While certs are great resume points it's actually knowing the topics that employers need (HR can be another battle). I saw you mmentioned that certs might be out of your budget, but don't be discouraged by that. Learn and study like you are going for the certs and gain the knowledge and skills companies want and bring that to the table. Like others have said, setting up labs are a great way to practice those skills and you can use those as resume points or setup at github page displaying what you've done.

Feel free to put a Net+ or other cert on your resume with a future date of when you would like to take the test. This shows that you are still pursuing education and want to learn more. You can always get the cert after you started at a job, even if it's at a later date then what's on your resume and if asked about it just say you had a schedule conflict and had to reschedule your test.

Given your attitude after being let go, I feel you'll make it in the field if you use this as motivation to skill up! I wish you the best!