Agreed. Going to scrub my contributions to getting off topic

The big problem now is that companies make the interview process as coldly distant as possible.

The resume review software many companies use to filter thru candidates really doesn't do it's job correctly. The last 3 years I worked with the Talent Acquisition team to look for candidates I would make them send me the resumes of what they had as "second tier" matches....I found that most of the people I was hiring came from that group.

Damn, that's tough, Hydrae. Feels like that's the inevitable fate for a lot of us.

I have a few suggestions if you'd like to hear it. I know sometimes in these situations people just want love and sympathy, not necessarily advice. A lot of times we know what to do, we just need the emotional support to get it done. It can be hard to get things done when you're so stressed out and down. It can be difficult to get out of your own way when everything just feels like it will never go right.

Life is a bitch, man. And the older i get the more i realize that it never lets up. It's constant. If it's not one thing it's another. And to work for as long as you have only to end up in this situation anyway...god i can only imagine the frustration, the depression, the anxiety....the anger....

Sorry to hear this man.

Like others have said....Social Security could be your answer. OR if you still have money in a retirement account like a 401k/403b/IRA/Roth IRA your old enough to start drawing on those. Age is 59.5 to avoid an extra 10% tax penalty to uncle Sam.

You said your wife really enjoys her part time job? Anyway you could get a job at the same place with her?

Resume is great and all but who do you know? Working for so long you must have build some friendships along the way. It's time, sit down and call them all up! It's who you know and one of those people could now be a manager somewhere.....OR know of one looking for someone.

The trailer in the yard is an idea but if it was me I'd travel from a couple different State/County RV parks and volunteer. Most allow volunteers to hook up and stay for free. You would do things like sit at the check in center or after a person leave that site go make sure its ready for the next person.

With your experience you could always try substitute teacher at a school/community college.

I would really apply for SS like yesterday. You can still make a small income while drawing SS benefits and not screw anything up.

Yeah, you'd probably be best off drawing your Social Security early while making every attempt possible to get out from under your current lease.

If it's any consolation, you aren't in a position to be destitute and penniless. Currently in a position where you own a house and are renting it for more than your mortgage.

If you've already accepted you may not find a job in your field and are looking elsewhere, drawing SS and working part time makes even more sense.

I'm sorry to hear your troubles, hydrae. You're one of the good guys. Best of luck to you in getting through to the other side.

Loyalty used to be rewarded, now it is hated. I will pray for you buddy. I give a homeless lady that lives near me food and a little money once in a while. She had a good tech job as well, then her husband died and it all fell apart. She lives in her car now and has no hope, we have a serious problem in this country with this kind of thing.

Appreciate you sharing a difficult subject. Good luck to you.

The last few years have just been devastating to so many people, you see it all the time. Sorry to hear about your situation.
Wow, Newport Oregon. How long have you been there? Interesting place for an IT guy. We used to do a lot of our family reunions there for years.
Being in IT why don't you just open an LLC and market yourself? Way back I realized I was making way too much money for other people. My old IT guy moved to Spain and was always independent. When I checked on him 6 months later he had more business than he could get to. I'll tell you one thing, I will never work for anyone again for a lot of reasons.

When you reward the invasion of your home learn to reap what you sow.

I have one, but it’s only because I’ve been with the same company for 30 years. But it’s not nearly as good as my 401K, and you only get a few percent each year. It would be nice if they would just let you invest it yourself. Anyone hired at my employer in the last 15 years either has a significant reduction in pension or none at all. Big corporations don’t want employees to stay around for more than a few years anymore.

Otter can't help himself.

Why

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I appreciate the thoughts and advice. I am not surprised at the temporary turn the thread took. This is CP after all!

In answer to some of the questions:

1. The 401k is dead at this point. That resource has sadly been used up.

2. I have always thought I would work until I was 70 to maximize my Social Security benefits. I did give in to reality a couple days ago and applied. If nothing else, the benefit is weighted to the last 5 years of employment and it appears likely that I will be earning significantly less the next few years. So yes, I am legally retired I suppose.

3. Why Oregon and now? I have worked remote tech support for several years and if I were to get a similar position my location would not really matter. If I need to have an onsite job, I would prefer it to be in our dream location where we were planning to be anyway. We are both from here and this is a returning home finally. Yes, I jumped off a cliff and the fall has been scary. Now it looks like the ground is coming fast and it scares the piss out of me.

On a more positive note, it looks like I will have an interview at Fred Meyer (think regional Walmart) this afternoon. I will ensure there are no communication failures this time even if it means I have to go to the store every hour.

My kids invaded my home? More like I did them a favor and would do anything for my children. Not just mine either. Over the years we have welcomed a number of young people into our home. Usually, case where they were kicked out at 18 by their parents with nowhere to go. There are many young adults in our town that call my wife Mom. And yes, they would be happy to help but they have their own lives and families and struggles.