Good day:
Im a 57 year old guy who has just been through a tumultuous time since 2023. Throughout it all, I have kept my head up, did everything within my ability and have arrived at my wits end several times.
I found myself out of work after the agency I worked for scrapped the function I was working in as part of ‘budget cuts’. I was able to secure some short term contract work but those funds ran out quickly and I was left up a creek. I fell behind on bills, rent and was barely able to meet life’s basic needs. I tried to work with the credit card companies in order to make an arrangement with them so that I wouldn’t get decimated by the interest rates. The cards were a necessity, since tings like rent, food and transport had become so incredibly expensive, like so many others, I had to rely on credit to make ends meet since my salary is heavily taxed and insufficient to cover living expenses. The card companies (banks) were unwilling to work with me, thus I was left with no choice but to file for bankruptcy. I was able to secure a job with a bus company who specialized in transporting airline crews from the airport to their hotels and back. It didn’t pay much, but there were hours and it was something. I went to see a trustee in September of 2023 and started the process.
At the same time, I had undergone some medical tests which included a biopsy of a large lymph node in my armpit. Long story short, it came back as Hodgkin’s, my second battle with the illness in about twenty years. I applied for social assistance / medical leave and was approved, but this barely covered basic expenses. I couldn’t even make a full payment on rent. I endured treatment from December 2023 until mid March 2024. I was then booked for 5 rounds of radiation, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Before the radiation started, my social assistance ran out and I had to return to work, driving airline crews in a minibus, loading and unloading their luggage and working full time late into the night. I was exhausted beyond words. But I did it, without complaining as best I could. All during radiation, post chemo. I never had to to detox or recover at all. And honestly, I had no time, I had to get to work sick or not, weak or not. Medically things worked out, even though I had prepared for the worst. I have been healthy ever since, but chronically tired.
As time passed, I was able to catch up on rent, bills but my salary was still insufficient to make ends meet. I had to rely on payday loans to make it and this is where the vicious cycle began. The nature of the bus work is such that there are no guaranteed hours, the work fluctuates with demand and during the quiet periods many drivers take a huge hit. Since the onset of inflation in the 2020’s, many people are relying on these services for short term loans to help them out. Some of them charge exuberant interest to the point of usury. But when folks are desperate, they do what they feel they have to do.
So this is where I find myself. The bus company’s hours have dwindled to almost nothing, because they hire new drivers who they pay entry wage and keep costs low. The rest of us are put on standby and are eventually ignored. They don’t work by seniority, as they put it.
I would like to pay off these loans and get rid of the burden of their eating into my earnings. In the meantime, I have been applying to jobs like a madman and have even paid off a couple of the lenders in full, without renewing any loans. I just need a boost to get me out of this debt rut for once and for all. If you have read this far, thank you for your time and attention.