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"Americans hate their jobs more than ever in the past 20 years, with fewer than half saying they are satisfied."

It's no wonder people hate their jobs. There's no job security anymore and that makes it tough to be loyal to your employer. When I was growing up, it wasn't unusual at all for a man to work for one employer his whole life. Now, people not only change jobs, they often change careers.

Some people work at jobs they hate just because they fear the unknown. Some people tolerate, or even like their jobs, but that's no guarantee that they'll keep them.

According to The Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in May 2007 there were 6.9 million unemployed persons. Over the next year, another 1.6 million lost their jobs, bringing that figure up to 8.5 million.

I'll bet those unemployed people would rather have kept those jobs they hated than have no income at all. At least there was a paycheck that kept food on the table.

For people who are ready to make a change, you have a couple of options.

1. Keep your job and work at home. Many companies are now offering the option of working from home. It helps save on office space for the company, and it saves in lots of ways for the employee. If you are disciplined, you can accomplish more at home than in an office environment. Instead of sitting in traffic and feeling your car sucking up the gas, you can be at the computer and get most of your work done before noon.

2. Start your own business at home. Instead of spending money on gas and sitting in traffic, just walk a few feet to your own home business. With the internet, there are countless opportunities for making money from home.

So, let me ask this question: If you knew your job was going to be eliminated three, six, or even twelve months from now, what would you be doing today to prepare for that loss of income?

Would you start trying to put some money away for that rainy day? With soaring prices on everything, it might be difficult to start a savings account if you weren't already in the habit of saving every month.

Would you try to just cut back on your spending? That's difficult to do these days when the price of bread has gone up 20 percent in the past few months. A gallon of milk is about the same as a gallon of gasoline. When it comes to having to give something up, what are you willing to do without?

Would you start selling items that you rarely use? Thousands of people make a part- or full-time income on eBay, but it's not as simple as it sounds. You've either got to have a lot of stuff that you're trying to sell, or you've got to buy items to sell to your niche market. With any business, you've got to be disciplined and put effort into it. At least with an internet business, you avoid the overhead associated with having a physical retail location.

Would you consider one of the many opportunities out there to work from home? A simple search on the internet will show you there are thousands of opportunities to work from home. Some of them are legitimate, but many of them are not. Be sure to do your homework.

In looking for the right home business for you, it's important for you to do your research.

Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau?

Are they claiming you'll get rich quick? If so, run the other way. Generally, things that sound too good to be true are a scam.

How long have they been in business? Many "new" companies hit the market hard, but very few of them have what it takes to stay in business.

If this is a product-based company, would you be a distributor? Having to distribute something generally means you're going to have to pay for it first.

If so, how much money are you going to have to invest, and what will that get you?

Is it a party plan business? (Mary Kay, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, etc.) If so, that means you'll be away from family in the evenings. It also means you'll have to carry a substantial inventory of product to display and demonstrate, AND as new products are introduced, you're going to have to purchase them. If you go this route, I hope you have a big house to hold all of this stuff.

Do you have to do repeat presentations, or do you earn a residual income? In the party plan business, your income increases only based on how many parties you can book and product you can sell. If it's residual, you present the idea or program once, and you earn money consistently on that one referral.

Are you good at managing other people's money? In the party plan business, once you've packed up all of your inventory and brought it home, you'll still have to submit the orders. When the shipment arrives at your house, then you're going to have to divide the product into separate orders, deliver it, and collect the money. How much profit will you make when you figure in the time and gas?

Is their product consumable? This is a very important question. There are items that everyone uses every day, and then there are products that only certain people are even remotely interested in. Would you rather talk to people about things they need to replace every month (detergents, cleaners, shampoo, toothpaste, etc) so you earn that residual income, or sell them one air filter?

Most people find it works out best for them to start a business they can do on a part-time basis. Don't think you'll start it in your "spare" time, because no one has spare time these days. You have to schedule the time you'll devote to your business. Put your work hours on your calendar and stick to them. It will require sacrifices, like anything else that's important. Maybe you have to give up television a few nights a week, or a night out with the girls or guys, but if you stay focused, it will pay off for you.

Dave Ramsey says, "Live like no one else so you can live like no one else." What that means is, work hard now so you can reap the benefits later.

Are you feeling uncertain about any of the following?

Job security

Lack of personal savings Credit card debt

Trying to make ends meet

Saving for college

Saving for retirement

Let me rephrase my earlier question: If you knew you were going to need additional income in three, six, or twelve months, what would you start doing differently today?

Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

The only way you can change your future is to change something today. So what are you waiting for? Every minute you wait is one more minute wasted.