Unemployed and Savings Going, Going, Gone? Tips to Stretch Your Unemployment Check

The recession's over -- yay! To the 8.9 percent of Americans who remain jobless, that's as much reason to celebrate as this year's Groundhog Day prediction for an early spring. (Which also turned out to be substantially untrue.)

For the unemployed, hours and hours spent online and pounding pavement for a job search need to be supplemented by hours toward money management. Just cutting out the $5 Starbucks and using last year's spring handbag won't do. We're talking tough choices and no messing around.

AOL Jobs spoke with noted author and personal finance expert Jean Chatzky, creator of the Debt Diet online program.