I'm $550 short on my rent! Brenda Brown Mini Cooper's expenses this month were $580 (not including gas). I'm on a fixed income, I can't find work - I'm desperate! On November 6, I will have lived in my apartment for 10 years. In those 10 years, my rent increased by $475. Now, since I'm not working, my rent is 50% of my fixed Social Security retirement income. Usually, after the bills are paid, I have about $100 "wiggle room," but this month, there is no wiggle. I have five weeks between my October check and November check. All I want to do is pay my rent and phone bill on time as I continue to look for work. I thought I had a successful job interview two weeks ago for a job that was a mile from my home and was hiring seven people. But I wasn't selected. It appears that age discrimination is affecting my job search, as I can't even get hired by employers that I have worked for in the past. I can't even get a seasonal holiday job. Over 40 years of social services experience and two degrees mean nothing when you are in your sixties. You become invisible and are assumed to be a liability, not an asset. But Brenda and I are survivors. We have to be.