[QUOTE=BeliefnetComforter;893376]In this time of economic distress many are getting laid-off, accepting buyouts, getting fired or just jumping ship. Beliefnet wants our users to share the story of how their getting laid-off, bought out or leaving their job has changed their lives for the better.

It's our hope to share your story with our larger audience and enourage someone to believe that there are inspiring stores behind what many believe is a tragic situation.

Thanks in advance for having the courage to share. :)[/QUOTE]

I wish I could provide an inspiring story about how getting laid off or fired from a job improved my life, but it's not possible.  Due to illnesses, job losses (the result of missing work while sick) and periods of no health insurance, I am deeply in debt and there is no way out.  Last week, I received the bills from a recent minor surgery that I needed to regain use of one arm.  Despite the fact that I have health insurance, I still owe more than HALF the bill.  The weasly insurance company found ways to get away with paying, for instance, $18.76 for a $124.00 bill - and less than $5,000 on a $12,000 bill.

Welcome the the real America.  How long must we wait for GOOD insurance coverage???

I did have ONE good experience.  Twenty years ago, I quit my job after years of hating it.  A few days later, I fell down a long flight of stairs and had a head injury, which led to me receiving government funding for job training.  A year of technical school (for which I received a stipend of $1/hour to help with gas and food) gave me the education I needed for a good career.  All would have been well had I not had to deal with not one, but TWO bouts with cancer in the past eight years.  No more savings, no retirement fund, no NOTHING.

At least some people who are laid off might receive training to switch careers.  Between jobs, they will receive unemployment insurance - which is barely enough to survive on and is subject to federal income tax!  What a great country, huh?  And people wonder why Obama wants to return tax rates on the wealthy to pre-Bush-rate-cut levels.  Now you know.

Good luck to all of you affected by the financial crisis.  For all I know, I might be next.  My current position is a nine-month contract position through an agency, and the contract runs out just before Christmas.  This isn't the best time for the construction industry, so my future is, at best, uncertain.  The one good thing about these experiences is that I am now able to stretch a dollar bill until it screams for mercy.  You, too, can survive on a lot less that you are used to earning, but it takes many sacrifices.

It seems so unfair that, in the greatest country on earth, a person who has worked and paid taxes for more than 35 years can end up with next to nothing as "punishment" for getting sick or for having an employer go out of business.

I did not get laid off, I quit my job before the economy went 100% south.  I had plans to do something freelance and also go back to school to get my Master's.  All those plans fell apart due to a combination of depression, laziness and bad decisions, but one thing I know for sure:  I do not regret quitting my job.

I hated that job, I was in it for 8 years and it was never the job for me.  By the end not only was I in a job I hated, but also I was in a hostile work environment and I was under great stress every day.

I am unemployed now, seeking work but the market sucks.  I am going to keep trying, I just take it day to day.  I probably will get evicted from my apt. and have to move to another state to live with family.  Even if I end up on the street I will still say that I don't regret leaving that place.

I actually worked for a subprime mortgage company that laid just about everyone off, right before the mortgage crisis. But, I did gain valuable knowledge, skills, made some great friends... I found another job at a personal injury law firm, but got laid off from that as well because I don't think they realized they could afford my salary. And found another job, working at a whole foods supplement company. I acutally quit that job earlier this year because I was able to come and work from home with my husband. It was something to get used to though, but I think it has worked out for the best.

What are you learning by going through this?

G'day nuitprincess:

That seems poetic--but inebriated! Perhaps you need a rest?