Sheesh, what a month it has been! And its only half way into it! It all began back in July actually, but this month it all tied together and crashed down on me. Maybe my problems are nothing compared to others here, but today I really just want to smash something. So I figured venting off steam would help me feel better. My husband and I moved here to Nova Scotia a year ago, May. He got a good paying job and we discussed me not working. He said I should stay home for the kids. Which is a great idea, saves on gas and babysitting. At the time it seemed good. Anyhow, all year everything was fine. Until July, when I decided that the old house we live in needed a better wood stove. The old one was a big Enterprise stove from the early 50s...perhaps older. It smoked something awful and would get so hot that in the dead of winter with negative degree weather we had the doors open. The chimney was not up to code and we worried that the old thing might cause a fire. So in July I sold the old wood stove and we went without a wood stove all summer. We bought a small one used, in good shape and put it in the garage for later installation. Fast forward to September. So its been getting colder now and we ordered our wood back in July after we bought the used stove. most of the summer we spent time splitting wood by hand...all 4 cords of it. It had been warm all summer, very warm and we were not concerned about getting cold any time soon, but then, like turning a page, August became September. And the cold weather set in. The nights have been dropping down into the low 40s F. Time to get the stove put in!! This is where everything starts to go bad. The stove needed to be certified....and then a new chimney put in because it was not to code....and new pipe and new flashing...and OMG the expense!! I had no idea that it would cost so much to install the stove so it could be certified!!! Well it had to be done, we could not avoid it at this point. We have an oil furnace, but the flu was tied into the chimney, a big no no safety wise. So our furnace had to be disconnected. We could not afford to order oil anyhow. So we hired a contractor to come in and do a bid for the installation. By this point my DH was tearing his hair out over the cost. We already had bills to cover with our credit card, and now we had to pay for this. It came to $1980 for installation, labour and parts. We were floored, it was way more than we had been bid, but we could not avoid it. We had to pay. But then the guy would not take a credit card...he only takes cash or check...he tells us this AFTER the chimney is installed. So we had to do a massive cash advance on our credit card....yay interest rates. So at this point we are wondering how we are going to take care of Christmas for our 2 boys and pay off this stupid card. However, my husband and I took the challenge with chins up. I do some light housekeeping for some local folks and get paid a little which helps a little. I plan to get a job too, but this is a horribly economically depressed area, so Im erally hoping I can find something. Then the cat goes and gets hurt. I dont know how the cat does it, but she ends up breaking her ball join clean off her femur. She is always a wild dare devil anyhow, so i can only imagine how she did it. So a quick drive to the local vet and BAM! $1k to do the operation. Well, we could not just let her suffer, so we set up the operation. Now we are even deeper in the hole. Septembers school shopping has not helped in the least either. Then last night, I was out with the girls in the coop. I was checking on Crackers feet, who I have been trating for scaley leg mites.....and discover she has bumble foot....in both feet.......now I have to buy some stuff to get that fixed. Im sure my Dh is going to be thrilled about that. Im waiting for a big bomb to drop on the house or something, or perhaps Godzilla to eat one of our cars.......I bet you anything the back axle will fall off the back of the car this week. I would not be surprised in the least!!!!
Just be sure never to as, "What next?" cause you'll find out. Sometimes things just suck. Sorry you're having such a hard time, but as you know, you aren't alone in that at least.
I know right "Whats next" is a curse...a self inflicted one.....which i think I already said yesterday lol. Im about to go out and work on Crackers feet...........maybe thats next. O.O
So sorry - it sounds like it has been rough For the bumblefoot, I don't know what you intend to buy to treat it, but I recently treated a bumblefoot case and didn't need to get anything extra. Do you have Epsom salts (if not, they are very inexpensive at your local grocery store - I bought the store brand and they were less than $2 for a large bag). I took the Epsom salts and dissolved in some pretty hot water, and let the hen stand in the water for 30 minutes. She didn't like getting into it but apparently it felt good because she relaxed after 30 seconds and for the rest of the time stood there without needing to be held. Then I wrapped her in a towel, took my tweezers and went to work on the bumble. Once I had it cleaned out as well as I could, I squeezed some triple antibiotic ointment in (already had it), placed a folded square of toilet paper directly over the site, and wrapped it in the bandage wrap that clings to itself (once again, if you don't already have some, it can be purchased at the grocery store quite inexpensively). If you have kids, you probably already have most of the supplies you will need, on hand. For school supplies, clothing for the kids etc., do you shop at thrift stores? I have found that many school supplies like binders, folders and even unopened packs of paper are available there, and we save anything that wasn't used one year, for the next. They may not be headed off to school with a brand new box of pencils, but if they have 20 pencils that have been used a little, it ends up being the same as getting a dozen brand new ones. This year I was able to get away with no back to school shopping as when the kids announced it was time to go, I showed them the two boxes of school supplies I've saved from previous years and told them "start shopping". They were able to find everything they needed, except the box of Kleenex each needed to take to share with the classroom. We don't purchase paper products at our house (use reuseable cloth for everything) so I did have to buy the Kleenex but that was it. I know the money is spent for the cat but.....there is no shame in choosing euthanasia versus heroic measures. Don't get me wrong - I love my animals and care for them fiercely. But in reality, there are hundreds of cats and dogs that are healthy and would make wonderful pets, that are put to sleep every year in animal shelters across the country because homes can't be found for them. So I don't feel I can spend thousands keeping ONE pet alive. When my kids' cat came up sick a couple of months ago, we took him to the vet who announced he was in severe liver failure. He offered to run some tests that would have run several hundred dollars but best case scenario he would have been on meds the rest of his life and worst case the recommendation would have been to put him to sleep, so we chose to save the money on the tests and put him straight to sleep. Yes, it was a difficult and emotional decision but euthanasia is very humane - his passing was peaceful. Hopefully your cat is now on the mend and you won't have any more big expenses so you can get caught up!
Wow, I've noticed a lot of people struggling to make ends meet the last several years. I haven't had any struggle until the last eight months, things are getting so much more expensive. Especially food and fuel! I Pray and hope everything gets better for everybody.
OP, I hope you all soon get past this problem. It isn't so uncommon but the pain is the same for everyone. Some years ago, I decided to work to clear my credit cards and never use one again. I did it and kept to my promise to myself. Credit cards do no more then delay the inevitable and we pay for the delay. Once you manage to adjust to no-credit living, a great deal of stress falls away but you will still get by. Good luck!
Oh dear, I know just how you feel. Same for us lately, massive car repair bill and two lots of treatment at the vets for different dogs. Extra expense of a nephew's wedding coming up too. Just a thought but can you get animal insurance to cover vet's fees? We pay £10 a month each for our eligible dogs (both who needed treatment this month were too old to qualify). This covers us up to £4500 treatment per condition per year.
Thanks for all the support, Im starting to feel a bit better about everything, but the anxiety is still laying underneath I think once I get into a new routine of a job I'll start feeling better, especially when the pay checks start rolling in! No we dont have the insurance for that, which I should ahve thought of! But didnt
