Recession Briefing 5.15

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

In the recession, more people are learning how to re-cut a dress or alter their Levi’s to look like Dior. Renata Espinosa looks at the new breed of DIY seamstresses. (The Daily Beast)

The recession has been a boon for the mental health industry: the use of psych services doubled in the first four months of this year. (Psych Central)

Mommy vice? One in three moms surveyed this spring said they have turned to a vice such as overeating, drinking, drugs and/or gambling to cope with the stress. (CNBC)

Broadway theaters aren’t seeing audience declines as a result of the recession, and historically New York’s theater row has been virtually impervious to economic declines. (Reuters)…

Downturn Deals: Luxury Travel for (Much) Less

Is this really the time to be booking an oceanside suite, basking in Italian linen sheets, indulging in butler service on the African plains?

Actually, yes. We’re not telling you to spend cash you haven’t got. But if you’re lucky enough to have time on your hands and dollars to liberate, this is an exceptional time to travel in style. Prices have declined, upgrades are abundant, and even the hottest destinations are less crowded. A fantasy trip that seemed out of reach may now be doable, thanks to deals like these…

Fairly Legal: Severance 101

Tips and insights from our legal experts.

“So… how big is your package?”

It’s a question that used to be taboo, something only discussed between intimates. But these days, virtually no one is too shy to ask about the dimensions of someone else’s severance deal. In fact many people can’t help but compare what they received against the packages of their friends, enemies and former coworkers.

It’s natural to want to know how you measure up. And information sharing in this regard can be valuable because as you’ve no doubt realized by now, severance packages come in all shapes and sizes—some generous, many decent, some completely non-existent. So what’s fair and what’s your legal due… and technically what is severance anyway?

Severance, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is: “The state or condition of being severed or separated, as in the ending of a relationship.”…

Love in the Time of Layoff: The Fortune Within

“Snake eyes!” said the doctor, rubbing the ultrasound wand back and forth and rotating the monitor so that both my husband Marco and I could see. I had no idea what he meant, but apparently Marco got it right away.

“Holy shit!” said my mild-mannered husband, whose freedom to accompany me to all the appointments was the upside of his having been canned earlier this year.

“What!” I asked, feeling left out and propping my head up to get a better view.

“Twins,” the doctor translated. “There are two of them in there.”

If Marco’s response was the grounded one, mine was whimsical. I burst into peels of hysterical, uncontrollable, womb-rocking laughter.

Snake eyes, I learned later, is what you say when you’re playing craps and you roll two ones. The pair of pips resembles a pair of eyes, and snakes signal treachery and betrayal. When you roll snake eyes, the lowest possible roll, the implication is that you might lose. But in this case, we had won.

Screwed: 1,200 at Eircom

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Ireland’s Eircom announces 1,200 employee and contract staff layoffs… Steel maker ArcelorMittal will lay off 1,000 workers at its plant in northern Indiana. … Seagate Technoloy Inc. plans to lay off 1,100 employees, or 2.5 percent of its workforce… Legal & General is planning upwards of 500 layoffs in the UK… Fort Wayned-based scrap metal processor OmniSource Corp. has laid off 209 workers… MySpace social networking website has laid off up to 45 employees… Day Pitney LLP lets go of 20 associates and counsel…

Recession Briefing 5.14

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Despite the sour economy, mainstream music has been remarkably free of songs about tough times. Country music seems to be the exception. (Associated Press)

Dollar stores are cleaning up: Nearly half of all U.S. households now shop at the low-price stores each month. (Los Angeles Times)

Faced with tough economic realities, more adult children are moving back into their parents’ homes. The AARP found that 11% of adults between 35 and 44 were living with their parents or in-laws. (New York Times)

New unemployment claims rose to 637,000 last week, despite expectations that they would fall. Ongoing claims also set a record at 6.56 million. (Bloomberg)…

Home Office Organization on a Dime

No matter how small your home office space, there’s room to be organized. Take it from me, a woman whose office is about three feet square.

I’ve already explained how Kacy Paide, founder of The Inspired Office in Washington, D.C., helped me designate and arrange an area in my den. But the next hurdle is building an infrastructure to keep it organized. Many of her go-to solutions are so inexpensive, even the unemployed can afford them…

Your Happy Place: 5 Soothing Herbal Teas

Stress-reducing ideas for recessionary times.

Got a case of nerves? Butterflies in your stomach? This economy is making us all feel like nervous Nellies from time to time. Here are five soothing herbal teas that will leave you feeling calm and centered. Herbal teas are an inexpesive remedy for the nerves, but the act of preparing them and sipping them slowly is, in itself, a soothing activity.

Lavender:
My all time favorite. Once, I visited a lavender farm once in Maui, and the ensuing bliss stayed with me for weeks. Lavender tea is known for calming the nerves and promoting sleep. It’s also reputed to have anti-depressant properties. Infuse a handful of dried lavender flower in a pot of boiling water to make tea…

Screwed: 377 at Continental Automotive

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Continental Automotive plant in Huntsville, Ala., has given notice to 377 workers. … DM Industries will be laying off 206 employees by this July 10… Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is requesting 1,000 municipal layoffs… The Spokane Public School system has notified 103 teachers that their contracts will not be renewed… The Leader-Herald has laid off 4 employees… Dragon Products’ cement plant is temporarily laying off an undisclosed amount of workers.

Recession Briefing 5.13

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Doomsday for Social Security and Medicare has come a little closer, thanks to the deep recession. The costs of administering Social Security are now expected to exceed tax revenues in 2016, a year earlier than expected. The trust funds for the program are now projected to run out in 2037, four years earlier than envisioned a year ago. (BusinessWeek)

Who else knew?: Billions of dollars were withdrawn from accounts at Bernie Madoff’s firm in the months before he was arrested. (New York Times)

In the second part of a series comparing the current recession to the Great Depression, Price Fishback describes what actually happened to our economic system last fall and contrasts it with what happened in 1929. (New York Times/Freakonomics),,,