Unemployed and In Debt – How to Cope With Debt When You Lose Your Job

If you have found yourself unemployed and in debt, it can literally take your breath away. What will your priorities be? What payments will be made when push comes to shove?

These are tough financial choices that are intensified if you have children (or a family), debt, own a home, or if a business is involved. At this point the stakes become higher, and the last thing anyone wants to do is ruin their credit or worse, lose assets they have worked their whole life to gain.

These tough financial decisions can be the source of incredible stress, which can often lead to illness. When change happens in our lives, especially change that is out of our control, it is easy to find our lives consumed with stress. It is easy to start ignoring your bills, which is always the worst thing you can do.

The best thing you can do to empower yourself when a job loss occurs, is to not sweat what you can’t change. Instead, get into the most positive state of mind possible, set personal goals to create awareness and then work through your list.

Here are some examples of goals you may set for yourself to find ways out of a financial crisis caused by unemployment:

If you qualify for employment insurance with Human Resources Development Canada, apply for it immediately. It can take time to be approved and the sooner you apply the better (whether you think you have found a job or not). You can always cancel it if you are presented with a job offer.

Create or refresh your resume. If you need help, you can turn to organizations such as JVS Toronto. JVS is a non-profit organization that helps people find jobs. They offer free career counselling, help with building a resume and offer support when preparing for a job interview.

Use Social Media platforms, like LinkedIn, to source job opportunities online.

Don’t apply only for jobs that are posted. Think outside the box. Make a list of companies that you would like to work for and reach out to them. Often large organizations have positions available that are not being advertised.

Take a good hard look at your budget and finances. Financial Counselling is something else that is going to be a vital resource. Not “Credit Counselling”, not “Debt Counselling” but “Financial Counselling”. A skilled Financial Advisor can look at your entire financial profile, make recommendations and find the resources that you will need in order to deal with your debt and restructure your finances, while you are bringing in less income.

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