Surviving IV

Do Not Grow Weary or Lose Heart…
I tried very hard to be steady and see God’s Providence in all things. I asked for prayer many times and I was comforted often. After my daughter was hit and recovered I went into a depression that lasted for 10 months. This was not my first bout with depression, but depression had not occurred in my life since 1998, after the birth of my 5th child. I kept telling myself it would pass. I told myself I had been through a lot and it would take the wind out of even the strongest person. I made myself get out of bed and take care of my responsibilities the best I could manage. I would recount all the kindness shown to us over the past 5 years. People opened their homes to us, gave us money for food, and we have even been given old cars so my husband could get to work. I refused to be bitter.

I have homeschooled all my children for eleven years at this writing. Homeschooling -the routine and having a daily purpose has been very beneficial through all the upheaval and moving.


Bible Verses
Psa 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Psa 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

Psa 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Psa 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

Pro 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

Hab 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and [there shall be] no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Summer 2005
We are facing a very difficult summer. My husband’s long awaited raise came through. He is still with the same company from when we moved here in 2003. The company has had layoffs and fired many people in the last two years. He has had several bosses come and then leave. When he finally got his raise he was told he deserved more, but the company could not do it right now. It was a twenty-five cent an hour increases.

I began working part-time 10 months ago. It was very difficult to decide and we were very limited because we only had one car. I did find a flexible position. It was a brand new company and all positions were part-time. The employer said people could not survive on the wage, but if you were looking for some extra cash it would work. I just nodded my head and smiled. I show up on time and work my hardest while I am there.

Between the both of us our total income after taxes is $1840.00.

I try to be teachable and listen to recommendations that people make to us. Some often repeated recommendations are:

My husband should get a better paying job or one closer to home so we do not pay so much in gas. On the surface this is not a bad idea. But he leaves from work at 8:00a and gets home at 6:45p. As veterans of looking for work while being employed full time I can tell you it is very difficult. My husband has a half hour lunch to go to an interview. Most interviewers run a few minutes late. My husband would be late arriving back to work. The expense of the extra gas we can not afford. He could take vacation time off, but most interviews are with in a day or two of the phone call and my husband’s company requires a written request well ahead of the time being taken off. He could suddenly call in sick, but my husband has never believed in doing this to any company he has worked for and does not want to start now.

People who do not know us well have suggested that we sell some things in our home or sale a car. These also are very good ideas for people in need of cash. We could sale our 1991 van that was given to us. We might be able to get $600.00 for it. It was given to us because the family was moving out of state and it ran too poorly to drive the distance.

The van has needed the on-board computer replaced for some time now. It also has transmission problems. If we sold it that would leave us with the car my husband drives to work. It is a 1994 and seats five. It was recently given to us, which increased our auto insurance. We do not expect the van to last another year. This will be the car that makes sure my husband can get to work. The van is nice because we can attend church together. I drive the van as little as possible to save on gas. I go to work and to the store and library once a week. Before the recent car was given to us, I drove my husband to work, 45 minutes one way. I then drove home and taught the children and then I went to work. After work, I drove to his work and sat in his parking lot until 6:45p to save gas. Then we drove 45 min. home. My husband and I were talking about me quitting my job just before we were given the car because we figured after the gas (and stress), I was only making $80.00 a month.

Selling Things
I have sold many things on eBay and Craigslist.org. I am out of anything of value that could be sold. I have had garage sales before. People want nice stuff cheap. I have nothing “nice” left. The few outgrown clothes and shoes I have are being saved for other siblings to wear. Sometimes people give me things to sell. I have to factor in not only the eBay fees but also packaging and shipping costs and gas driving to the post office.

Our Current Monthly Budget
$50.00 Tithe
$990.00 Rent (utilities and internet included)
$78.00 Auto Insurance for two cars
$155.00 Gas (rising prices and .18 tax on the gallon -ouch)
$20.00 Phone
$10.00 Home School Legal Defense Fund
$30.00 Target Store Card (bal. $140.00)
$507.00 Food ($126.75 a week)
$1840.00 Total

The Children
My children have very few clothes. What they do have they must keep nice for the next child down to wear. Because we only go to church and the library we manage. It is difficult when shoes or under things are out grown and we can not buy more.

I have a daughter who lost her new eyeglasses. The insurance told me another pair would not be covered until 2006. If we ever get any extra money it will go to new eyeglasses.

I tell the children often to be very careful not to hurt themselves. There is no money for the Kaiser $20.00 co-pay. They will bill you, and the service charge added is $13.50.

The children get a gift for Christmas and birthdays from the Grandma’s and one aunt and uncle. They know that we would love to give them a gift if we could. In the Bay Area our old church adopted us for Christmas one year. This past year two families heard about us and gave us gifts at Christmas time. The children were over whelmed and very thankful.

We have all learned to use things very gently and not waste anything. If it gets broke or lost it will be hard to replace.

I only use our Target Store charge card for emergencies – like food. Not birthday gifts, not clothes. I make the payment plus any recent charge before the due date. The interest charge was recently raised as it was with all charge cards in May 2005. Because of my low balance it did not affect us.

We have learned to check the oil and water in our cars every two weeks. We drive carefully and don’t ride the breaks. We carry basic insurance. The money it costs now can save us expensive trouble with the law.

My goal each day is to not incur any sort of debt. To my horror recently a book from the library was watered damaged and I must replace it.

Food Banks
Food bank set-up varies widely from city to city. Some only allow people from the food banks zip code. Some churches run food banks, but most are run by the county.

In our city you can not get a box of food from the food bank and collect food stamps. You can make an appointment with the caseworker and she will write a slip to take to the food bank if the worker thinks you are really in need of food. Not all cities are like this. Some of the food is out of code. You also need to take in account the gas needed to drive there. Church food pantries rarely have out of code food.

Churches have had problems with people taking advantage of them. Most churches, after a through intake process will give assistance one time only. People with addiction or domestic violence problems are usually referred to Social Services.

Menu for the Week
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Monday bagels mac and cheese taco ring
Tuesday pancakes rice soup beef soft tacos
Wednesday egg burrito cup of soup spaghetti
Thursday muffins(c.chip) rice o roni crock pot roast
Friday french bread corn dogs nacho tacos
Saturday cereal sandwiches grilled cheese
Sunday egg burrito leftovers hot dogs/hamburgers
My husband lunch is the following: 1 sandwich w/lettuce, hard-boiled egg, two kinds of fruit, 1 pudding, small amount of tortilla chips.

Excellent books to read:
Dave Ramsey (everything)
More for Your Money – James L. Paris
How To Get Out of Debt and Stay Out – Jerrold Mundis
The Richest Man in Babylon (a classic) – George S. Clason
The Ultimate Lifestyle – Tim Timmons
Minding Your Own Business – Raymond and Dorothy Moore
On the internet: www.crown.org

Our Food Bill
This is our weekly shopping list. I do not recommend trying to feed a family of 7 on $125.00. It is just awful. My husband medical needs make it even more difficult. I shop at Super Wal-Mart.

1 pkg. 30 small tortilla 1 pkg. frozen bagels
1 pkg. (12) frozen hamburgers 1 pkg. hot dogs
1 pkg. hamburger buns 1 pkg. hamburger buns
4 lbs. chicken 3 lbs. hamburger
1 box of eggs (5dz.) 1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 bag of salad 1lg. can cream chicken soup
1 lg. can cream mushroom soup 2 bg. Chopped bacon
2 box. Rice o Roni 5 cup of soup
2 cans of tuna 2 box mac and cheese
1 box of crackers 1 box of snack pudding
1 loaf of french bread 2 margarine
1 box of jiffy mix 1 pkg. of choc. Chips
2 cans of tuna 1 box of corn dogs
1 pkg. spaghetti noodles 3 apples
3 bananas 1 pkg. lunch meat
½ lb grapes 1 bg. rice
½ gallon of milk 1 pkg. Scotts’ toilet paper
6 loaves of bread 1 pkg. cream cheese
1 box cheerios 1 roast
3 potatoes 1 box onion soup
Once a month- taco seasoning jelly peanut butter pancake syrup
mustard ketchup block mild cheese miracle whip
lg bag of tortilla chips cooking oil shampoo shaving cream
2 bars of soap toothpaste razors deodorant laundry soap
kitchen sink soap dishwasher soap
If any extra money – light bulbs vacuum cleaner bags

A FINALE WORD
*Educate yourself about money and credit

*Social Service Agencies are set-up to help battered women and families with drug or alcohol addiction. Churches are better equipped to help families not dealing with these problems, but they do not have programs in place because Social Services Agencies help families in need.

*Guard your credit and good name. Honor your debts. Better yet, do not go into debt. When hard times hit (and they will) you will struggle, but come out of it with your credit and good name intact.

*Be careful with your fake Visa debit card. Automatic deductions will be taken out of your account weather there is money to cover the debit or not. The bank will charge you a NSF fee on top of the debit.

*Save for a rainy day. Even if its $20.00 a month, save it.

*Do not develop an attitude that you deserve a nice car or an iPod. Learn to save up for it. Set money aside for things. Get over the “instant” lifestyle and do not use credit cards for these things.

*Count the cost of purchases. How much will the upkeep be? Can you live with out it? If not, do your research. Shop smart.

*There is no such thing as get rich quick. You work hard and you get paid. Spend carefully and save.

*Take in account when Mom is looking for work the wear and tear on the car, gas used, wardrobe needed, and meals eaten out because Mom is too tired to cook and child care costs. Parents are not replaceable.