. It may make sense to take your car to the cheap oil-change place instead of the dealership, but don't stop getting the oil changed altogether, unless you want to risk ruining the engine altogether.