I heard my brother and his friends arguing the other day over this question: How much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.

What do you expect from guys in their 20s who regular watch Sponge Bob Square Pants, then Green Acres, every Thursday night over beers. I think this is why we’re in an economic recession.

Strangely, I did pick up an idea from one of his friends. This guy has a decent job in Evergreen Park, but otherwise is as stupid as my brother.  Anyway, he’s always spending money on stupid stuff and then short of cash to pay his rent, for food, insurance, and other things.  So when he gets in a scrape, he gets a car title loan to help him catch up. He goes on an austerity budget, pays the loan back, then the next thing he does is buy a playstation or something.

Well I needed some money a few weeks ago, so I asked him where people go for car title loans.  Turns out, they’re all online now.  So I went to Oak Lawn Title Loans, filled out the application, and I got the money in a day.  Could not have been easier.

Then he asked me for a date. I told him no, I didn’t want to deprive him of time with Sponge Bob and his friends.

Oak Lawn is also near, Evergreen Park, Washington Heights, Englewood, Chicago Ridge, and Alsip.

You gotta love the politics in this country. First, we had Clinton, Johnny Cash and Bob Hope. Next we got Bush, no Cash and no Hope. What will Obama bring?

Things are looking grim at the moment, but let’s give the guy time. You wanna think things couldn’t possibly get any worse, but you know they could. My personal approach is to shore up everything from the income side, cut back as much as possible on the outflow side, and develop your backups for emergencies. Here in the Chicago area we might have job options in case our companies close or cut back, but there’s no guarantee I’ll find anything in this part of Cook County.

It’s nearly impossible to save money these days, so your backup might be in an asset. For me, it’s my car. I actually found a way for the car to finance it’s own repair bill. The mechanic said I needed $1400 to fix a bunch of things, and I just hated to add that to my credit card bills (in fact, it might have pushed me over my limit). So I did my research on the Internet and found Evergreen Park Title Loans, a great resource for car repair cash. A car title loan is based on the car’s value, as long as it’s paid for. You get your money electronically sent to your checking account, so if you need fast cash, this is the place to go for it.

By the way Evergreen Park is near Oak Lawn, Bridgeview, Burbank, Hometown, and Worth.

I got in a little trouble at the office holiday party. It was open mike for jokes or singing, so I went into my blonde riff:

Q: What did the blonde girl name her pet Zebra?
A: Spot.
Q: Why did the blonde have tire tread marks on her back?
A: From crawling across the street when the pedestrian sign said “DON’T WALK”.
Q: What does a blonde Owl say?
A: What, what?
Q: What do you see when you look directly into a blonde’s eyes?
A: The back of her head.

I killed. But I forgot the Executive VP’s wife is platinum blonde. She was there, in the back where I didn’t see her, and I guess she’s not known for her mastery of rocket surgery.

Things have been dicey since then, and with the rumors of downsizing I’m trying to cover my trail everywhere. That includes knowing my financial backup — after severance (if they even have any), unemployment insurance and savings, I know my car is good for cash too. What I did in a pinch about a year ago was go to Crestwood Title Loans for some money. A car title loan is a smart way to get money online from an asset you own, not unlike a home equity loan.

It would suck to lose this job because I live in Midlothian and this job is in Crestwood, an easy drive mornings and evenings. Note to self: zip the lips, I’m not Jay Leno.

By the way Crestwood  is near Alsip, Evergreen Park, Robbins, Posen, and Markham.