Biting back pride.
Donation protected
It's hard to ask for help.
We have been living paycheck to paycheck since June of 2010 with big gaps some months. Some bills go unpaid every month. Some things have gone to collections. But we've survived.
At the beginning of 2014, we began putting money away. A little bit in increasing increments every week. It was going to be a cushion. A trip fund. The start of a down payment to a house of our own. It wasn't a lot, but by the end of the year, there would have been over $1000.
The last run of events, starting with Jessica's ER trip at the beginning of May, has not even allowed for us to get back to our feet between hits. Between hospital visits, car repairs, and hourly cuts at work, we've moved from struggling to drowning. Bills are falling further behind. The savings plan has been abandoned.
David is leaving at 5:00AM every morning and not getting home until 6:00PM some nights, driving to Vacaville for a backbreaking job that's ruining his hands.
Jessica is working as a Personal Assistant and cleaning houses once a week and freelance writing and still looking for another job.
We are paying between 50% and 60% of our income to rent every month, in a house with failing plumbing and a falling fence and a landlord who cannot afford to fix either.
The little bit of savings we put aside is about to be emptied, just to keep Charlotte in her preschool for one more month.
We haven't said anything. We were scared to admit how hard things have been. We were scared to think about anything but how we would survive to the next month.
We were scared.
We are scared.
We can't do this any more. We need help.
The amount is three months of relief. Rent. Tuition for Charlotte. Electricity. Car insurance.
Anything extra will go to savings. To move. To buy a house. To try and get to the point where we're doing something more than just surviving.
It's terrifying to ask for help.
But it's to the point where it's worse to not do so.
Full disclosure of costs:
$1175 - one month of rent
$350 - one month of tuition
$98.25 - one month of car insurance (both cars)
~$60-120 - one month of electricity (Summer = A/C)
We have been living paycheck to paycheck since June of 2010 with big gaps some months. Some bills go unpaid every month. Some things have gone to collections. But we've survived.
At the beginning of 2014, we began putting money away. A little bit in increasing increments every week. It was going to be a cushion. A trip fund. The start of a down payment to a house of our own. It wasn't a lot, but by the end of the year, there would have been over $1000.
The last run of events, starting with Jessica's ER trip at the beginning of May, has not even allowed for us to get back to our feet between hits. Between hospital visits, car repairs, and hourly cuts at work, we've moved from struggling to drowning. Bills are falling further behind. The savings plan has been abandoned.
David is leaving at 5:00AM every morning and not getting home until 6:00PM some nights, driving to Vacaville for a backbreaking job that's ruining his hands.
Jessica is working as a Personal Assistant and cleaning houses once a week and freelance writing and still looking for another job.
We are paying between 50% and 60% of our income to rent every month, in a house with failing plumbing and a falling fence and a landlord who cannot afford to fix either.
The little bit of savings we put aside is about to be emptied, just to keep Charlotte in her preschool for one more month.
We haven't said anything. We were scared to admit how hard things have been. We were scared to think about anything but how we would survive to the next month.
We were scared.
We are scared.
We can't do this any more. We need help.
The amount is three months of relief. Rent. Tuition for Charlotte. Electricity. Car insurance.
Anything extra will go to savings. To move. To buy a house. To try and get to the point where we're doing something more than just surviving.
It's terrifying to ask for help.
But it's to the point where it's worse to not do so.
Full disclosure of costs:
$1175 - one month of rent
$350 - one month of tuition
$98.25 - one month of car insurance (both cars)
~$60-120 - one month of electricity (Summer = A/C)
Organizer
Jessica Honsinger
Organizer
West Sacramento, CA
