Unemployed

My father just became unemployed for the first time that I can ever remember. It's a strange feeling. Most of my childhood he was in the military, and he had lapse between leaving the military and finding a civilian job. His current job (which he's been there 8+ years) was what brought my family back to the Pacific Northwest. I've always known that my dad hasn't been 100% happy with his job, but he did what he had to to support his family - all eight of us. Now that I'm out of the house, it is a strange feeling knowing that my father will have this enormous pressure to find a job, in an economy where more than 1 in ten are out of work. But my family is in a great position. Literally, they have no bills except the house. Everything is paid for - no car payments (they hold the titles to 4 vehicles, and a trailer. No credit card payments, no student loans, NOTHING!!! And since they just re-financed their house, and the additional bonus of them having scrimped and saved last year as well as kept this and last year's tax returns, they have 6 months easily taken care of. That's the way to do it. My family will pull through, they always have, but it is definitely a great benefit to not have payments to worry about. It all boils down to: Think about the future.