With the economy in a slump and news outlets serving up stories of former six-figure executives now delivering pizzas for $7.15 an hour, workers facing lay-offs or furloughs, and bleak prospects for those clinging to their jobs. For those lucky enough to retain their jobs, wage freezes, reductions in benefits, and cut hours can be nearly as devastating as job loss when one has become accustomed to a particular lifestyle.

Jobs that used to attract only a few applicants now attract hundreds. Government jobs are looking good again. Times are tough, for the employed as well as the job seeker.

As a government employee and the wife of someone about to be laid off, I began to panic somewhat over the last few months. I started looking around the house and to see what items may be no longer needed. The household needed a downsizing, a belt-tightening, and a reality check.  I found that there were items around the house that had not seen use in a few years. Desperate times change the attachments you have to your possessions. What items were once luxuries now only make you think of dollar signs.

 I gathered up a few items laying around the house, unused for years, and listed them for sale on the internet. Surprisingly, they sold. I went to Craigslist to check the free listings for my area. It just so happened someone was listing a lot of the same type of items I had just sold. I called her up immediately and since I was the first caller, I got to lay claim to the merchandise, all free, as long as I picked it up.

 My son and I showed up in my husband's diesel pickup truck and loaded it up. The woman was grateful to get rid of this stuff. She was moving and had hauled this stuff in and out for yard sales and was sick of it and never wanted to haul it again. My son and I loaded the truck. It took me several days to sort through and list the items. Immediately, items began to sell. 

I decided to become official and incorporate my own business, registering with the state and the IRS. Thanks to Craigslist, I have a steady supply of inventory, usually for free or reduced cost. 

I save all my receipts and since I sell by mail to mostly out of state buyers, I don't have to worry about sales tax. Admittedly, I have a lot to learn, but so far, this seems to be a profitable enterprise to pad my income in the current economic environment where furlough days are just around the corner as part of the solution to my state's budget crisis. I also have to worry about my husband's eminent layoff. 

Sometimes I have to drive a ways only to find that the inventory I'm picking up may not be worth that much but other times, I've gotten excellent deals that made up for the effort with the sale of just one item.

So when employers consistently tell you no thanks when you apply for a job, and you go to interview after interview with no results, remember that you are your own boss and can always hire yourself.