kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
For the past two years my son and I have lived on $900 dollars a month with $200 in food stamps. We were very lucky that I already had a large, large pantry and had been canning and dehydrating for years because I don't think we would have made it otherwise. And we had good friends and family who helped.
I really, really have a lot of heartfelt compassion for those who don't have any type of support system. I know of one woman, with a special needs child, whose husband left. She was from out of country and had only moved here to be with her husband. She couldn't speak english well, had no job, nowhere to go and he left her with the child. She was definitely in a worse situation than I was. And whenever I started to fold I thought about her and realized just how much better we had it.
Having said that, being that poor has apparently made some serious inroads on my thought patterns. I have money this month! It's about $500 more than we've had before. And I feel rich. Yet I have no urge to splurge on "normal" things.
I got two good used tires put on the front of the van to replace the "maypops" that were on it. Next check will be heavy duty brakes and a thermostat. The one after that - a coolant tank expansion. There is something planned for each paycheck. Or every other paycheck depending on the expense. Hopefully when I'm done my vehicle will be as prepped as I can make it for the new job. And there will be a stash of maintenance parts in the garage.
I'm buying food plants and seeds. Good ones from Baker's Creek and Fedco. Heirlooms that I can save seeds on rather than the hybrids that are that is typically available in the stores around here. And every single bloody pot/container that I can find and fill will have some type of food plant in it. And the extras from the seeds will be sold to friends. I'm picking up even more small fruit plants to fill in gaps. And I may even pick up another couple of fruit trees at the big flea market coming up in May. I want my pantry refilled and expanded. And I want to be able to do it repeatedly without spending more money. This coming week I'm going to the Botanical Garden sale to pick up some of the harder to come by herbs for the herb bed. All of this is new because before the extra, I would have been lucky to have $10 to spend in this area. Now I can do a one time splurge of around $100 and most likely get everything I want for this year. (I already did one "splurge" of that amount two months ago to get new seeds. Once I knew the job was solid.)
I already picked up 60 lbs of chicken breast for canning. And next week I'll get thighs b/c they are on sale. And I'll have enough canned chicken to get us through 9 months to a year. And then I'll do beans again. And get my stock of dried beans back where it needs to be. It galled me to have to pay almost $3/lb for some beans because I couldn't do a bulk order. I tried growing enough beans and I'd have to do beans only, all year, to get enough. There just isn't enough room on my lot. But once the gardens are where I want them I will refocus on chickens, ducks, and rabbits.
I started homeschooling my son right before everything went downhill. This year is the first year I won't be having panic attacks trying to save up the money to pay the fees I have to. Especially the HSLDA fee since the school system would really like to get back at me for suing them (and them losing).
But the true eye opener for me today was paying the bills. I'm overpaying them all, every month, until I have enough of a barrier to cover the worst month's bill. Just in case. And I'm not even wincing at it. In fact my brain automatically went to the thought of "how much can I overpay before they object?" with 3 - 6 months as the ultimate goal. I know all but one of my bill companies won't have an issue with it. That one won't accept any overpayment. Another one may object after it reaches a certain amount.
The thing is I can remember back to when things were much better and what I thought was necessary. Some of it was. Some of it I am so grateful for (the canning equipment, the water filter, the steam juicer, the pressure canner and a good dehydrator). But I can remember not being able to replace a good hose last year because of the expense. (My Dad ran over the original with the riding mower.) I can remember not being able to do oil changes. I can remember not being able to get seed anywhere but the dollar store and having horrible germination rates. Then having to spend money on what few plants I could afford because the seeds didn't germinate. And so many other "little" things that most folks don't even blink at.
Yesterday I splurged on my son and let him get a super soft blanket for when he sleeps in the car. He loves textures and this one just hit the top of the scale for him. It was $10. Two months ago I wouldn't have even let him see the display because $10 was likely all we had in the account for at least two weeks. I won't be splurging much more and then the money will get stashed somehow.
I don't ever want to live on that edge again if I can do anything about it. And I will do everything I can to make sure that, if it happens, we have as much as I can provide to keep us going. But there is also the soul deep acknowledgement of a few things from that time, one of which is that we can make it. And I can be an absolutely vicious person when it is needed. And that even in the depths, I can, and will, be generous and helpful to those around me to the extent that I can.
I don't want to repeat that lesson though. I really don't. So I think I will try to actively be careful about sliding back into any old thought/spending patterns.
I really, really have a lot of heartfelt compassion for those who don't have any type of support system. I know of one woman, with a special needs child, whose husband left. She was from out of country and had only moved here to be with her husband. She couldn't speak english well, had no job, nowhere to go and he left her with the child. She was definitely in a worse situation than I was. And whenever I started to fold I thought about her and realized just how much better we had it.
Having said that, being that poor has apparently made some serious inroads on my thought patterns. I have money this month! It's about $500 more than we've had before. And I feel rich. Yet I have no urge to splurge on "normal" things.
I got two good used tires put on the front of the van to replace the "maypops" that were on it. Next check will be heavy duty brakes and a thermostat. The one after that - a coolant tank expansion. There is something planned for each paycheck. Or every other paycheck depending on the expense. Hopefully when I'm done my vehicle will be as prepped as I can make it for the new job. And there will be a stash of maintenance parts in the garage.
I'm buying food plants and seeds. Good ones from Baker's Creek and Fedco. Heirlooms that I can save seeds on rather than the hybrids that are that is typically available in the stores around here. And every single bloody pot/container that I can find and fill will have some type of food plant in it. And the extras from the seeds will be sold to friends. I'm picking up even more small fruit plants to fill in gaps. And I may even pick up another couple of fruit trees at the big flea market coming up in May. I want my pantry refilled and expanded. And I want to be able to do it repeatedly without spending more money. This coming week I'm going to the Botanical Garden sale to pick up some of the harder to come by herbs for the herb bed. All of this is new because before the extra, I would have been lucky to have $10 to spend in this area. Now I can do a one time splurge of around $100 and most likely get everything I want for this year. (I already did one "splurge" of that amount two months ago to get new seeds. Once I knew the job was solid.)
I already picked up 60 lbs of chicken breast for canning. And next week I'll get thighs b/c they are on sale. And I'll have enough canned chicken to get us through 9 months to a year. And then I'll do beans again. And get my stock of dried beans back where it needs to be. It galled me to have to pay almost $3/lb for some beans because I couldn't do a bulk order. I tried growing enough beans and I'd have to do beans only, all year, to get enough. There just isn't enough room on my lot. But once the gardens are where I want them I will refocus on chickens, ducks, and rabbits.
I started homeschooling my son right before everything went downhill. This year is the first year I won't be having panic attacks trying to save up the money to pay the fees I have to. Especially the HSLDA fee since the school system would really like to get back at me for suing them (and them losing).
But the true eye opener for me today was paying the bills. I'm overpaying them all, every month, until I have enough of a barrier to cover the worst month's bill. Just in case. And I'm not even wincing at it. In fact my brain automatically went to the thought of "how much can I overpay before they object?" with 3 - 6 months as the ultimate goal. I know all but one of my bill companies won't have an issue with it. That one won't accept any overpayment. Another one may object after it reaches a certain amount.
The thing is I can remember back to when things were much better and what I thought was necessary. Some of it was. Some of it I am so grateful for (the canning equipment, the water filter, the steam juicer, the pressure canner and a good dehydrator). But I can remember not being able to replace a good hose last year because of the expense. (My Dad ran over the original with the riding mower.) I can remember not being able to do oil changes. I can remember not being able to get seed anywhere but the dollar store and having horrible germination rates. Then having to spend money on what few plants I could afford because the seeds didn't germinate. And so many other "little" things that most folks don't even blink at.
Yesterday I splurged on my son and let him get a super soft blanket for when he sleeps in the car. He loves textures and this one just hit the top of the scale for him. It was $10. Two months ago I wouldn't have even let him see the display because $10 was likely all we had in the account for at least two weeks. I won't be splurging much more and then the money will get stashed somehow.
I don't ever want to live on that edge again if I can do anything about it. And I will do everything I can to make sure that, if it happens, we have as much as I can provide to keep us going. But there is also the soul deep acknowledgement of a few things from that time, one of which is that we can make it. And I can be an absolutely vicious person when it is needed. And that even in the depths, I can, and will, be generous and helpful to those around me to the extent that I can.
I don't want to repeat that lesson though. I really don't. So I think I will try to actively be careful about sliding back into any old thought/spending patterns.