I Could Just Scream

[CF'er]

Ow we did this in august and it hurt and that was getting the cheapest tires walmart had...but the steel was starting to show through ours so we had no choice. Its these things that really can set you back.

Had a flat on the back and asked the dealer to check the others as I had ran over stuff on the freeway a couple days prior. I knew the fronts needed to be replaced but not right then. Well, imagine my suprise when they were both down to the cords and I had to replace right then.

That was my gas money to go see family for Thanksgiving. At least I wasn't halfway there and had a bad blowout or something.

 

[binny]

I feel your pain as well. It has been a rotten year financially for us.

Dh left his job of 10 years for the promise of a much better situation which turned out to be a HUGE mistake. He couldn't take the stress of his old job but at least it was making the bills. He is back in the saddle now with a better job than he had before but the 4 months of working in less than ideal situations really left its mark, financially as well as emotionally. I don't know when we will be able to recover. I know it will happen and we will be OK but I just don't know when.

 

[elgerber]

I totally here you! I am a mortgage loan processor, and I make no salary, I'm only paid per file. So you can imagine how my finances are doing this Christmas also. It stinks! I'm guessing I'll be getting a 2nd job sometime in the near future.

 

[StrollPatrolMom]

I feel you pain.

DH WAS an AE for a subprime lending company. He was laid off, and the company finally just went under for good last month.

We lost our house because his former boss didn't pay him 7500 he was owed when he changed jobs to work above company in early 06.

He got a job in August that has promise, but he really NEEDS to make commission for us to make ends meet comfortably...

He worked in that industry for over 5 years, we know family after family after family who has lost their home, or are in dire financial straits. DH is working 2 jobs, plus I work PT owning my own business.

We both have college degree, are hard working, have never asked for help from anyone, etc etc. It doesn't seem like it should be this hard!

 

[DMickey28]

i am with you guys! We have a 7 month old son and I became at sahm in April. It's been up and down. Right now it's way down. The bank balance is way too low. The bills have been able to be paid but we have had to dip back into our credit cards after crawling out from under most of them. I have no idea how we are going to Christmas for the family. DS isn't getting much which is fine, he's too little but we are going to my parent's for a week and need to do at least some thing small.

I need tires for my suv very badly. The money ear marked for that went to medical bills and co-pays the last two weeks when dh and ds both got really sick. The treads are very low. Luckily we are past rainy season so that's good. We don't have winter weather to worry about. I am trying to procrastinate it off until January where things start to look up financially a little bit. DH's car needs an alignment and brakes. I need to do that this week before it goes from costing $100 to costing $400 for entire brake job because we let it go too long.

Dh actually has a phone call with his old company today. We moved down to FL last July for a job oppurtunity that was "one step back to take two steps forward." We still haven't seen 1/2 a step forward. We increased our rent by $800 last year and $600 right now and will make $20k less this year and we made $25K less last year. He is thinking of going back to his old job. He was much happier, he was making more money and it was the first time in our marriage/life that we really felt stable. We had crawled out from a lot of past debt, we had cash in savings and we were finally able to take an all out cash paid vacation!! The oppurtunity we took coming here was something we couldn't pass up, however dh is starting to see that the end results may have been drastically inflated and he is miserable and making less money in the meantime. Also the new/old job would allow us to move back home to MA which would be awesome. It'd be great to be near family again and unbelievably it's cheaper to live in the NE than S. Florida!!!

However, every day I watch my DS learn something new I count my blessings that I am home with him. I Thank DH every day that he works so hard so that i can be here. There are more places we can cut back such as TV and our phones if we need to. We figured that with what I was making after childcare and expenses I'd be bringing home less than $700 which probably would have been eaten up in going out to eat and convience foods rather than all the cooking at home we do now.

It has to get better ... i truly believe that. I have no idea what we would have done over the last month without the cleared credit card and another check that DH got randomly. Looking back it truly makes me believe that God will look out for you and it will always work out somehow.

Keep your fingers crossed for DH's phone call today and also that one of the guys underneath him reaches their 'number' so that dh can get a little bonus before Christmas!!

hugs for everyone ... it can be such a downer!!!

 

[DMickey28]

I feel your pain as well. It has been a rotten year financially for us.

Dh left his job of 10 years for the promise of a much better situation which turned out to be a HUGE mistake. He couldn't take the stress of his old job but at least it was making the bills. He is back in the saddle now with a better job than he had before but the 4 months of working in less than ideal situations really left its mark, financially as well as emotionally. I don't know when we will be able to recover. I know it will happen and we will be OK but I just don't know when.

hugs this sounds very similar to us. We are hoping DH can get out by next June at the latest. I have had it. He is miserable and the expenses just keep piling up with nothing in return from the job!

Good Luck ... it can only get better now.

 

[golfgal]

We office in the same building as a real estate company and most of their agents have taken second jobs. The only one doing 'well' is one agent that specialized in higher end homes but she does it as a 'hobby' as her husband is a corporate executive (where she gets most of her leads). She does work her tail off though.

 

[binny]

hugs this sounds very similar to us. We are hoping DH can get out by next June at the latest. I have had it. He is miserable and the expenses just keep piling up with nothing in return from the job!

Good Luck ... it can only get better now.

back. I am sorry. I will keep you in my prayers today

 

[RadioNate]

Things here have been hard this year too and we aren't really getting the worst of it.

DH's contract wasn't renewed at the end of March. Luckly he knew his industry well and had some protection and was already making contacts so he wasn't long w/out another job.

Of course the other job required a move to another state which always costs. It has taken us 7 months to sell our house in TX, we are supposed to close tomorrow so I'm praying that happens. Of course we are getting signifantly less than we would have 7 months ago so now we are overextended on the house we are buying here.

Did I mention the new baby coming in less than a month.

Hopefully, it'll work out for everyone.

 

[SC Minnie]

Dh lost his job in late August. He hasn't found anything yet and his severance has just run out. Now its on to unemployment. We have cut back on a number of things but there are still a lot we could cut back. We are just hoping he will find something in the next month or so. We have already told the whole extended family that there will be gift exchange. We are buying a few things for DD and that is it. My mother told my brother and his kids (older teens) that we are all only spending time with each other this year. No gifts.

 

[Chicago526]

DH and I don't have it as bad as many of you here, but we've had the year from Hades. I can't wait until January, '08 can't possibly be worse than '07.

January of this year, DH's grandmother was very ill, so he took an unpaid week off to go home to PA for a visit. The airfare was free (I'm a travel agent) but car rental, gas, and no paycheck that week. The next month, she passed so he took another unpaid week to go home to attend the funeral and be with his mother. Again, free air but another car rental, gas, clothes for the funeral (DH didn't own a suit) and another week with no pay.

Feburary also saw about $3k in repairs on both our vehicals. Yippee! We were going to buy a new furnace and AC unit for the house to replace our 30 year old ones. The AC doesn't even work, the furnace works but needs replacing soon. So we are going this winter with the old one and hope to replace them this spring.

As of March, DH's company stopped offering overtime. We can make it just on DH's base pay but the overtime paid for our home improvements and helped pay down our CC debt faster. Buh-bye extras.

May, DH got his wages garnished for an unpaid medical bill from 6 years ago that he didn't even know he had. So no overtime and now his paycheck is lower than usual.

June, the only GOOD thing that happened was my company moved me to work at home. Between me not driving at all, and DH now being able to take my gas sipping car to work instead of his gas hog truck, our monthly fuel bill droped in half, and not a moment too soon. Of course inflation in other areas ate up a lot of those savings, but still it's better than nothing, and I work from home!

July and August saw two weddings, one of which I stood up in. More $$$ out the window, though these were very close friends of mine and I was happy to do it.

August, my parents came home to visit for two months (they retired to AZ) but mom felt really sick so they went home early.

September, mom was diagnosed with cancer and given 3 to 6 months to live. She survived two weeks. Tons of airfare going from Chicago to AZ and back (and I was out of free tickets due to DH"s travels earlier in the year) car rentals, new clothes for the funeral (my work clothes had already been donated and anyway, I didn't have much in black and grey), money for flowers, money for this, money for that. Thank God, my time off was paid for by my company (I have 12 weeks sick time banked, plus my company gives 5 days paid berevement for the death of a parent anyway) and DH only needed a few days off (he did not travel to AZ with me for various reasons) and those were also paid berevement.

November, DH and I took a week (paid) vacation to see my father. Airfare and car rental. We also decided to take a side trip to Disneyland for two nights. It was our only vacation this whole year. True we didn't have a lot of money for it, but we felt we deserved it. It's also our Christmas gift to each other.

So, we've managed to keep our heads above water, but just barely. We haven't added to our debt, but it hasn't decresed hardly at all either, and our savings is depleted. And emotionally, this year has just sucked. To say I'm not in the Chirstmas mood would be putting it mildly. But I've put the tree up and decorated the house, I cooked for t-day and I'll start Christmas shoping soon, though our list is quite short. I also have a baby shower next weekend, my year end charitable donations to make, and my brothers birthday. Thank God for my holiday bonus, it should just about cover all of it.

 

[roseprincess]

We have had tough times this yr,too.
My DH was a senior accountant for a mortage co. for 7 years. He got laid-off at the end of June this yr with NO severance pay whatsoever!
He was on unemployment for about 6 weeks during the summer. DH
went on a ton of interviews, meeting with recruiters at that time. Finally found a temp to perm job in mid-August. Well, the current job DH has was supposed to go permanent, but the CEO of the co,. is a real estate mogul and is a jerk and won't give DH the job permanently. They say DH is doing an excellent job, etc. It is really frustrating, as DH is getting paid hourly and not enough hourly. So DH is going on other interviews now with other agencies, so he could hopefully find a better job, while he is still working the other temp job. Also, my dad was just diagnosed with cancer in October. He will start chemo soon. Grandma has had to be hospitalized lately- she is 92 yrs old. FIL just moved into a nursing home, as he has dementia, early alzheimers.
I have 2 special needs kids. I would work, but have to go to team meetings at school, other things at school, If the kids get sick, no one is there to pick them up and watch them, except me. I take my DS to band practice afterschool every Tues. I help them with their homework,etc.
Oh, we had to fork out a little over $1000 for repairs to our older van. Not making any of this up.

I'm just waiting to see when the mortgage co. that DH used to work for, when they will close. They are still open, but doing very little home loans right now, as we keep in touch with the HR person there. I know their website is no longer on the internet, so their website went down recently. I know the owner of the mortgage co that DH used to work for, he was so distraught when he had to lay-off my DH over the summer. The owner was suicidal then, so waiting for word about the owner, how he is going to be when he has to close down his business.

I'm sure things will eventually get better. I have faith things will get better

 

[ducklite]

I just wanted to say to everyone who is going through a rough time.

We've been fortunate so far, but DH's annual bonus is usually about 20-25% of his annual income, and we're hearing rumours that it's going to be a lot lower this year then in the past, so that's a scary proposition. It could be the equivelent of a 20-25% pay cut for him.

 

[T1130]

We are too going through a very rough time right now. Forget about family presents this year. I do not even have enough money to buy my dd any Christmas presents.

 

[EthansMom]

I wanted to offer my .

We're doing okay, but feeling the pinch a bit.

Between decreased OT at DH's work, his promotion being denied, and less likelihood of a Spring bonus, our household income is 10-20% less than previously.

And expenses are only increasing: gas, oil, electric, groceries, and health insurance are all increasing for us.

We're lucky... we can afford to pay our bills. But there isn't much more discretionary spending that I can cut in our budget. If expenses continue to rise, I'll have to start cutting the amount that we put away for college or retirement.

I know there are a lot of people that are going to be really hurting in the coming months and I can't help but feel for them. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those folks struggling with finances.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I really feel for those in the RE industry that are hurting right now.

I'm a realtor and my husband is professional real estate inspector (it's his side business), so these stories scare me! Luckily, Houston is holding its own right now, and we're not feeling the pinch. We feel like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop at any minute though, and have been preparing for it financially for about a year now.

 

[ChrizJen]

Uhg, I don't even want to think about my car. The brakes are going, the tires are going, it's got all kinds of electrical things going. For instance, the heat only works on high now, so we have to turn it on for a while, then turn it off before we all turn into jerky.
I've been "real" poor before though, so I have to keep this in perspective as it's the only thing that keeps me sane. We have food in the fridge and a roof over our heads, I can't ask for much more.

You sound so much like me! We JUST met yesterday with a friend of ours who does financial advising, and worked out a budget to hopefully get us going on the right track. We both need new cars (mine has a similar problem as yours with the heat...the AC only works on MAX, and otherwise it's all hot air. So on days like today (when it's not too terribly cold, but rainy) I have to use my defrost for only a few minutes at a time so I don't melt from the heat.) But we own both of the cars, and we CANNOT afford new car payments...

But on the other hand, we've also both been truly poor. We both grew up not always having the things we needed, and we are very thankful that, at least for now, we have a roof over our heads, clothing, food, and heat/AC. We've had it much worse.

It is SO frustrating to think that we probably won't be able to take another Disney vacation for at least 2 or 3 years...But we're looking at the big picture, and if we can make it past this hurdle, then we'll be in a position to take all the vacations we want. We just need to get our debt paid off, and things will be so much better. But sometimes it feels like that will never happen. *SIGH*

So, yes. I'm right there with the rest of you...I think most of the country is feeling the same way right now. Christmas is going to be tight...

 

[ZachnElli]

Yep, we are there too. My stress level is through the roof these days! My dh started his own business (well, took over one) and before that he was unemployed for 13 months. Things have been very tough here. Dh is going to have to fire the office manager that came with the business as she is too expensive and I will have to take her place, for free! Actually, it will cost us money because the 2 year old will have to go to day care, plus after school care for my 8 year old and our 12 year old will be home alone after school. Oh, and the business is 35 miles from our house. We tried to sell, but we can't afford to give our house away which is the only way to sell in our neighborhood right now. I've been a SAHM for over 12 years and it will be hard being that far away from my kids. We do plan to find daycare for the 2 year old by the business, but the other 2 will be at school. Of course, there is the laying off of an employee during the holidays (yeah, we are doing this soon!). But it's business, not personal. If we don't do something the whole business will sink! She has to know she is getting paid way too much for the work she does. Dh has actually been looking for a job for her, we feel really bad, but what can we do!? Ahh, stress!!! I just cleaned and found a bunch of quarters, think I can get a winning powerball ticket with them?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Yep, we are there too. My stress level is through the roof these days! My dh started his own business (well, took over one) and before that he was unemployed for 13 months. Things have been very tough here. Dh is going to have to fire the office manager that came with the business as she is too expensive and I will have to take her place, for free! Actually, it will cost us money because the 2 year old will have to go to day care, plus after school care for my 8 year old and our 12 year old will be home alone after school. Oh, and the business is 35 miles from our house. We tried to sell, but we can't afford to give our house away which is the only way to sell in our neighborhood right now. I've been a SAHM for over 12 years and it will be hard being that far away from my kids. We do plan to find daycare for the 2 year old by the business, but the other 2 will be at school. Of course, there is the laying off of an employee during the holidays (yeah, we are doing this soon!). But it's business, not personal. If we don't do something the whole business will sink! She has to know she is getting paid way too much for the work she does. Dh has actually been looking for a job for her, we feel really bad, but what can we do!? Ahh, stress!!! I just cleaned and found a bunch of quarters, think I can get a winning powerball ticket with them?

I'm not sure what type of business yours is, but when I worked for (I was part owner) my ex-husband, I found someone to job share with. We owned a plumbing company.

I worked Mon., Wed., and Fri., and another women came in to answer phones and dispatch calls on the other two days. We both left at 3:00 when school let out, and transfered the phones over to an answering service.

I also brought my kids to work with me, when I had them. I had a small room with toys, a TV for videos and cots for naps. We all actually have very fond memories of those days.

Maybe some of these things could work for you too?

 

[MzDiz]

It is SO frustrating to think that we probably won't be able to take another Disney vacation for at least 2 or 3 years...

I keep looking at my ticker longingly. We made the deposit while we were still there last time, but haven't made a payment since. If I don't get a job soon, no Disney for us. Eh, wouldn't be the first time I had to cancel a trip.