Recession Briefing 5.20

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

With tightened budgets and layoffs abounding, is it okay to ask for a raise this year? Tread carefully and the request can be both sensitive and successful. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Welcome to the summer of the furlough. During this recession, everyone from universities to technology companies are using furloughs as a way to cut payroll without further trimming their staffs. (Fortune)

As cash-strapped consumers face escalating food prices, Wal-Mart, Kraft, Unilever and Campbell are using the magical $1 price to appeal to people cooking more at home. (USA Today)

Seven Ways to Shrink Your Housing Costs

The recession’s not over yet, folks. Jobs continue to be lost, money is still tight. So why are you still paying the same rent, mortgage, or storage fees?

One upside to the crisis is that cutting those costs may be easier than ever. In many parts of the country, landlords are willing to negotiate on rent. New federal policies have made it easier to refinance home loans. Here are seven ways to pay less—and most are even sacrifice-free…

Bad Debt Settlement Companies

It can’t be said enough that debt settlement companies are a poor option if you’re strapped with overwhelming credit card debt. From the New York Times Saturday:

When you sign up, many firms require you to pay a sizable fee upfront. Or they may levy initial set-up and monthly fees, and charge a percentage of the amount they saved you. They typically advise you to stop paying your debts and tell you to put aside money each month in a separate account over a period of two or three years. That sum will eventually be used to negotiate a settlement, usually about 60 percent of what you owe. In the meantime, though, credit card companies continue to charge interest and late fees. The creditor may sue. And the phone will probably continue to ring incessantly. The companies can offer no guarantees — except that your credit score will drop.

…

Five Cheap Wardrobe Tricks

The dilemma: It’s spring, and you’re dying for the new look blossoming in fashion magazines and store windows—but you have very little money these days to buy anything.

This year, I had particular need for a wardrobe refresh. With my new book coming out (In Her Own Sweet Time: Unexpected Adventures in Finding Love, Commitment and Motherhood), I was going to be touring the country giving readings. But since I work from home, my uniform generally consists of jeans, a T-shirt, and a comfortable pair of clogs. And like most people, my bank account is screaming extreme frugality much more than extreme luxury.

But transforming your look doesn’t have to mean spending an exorbitant amount—it just means getting creative. I called Samantha von Sperling, director of Polished Social Image Consultants in New York, for a little help. Von Sperling has produced style identities for celebrities, royalty, business executives and regular Joes…

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.

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…

Recession Briefing 5.11

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

The recession’s lasting impact may be that Americans put more of their income into savings. “In the last year, the savings rate — the percentage of after-tax income that people do not spend — has risen to above 4 percent, from virtually zero.” (New York Times)

Is this the worst year to graduate college ever? “Ivy League grads with heaps of student loans are fighting over jeans-folding gigs at Forever 21,” reports Zac Bissonnette. (The Daily Beast)

Men increasingly suffer from recession-related depression, according to a new study. Almost 40% of men admit to feeling low at the moment with job security, work and money playing on their minds. (BBC News) This is also called recessed.

Poor Little Millionaires

Every year, Fidelity Investments polls about 1,000 people who are “millionaires.” This year, almost half of them said they don’t feel very rich at all.

According to Fidelity’s report out today, the millionaires saw an average drop in household income of 19 percent and real estate value fell 28 percent. Still, they reported an average of $3.5 million in investible assets and $306,000 in annual household income.

These people are very nervous about their wealth status…

Retooling: Shifting Gears

When your industry is shrinking like Lily Tomlin in that movie, what can you do to keep your growth on track?

As a few of the victims of the Great Media Meltdown of 2008, we’re impressed by anyone who’s found a way to beat that incredible shrinking business. Andrea Miller’s story is pretty compelling.

Miller is the CEO and founder of Tango Media, which publishes YourTango.com, a website about love and relationships, with about 700,000 monthly visitors. After an early incarnation as a magazine, Tango launched as a website and, last fall, as something else altogether…

Five Priceless Mother’s Day Gifts

The National Retail Federation reports that spending is down more than ten % this year for Mother’s Day gifts. Expensive jewels and perfume may not be feasible for the cash-strapped, but don’t despair. You don’t have to break the bank to make Mom smile. Here are a few ideas for priceless gifts she’ll treasure.

1. Breakfast in bed
Mom took good care of you, now it’s her turn for a little pampering. Make her breakfast in bed, complete with a small vase of fresh flowers from the garden. A fragrant tea, like jasmine or Earl Grey, is a delightful thing for her to wake up to.

2. Memory Jar
Buy a pretty jar or vase or other container and fill it with memories. Write each one on a small piece of colored paper, then fold it up. Tie a colorful bow around the container and call it a “memory jar.” You can add new memories each year for a fabulous Mother’s Day tradition.

3. Spring Flowers
Spring has sprung, and now’s the time to enjoy nature’s eye candy…