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The monthly report on unemployment is the recession's casualty list, but with numbers instead of names.

We'll get a fresh dose of numbers later this week when the March unemployment rate is announced. What should you do if your job was just cut – or if you foresee this happening soon? Let's get some advice from financial planner Ted Rechtshaffen, who has had to counsel some of his clients lately about job loss.

Step 1: Marshal resources

Ideally, you'll have some severance to take from your job. Now, what other assets do you have to help pay expenses while you're unemployed?

Non-registered investments and savings are your first resort, said Mr. Rechtshaffen, president of the financial advice firm TriDelta Financial Partners. From there, you should look at your line of credit and then, as a last resort, your registered retirement savings plan.

If you're worried about a layoff and don't already have a secured credit line (your home is used as security in exchange for a preferential interest rate), Mr. Rechtshaffen suggests you go out right now and set one up.

“Get as much of a secured line of credit as you can,” he said. “In most cases, if you don't have it, you'll be forced to tap your RRSP.”

Here's the logic behind using your credit line instead of your RRSP. New credit lines come with an interest rate that could be as low as 3.5 per cent, and you have the option in many cases of just paying the interest you owe from month to month.

You won't go into debt with an RRSP withdrawal, but you'll have to pay taxes on the withdrawal and won't be able to replace the funds later. That room is gone forever.

Step 2: Cut expenses

There's the obvious stuff to trim, like dining out, and the not-so-obvious stuff, like mortgage payments and contributions to your kid's RESP.

On mortgages, Mr. Rechtshaffen said it's worth a check to see if you can lower monthly payments by taking a penalty to break your mortgage and then arranging a new loan at today's low rates. If you can't afford the penalty, see if you can add it to your mortgage and still end up with lower payments.

Banks are increasingly willing to work with people under financial stress and may have further options for laid-off people struggling with mortgages – for example, lengthening the amortization period of the mortgage.

As for RESPs, Mr. Rechtshaffen describes them as “falling into the category of ‘it's great to do, but not urgent.'” His reasoning: You can make up later for missed contributions. RRSP contributions are a whole other matter. Mr. Rechtshaffen said that if you see yourself having a high income this year and anticipate a low income next year, it makes sense to maximize your contribution for the 2009 tax year to get the most from your tax deduction.

Step 3: Get pension advice

Mr. Rechtshaffen said most people have no idea what effect the terms of their severance package will have on their pension. A financial planner who understands pensions should be able to sort this out.

If you're trying to decide whether to take money out of a company pension plan or leave it in after you depart, Mr. Rechtshaffen offered three points to consider:

Your lifespan: The longer you expect to live, the more attractive it becomes to leave money in a pension plan.

Your company's health: If your firm is in financial trouble or in a hard-hit sector, it's possible the pension plan may not be able to deliver the expected level of benefits by the time you retire.

Your investments alternatives: The stock markets are low and dividend yields are high, which suggests that investors with a decade or two until retirement might make a better return themselves than through a pension plan.

Other Steps: Taxes & stuff

With taxes, Mr. Rechtshaffen suggests you avoid a lump-sum severance payment that would increase your annual income drastically and put you in a higher tax bracket. If it happens late in the year, see if the severance can by pushed off to the next year.

It's sometimes possible to take your severance in the form of a temporary continuation of your regular paycheques. You'll get a nice sense of financial normalcy from doing this, especially if your usual benefits continue while those cheques keep coming, Mr. Rechtshaffen says.