Worrying about money is just one of the many stresses involved in losing a job?but it is a major one.

You?ll want to halt all unnecessary spending. Go into ?crisis mode? and get real conservative with your spending.  Finding new employment may take longer than you expect, and you?ll need to deal with debt obligations you assumed before your income was lost.

Time passes quickly as you are looking for a new job, and you cannot ignore your creditors.  You should notify them if you are having difficulty paying your bills and tell them why ? before they contact you because of nonpayment.

If you do not, there will be serious consequences:  late charges being added, accounts becoming delinquent and affecting your credit report, vital services such as gas, electric, water and telephone being shut off.  Interest charges will continue to increase your debt.  Your accounts may be turned over to a collection agency ? more aggressive and persistent than the original creditor.

Rest assured your creditors have heard from many people like yourself during these uncertain times of plant shutdowns, company cutbacks and corporate restructuring.  You are not alone.  You are not at fault.

Money is limited, however.  You will want to work out arrangements with your creditors to pay at least a little each month on a regular basis.  You can only do so much with reduced funds.

Now is the time to find out where your household budget stands and how it is affected by this income loss.  Prioritize your debts. Make necessary life-style changes so that debts do not increase significantly during this vulnerable time.

With job security so elusive these days, the habits you establish now will serve you well even later when you do find employment.