I am a 45 year old professional, employed in the legal and financial sectors.  I have a wife, two beautiful children and a home in north New Jersey.  In the last few years my compensation has been back-loaded, so we relied heavily on my year end bonus (which made up the bulk of my compensation).  Bonuses were dependent on firm performance which, up until last year, was not an issue.  In late 2008,  my company had a massive downsizing.  I was laid off without a severance package and no bonus in the middle of the recession.