| You would have to be living with no connections | | | | failure. The same thing is true with your paycheck. |
| to the modern world not to know that the | | | | There is a new way to prepare for a period of |
| economy and job markets are dismal at best. | | | | unemployment. It's a membership plan that pays |
| Gone are the days of a sure job, and unlimited | | | | its members a cash benefit if they become |
| overtime. Now many companies are cutting hours, | | | | involuntarily unemployed. Plans like this have been |
| laying off in waves, or all together shutting down. | | | | available overseas for a while, and now have |
| A 2007 Fannie Mae study shows that the | | | | made their way to the US. |
| average worker will experience unemployment 2.3 | | | | There are many plans that are called |
| times during their career. The national | | | | unemployment protection that you can find on |
| unemployment rate in September of 2007 was at | | | | any internet search, or at any bank, but these |
| 6.1%, and is projected to reach about 9% in the | | | | plans only protect the lender, and pay the benefit |
| near future. With over 1.6 million jobs lost this | | | | directly to them. Whatever plan it is you are |
| year, no one can be sure whose job will be next. | | | | looking at, be sure that the benefits are paid to |
| The average length of a period of unemployment | | | | the member directly, for them to use as they |
| is 16.5 weeks. That is enough time to drain your | | | | see fit. Many people use the cash to pay for |
| savings account, or even worse, lose your home | | | | utility bills, groceries, or gas for their car. This type |
| to foreclosure, and ruin your hard earned credit | | | | of benefit is there for you when you need it. |
| scores. | | | | Take the time to look into what you can do to |
| But the story isn't all gloom and doom. Just as | | | | prepare for a job loss or period of unemployment. |
| with most things, preventative maintenance costs | | | | It's a very small price to pay for financial stability |
| are substantially less then fixing a catastrophic | | | | and peace of mind for you and your family. |