Hello everyone,
My name is Mark, I have two young children with my partner Hannah. They are Joshua (9) and Noah (2). We have a little girl on the way, due in February and we are very excited to welcome her to the world. Our biggest concern, as is the case for a lot of people, is that our finances are not good. We have never had a lot of money and have lived pay cheque to pay cheque for a very long time. This was fine at the time as we were just managing to get by but we had no money left for savings.
2022 has been a complete disaster for us. We were living with my parents, brother, and an uncle in a single home, all paying a share of the rent until the rent was up for renewal and they put it up out of our collective reach. We all moved into different houses but without any savings and a fair amount of debt dragging us down, this was very difficult. We struggled to find somewhere we could afford, received very little help from the local council and citizen’s advice and in the end, we had to move out of the area. We managed to find a place with a single day to spare but then paying the rent every month has become an issue. I have been doing car boots every weekend, selling a lot of my personal possessions on eBay, and doing the odd bit of cash-in-hand work. Everything I can to make ends meet. It is not working. As prices have risen we have increasingly struggled to cover costs. We are not able to afford to use our heating, the kids wear jumpers all the time now and we make sure there are blankets at the ready at all times. We have cut our shopping down to a minimum, I skip meals to save money and we have always shopped the Asda essentials product range, now in their dashing yellow packaging. We do not smoke or drink alcohol. The kids miss out on a lot but they are happy. They enjoy the park and walking in the woods. Every penny is counted and stretched to the breaking point.
I worked for the Ambulance service for four years but left in October for increasing issues with anxiety and depression. This really started in February when our housing issue really looked hopeless. I was signed off work for over two months as I sunk further and further into depression and suicidal thoughts became harder to shake off. I returned to work at the end of April but was again signed off in July with my mental health worsening significantly. Sadly despite being proud of working for the Ambulance Service, I decided after consultation with managers and my own doctor, to leave the Ambulance Service. I’m now working in a warehouse sorting and packing books. It’s been enjoyable and allows me the opportunity to work on my personal issues.
My greatest fear right now is that we will run into the same issue as before when our rent comes up again. I don’t know if I can handle going through that again. In the immediate future, it’s making sure the rent and the bills are paid. We need baby things, ready for her arrival in February. We have kept the majority of the items we used for Noah and people around us have generously given us some items of clothing. We will need money for nappies and formula and such, but we have time to sort that out at least. My car is a big issue, I have a 2004 Ford Focus estate and it has been a great servant but the rust is spreading, the back window is broken and increasingly cold, and it struggles to start in the mornings. I Cannot afford to repair it nor can I afford a new one. But when we moved out of the area we decided to keep Joshua in his school. This means a 12-mile journey to school every day and a car is very necessary.
We never wanted to be begging for money. If anyone reads this and considers donating, thank you in advance. I hope to be able to pay you back one day or at least pass the favour on to someone else when things are better for us.
Thank you
Mark, Hannah, Joshua, Noah, and Bump.
Paypal – @frontrunnermotorspor
(this is correct, it was too long for the T)