How To Survive Being Laid Off - Is A Controllable State Of Mind

My wife has every reason in the world to be angry and scared!
Not only is the economy bleak her disabled husband on a fixed income is trying to increase their income doing the only thing he can do which is trying Internet Marketing.

We had a pretty good income considering the situation for a family of four in their first home they ever bought; almost loosing it by being laid off two weeks before signing papers in 1995.  Before we were ever even considered for finance for the house we had to write letters to companies we owed to see if we could settle our debts to clear up our credit report which we got squeaky clean.



  

I got laid off just as we were about to sign papers, it was devastating.  We had no idea what to say to the agent from the Realtor.  When we finally did tell her she said to me, "You have to get a job!"

Like I was going to find a job after working 23 years for one company?




Who would hire me?

I needed a job with benefits even though my weekly income with insurance included would not change for Eleven months due to a great severance package.

To qualify for the financing I needed a job with insurance.

What was the worse thing that could happen at this point?

We could stay in our swiss cheese apartment which was the only explanation for going through some serious fuel consumption or it was being evenly distributed to the two apartments below us.

I had two weeks to get a job with insurance benefits and have our own home to heat.

The other benefit I had working at one company for 23 years was the education they paid for, my Business Degree from Newbury College.  It was what gave me an ability to write a great Resume' and enough experience in many departments that had everything to do with electronics and the latest salable technologies skill sets.


  

The best thing happened the week following the lay off was there was an Electronics Job Fair in Boston.

With a hand full of Resume's I gave one to every booth, talked to a half dozen recruiters and got two future interviews but nothing right then an there.  Not feeling very lucky on the Electronics side of the Job Fair I decided to cross the isle into the Sales and Marketing world.

With no official sales or marketing skills I handed my resume' to recruiters who rolled their eyes in their heads after seeing it.  "Sorry."  They would say.  Then there was a man standing there.  I gave this man my spiel instead of my Resume' and landed it my job with insurance benefits.

What was the job?

It was a Telemarketing job selling Pagers and Beepers to businesses.

My goal at Pagenet was to climb to the top and then buy the company.

With cell phones showing some serious competition with vibration, beeps with talking abilities instead of running to some snot covered public phones my job became tougher and there was no need to have a sales manager telling us we needed to work harder.

After a two months I gave two weeks notice.

I was an electronic technician temp finally landing a job in a company I only dreamed of working in HP.  I was only a temp and when your a temp in a place like HP they let you know it.  But I made more money than they did I didn't let them know that.

Money not being everything I worked closer to home for less money in pay but also less in gas and time spent getting there.

As electronic firms outsourced, electronic jobs dwindled, contracts got shorter and skill levels went up.  

I liked the money that was coming but my body was saying stop.  If I was a permanent employee they would have fired me or laid me off for all the time taking off because of a poorly built leg brace.  I had no time while being tortured while expecting a brace repair that basically put an end to my career.

For two years my wife's job was the only income while I was unable to work before jumping through hoops to get on SSDI.

We live in our own house which is modest at best for a description.




Now it is my wifes turn for a lay off and in her anticipation she has been on edge forcing me to cut my cost. It is not a lot of money going out but when nothing is coming in, at all, I have to at least make up what was all ready spent and use that knowledge to get some continuity for what I do know instead giving it away on what I don't know or really need.  I don't want to get paid out of  my desperation just want to help those who need it if I can.





Her point is so right while I flounder around almost finding answers to making money online will I ever be able to compensate my income from SSDI?