Were you recently laid off from work? If so, you may be in financial distress. Even those who collect unemployment benefits barely find themselves scraping by. If you are one of those individuals, you need to make significant cutbacks. What might those cutbacks entail?

Sell your house. If you live in a home with an expensive mortgage that you cannot afford and if you do not anticipate finding a job in the next two or three months, get out now. Try to sell your home before your credit is severely impacted. Luckily, the housing market is starting to slowly improve in many areas of the country. Layoffs are increasing in frequency, but many Americans still have their jobs and can get a loan. List your home for sale based on its last appraised value or fair market value. Don’t sell yourself short, but middle class family homes, in the $75,000 to $150,000 range are easier to sell.

If you have been trying to sell your home and cannot, do you have extra room? If so, rent out a room. Do backgrounds check and check references. This can help offset the cost of a mortgage you cannot afford. In addition, right now many Americans have steady income, but poor credit. These Americans cannot get a home loan, even though they could likely afford one. For that reason, consider renting your home. This is ideal if your house is too big, but do not feel comfortable living with a stranger. Use the incoming rent to pay the mortgage. Use your spouse’s income or your unemployment check to pay rent on a much smaller and cheaper apartment.