Need a Job? Create Your Own and Stay at Home

Many Americans need a job and finding work seems to get harder each day. Many have considered staying and working at home as an option but with the numerous work at home scams it is difficult to know where to invest your time and energy. With pressures created by bills being past due, demands of having children, government health care bill creeping up on us, how can we make calm decisions that need to be figured out now and not in the future?

There are several reasons why we can't find a job, even a low-paying bad one. If you are over 50 years old you may as well forget it. Our culture is set against us old folks and wisdom takes a back seat. It seems employers would rather hire younger candidates that are inexperienced and obstinate than seasoned workers that know how to do many things and are glad to do them. If an older person applies for a job they are usually told no and given the reason as being over-qualified. Over-qualified is an industry term that means you are too old and keeps them out of trouble with the law.

Another reason you can't find work is there isn't any. Every job application seems to go into a huge pile and gets lost very quickly. Most employers are so overwhelmed that you don't even get a letter or call back telling you no go. It's usually not their fault so be fair and don't go off on them. You must stay calm and work with what you have going for you and be happy you have that since it can always be worse.

First thing you should do it write down all the assets you have available. Include physical assets as well as your mental ones, things you are capable of doing. Next, evaluate what you need to survive. You will then have to make some hard decisions. Johnny may not get braces and Mary may not get the expensive prom dress she most dearly needs. You may have to do without the latest X-Box game. Get rid of your cable programming and keep you Internet connection. Get your entertainment on-line. See my article on how TV is dead to get some ideas. Your real needs are shelter, food, electricity, water, phone, etc. Even these critical expenses will have to be evaluated and cut down on if necessary.

With all this information consider what you can do, from your residence, to make ends meet. Your standard of living will surely go down but your quality of life can actually go up if you plan it right. You must be grateful for what you have and move toward making things better each day. Everyone has some skills and with a lot of hard work and mental reflection you can put all of your assets to work for you and probably come out ahead. After a while you may feel better off than you were before.

Any work you do is a job if it saves money. Home cooked meals taste better than eating out if you learn how to cook. Fresh vegetables from your backyard garden is healthier and fresher than anything out of a store. Riding your bicycle to run errands is very healthy and cuts way down on doctor bills, as long as you don't get run over by the guy with a job. Selling unneeded items on the many web sites helps pay a lot of the expenses. A good yard sale can pay a lot on the house payment.

While you are doing everything you can think of at home you should still look for work, even if it is low paying and part time. Any work is not beneath you and has merit as long as you are making money. Start local and expand out. If you can walk or ride a bike to the job then it is that much more profitable. Consider getting rid of your car and get a moped. You will save on gas and insurance. This is not a joke. If you think it is then consider how funny losing everything you have would be.

Put your talents to work by thinking of what you can do to create your own job. Being older is a definite advantage for this step. If you know how to play a musical instrument then give lessons. Set up a stand in your front yard and sell surplus vegetables from the garden. Offer to babysit, take care of pets, breed dogs and cats, cut hair, work on cars, or anything you have the talent for and local laws allow you to do. The worst thing you can do is sit there and feel sorry for yourself. Get up and get going and you may find that working from your home is the best thing you ever did. Eventually, you may not want a real job.