Hello and thank you for reading my post.
I am a former public school teacher and mom to a daughter who is in first grade and a 3-year-old son.
After 7 years of considering it a success just to barely make ends meet (and never being able to actually pay down debt, despite having faithfully made my payments for several years) I have finally reached a point where it is necessary for me to swallow my pride and ask for help for the sake of my two children.
I feel that I have now painted myself into a corner and I see no way out.
*In the fall, I had applied for a financial hardship program (which would have either helped with rent or groceries) and was denied, because they said my childrens’ father made just over the limit. (However, his income is far from consistent, due to the fact that he works in the restaurant industry.)
*Therefore, after years of never missing a payment, I finally had to stop making my credit card payments a few months ago (and I have no money to even settle with them). So, my credit is now shot.
*In my checking account, I currently don’t even have the money for this month’s rent (which is over $2100/mo and does not include any utilities) for the 1 bedroom apartment that I share with my children. (I am already 6 days behind and will incur fees after the 10th.) I don’t have the rent money due to the fact that my childrens’ father’s work (in the resturant industry) has been very slow for the last few months. (He also drives for Uber, but still has little to provide for us.)
*My electricity bills have not been paid for the last few months and are now at over $485, and I received a notice today that I may lose power on the 15th of this month if it is not paid.
*My home gas bill and car insurance bills are also due, and I have been shocked at how much money has been eaten up from groceries.
*I would have liked to have found a part-time job to help cover expenses, but I could not afford childcare and, therefore, would not have actually brought home any money in the end.
My two children are sleeping next to me as I write this and when I look at them, all I feel is a sense of being a complete failure. That is what drove me here tonight. All pride vanishes when you realize you have failed your kids.
The main wish I have right now for myself and my kids is to have enough money to have the possibility to move and find somewhere more affordable where we can start over. (We currently live in the metropolitan region of a major city.)
My goal is to move somewhere where I can support myself and my children without needing to rely on their dad’s inconsistent earnings. I want to get myself to a place where I can be financially independent on one salary and be able to cover all expenses for myself and my children so that we are never in this situation again.
The irony is that what could have potentially prevented this from happening is having something that you actually can’t put a price on, which is a strong community of supportive people around you.
I suppose that is what I was thinking tonight when I desperately searched for a solution.
Thank you for reading my post and for considering being part of that “community” that my children and I have needed all along (and I know I am not the only one).
When I am back on my feet again, I will be paying any kindness we receive here forward to another mom in need.
https://paypal.me/thegiftofpossibility?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US