#WAHMProbs: No Job, No Dough
If you know me personally, you must already know that I’m a work-at-home mom (WAHM) of a 19-month-old (that’s 1 year & 7 months), and that I have no house helpers or a nanny to help take care of my son.
About two months ago, my husband and I decided to split the bills between us both as sharing our money only made us spend a lot. He handles the mortgage and our debts from when I was pregnant and we both had no jobs, and I handle all the utilities and needs for the house such as electricity, water, association dues, groceries, laundry, internet, landline, and our weekly trips to the mall. This worked well for the past couple of months until two nights ago, when I found out I had just been laid off.
This was hard-hitting news as I basically pay for almost everything at home. This would cause a huge dent on our budget and everyone knows how much I love having milk tea everyday! Kidding aside, this was terrible news for us both. This would set us back big time, and I’m not particularly excited about the coming months, what with my and my son’s birthday coming up, plus the house and fire insurance bills due in a few months.
If you live in the Philippines, you’ll understand how difficult it is to find a job. It took me a long time before I landed one the last time I was unemployed, and it wasn’t a great feeling being unproductive. I felt so useless, so pathetic. I mean, I wasn’t contributing anything at home! I was no longer an asset, I was a liability and I hated it.
I understood how I’ve matured over the course of two years, though, when I got off the call with my supervisor who had just told me I’d lost my job. (Well, what would you expect from a company with 100% remote workers and a contract that states you’re merely a consultant, right?) I no longer felt useless, nor pathetic. I no longer felt I was a liability, even though I wouldn’t be able to contribute to our expenses this month (salary deductions are such pains in the a**!).
Instead, I applied for freelance projects right away. I went on different platforms: Facebook job hunting groups, JobStreet, Upwork, LinkedIn, and messaged friends who may be able to help me with my situation. The result? I got a few people who replied back, I have interviews for the week, and a lot of new opportunities are opening up. The best part of it all is that these opportunities are for writing, marketing, and social media management gigs--and I love all those and believe I am quite good at them!
Losing my job may just be the best thing to happen to me this year. And while I know it’s too early to tell, being able to pursue what one actually loves doing is something very few are blessed with.
So if you’re in the same spot as I am, get up and don’t worry about anything. Challenges come and go, but it’s how you react to them that defines the person you’ll become in the future. Every decision you make with your reactions can make or break you, so instead of losing hope, take this as a sign from the universe that it’s your time to explore and dive into what you really want to do. Who knows? It just might be the career that would help you give your family a good life. After all, what else is there to lose?
