credit crunch + recession,,and me, uk

[andy]

hi there ,, i dont want to add any more doom and gloom to your lives,, but is any one feeling the ripple effect from all of this,, i know i am, im currently a carpenter and have been since the age of 16, i have a family, morgage, car , van, loans , ive recently started a new small carpentry company,,which i think is not going to well, i work for larger companys for an hourly rate to keep the money coming in,,and i do my own work when it comes in,, but with in this last few weeks , im struggling to find work , my dad has warned me about this ,,telling me not to get into debt ,dont do this ,and dont do that, and ive always let it fly over my head,all ive ever done is try and do the best for my family, this world today revolves around debt,, and im one of its victims, im quite a sensible person when it comes to money, bills always paid on time, 2or 3k in the bank,, but nowthings are getting tough, im struggling to make ends meet,, i just needed to get this off my chest,,coz to be honest its making me very unhappy,, thanks for listening

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yes, things are not so bright & shiny here either.

Don't let it depress you. Find ways to be pro-active and get yourself into a more financially stable situation.

 

[thechickenchick]

Oh you are not alone. My Dad always said don't buy something you can't pay cash for. For the most part I followed his advice. I had a credit card with a very small balance on it and lived within my means. It was tight and I wasn't able to save much but I didn't incur any debt. Then a year ago this month my son was in a very serious accident in which he suffered a severe TBI(traumatic brain injury). He was in a coma for 19 days ,in the hospital for 6 weeks. He didn't talk for 5 weeks and had to learn to walk again. A year later he is mentally there(mostly, as a mom I notice some differences in him), but physically he is still challenged. His walking is getting better but he doesn't have the use of his left hand. For a 13 year old that is very fustrating. Back to the point, sorry! We do have insurance so most people, our family and friends think we should be just fine. But anyone that has been in this spot know thats not true. i had to stop working to care for him, I would not change that for anything. The DR he sees is an hour away, the price of fuel is killing us. (Everything is going up, even groceries) There are still costs, perscriptions are not all covered. Insurance doesn't pay all the hospital bills either. He has 2 shots at $1000 a piece evry 3 months. After insurance we owe $300 of each shot. There is special equipment he needs as well. So... this is where those credit cards come in. Now after a year the payments are adding up, the balances scare the you know what out of us and keep us up at night. We try to make ourselves feel better. We remind ourselves how lucky we are that he is still with us and that financially we will be better,...sometime. But like you said it gets to us too! Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[key west chick]

We know the feeling all to well.About 12 years ago DH went into business with his best friend.Don't EVER go into business with friends or family. Things went south when friend hired a manager for one of the stores that we knew was stealing. Friends wife liked her cause she kissed butt. Stores closed, friend filed bankruptcy and stuck us with almost $400,000 in bank loans. DH and I had put $100,00 in these stores. Year later after trying to keep current on the loans we filed too.It's been a battle since then. We lost our home, and our savings.It's a struggle everyday. DH has a decent job and I'm looking but it's so hard when I have a young son to take care of. Keep praying,I think most of us are or have been where you are.:aww

 

[andy]

HEY A PROBLEM SHARED IS A PROBLEM HALFED ,, SO LETS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE,,AT LEAST WE CAN SELL OUR EGGS,

 

[CATRAY44]

Struggling here, too. Hospital bills, long drives to doctor for one of my kids. Physical therapy, Rx. I never have worried in the past, we always had 'enough'. No longer so. Praying and trusting God for provision.

Bless you all. I sure am happy for this network of friends.

Cathy

 

[thechickenchick]

Quote:
Oh me too! If it weren't for this forum of understanding people I would be even crazier!

 

[EweSheep]

Same here! Hubbys job got hours cut back. Had to apply for food stamps

 

[BowChickaBowMow]

Cathy (catray44) has the right idea! Pray and trust in God for provision.

a few years ago (4 or 5) we were in a bad situation (by circumstance) and we learned quickly to rid of our debt and live below our means. I'm thankful we did that, or there is NO way we'd be getting by right now!!! We learned to totally trust in God. There were times where we had cancellation notice for a utility or something and $$ from nowhere would just show up in the mailbox. Or the utility company made a mistake and we ended up having a credit. Or the IRS made a mistake and we got an unexpected check in the middle of the year, at perfect timing.

It seems that things are progressvely getting worse. My parents are worried, and they've never been worried about things like this. They've had to deal w/ some pretty bad medical issues that they've had to charge surgeries, jhospital stays, and medications, and they've racked up every credit card they could get.. just for medical things. They'd planned on selling their home by now and moving south, but w/ the market value... there's no way they'd be able to sell w/out still owing money. The winters are getting too hard on them up here (physically) but they're stuck for now. If they had room, we'd move in w/ them (all 7 of us) to help them out. I think that's what families need to do.... pull together and help each other out. I think it's the only way some families are going to be able to make it through this. Or even good close friends... not just family.

 

[lengel]

We've been in trouble a lot in the past. I agree that it's about everyone helping as they can to get through this. Now that we're in good shape, we're hiring people as much as we can. There's a general contractor we really like who keeps calling to see if we need work done so we're starting a job this year instead of waiting until next spring. I'm very worried about these guys and their work is fantastic so it's definitely a problem with the economy.