Tips on Surviving Unemployment

Being pregnant and unemployed is one of the most stressful combination. I mean, worrying about where to get the money to pay for my doctors' professional fees and how to pay for the hospital bill once I give birth is a total headache, especially since we've spent most of our savings buying meds for my gestational diabetes, prenatal checkups and ER bills (I've been in and out of the hospital due to asthma). Unfortunately, my husband is not earning much and I've earned basically nothing for the past months due to my [unpaid] sick leaves/absences. To top it off, my husband and I are in serious debt.

So what to do? I know that our situation might sound hopeless, but rather than mope around and drown in self pity, today, I decide to swallow it all up and ACCEPT that I am unemployed but NOT helpless. You see, I like to believe it's all in the mindset. So starting today, I'm going to set a personal goal: to survive.

Get up and make things happen!

How to Survive Unemployment?

1. Fix my finances. Since I have no job to pay for my weekend shopping and dining obsession, I am obligating myself to stay at home during the weekends. We are also cutting down on our recurring expenses like electricity, water, mobile and internet, groceries, etc.
2. Update my Resume. Though I may not find a long term job anytime soon (since it would be nearly impossible for an 8 months pregnant woman like myself to get hired by a company who would be willing to give me a month of maternity leave after getting hired for a week), I am aiming for a project-based work at home OR maybe a small business that I can invest in -anything [profitable] to keep me busy.
3. Since I need to stay positive and focused, I am going to hire my self as a JOB SEEKER. It is now my JOB to find myself a job. There are a lot of opportunities even for a soon-to-be mom (again). For part time or project-based jobs, there's Online Jobs, Fiverr and the not-so-reliable Craiglist (there are a lot of scammers here, based on experience). There's also Virtual Staff Finder and other outsourcing companies that can help me land a permanent job once I give birth. Maybe I can try my luck in teaching English online too.
4. Stay positive and productive. Being pessimistic during this difficult time won't help me in any way, so I am going to keep moving forward. I'll continue waking up early (okay, probably an hour later than usual), look and apply for a job, stay healthy (getting sick is a major NO-NO), practice my skills (graphics, video editing etc) so I won't get rusty. Acquiring new skills would be great too (there are a lot of online tutorials and free courses), TESDA has this Online Program - I'm thinking Game Development. ;-)
5. Pray and believe things will be better, soon. It is challenging but I gotta keep the faith.