One thing I've learned by being poor is to not judge other people so harshly.
I never realized that I was doing it until now. I used to look down at others who were using government assistance for food, then buying alcohol and other things. "Well if you can afford alcohol, why can't you afford food?"
I became one of those government assistance using, alcohol buying people yesterday.
We bought three WIC checks worth of food, and then I bought my best friend a $3 bottle of wine for her birthday. And the whole time I kept thinking "I'm one of those people..." and kept worrying about what other people were thinking about me.
It reminded me that even though a situation seems open and shut, you don't always know the whole story!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Living on nothing.
So imagine this situation; you have a two and a half year old, and you're due with your second child in three weeks. It's March. You work for an hourly wage at a preschool, so after your maternity leave is done you're off for the Summer until the end of August. Then your husband, who is the main breadwinner for your family, loses his job. I didn't have to imagine this situation... it happened to me!
After a tear-filled freak out session with my therapist, I accepted what our situation was. We were just going to have to pull our belts a little tighter for a few weeks until he could find another job.
Well. Here we are. It's July; four months that my husband has been out of work. Three months since I had my daughter and have been off work. That's three months of zero income.
I guess I can't say zero. Devin has worked a few odd jobs here and there, bringing in a couple hundred bucks each time. But it's definitely not enough to cover our monthly expenses, let alone any random purchases, gas for our cars, or food. Oh yeah, that stuff... who needs to eat, anyway?
So it's been an interesting journey. I am on a strict spending freeze. And yes, that includes groceries! The only grocery item I've bought for the last few weeks is milk and eggs. Oh, and bulk frozen hamburgers and french fries (that stuff is CHEAP, y'all!).
Before Savannah was born I had made a whole deep-freezer full of frozen crock-pot meals, and that has been our saving grace!!! But they are almost gone now.
My goal right now is to eat everything we have in the house before I go to the grocery store again (for anything besides milk and eggs.). We may have some strange meal combinations, but at least we have food!
I've noticed a difference in the way I look at "wants" and "needs." You really NEED very little to survive.
I always knew that God would provide for our needs, but it's kind of amazing to me the way he blesses us. We did not buy a single diaper for the first two and a half months of Savannah's life! All her clothes have been hand-me-downs, and they've all been cute stuff that my picky self can happily get on-board with!
Blake has basically all the clothes he needs as well, all the way up to 5T size. And seeing as he's still in 18month size even though he's almost three, I'd say those will probably last us awhile!
I was wanting a rocker for Savannah's room. Well obviously that's not in the budget (ha!) right now. Devin's Dad found a glider in great condition on the side of the road, with a big "FREE" sign on it! It's not exactly the style I would have wanted, but it's way better than nothing!!
I'm so thankful to have a God that loves us enough to give us some things that we want in addition to the things we need.
After a tear-filled freak out session with my therapist, I accepted what our situation was. We were just going to have to pull our belts a little tighter for a few weeks until he could find another job.
Well. Here we are. It's July; four months that my husband has been out of work. Three months since I had my daughter and have been off work. That's three months of zero income.
I guess I can't say zero. Devin has worked a few odd jobs here and there, bringing in a couple hundred bucks each time. But it's definitely not enough to cover our monthly expenses, let alone any random purchases, gas for our cars, or food. Oh yeah, that stuff... who needs to eat, anyway?
So it's been an interesting journey. I am on a strict spending freeze. And yes, that includes groceries! The only grocery item I've bought for the last few weeks is milk and eggs. Oh, and bulk frozen hamburgers and french fries (that stuff is CHEAP, y'all!).
Before Savannah was born I had made a whole deep-freezer full of frozen crock-pot meals, and that has been our saving grace!!! But they are almost gone now.
My goal right now is to eat everything we have in the house before I go to the grocery store again (for anything besides milk and eggs.). We may have some strange meal combinations, but at least we have food!
I've noticed a difference in the way I look at "wants" and "needs." You really NEED very little to survive.
I always knew that God would provide for our needs, but it's kind of amazing to me the way he blesses us. We did not buy a single diaper for the first two and a half months of Savannah's life! All her clothes have been hand-me-downs, and they've all been cute stuff that my picky self can happily get on-board with!
Blake has basically all the clothes he needs as well, all the way up to 5T size. And seeing as he's still in 18month size even though he's almost three, I'd say those will probably last us awhile!
I was wanting a rocker for Savannah's room. Well obviously that's not in the budget (ha!) right now. Devin's Dad found a glider in great condition on the side of the road, with a big "FREE" sign on it! It's not exactly the style I would have wanted, but it's way better than nothing!!
I'm so thankful to have a God that loves us enough to give us some things that we want in addition to the things we need.
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