Debt relief for the unemployed

No matter if you are over fifty and unemployed or under fifty and unemployed debt relief has to be a concern of yours. Bills continue to come in the mail whether you are working or not.


What can you do about debt if you don’t have a job?

Because of the economy this is an all too common problem. Your debt continues to grow while you try to find work. The stress and the worry builds till you can’t take it any more. But there are things that you can do.

• The first thing that you should do is to thoroughly examine your finances. See if there is anything in the way of expense that you can cut out. if there isn’t then you are doing better than most.

• Is there anything that you can sell to make some money? EBay is a wonderful outlet to get rid of stuff that you no longer need.

• A debt consolidation loan or a second mortgage might be worth considering. Anything to make your overall debt more manageable.

• But probably the best thing to do is go to the Federal Trade Commission website.

• Under the section Facts for Consumers there is quite a bit of valuable information on what is available to you in the way of debt relief.

A listing of all the State's Food Assistance programs

Here is the listing of Food Assistance programs for  all 50 states and Washington, D.C. These programs are sometimes referred to as SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs.

Alaska
http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dpa/programs/fstamps/



Alabama
http://www.dhr.state.al.us/page.asp?pageid=159



Arkansas
http://www.state.ar.us/dhs/dco/OPPD/index.html#Supplemental%20Nutrition%20Assistanct%20Program



Arizona
https://www.healthearizona.org/app/Default.aspx



California
http://www.cdss.ca.gov/foodstamps/PG841.htm



Colorado
http://www.cdhs.state.co.us/fap/



Connecticut
http://www.ct.gov/dss/cwp/view.asp?a=2353&q=320232



DC
http://dhs.dc.gov/dhs/cwp/view,a,3,q,641238.asp



Delaware
http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dss/foodstamps.html



Florida
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/ess/foodstamps.shtml



Georgia
http://dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHR-DFCS/menuitem.5d32235bb09bde9a50c8798dd03036a0/?vgnextoid=024a2b48d9a4ff00VgnVCM100000bf01010aRCRD



Hawaii
http://hawaii.gov/dhs/self-sufficiency/benefit/FNS



Iowa
http://www.dhs.iowa.gov/Consumers/Assistance_Programs/FoodAssistance/index.html

Idaho
http://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/FoodCashAssistance/FoodStamps/tabid/90/default.aspx



Illinois
http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30357



Indiana
http://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/2691.htm



Kansas
http://www.srskansas.org/ISD/ees/food_stamps.htm



Kentucky
http://chfs.ky.gov/dcbs/dfs/foodstampsebt.htm



Louisiana
http://www.dss.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&pid=93



Mass.
http://www.massresources.org/pages.cfm?contentID=12&pageID=3



Maryland
http://www.dhr.state.md.us/fia/fstamp.htm



Maine
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/OIAS/foodstamps/



Michigan
http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5453_5527---,00.html



Minnesota
http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_002555



Missouri
http://www.dss.mo.gov/fsd/fstamp/index.htm



Mississippi
http://www.mdhs.state.ms.us/ea_fs.html



Montana
http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/hcsd/snap/index.shtml



North Carolina
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/foodstamp/index.htm



North Dakota
http://www.nd.gov/dhs/services/financialhelp/foodstamps.html



Nebraska
http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/fia/fstamps.htm



New Hampshire
http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/FOODSTAMPS/default.htm



New Jersey
http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dfd/programs/foodstamps/



New Mexico
http://www.hsd.state.nm.us/isd/fs.html



Nevada
https://dwss.nv.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=84&Itemid=234



New York
http://www.otda.state.ny.us/main/foodstamps/



Ohio
http://jfs.ohio.gov/families/food/index.stm



Oklahoma
http://www.okdhs.org/programsandservices/food/snap/default.htm



Oregon
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/assistance/foodstamps/foodstamps.shtml



Pennsylvania
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/ServicesPrograms/FoodStamps/



Rhode Island
http://www.dhs.ri.gov/DefaultPermissions/FoodAssistance/tabid/737/Default.aspx



South Carolina
https://dss.sc.gov/content/customers/food/foodstamp/index.aspx



South Dakota
http://dss.sd.gov/snap/



Tennessee
http://www.state.tn.us/humanserv/adfam/afs_fsp.html



Texas
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/help/food/foodstamps/index.html



Utah
http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/customereducation/services/foodstamps/



Virginia
http://www.dss.state.va.us/benefit/foodstamp.html



Vermont
http://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/3SquaresVT



Washington
https://fortress.wa.gov/dshs/f2ws03esaapps/onlinecso/food_assistance_program.asp



Wisconsin
http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/foodshare/index.htm



West Virginia
http://www.wvdhhr.org/bcf/family_assistance/fs.asp



Wyoming
http://dfsweb.state.wy.us/economic-assistance/snap/index.html

Things to consider when starting a small business

I have written before about starting your own business especially if you are over fifty and unemployed. Really at any age you should consider working for yourself. There are many questions to be answered before starting that business.


First of all, starting a business is like looking for a career, you want to be involved with something that you are passionate about, the more enjoyment that you can put in a business the better chance you have of succeeding. If you aren’t interested in being outdoors and you don’t love plants you certainly shouldn’t consider a job as a landscape architect, should you?

Another thing to ponder over is how much of a financial investment will this new business will be. If you are on a budget because of unemployment then you have to be careful with cash and borrowing money might really be hard right now. If you can start your business on an incremental basis, that might be your best shot at success.

Of course the best option when starting a home business is to begin before you become unemployed, your business can be a sideline till you can get to a point where you might want to do it full time. This isn’t always possible especially in this day and time.

Having a partner who shares your passion for something is an ideal business situation. Certainly more will get accomplished and 2 people usually can solve more problems than just one person. Just make sure that your partner is someone you can work with or a good deal of your time could be wasting trying to agree on things.

These are just a few things to consider when starting a small business. This might just be the right time to take a chance on being self-employed.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

Jobs of the future – Health Care

Jobs of the future – Health Care

 

With all the news today about health care and health insurance coverage you probably know that health care is a hot employment field and one that you might consider especially if you are unemployed and over fifty.

 

It makes sense that health care is a great field because the population is getting older and they will require more medical procedures and surgeries.

 

Here are a few fields that look interesting:

 

• Cardiovascular Techs are technicians that help doctors with heart patients. They help with scheduling of appointments, operate medical equipment and assist doctors with various duties. A two year degree is usually required. The outlook for this field is good, with growth above the average.
• Surgical technologists assist Doctors and nurses during operations. They help set up the operating room before surgeries. A certificate is required and hospitals are the primary places of employment. Growth is expected to be above average.
• Home Health aides help disabled people, older adults or anyone who needs assistance in their daily lives. Their jobs run the gamut from house cleaning, cooking to running errands. They can work in private homes, nursing homes or day care programs. The pay isn’t has good as the two previously mentioned occupations but the outlook for growth is outstanding and a degree usually isn’t required.
• Radiation Therapists use machines that deliver radiation treatments to cancer patients. This field requires at least an associate degree in radiation therapy if not a bachelor degree. The pay is good and the outlook for growth is very good.
• Registered Nurses have been and will be in demand for years to come. The largest health care profession requires a degree, either bachelor or associate, depending on what area of nursing you enter. The pay is one of the highest in the medical field besides the physicians’ income.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
thanks

Older workers starting over

You are unemployed and over fifty. You don’t have any ideas on what to do for the rest of your working career, which may last a lot longer than what you used to think it would. But now you are starting over. You don't look forward to finding a job after fifty.


It is hard to believe that at the wonderful age of 50 or older that you back to square one. After all these years, working years, you find yourself unemployed. The worst part is that you don’t have a clue what to do. You know of many, many things that you can’t do. Is it because of your age, or your skills or just a lot of things that seem to be in your way.

Are you mad, probably because ten years ago you didn’t think that you would be in this position? Many people 10 years ago didn’t think that they would be looking for a new career in their fifties. Who knew? But you are and you have to face the new reality of the economy.

Here are a few things that you can do right now to begin starting over:

• Stop and take a breath, then think a few things out.
• Check out the government's website Career One-stop
• Is it time to reinvent yourself?
• Remember that success can happen after fifty

Keep an open mind and whatever you do don’t give up.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
Thanks

Changing the mindset about older workers

So often a belief will come about someone or something and it becomes the gospel fact, whether it is true or not. Changing that belief is difficult if not impossible, that seems to be the case about older workers.


Really it isn’t just the mindset about older workers; it is also the mindset about older people in general. The age of fifty for some odd reason become the line of demarcation where the body falls apart and the brain’s function starts downhill.

But where does this come from?

It is certainly true that over time the body wears down and eventually wears out. But that is over a great deal of time. By eating right and exercising on a regular basis, general good health can be maintained for many years past the age of fifty. So the argument that bad health is a part of being older is bogus. But this idea has been around forever probably perpetuated by a youth focused media.

Another unfortunate belief is that older people, particularly older workers, aren’t as sharp as the younger folks. They don’t learn things as quickly and their judgment is often questioned. Speaking of judgment, is there anyone on the Supreme court younger than 50? No, and there isn’t an automatic retirement age either. Really, the issue about learning new concepts quickly and anything involving the thought process doesn’t have anything to do with age.

And of course there is the matter of retirement, as in the older worker is about to retire so you don’t want to hire them. In this economy? No, if anything an older worker will be more stable in a job than someone who is just starting out.

Hopefully as the country gets older as a whole these and other erroneous notions will be forgotten.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed

Thanks

Become a late bloomer

If you find yourself unemployed and over fifty, you might think that it is all downhill from here. Your best years are behind you and your chances of achieving any success are nil. How wrong you are! Through history the tales of late bloomers have become legendary. While you may not write a national bestseller or become a world famous painter in your later years, you can definitely find success and personal satisfaction.


Late bloomers as a group have a different mind set when it comes to “old age”, they think nothing of it. Why should a number that represents your age be an impediment to your dreams and desires? Most people think that when they get older time is suddenly against them. Time is against everyone right from the beginning, it never stops. You should be just like time; you shouldn’t stop either till your last breath.

And you don’t know what to do? It’s too late to become this or that, or it’s too late to train to become this or that. If it is something that you really want to do, then just do it, leave the doubts for others. More than anything you must change the way you are thinking about how much time you have left.

People will think that I am wasting my time and that I am only setting myself up to fail. Late bloomers don’t worry about what other’s think about them. They are goal oriented and focused. Let people think what they want it shouldn’t make any difference to you.

Change usually isn’t comfortable. Everyone likes to be comfortable, but late bloomers would rather see their dreams fulfilled rather than staying safely in their comfort zone. Make changes, take chances, this is your life so live it!

What is a survival job?

As you probably know by now finding any job in this economy is going to be very difficult, especially if you are over fifty. Ideally you would prefer not to take a huge pay cut but you are realistic, and you would like to work in a field that you are accustomed to. But you haven’t found anything that even remotely meets those criteria; in fact you haven’t found anything.


You have reached the point of just wanting a job, a survival job.

Bills still have to be paid and you still have to eat so swallow your pride and take any job that you can find. You have to keep in mind that nothing is forever and at least you will have some money coming in. sure you may not like what you are doing but you need something to hold you over till something else comes along. Who knows this job may lead to something else within the company.

Also consider that most companies offer some kind of healthcare which is certainly a plus when considering a survival job. It might not be the healthcare that you are used to but it is something.

I know it is difficult but you have to survive even if it means taking a survival job.