Hard times

My wife and I have been married for coming up on 16 years and have three exceptionally brilliant children (mostly her doing.) For the better part of 20 years after college I sold commercial printing in the DE, PA, NJ area and lead a successful, yet very b

submitter's note: trigger warningI managed to score a wonderful job just as the recession hit. I am employed by a non-profit organization, and happily took a slight pay cut in order to regain a sense of personal satisfaction with my work.My non-profit ass

Last night my husband and I broke down and tapped into our very last resort. We emptied my 16 month old daughter’s piggy bank for money to sustain us for the next 10 days until our next paydays.Despite the dire straits that we might seem to be in right n

My husband and I have spent our entire young adulthood making what we thought were the "right" choices. He got me through nursing school so I could get a good job and I could, in turn, get him through chiropractic school so he could get his own great job

A few years ago, I was 22 and enjoying my own quiet riot of excess and stupidity.  I was mindless about everything.  Mindlessly dating and sleeping with a man that didn't love me and vice versa.  Mindlessly wracking up thousands in stupid debt, living off

You published my story on Portraits of an Economy on Mother's Day. My husband and I were in the middle of what felt like a never ending adoption limbo, waiting to find out if we could keep our daughters and sacrificing everything we could to continue chan

Are you there Internet? It’s me Rachel. I often have conversations with myself, and/or the Internet. Bring me kitties and lasers, or something entertaining. What can I say? I remember dialing up at a very young age. I’ve been having those almo

It took four I-need-a-journey-to-find-myself books and a self-realization (I’m sensitive and I’d like to stay that way) to start accepting me for all that I am — full of neurotic tendencies and all. If you aren’t hip to the jive of

I always tried to be honest on my blog. Like some greater blog god was going to judge me and strike me down with spam for not being brutally honest. I won’t lie there were times when I’m like this story would be so much better if I didn’

My apologizes to my friends on the east coast. I know you have #snOMG and #snowscrewed and all so don’t judge me when I complain about the rain. It really is nothing personal. I know you have the day after tomorrow outside your door tonight and all,

Nothing like becoming an adult than watching those around you become victims of the economy while you’re still struggling to regain your own sense of working self. A year ago we all imagined that now we’d be in a place populated with jobs, mon

Cheers to the end of 2009. I don’t know about you, but that year –2009– not in my top ten for the decade or the prior 28 for that matter. I won’t begin to contemplate the future years. Woo. There’s one thing 2009 taught me, k

The effects of the recession are still reverberating throughout America. But with the U.S. economy improving, other BusinessWeek blogs will continue the discussion and provide updates from the political, economic, and small business perspectives. Thank y

The Poynter Institute's Al Tompkins notes this morning reports that more people are seeking government aid to pay for funerals and that unclaimed bodies are piling up at the Detroit morgue.

Last month, my BusinessWeek colleague Chris Palmeri blogged about withdrawing an all-cash offer for a home in Pomona, Calif., after learning that BW was being put up for sale by the McGraw-Hill Companies. I'm also feeling jittery about the prospect of l

When I was a beginning reporter, I used to do first-day-of-school stories, and one image sticks with me. It was an early September day and the temperature was in the 90s, but most of the elementary school kids lined up outside were in long sleeve shirts a

Hard hits on the playing field may be one thing, but the recession has proved to be too much for the 22-year-old Arena Football League. The league, which had already canceled its 2009 season but was hoping to regroup for 2010, told its owners last night

Like most people who grew up in the 1960s, I had music class in elementary school. I have many happy memories of singing tunes from the Up With People traveling show as well as American standards such as This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie. I've wri

In December 2008, we launched the Laid Off and Looking blog as a way for WSJ readers and job seekers to learn firsthand about how rising unemployment was affecting Americans. We asked 29 laid off professionals with M.B.A. degrees to share what it was lik

The pros and cons of using search professionals

Looking back on a long search

Taking advantage of corporate programs

One of the upsides of being unemployed is having complete control over my day. But the flip side of this gift has been a challenge. While I have the freedom to determine what my day looks like—a freedom I would have loved when I was working in the corpor

With many employers setting aside budgets for specific projects, working on a temporary or interim assignment can be a great way to end up with a full-time position. During the interim period it's important to show the company that you're irreplaceable, w

You know that feeling you get when you walk into an employed person’s home and realize furniture comes in other colors besides birch and doesn’t require being pieced together with stripped pegs and allen wrenches? It’s called envy, and t

Back in the day when people had busy lives and jobs they would find themselves completely out of suitable clothes to wear and then be forced to spend all day doing laundry. During that time, if anyone came to the door, whether it was the mailman or an une

Some Republican senator claimed that most unemployed people on the dole don’t even begin looking for jobs until their unemployment insurance runs out, and because of that, he voted against another emergency unemployment extension. First of all, Sena

Has being on the road these days ever made you think you were part of some larger conspiracy? One that made you feel slightly crazier than normal, and just that much more prone to road rage? Have you experienced being on the freeway in the middle of the d

Most well-meaning people set out to start off the new year with a clean slate, vowing to quit this or start that - anything that will make them a better person. But it’s well known that resolutions were meant to be broken so this December, all of th

Halloween 2008 was probably one of the final blowouts the now-unemployed had in the past year. Chances are it was the last time people had the opportunity to party hard before doomsday reports, job losses, and a massive downsizing in money and fun took ov

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Slim Thug Feels the Recession www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

One of the Unemploymentality's very first post was about how the recession had it Lord Vader's imperial army. Here's another chapter in one Stormtrooper's quest for gainful unemployment.

Still no job? Getting dangerously close to the end of your last EDD extension and no plan b? Maybe it's time to hit the street. Take a lesson from this guy. I think his name is Paco. Just because you ain't got not job doesn't mean you can't make the

When unemployment gets you down, read this website. Back at work finally? Submit a post.    

It's official. Gawker likes us. Today Gawker included Michael Spafferty's video resume as one of its top 5 examples of how NOT to land a job: The video resume. Thanks Gawker. Dreams do come true.

From all of us to all of you – Happy Valentines day

Hitler Learns of Events at NPR from steve proffitt on Vimeo.Not available at NPR.org

On the scene report from "Virtual CES", where we reveal some of the latest cutting edge gizmos you just won't see anywhere else.

Not much news today.  So here's a thoughtful, deliberate and unhurried discussion about the positive aspects of taking it slow.

Has Thanksgiving weekend left you feeling unsatisfied? Hungry? Are you looking for some hearty goodness? For all of you Unemploymentality fans out there (yes, I’m speaking to all 4 of you) I bring you Lyndsights My new attempt at telling my story. S

Peeps, I’m asking ya’ll a favor….just as the addictive New Kids on the Block song demands, please hang tough through this hiccup in my blogging road. I know I have been silent. I know I have let you all down. But I’m in the process

It would really suck to have a name that sounded like someone famous. The co-founder of the Hover Round is named Tom Kruse. Brutal. So, I’m trying to get back into the blogging swing of things so I thought I’d share a little  bite sized gem I

…it bruises easily. I know I seem super tough on the outside. Almost a Madonna-meets-Indigo Girls-meets-Demi Moore in GI Jane-tough. But really I’m just a softy. So when we were hanging around our Safari campsite and our cook Stephen made the following co

Guys. I leave tomorrow for Kenya. My freak is totally freaked but I’m so excited. I promise to come back with more blog inspiration (blogspiration) and without a raging case of yellow fever. Or malaria. Or typhoid. Ohmygosh. If you want to follow th

One of the joys of living in this blessed city is the plethora of people that come visit you. From old high school friends to distant relatives to baby’s daddies (just seeing if you were paying attention), everyone and their mom (seriously, they bri

Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude.  Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit — probably not. Wanna be a Broke-Ass of the Week?  Holler at us here and we’ll

Everyone knows that buying foods in bulk can be a cost-effective way to stock up on every day pantry items and your favorite, albeit strange, snacks. Alison even provided tips on what to buy in bulk in her post from last year (click it, it’s got awe

Ever feel like being totally nerdy, but still cool at the same time? Looks like you’re not alone. Hang out with other creatures with the same mindset tonight at Langton Labs. The monthly event, called Beats and Boardgames, is FREE and it’s just what you’v

Look at those shirts.  Badass right?  Yeah, I love them too.  The thing is I’ve had that design for a number of years now and with all the good things coming up (my new book, my new TV show) I figured it was time to get a little bit more merch.  Tha

Tomorrow’s national “Ride Your Bike to Work Day”  is not only an easy excuse to save $4.50 commuting to work and avoid strangers’ armpits in your face on the subway for once, but a way to get some free grub in your broke little bel

Hey East Bayers (or SFers who don’t hate on the East Bay), whatcha got going this Friday night?  Forcing your boyfriend to watch the season finale of America’s Next Top Model that you DVRed this week?  Going to a bar and spending 60 bucks on d

Hi everyone, It’s already pretty obvious, but I’m taking an indefinite hiatus from Miss Pink Slip. As much as I love writing this blog, and writing in general, I just can’t keep up with everything right now. I hope all … Continue r

I saw a segment about tax deductions for job seekers on today’s CNN “American Morning”. In case you missed it: http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/09/tax-deductions-for-job-seekers/ http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/08/tax.tips.unemployed

Yesterday I counted down the first five of 10 movies I think best exemplify the life (for better or worse) of the unemployed. Some of them are inspirational; some are cautionary tales of the highest degree. Here we go with … Continue reading →

The Oscars are four days away, so I thought I’d repost one of my favorite blog entries from 2009: Miss Pink Slip’s Out-of-Work Oscars. While “Up in the Air” was obviously not on this list, it is certainly the current crown-bearer &

I am dying for Spring to get here. So the other day, I visited one of my favorite bargain sites, Chadwicks.com, to see if they had any fun, inexpensive dresses to kick off the season. I ended up ordering four. … Continue reading →

Like much of America, I was getting pumped for our Olympians last night. The USA beat Canada in hockey, capping off a thrilling weekend that also included medals for Bode Miller, Shani Davis, Apolo Anton Ohno and Lindsey Vonn. What do all these athletes &