For me layoff was great:
- 3 month severance, free money
- 1 year unemployment support, more free money
- fat tax return, since I falled into lower income bracket, even more free money
- moving out out expensive city to countryside, less expenses (and yes more money)
I took one year off, finished my opensource project and started consulting. Layoff tripled my disposable income and vastly improved quality of my life.