a compassionate, supportive online space for people dealing with unemployment
Blog Here, Get Money!
Welcome to Survive Unemployment, the site where telling your story just might get you paid! (Or not... but at least you'll have your say!)
Here's the new concept for the site: It will be a repository of the stories of the unemployed. In the coming days, registered members will gain privileges to upload video or audio in addition to the other cool features of their blogs. Do you see that golden-orange PayPal button over there to your right, the one that says, "Donate"? Everyone will be encouraged to get their own. You tell your story -- be it sad, funny, uplifting or whatever -- and pop a button on the bottom of each post, pointing to your free PayPal account where appreciative or sympathetic readers, viewers, or listeners can make small donations. If your story moves people, you get paid for years to come!
I can't guarantee that people will click the button and whip out their credit cards to give you two bucks, but I can guarantee that you will get traffic because I'm fixin' to promote this site big-time. With unemployment being the hot issue that it is these days, you will get read/viewed/listened to. That I can promise.
If nothing else, it will end up being a place where the stories of the unemployed get told -- the real stories, not just the statistics or the edited versions on TV, but your stories.
Did I mention that it's free to join and post?
Register and tell your story right now!
What are you waiting for -- rain?
Unemployment Benefits Extension
Unemployment benefits are getting extended again. Congress just passed a new bill to extend benefits an additional 7 weeks (13 weeks if your state's unemployment is over 6%). This is in addition to the extension earlier this year. Bush is going to sign it now, so it should kick in very quickly. For more, go to Unemployment Extension.
I got a job! Yeeeeeee-haaaaaw!
Unemployment is Temporary
The job I got is a part-time gig, but it will bring in some money and lead to a full-time sort of arrangement if I manage to impress my boss. It's so nice to know that I have somewhere to go a few days a week and that there will be some money coming in. Unemployment really does suck. Anybody who tries to tell you otherwise is full of it.
How to Survive Unemployment
Survival is a snap. Here's what works for me.
Surviving Unemployment in Three Easy Steps:
- First things first: Get money. Apply for unemployment benefits and find creative ways to procure cash.
Depression Gets Hold of Me (sometimes)
I have to admit it: I get depressed. I guess that's what you'd call it. Getting out of bed is a chore. Life seems pointless. Leaving the house is worse than staying in because I generally have nowhere to go but to the park or to the library -- you know, places where the homeless hang out. Hanging out with homeless people is more depressing than sitting at home alone and wondering how long it will be until I, too, am homeless.
collecting unemployment benefits
Who is eligible to collect unemployment benefits?
The requirements for filing a successful claim will vary depending on your state of residence, but it generally comes down to these three questions:
1) Did you lose your job through no fault of your own?
2) Did you hold your last job for longer than six months (in many states, it's up to a year)?
3) Are you currently working, even part-time?
the job lottery
finding a job, playing the lottery -- what's the friggin' difference? The odds seem roughly the same. Actually, the odds of winning the lottery are probably better -- I think they're about 1:8 in most states. If I got one in eight jobs I applied for, I'd have 300 jobs by now.
Unemployment Hits 5-year High
As of today, unemployment climbed to an official rate of 6.1 percent. This is obviously far below the real rate since it doesn't include people like me who are technically "working." That's right. This stupid website renders me "employed" even though I only make $1.48 a day off the ads. Apparently, being involved in activity that "may produce future income" means you're not unemployed. Great.
Scams that Prey on the Jobless
The world can seem pretty cruel when you're unemployed. As if things weren't bad enough, certain con artists target the unemployed. When you are unemployed, you are vulnerable. This post has been made to help you protect yourself. Below are a few of the scams of which I am aware -- I have even fallen for a couple of them. There are undoubtedly many more which you are more than welcome to add in the comments.
A Few Species of Parasites Preying on the Unemployed
