My husband is losing his job of 31 years........any advice on what to do?

[magical thyme]

26. my career disappeared out from under me in the wake of 911

and the high tech crash, when I was pushing 50. It was kind of a triple whammy, quadruple when you add that shortly after that, Mittens was elected governor and dropped Mass job creation from 37th to 47th in the country.

It has not been easy, to say the least. But looking back at the 2000 elections, and with W making noise about attacking Iraq, I knew the entire game had changed for good and made a decision to follow a lifelong dream while I had the one chance to do it. I "failed" but at least I tried and learned a lot. If a miracle falls on my head and I get a second chance at following it, I'll have a better chance at succeeding, lol. I've met many people who lost a ton from their 401Ks who regretted not following their lifelong dream instead...

I looked at it as an adventure, and I would still recommend that, but be very careful at the same time. Because where there are adventures, there are thieves every step of the way...

Look very closely at your expenses and see what you can cut. Look at your stuff and see what you can sell. Can you grow some of your food? Gardening is healthy physically and mentally, and depending on how food prices are in your area, it can cut a small but significant chunk from your grocery bill.

Take very good care of your health. Dental appointments at top of list of what you don't cut; tooth and gum health is critical to overall health for a number of reasons.

But also enjoy the time off (hard to do when you are scared, but do it). The reality is there is no real security in anything. Take one day at a time, one hour at a time. If necessary, one breath at a time.

And do breathe...deep.

A lot depends on your husband's profession. Research it: is it booming in another part of the country and can you relocate there? If you can, especially if you already have contacts there, consider it.

If either or both of you decides to re-train, be careful. Do formal research, but also find a way to do informal research. The biggest mistake I think I made in my particular situation was, after I failed at my dream, going back to school and re-training in healthcare. I hate what I'm doing and most of the people I work with/for, government statistics are really detached from the reality on the ground....plus I was lied to by the HR department at the local hospital re: salary ranges. So I'm screwed totally on that front. Sadly, it is booming on the other side of the country, but it's too late for me to relocate there.

It really, truly sucks. It's as if there was a conscious decision made at the upper echelons to dump people right when they're turning 50...right when they should be at their peak earning years, too old to get hired, too young to retire.

One thing I've been looking at is re-locating to another country via teaching English as a second language.