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Creative Ways to Deal With Unemployment
Matt Villano | Monster Contributing Writer
November 06, 2009
When Erik Moser was laid off from his job in public relations in January 2009, he improvised to keep his finances afloat.
He scaled back on eating out. He picked up a few odd jobs, like babysitting for his sister and dog walking for friends. He even got out of the lease on his Chicago apartment and moved back in with his parents.
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“Is the situation ideal? Not by a long shot, but desperate times call for desperate measures,” he says. “I’ve done what I’ve had to do to live until I can get back to work.”
Moser, 26, isn’t the only person getting creative with money these days. As more and more Americans find themselves underemployed or out of work — at last check, 14.5 million were unemployed — growing numbers of people are resorting to similarly creative methods to pay the bills.
For some, many of these coping mechanisms revolve around second or third jobs, as well as light work for family and friends. Others, however, have adopted less conventional strategies. See if any of their ideas could also work for you.
