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By Sanford Nowlin - 210SA columnist

Somewhere between the ubiquitous coverage of Octomom and Travis the Rampaging Chimp, you may have seen some news reports on the state of our economy.

Namely, that it’s now shittier than a bus station toilet.

And with some economists expecting unemployment to hit 10 percent later this year, up from its current rate of 8.1 percent, you may well be fretting over just how long you can stay employed. (That’s a frequent concern for me, although it probably has more to do with my “improper use of the Internet” and theft of company office supplies.)

If you think pink slips soon may be flying around your workplace like bullets in a game of “Fallout 3,” fear not. There are steps you can take now to protect yourself. Money-smart Matthew Bell, vice president of Cross Financial Services, shared this list of recommendations for the soon-to-be unemployed:

- Build up a cash reserve. Painful as it sounds, start tucking away money now so you have something to live on once the bad day comes. You may not have much time to squirrel away that cash, but anything’s a head start, Bell said. “The rule of thumb is usually three months of cash reserves, but these days it may be a good idea to save up six months,” he added. “That’s not always possible, but get started as soon as you can.”

- Start cutting expenses now. Wouldn’t you rather make those cuts now than in panic once you actually lose your job? List your weekly and monthly expenses, and you’ll be amazed how quickly you can identify potential cuts, Bell said. If you’ve been thinking about dropping your land line and just keeping a cellular phone, why not do it now? Let magazine subscriptions lapse. And make this the time to end your pricey Internet porn addiction.

- Hit the want ads before you get pink slipped. If you think you’re likely to get cut, start looking for a job immediately, Bell recommended. In the current economy, the job market is competitive. Give yourself extra time to land something. Hell, you may even be able to find that dream job before the cuts start happening. Plus, when would you rather be job hunting? Before the layoff, when you may be the only one in your office looking, or after the layoff, when all your co-workers have the same idea?

- See where the jobs of the future are. Do some research and see what jobs are in demand now — or will be once the economy improves. You may be able to start training or taking classes that could help you land a job that’s in higher demand than your current position, according to Bell.

- If you have stocks or property that you could sell off in an emergency, make an inventory of it now, Bell said. Consider how quickly each could be turned around and what kind of tax implications there might be on each sale. Look, things might not get that desperate, but if they do, it’s probably good to have things mapped out before hand so you don’t make any hasty decisions. “Don’t expect the worst,” Bell said. “But it doesn’t hurt to plan for it.”