My name is Micah, husband and parent of two amazing children. I and my wife both work. We try to save money by spending on necessities. We don’t go out. We try not to make pointless purchases. We try to keep on top of our bills. We try and try and try and it’s never enough. Not ever.

We are drowning in debt. Payday loans mostly. I had to let a bank account go just because I couldn’t pay them on time. I’ve been giving plasma and doing gigs and borrowing money and getting help from whoever has it to give. They stopped my SNAP benefits out of the blue. My job won’t give me consistent hours and I’ve been trying to find better and have been hitting dead end after dead end. We will barely make rent this month and we are starving because of it. The shame I feel for not being able to feed my children is just-it’s past demoralizing. It is soul crushing.

Ever since the pandemic, we’ve been trying to get stable. It would be my dream to just pay my bills and keep my household in order. No millions of dollars or fame but just having it so we’re not struggling every other month and not worrying about a small expense setting us back. I’m not expecting this to solve our problems but it could be the beginning of us handling some of them.

So I’m throwing my last bit of shame away and gambling on the kindness of others. I don’t-I don’t know how to convince anyone reading this that our story is somehow unique. It isn’t. Everyone I know is struggling to some degree which is why I feel guilty for even attempting it.

But we are at the end of our rope and I’ve got to try whatever I can.