Messages By: faeryedark

  This person could also perhaps offer to volunteer with the food pantries  in her area,kinda like a trade off her skills for some extra supplies, and hey possible connections.

  I know what it's like,'cause I was there myself 6 months ago. Our family spent  5 months in our local homeless shelter after we had to leave our home of 6 yrs. We were priced out of our rental by the new landlord,who raised our rent by $300 amonth. We were blessed to have and be able to keep our jobs but were up against stiff competion for the few rentals big enough that we could afford. I laid in bed many a night wondering if I should put my kids through what we were going through.

  Hang in there , call the churches,and the pantries and get to know your neighbors,perhaps you can "go in "together on meals. Also, check for frugal tips on the internet I've seen lots of them. I"ve read a piece on how to survive off of ten dollars a week. It was quite interesting and inventive.

  God bless you, and good luck

  It irritates me somewhat too,'cause I've been homeless-just  6 months ago as a matter of fact and both my husband and I managed to keep our jobs and be at work on time etc. Even with living in a shelter.  By the way, our room wasn't much bigger than that R.V. and we had rules and curfews. But, we made a committment to our kids and our primary goal (other than finding a new home) was to keep our children's lives as normal as possible.  That meant all the school functions and church functions etc. We also pounded the pavement everyday  looking for houses and apts. to rent. Problem was too few rentals in the size we needed and in  a decent price range.

 By the way, I suffer from panic and anxiety attacks but you do what you have to do.

   I too, have been homeless because of  a situation beyond our control. A new landlord bought the rental we'd lived in for 6 years and, long story short, told us when our old lease was up( in  5 weeks) we'd have to pay $300 more a month. Not only that he handed us a packet with a new lease (25 pages long) that had truly assinine stuff in it,such as, no hanging laundry out- on our line.Also, no washing our car( with water (we paid for) I loved the last clause- the landlord reserves the right to raise the rent within the first 30 days if he feels it necesssary. Yeah right!

  I wasn't signing that. So, then began our journey. We'd bought an old trailer , on rented land. The pipes froze, the furnace broke mid-winter. Our "landlords" were true rednecks, anyway, they decided not to pay their bills and the land went up for a sherrrif's sale.

  Anyway, we ended up in the homeless shelter for five months. We were blessed to both have jobs but, it took us that long to find a home because of the desperate shortage of afffordable housing in my area. We'd call about a house or apt. and go on a list of at least  50 people.  It was incredably frustrating to know you  are doing everything you can and getting passed by.

 We did get a house last Feb. We offered 1st. last, and 3 months in advance to sweeten the deal. I'd volunteered at a local drop -in shelter previously, but you get a whole new perspective when it's you that's homeless, or house hunting, or between houses-both sound a lot better than homeless.

  People shouldn't be so quick to judge. It could be them next. All it takes is an accident, illness or some other unfortunate event and you're left scrambling.

   Oh, in case you're wondering, we'd been led to believe our new "landlord" (who'd bought our old house) wasn't going to change any of the terms. We heard that all through the sale- 'cause we'd been such good tenants etc.

 I'm, a Christian too, but, honey if my daughter(who's 13 now and I love dearly or my sons for that matter) EVER treated our family that way .... she'd be somewhere wherever I could find to put her for the help she'd need. No, I wouldn't give her/them the satisfaction of a divorce or emancipation they're stuck with me until they're 18. I laid the law down early.

    Please understand, I'm not judging . I'm just stating  the way things are with us. 

       Hang in there ! This is just the middle of a curving tunnel but, you will make it thru. I spent  5+ months looking for a house/apt. and I know that rejection. Do you belong to a faith community?  If you do perhaps the pastor or whatever can use their connections  to find you some kind of work. If you don't might I suggest you get involved with one- the emotional support  you'd recieve can be a real blessing(not to mention the possible networking you could do.)

   Also, volunteering might be a way to get back on your feet. Again, you could make connections,get references from your supervisor(of the volunteers) and maybe get referrals to services you never knew existed.

     Good luck, God bless , and I'll think of you when I pray.

     when I first got married 11 years ago I handed over my paycheck to my husband, until i found we were over $1000 behind on rent and were behind by the same amount on the utilities.(he was buying video games and the like)

 Well! I told him flat I'm out the door , I took the kids and went to a friend's. He had the choice,either I dealt with the money here on in  or he could sink or swim on his own.

 i'm here 9 years later.

   We work it this way, I figure out the bills,and pay them, do the grocery shopping(coupons and all) and put what we need in the bank (for savings,etc.)  and split the rest for spending. I always show him what's been paid and if he wants  things  done differently he tells me and we discuss it.  I look at it this way, our family has  what it needs,and we get some of what we want and it's fair. No, he doesn't have all the games and stuff he wants, but he has  aroof over his head, food and electricity to play the games he has. Sometimes you have to put your foot down.

  Hey, I'll come by for that yard sale!  What's Carlena thinking? My husband  and I both work(he's ft. and I'm pt. while the kids are in school 3 days a week) I buy almost all our stuff at yard sales, consignment shops, thrift stores etc. I live in a nice home with nice stuff ( nearly all of it gently used or bought at a steep discount) My family doesn't go without,and my kids have plenty of brand name stuff  BUT we've never emphasized the importance of labels.

 We do emphasize, that alot of people out there don't have nice shoes,clothes,winter coats,or even a home,so... be grateful for what you have and share your blessings with others.

  I am a penny pincher(I'll pinch pennies 'till they cry) but I'd never make my family go with out their  NEEDS just some of their wants. They know my motto, NEVER PAY FULL PRICE!!!  'cause somebody else probably has and doesn't want it anymore.

  As for the lady who lost the weight, she should tell her husband thrift stores are great and I want some clothes that fit. Hey, maybe Carlena's mom can sell her some of  Carlena's

I am soooo,. glad I had the parents I did. My mom was a stay at home mom and my dad was semi- retired when i came a long(I was a late in life baby)My dad would be 87 if he were still around. I didn't have many years with him,he died when I was 16 but, the time I had was quality and I learned  SO MUCH. The value of a buck for instance.

 He told me stories of the Depression and how he had to wear his sister's hand me downs, cut and resewn into shirts and pants and how they tied thier soles on when their shoes started coming apart. But, they had enough to eat  'cause they raised their own goats, and chickens and grew a garden.And they always shared what they had.

  I grew up with hand me downs and Good will and buying with coupons , rebates and on sale. I also grew up with family vacations every other year to Fla. (to see the mouse) among other more educational things. Dad always gave me a choice, vacation or a computer. The vacation won hands down everytime. Still would I believe.  I think too many people focus on giving their kids THINGS instead of giving their children themselves and experiences they'll never forget. When I was 16 (before my dad died) I found out I'd been approved to go on a foreign exchange trip to Scotland - for the following year. My dad said they'd pay for most of the fees but I had to come up with some of it and my spending money.  I cleaned alot of houses and did other odd jobs and I'll savor those memories.

  Too many parents think they'll deprive their kids if they can't give them things but you appreciate things alot more when you've actually worked for them.

 He sounds like me . My motto:   NEVER PAY FULL PRICE! Chances are someone else has and you can buy it from them.   When my husband wants something(usually electronic) I make him search around. The computer I'm using was bought at a discount  and our printer (new in box) was bought at a yard sale for $10 and our scanner was bought at a yard sale for $8.

 I get plenty of attention  in my thrift store clothes.People are always telling me they like my clothes and where did I get  it. I love consignment shops too. My best friend and I have nade friends with the sales people and they know our tastes and call us when they get items in they think we'll like. We're also learning to sew 'cause there's lots of cool patterns out there and sometimes we can get them for $.99 a piece. My other friend makes jewelry and trades them for stuff or discounts. I love it and would not spend a bunch of money even if I had it. There's too many people out there with very little for me to justify spending a lot.

 Actually, there were only two bathrooms for 25 people (not quite as bad) and the shelter staff were sweet. We even go back to visit the staff, and encourage people there now. As for the police, they only came when they were called. I know a few of them (we live in a small town) I went to school with 2 of them and worked with one at another job while he was doing his testing to become a police man. As for my clothes we had a little room w/2 sets of bunk beds and a dresser. We also had a storage shed from when we first moved to the trailer. So, we were truly blessed.

 Also, I work in a warehouse so I didn't have to be perfectly coifed before work and I walked to work.