Top five things to know during the recession

Daily life during an economic downturn is similar to watching Borat with your kids – pray it ends quickly and with as little embarrassment as possible. On a serious note, the recession can be difficult for fathers, many of whom must struggle to find a new job or keep their existing position, manage the family’s budget and still give their family the support they need.

Though some experts have said the economy is starting to pull out of the recession, as you learned from Borat, it ain’t over until the fat lady returns to Kazakhstan.

So with foreclosures still piling up, banks hesitant to give loans and some regions till experiences job losses, here are a few tips to weather the remaining storm.

1.) Know the terminology. Credit crunch is not a candy bar, recession does not refer to your hairline and a stimulus package has nothing to do with cocaine.

2.) Even if the recession has gotten the best of you, it’s not as bad as getting divorced. You may have lost half of your not worth, but at least you still have your significant other.

3.) No matter how much you talk about football at work, the NFL Network is not a business expense. Cutting luxuries like cable, magazine subscriptions and extra-padded toilet paper from the budget could help makes ends meet.

4.) Unless you fear for your family’s health, home-cooked meals can greatly reduce your food budget. And as an added bonus, saving on a 15 percent tip to waiters can easily mean spending on 15 or so much-needed beers down the road. (Make sure the cans are recyclable – 14 recycled beers equals one more frosty one.)

5.) There’s a difference between unemployed and funemployed. If you’re one of the unfortunate fathers to be laid off, don’t fret. This could be an opportunity to take up a new activity like painting, writing poetry or quoting Office Space ad nauseam.