When the Walls Come Tumbling Down - Losing Your Job

I have a decent job, full time, good benefits, that is..until yesterday. Sometimes, you have to just walk away from a very, very bad situation, and that's the situation I was in.

When things like this happen, you have to sometimes just pull yourself together and make the best of it. You have to take inventory of what you have, and how you can get what you need.

My Inventory:

Assets:

• I have two weeks more to work, and I have almost a week of vacation pay coming.
• I have a cupboard full of food, thanks to my frugal shopping ways.
• I have been trying to get started selling off some items to declutter, so this is a good time to kick that into full gear.
• I have been working toward getting licensed for a backyard nursery, and have a lot of plants I could already be selling, so again, time to kick that into full gear.
• I have been planning to plant a vegetable garden, but didn't have time. Now I do.
• I have knowledge and expertise about growing plants that I can sell. I've already put an ad on Craigslist to do landscape work and consulting.

So those are my assets. These are my liabilities:

• I have a house payment that has to be made
• I have utility payments that need to be made
• I have insurances and taxes that have to be paid by the end of this month
• I have no credit cards to fall back on in an emergency
• I will now have no health insurance or retirement
• I have a back tax bill that needs to be paid by next April
• I have a 16 year old car that is going to break down and need repairs anytime now

No doubt, I'm afraid at this time, but at the same time, I'm excited to be able to pursue a life that is more to my liking. In reality, I will probably get at least a part time job somewhere to supplement what I can make by selling off my life and running my nursery. Of course, the insurance problem is worrisome, but that's just something I will have to deal with. I had no insurance for many years, and somehow I survived.

I'm sure that many of you are in the same boat that I am, even worse. Share with us some of what you did to survive a hard economic time, so that we can get ideas that may help us.