How to deal with a job layoff?

I was newly married when I was laid off from a call center job. I was in a total panic Luckily for us, my time off of work wasn't that bad. I have had several friends who experienced layoffs later on in their career and their was greater impact. Two years later, one couple is still trying to pay off debt due to a 6 months without a job. While the economy seems strong today, we are still hearing of layoffs of manufacturing jobs. Ford was mentioned earlier this year and now Maytag plant closings in Iowa are causing concern.

Kara of Moms Market Online shares that her Dad is getting laid off Over the past few years things have gone from bad to worse at the original Maytag plant in Newton. Lay offs were extremely high, going from 1,500 on the floor clear down to 500 or less. It may not seem like much in the corporate world, but for this tiny town it was a HUGE deal. Very sad as well, because this was where Maytag started and the entire town held a lot of support for this company.

This year Maytag was sold to Whirlpool, and things have gone completely down hill. I just got a call from my dad (one of the few remaining employees that's been working there just shy of 20 years) who said the announcement was made to all the employees today - the plant is closing in October of 2007. 

CNN shared some tips on how to deal with a layoff or the potential of a layoff.
1. Inform your family.
2. Keep monitoring your spending and live on less
3. Put debt repayment on hold This isn’t the time to be aggressive on paying off the credit cards. Contact your credit card , mortgage and student loan to see if you can make any plans with them. I have heard of some credit card companies not charging interest during this time.
4. Spend down your Flexible Spending Account if you know it is in the future
 5. Consider BIG cutbacks.
6. Be smart about taxes
7. Keep track of deductible expenses. Resumes, business cards, phone calls, unreimbursed job interview trips -- many of your job-hunting expenses are deductible if you itemize using a Schedule A.
8. Invest in yourself. Consider taking classes to make yourself more marketable.
9. Maintain your network.
10. Raise extra cash.