Overcoming Financial Hardship: A Personal Story of Perseverance and Hope

We finally got moved into our new house. It is very small, but we have a roof over our head. In order to move, because the old rental company has our $2500 in deposits, I had to take an advance on my September paycheck. PC has been slow, because of all my moving, and I had shows cancel in September. I'm continuing to work to get those bookings. I need to stay active this month in order to keep my career sales.

We had $0.00 to our name. My husband has been doing odd jobs for people so we can buy milk, cereal, etc. He has a friend he was doing work for that owns a hazelnut farm. He has gas on the property for his trucks. He let my husband fill up our car once and is letting him do it again tomorrow.

He got $80.00 yesterday for a computer job, which was desperately needed. He deposited at 2 PM. At 5 PM, we get a call from the bank saying that there was a mistake in our account back in August! We had withdrawn all my money $300. Instead of coming out of my account, they took it out of someone else's. I recently noticed there was $300, but didn't think anything of it, because I had put PC checks in for a show. The bank tells us that they debited back the $300, which included our ONLY $80.00 to our name and we will owe them $200. Thank goodness they're not adding on overdraft charges daily until I get my check in September.

I now have $0.00. When will we ever get a break? I never thought I would experience truly being completely poor. We use this word a lot, but don't REALLY know what it means, unless you experience it. Because I make good money "on paper", we qualify for nothing. We've eaten at our local soup kitchen, which is available 3 days a week. Last night, I went to a friend's wedding, and I was more looking forward to the free dinner. Tomorrow morning we're going with our neighbor to church to have an all you can eat pancake breakfast.

When things are back to "normal" next month, I can see myself putting my money to good use. There are many more working poor out there than we can even imagine.

Good news! My neighbor across the street, which invited me to church: her husband is unemployed and they are living on his unemployment. Well, that's not the good part, she's interested in the PC as a business. She's been going all around town, but with 25% unemployment in my county, there's nothing.

I can't imagine what you're going through. There's a saying, "When you're walking through hell, keep moving." It sounds like you're doing just that.

(((hugs))) Hopefully you'll remember this when the income starts to roll in again. Robert Kiyosaki (the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) has a theory that your wealth is not determined by where you live, what you drive or what you wear. Your wealth is determined by how long you could live if you lost your income today. There are MANY people out there making over a $100,000 grand a year and still living paycheck-to-paycheck. Then you have people who only make $40,000 who might have 3 years worth of "income" in savings. Financial literacy is a learned behavior. We are not born with it. But with desire, hard work & determination you can be wealthy.Donald Trump once said that he was walking by a homeless man on the street & it dawned on him that he was so far in debt that the homeless man was actually richer than he was! Amazing how deceiving wealth can be, huh?If you have your health & you have the love of your family, you WILL survive. This is a temporary stepping stone in your life. You can overcome this and become a survivor rather than remaining a victim.

Julie, my heart truly goes out to you and you are in my prayers. I can only imagine how hard it must be on you and your husband. The most important thing is to never give up. Sometimes when we go through hard times like this, it is easy to lose hope but it looks like you are not losing hope. Keep surrounding yourself with people who are reaching out to you, like your neighbor, church members, and friends. Don't become discouraged. Like Sheila says...this is just temporary. Thank you for reaching out and sharing this with us...I have not had much sleep lately worrying about money and my two teenagers whom I have been raising on my own since they were babies. I keep thanking God for all that I do have and keep giving Him all the credit but it is still difficult to keep positive during this bad economy. God bless you and your family.

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I grew up very poor. For a little while, we were doing very well. Now that I am married, I notice I have very bad habits that need reined in, or we will be experiencing the same thing. Keep up the great work with PC and I know you will be successful!

I'll be praying specifically that the old rental company releases your money back to you!!!!

Julie: I have been where you are (we've talked about it), and I can't say that I am too far away. Our business ruined us financially. I wouldn't say it was the business, it was the landlord. The sad thing is that our business was doing great (up 40%)! Not that it matters much now. I was using tip money to buy food for Mary and gas to get to the cafe. I worked counter every morning by myself and I would make about $10-$15 a day. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "Well, its only $25." That $25 might as well have been a million.

Our house was in foreclosure (only last month) and by the grace of God, we are working things out with the mortgage co. I don't know HOW we will pay it, but we somehow will. My husband doesn't want me to go "back to work" because of Mary and what daycare costs. So I am working my PC business as much as I can.

You and I, we are survivors! We have survived some of the most unbearbale things. At one point, my white cell count was so high (probably due to stress) that my primary doc was worried that I had leukemia. Thankfully, the tests keep coming back negative.

So, what do I to to survive? I thank God every day that Mary is healthy, that my husband and I and our families are healthy. I thank God for a place to live and for food. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT COUNT. <----- And I know you know that. Money will come and go. I celebrate the little things. And I work my ass off with PC. I am seeing progress and I know I can do it, and I know you can too! That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. How true is that?

And, I know what you mean... We went from living a very comfortable life $100K+with no debt to $45K and now ass deep in debt.

I am praying for you! Keep going, girl!

Hang in there Julie! I know that is easier said than done. Find out from your county offices where there are food banks, soup kitchens, etc. and go. Are you involved in a church or can your neighbor talk to her church? I know there are many out there who really want to help out but don't be too proud to ask. I would also start calling the former landlord daily and explain the situation you are now in and that you need your money back from them as quickly as possible. Be nice about it but be firm that you need food for your CHILD... Some landlords could care less about adults but when you put in the "I need money for milk/food for my child" they seem to realize they should step up! Praying for you! Wish we were close enough to help you out or point you in the right direction. My former county had 5 churches who did food banks plus a place called "Community Action" that provided bread on a weekly basis to people in need.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I pray things will get better for you soon.

Thank you for your continued prayers. I contacted the former rental company (before I read Jane's post). They said they had 31 days to return monies due, which will be the 30. They said they were waiting on invoices? I sent another mail asking for clarification and the list wasn't looking good. They are charging me to change locks? and general cleaning? I have over 200 pics of the house before I left, so I'm waiting to see what else they list. Uggh. We have been creative with what we have in the pantry. I found a church next to us that has food T, TH. Though I went to eat at the local soup kitchen once when my husband was at a meeting, my husband is not to fond of the idea. Though our dinner selections have not been my favorite, he's not too proud if we had nothing, to go there. I have to hold out just until the 30th when I get my paycheck, though with the advance I already took, it will be small. It's giving me a reason to work PC even harder. I'm putting 3-2-1 into action. I sent a mass email to clients to get orders to retain my consultant status. I have over $100 in sales so far and one who started a catalog show to end on the 29th. I had a cake mix, which my kids really wanted, but I'm pampering a business Saturday for the first time. I'm hoping for orders. For those who are religious, I know God has a reason for everything. I think he wanted me to really empathize with others. I contacted a local women's shelter today as one of my contacts. I met the lady at a booth this summer at the fair. We're getting a fundraising date scheduled for Oct. I also volunteered to teach cooking classes once a month to their residents. I start next Tuesday. I'm using what they have in donated foods in their pantry to make a delicious and cost-effective meal: Asian Pork Noodle skillet for 25!

Julie, I'm so proud of you for looking for a long term solution to this and not just trying to put a bandaid on it. Kudos girl!!!

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that changing the locks and a normal cleaning is considered a normal expense and can not be taken out of your security deposit. Now if the house is trashed and it takes more than a basic cleaning then yes you can be held responsible but otherwise nope, just like painting, you can not charge a tenant for re painting a house after the move out unless it is due to something that they did if that makes sense.

Also, just an fyi in Florida and other states, so look into for you. If the landlord waits more than 30 days (some places it is 15), they forfeit any right to keep any part of your deposit no matter how trashed the house is. So if it looks like they are waiting until the last min it could work in your favor. You just need to look into what your states laws are, maybe give a real estate attorney a call, most will answer questions for you without charging.

The security deposit "should" have been held in an interest-bearing account. So, depending on the length of time that you were in the old house, you might get back a little more than the original security deposit.

Good luck to you.