Life I am learning empathy for the homeless - Page 3

Hydrae · 08-15-2024, 04:35 AM

I don't even know how to start. Right now, it looks like my wife and I may be homeless next month. I was laid off from my job after 9 and a half years because the company decided to change the structure of their gold standard support team. That was a wonderful Monday morning last October. At least the one other time I was laid off it was because they moved their support team to India. That was at least kind of understandable. They also gave me a month's severance pay for each year I had worked for them (6 years). This time I got 2 months of severance for my 9.5 years of service. Given my previous experience, that felt like an additional slap to the face.

In an attempt to keep our house, we have left it and leased it out to 2 of my children, a nephew, and a close friend of one of my sons. This is not a good time to try to sell and we were to the point where we weren't sure we could pay the mortgage. They are covering the mortgage plus about $1000. So technically we have some income and even own a house. That "income" is great, but it doesn't go very far and is far from covering the rent on the apartment we have rented. And without an income we can't even tap into the ~$250,000 of equity (monetary term, not social bullshit!). I suppose we could put it on the market but that would screw over the young people there now and I don't want to pass my trouble to the next generation.

I have worked in tech support for the entirety of this century and that is only 4 jobs. I have never been a job hopper obviously. Since I was laid off last October, I have sent out hundreds of resumes. In that time, I have gotten less than 20 initial interviews and maybe 6 actual interviews. I even made it through the entire process a couple of times but obviously nothing has panned out. I will be 64 in a couple of weeks, and I have to wonder if part of the issue has been a form of ageism. At this point in my life, I am not excited to grow in a career. I just want to do awesome work, go home, and retire in a few years. Corporate America wants people who are looking to advance and better themselves. Of course, in a year or two that new hire will move on to the next opportunity while I would still be there consistent as always (as seen by 4 jobs in over 20 years).

So we made the fateful decision to follow our dream. We had plans to move back "home" to Oregon this past spring. Losing my job put the kibosh on that. Well, in our attempt to keep the house until the Fed lowers interest rates and the housing market to heat back up a little, we have moved to Oregon. I have been working remote since before the pandemic so I should be able to work from anywhere. Of course, after the last 10 months finances are thin to be kind, so it was a bit of a leap of faith. We are here now on the Oregon coast, my wife has a part time job that she loves but doesn't pay much, and I am trying to find ANYTHING at this point. I thought I was going to get a retail job making a whopping $16.75 an hour (I was making $84k a year before the layoff) but got screwed up regarding the drug test and lost that opportunity. Sorry, I do not follow blind links in a text. They could have at least put a note in the text about what the link was for. Well, that was the order for me to go piss in a cup and it expired in 48 hours. I was under the impression that I was going to get an email and was waiting for them to finish a background check. This is considered the same as a failure, so I am out with no recourse. I do feel bad for the manager as she was desperate for someone and will likely have to cancel her vacation in a few weeks.

I know a lot of this is just rambling, but it is how messed up my head is right now. I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. It is 3 AM as I type this. I have never had an issue with getting a job in my life and have never been out of work for more than a few weeks. Right now, not only do I not see a light at the end of the tunnel, there isn't even a sign of a train. It is just black, and I am stumbling along with no idea where I may be heading. This does lead me to saying thank you to Detox. I noted his signature line a couple days ago and sent him a rep because it buoyed me up. He responded with a wonderfully supportive note which, given my current emotional and mental state, made me cry. That was also the day before I learned that I had screwed up the potential job I had on the line.

So, as the thread title states, I better understand how some of the homeless came to be that way through no fault of their own. I can tell you, the depression and desperation that I am going through does just functioning on a daily basis very hard.

Sorry to dump on everyone's day. I had to try to get some of this crap out of my head. No replies necessary, I just thank Kyle for creating this wonderful community where I can vent. Now I am going to go cry again and maybe, hopefully, get some more sleep.

Sassy Squatch · 08-15-2024, 08:45 AM

Gotten to the point pensions are vastly inferior to 401ks unless you've got some very specific circumstances.

**ChiTown** · 08-15-2024, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Gotten to the point pensions are vastly inferior to 401ks unless you've got some very specific circumstances.

When I first started out of college (35 years ago) - Pensions and 401K's were both quite robust. Having both was pretty awesome, but fleeting for me. Once I left my first gig (after 10 years), I never saw another pension plan.

**ptlyon** · 08-15-2024, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTown

My 26 year old Son is getting up to 6% matched and he puts in another 6% beyond that.

That's good. Tell him to keep it up. My 401k management organization lets set it so every year it will go up x%. Suggest that to your son. If it hurts financially he can set it back down, but generally you shouldn't miss it in your take home pay.

**ptlyon** · 08-15-2024, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Gotten to the point pensions are vastly inferior to 401ks unless you've got some very specific circumstances.

Every little bit helps

Sassy Squatch · 08-15-2024, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTown

When I first started out of college (35 years ago) - Pensions and 401K's were both quite robust. Having both was pretty awesome, but fleeting for me. Once I left my first gig (after 10 years), I never saw another pension plan.

Just sucks it's relatively easy for companies to shirk their responsibility and leave the employee completely ****ed. Sometimes they don't even gat back what they've put in.

IowaHawkeyeChief · 08-15-2024, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Womble

Crazy. Here there's a requirement for employers to offer a workplace pension scheme and they have to contribute at least 3 percent of your salary if the employee contributes. If you're a professional you can expect anywhere from a 5% to 12% employer contribution. Also the government guarantees 90% of your total pension amount if you're in receipt of a defined benefit pension and the pension scheme goes tits up. Although there aren't many defined benefit pension schemes offered anymore. British communism has its benefits.

Most companies of 50 or more employees offer a defined contribution plan which many have an employer match like you are stating. Also, those that do still offer a defined benefit traditional pension, it is fully guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation which is federally chartered. So very similar to your structure.

IowaHawkeyeChief · 08-15-2024, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Just sucks it's relatively easy for companies to shirk their responsibility and leave the employee completely ****ed. Sometimes they don't even gat back what they've put in.

What?

stumppy · 08-15-2024, 09:21 AM

Shitty situation to be in for sure. Sounds to me like the bottom line is you certainly won't have to be homeless it's just that you may have to make some decisions you don't want to make.
Best of luck to you.

BWillie · 08-15-2024, 09:24 AM

Its tough out there. My GF was laid off and has been looking for jobs for 5 momths maybe 6 now and has gotten...ONE interview. ONE stinking interview.

Womble · 08-15-2024, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWillie

Its tough out there. My GF was laid off and has been looking for jobs for 5 momths maybe 6 now and has gotten...ONE interview. ONE stinking interview.

Is your girl good enough to earn a living off onlyfans? DM me a picture and I'll offer my considerable wealth of knowledge.

**Shiver Me Timbers** · 08-15-2024, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWillie

Its tough out there. My GF was laid off and has been looking for jobs for 5 momths maybe 6 now and has gotten...ONE interview. ONE stinking interview.

Everything I read/hear says the economy is fine and there are plenty of jobs. I am thinking showing some cleavage is key.

Womble · 08-15-2024, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

Most companies of 50 or more employees offer a defined contribution plan which many have an employer match like you are stating. Also, those that do still offer a defined benefit traditional pension, it is fully guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation which is federally chartered. So very similar to your structure.

Kind of similar, although I take it that they're not legally obliged to offer a pension scheme and rather its a case of if they didn't then it would be harder to recruit/ retain staff.

**ptlyon** · 08-15-2024, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiver Me Timbers

Everything I read/hear says the economy is fine and there are plenty of jobs. I am thinking showing some cleavage is key.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Womble

Is your girl good enough to earn a living off onlyfans? DM me a picture and I'll offer my considerable wealth of knowledge.

Need pics to confirm

IowaHawkeyeChief · 08-15-2024, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Womble

Kind of similar, although I take it that they're not legally obliged to offer a pension scheme and rather its a case of if they didn't then it would be harder to recruit/ retain staff.

Correct, most companies of that size have to offer a DC plan to compete for labor.

**ChiTown** · 08-15-2024, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumppy

Bullshit! Republicans have done their best to destroy labor unions in this country for decades.

Hey, let's get back to focusing on Hydrae. We don't want to f up his thread by DC'ing it with politics.

08-15-2024, 04:35 AM
Hydrae MVP Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Newport, Or Casino cash: $-1153000	I am learning empathy for the homeless I don't even know how to start. Right now, it looks like my wife and I may be homeless next month. I was laid off from my job after 9 and a half years because the company decided to change the structure of their gold standard support team. That was a wonderful Monday morning last October. At least the one other time I was laid off it was because they moved their support team to India. That was at least kind of understandable. They also gave me a month's severance pay for each year I had worked for them (6 years). This time I got 2 months of severance for my 9.5 years of service. Given my previous experience, that felt like an additional slap to the face. In an attempt to keep our house, we have left it and leased it out to 2 of my children, a nephew, and a close friend of one of my sons. This is not a good time to try to sell and we were to the point where we weren't sure we could pay the mortgage. They are covering the mortgage plus about $1000. So technically we have some income and even own a house. That "income" is great, but it doesn't go very far and is far from covering the rent on the apartment we have rented. And without an income we can't even tap into the ~$250,000 of equity (monetary term, not social bullshit!). I suppose we could put it on the market but that would screw over the young people there now and I don't want to pass my trouble to the next generation. I have worked in tech support for the entirety of this century and that is only 4 jobs. I have never been a job hopper obviously. Since I was laid off last October, I have sent out hundreds of resumes. In that time, I have gotten less than 20 initial interviews and maybe 6 actual interviews. I even made it through the entire process a couple of times but obviously nothing has panned out. I will be 64 in a couple of weeks, and I have to wonder if part of the issue has been a form of ageism. At this point in my life, I am not excited to grow in a career. I just want to do awesome work, go home, and retire in a few years. Corporate America wants people who are looking to advance and better themselves. Of course, in a year or two that new hire will move on to the next opportunity while I would still be there consistent as always (as seen by 4 jobs in over 20 years). So we made the fateful decision to follow our dream. We had plans to move back "home" to Oregon this past spring. Losing my job put the kibosh on that. Well, in our attempt to keep the house until the Fed lowers interest rates and the housing market to heat back up a little, we have moved to Oregon. I have been working remote since before the pandemic so I should be able to work from anywhere. Of course, after the last 10 months finances are thin to be kind, so it was a bit of a leap of faith. We are here now on the Oregon coast, my wife has a part time job that she loves but doesn't pay much, and I am trying to find ANYTHING at this point. I thought I was going to get a retail job making a whopping $16.75 an hour (I was making $84k a year before the layoff) but got screwed up regarding the drug test and lost that opportunity. Sorry, I do not follow blind links in a text. They could have at least put a note in the text about what the link was for. Well, that was the order for me to go piss in a cup and it expired in 48 hours. I was under the impression that I was going to get an email and was waiting for them to finish a background check. This is considered the same as a failure, so I am out with no recourse. I do feel bad for the manager as she was desperate for someone and will likely have to cancel her vacation in a few weeks. I know a lot of this is just rambling, but it is how messed up my head is right now. I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. It is 3 AM as I type this. I have never had an issue with getting a job in my life and have never been out of work for more than a few weeks. Right now, not only do I not see a light at the end of the tunnel, there isn't even a sign of a train. It is just black, and I am stumbling along with no idea where I may be heading. This does lead me to saying thank you to Detox. I noted his signature line a couple days ago and sent him a rep because it buoyed me up. He responded with a wonderfully supportive note which, given my current emotional and mental state, made me cry. That was also the day before I learned that I had screwed up the potential job I had on the line. So, as the thread title states, I better understand how some of the homeless came to be that way through no fault of their own. I can tell you, the depression and desperation that I am going through does just functioning on a daily basis very hard. Sorry to dump on everyone's day. I had to try to get some of this crap out of my head. No replies necessary, I just thank Kyle for creating this wonderful community where I can vent. Now I am going to go cry again and maybe, hopefully, get some more sleep.
Posts: 14,858	8 0

08-15-2024, 08:45 AM	#31
Sassy Squatch The man you could post like. Join Date: Oct 2010 Casino cash: $-1410345	Gotten to the point pensions are vastly inferior to 401ks unless you've got some very specific circumstances.
Posts: 42,088

08-15-2024, 09:21 AM	#38
stumppy New and Improved Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Springfield, Mo. Casino cash: $-2351410	Shitty situation to be in for sure. Sounds to me like the bottom line is you certainly won't have to be homeless it's just that you may have to make some decisions you don't want to make. Best of luck to you. __________________ “As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term. But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution”
Posts: 22,352	1 0

08-15-2024, 09:24 AM	#39
BWillie Are you ready to Rumble? Join Date: Apr 2006 Casino cash: $-1428759	Its tough out there. My GF was laid off and has been looking for jobs for 5 momths maybe 6 now and has gotten...ONE interview. ONE stinking interview.
Posts: 52,811	1 0