Sorry to hear about you losing your job, and I hope you find another position soon. You should view stock investments as a retirement fund, rather then a quick fix pay off. The money you invested is gone, and you need the go out and make more green backs. A short term investment is two to five years, when considering the entire life span of a person. Don't invest funds needed to pay for living expenses. That is a gambling problem. Always looking for the next big pay out at the horse track is distructive, and most times you lose more then you win. Take care of yourself. Later