mmfood I'm in the same boat as you are. It's VERY depressing to be stuck in a rut in life (bad job, bad relationship, etc.). If you know that the 40 hour week in a corporate environment isn't for you, that's good news!

Now, there are practical changes you can make to your current lifestyle, to give you more financial freedom while you figure out what it IS that you were put on this earth to do:

1. Sell your house and live with a roommate. No mortgage means a lot more freedom. Or, stay in your house and rent out a room or two to roommates to help you cover your mortgage.

2. Sell your car if you've paid it off. Use public transportation. That cuts out the car payment, car insurance payment, cost of car repair and cost of gas. Buy a road bike and get in shape during the spring/summer/fall seasons instead of driving. Take the bus during the winter.

3. Read the book (from the library) "What Color Is Your Parachute?" Or a book that helps you uncover what your talents, skills, and interests are, and how you can combine those into making money. If you know you hate the corporate world, then choose a totally opposite industry (non profits, education, science, engineering, health and nutrition, real estate, finance, international marketing, etc.)

4. Decide to bite the bullet and work 1-2 part-time jobs. You can make ends meet this way if you downsize your lifestyle. Make your own meals instead of buying packaged foods. Apply for food stamps and medical assistance if you can. Walk instead of drive. Use the library for internet, and check out books instead of buying them. Get rid of your cable tv and internet and buy an antenna instead. That will save you money every month. You can always watch movies on your laptop or rent DVDs. But you need to downsize your monthly and weekly costs, while you are in this transition if you quit your job.

5. Do lots of informational interviews with people in different industries or jobs that you see yourself possibly doing. Email the person and ask them for an informational interview about their job. Hearing their perspective and the steps they took to get where they are, may help you figure out your own steps on your new path.

6. After you downsize, get roommates, etc. get some part-time jobs (lots of intelligent people do this, fyi), do your research and informational interviews, then you'll know what steps you need to take to achieve the kind of job that you really want. Hope this helps. It's what I"m doing right now. It's not easy, nor fun, but it's what I'm doing to work towards the job that I really want.