Nov 12, 2009
My name is Wanda. I'm married to a wonderful guy and we have two children, 11 and three. I must admit that we were not affected by the declining economy at first. My husband is a driller and things were going very well. As time progressed, the overtime in which he normally worked became less and less. We were soon faced with him barely getting 40 hours a week and a nonexistent savings account.
I was able to apply for food assistance and Medicaid for our kids. In June, I was able to get assistance paying our electricity bill. We are now faced with the prospect of my husband getting laid off and he's only getting about 30 hours of any work time right now. I am a stay at home mom. When our daughter was born in 2006, I had medical issues that prevented me from returning to work during the timeframe in which my employer had wanted. I was instead fired. At the time, it was seen as a blessing in disguise. I am still very thankful that we were blessed enough for me to stay home and take care of our children. I wouldn't change the experience for nothing in the world. I have been looking for jobs outside the home but of course, no one is hiring. He is putting in applications as well but no call backs thus far. Our utility bill is now past due by $325.79, our car payment is past due by $957.89, water bill $127.35, students loans...the list goes on. The IRS sent us a notice stating that we owe $240.00 from 2007. I made a very dumb mistake of taking out a payday loan online for $650.00 last month. We were in jeopordy of having everything disconnected unless we made some sort of payments. At the time, my husband was supposed to be going out of town project that would have guaranteed him at least 80 hours per week for two months. Guess what? He wasn't chosen because the company decided to send two drillers instead of three in an effort to save money. I was able to postpone the first payment due two weeks ago but tomorrow I will have to repay $203.00 which will send our accounts into a negative balance. We also have only been able to pay a portion of our $900.00 rent.
I know we are not the only family in this situation and that there are thousands of others that are worse off. We have gotten rid of luxuries such as cable, internet, and unfortunately, the family pet to help cut expenses. I have never been the type of person to get my nails done. I don't go to the salon for my hair...in fact, I deperately need a relaxer now but I could care less if my hair falls out. We don't eat out anymore. As of now, we have two vehicles but I only use mine to take our son to school, pick him up and go the the grocery store or doctor when necessary. I haven't had new clothes in years...and I'm okay with that. Neither my husband nor myself come from families that "have money." My husband's father has been able to help us in the past but he is dying from lung cancer. He was diagnosed a few months ago. He was supposed to have a portion of his lung removed last month but the amount of cancer present prevented that. He has had pneumonia for a few weeks and that is hindering radiation and chemo. Without treatment, he has only had four to six months to live. We haven't seen him since 2007. There is no way that we can go as a family to see him but it would be nice if my husband were to be able to see him one final time. I can't promise that we can pay back any donations that are made. We aren't able to keep our head above water as of now. We can only give our undying gratitude and thanks. My husband is planning upon applying for the police academy next year. It's something that he's interested in and it's definitely a secure job. I will begin going to school at night next summer so that I may complete my degree and become a teacher. That's something I'm interested in and once again...a secure job. We aren't selfish people but obviously we took advantage of thinking that our financial situation would never look so gloom. I have shared our family's disparity in hopes that we are able to reach someone that is in a position to help. I swear to you that this story is true (I'm not creative enough to make up something like this) and there is more to it but I figure this is enough doom and gloom for one person.
Once again, I can't make a promise of repayment...at least not anytime soon. I can PROMISE that my husband and I WILL help others as soon as we are in a position to do so.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and those you hold dear to your hearts.
