Rent emergency!

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

Why don't you list your expenses on here, and we can see what we may be able to offer in ways to cut back further...

Also what part of the country are you in, and what are your husbands skills???

I ask this because there may be temp jobs your husband could do--for example, parts of MO got hit with high winds and many people here are needing help reroofing or cutting trees from the damage.
We may be able to offer ideas that way as well.

Also, have you checked into subsidized rent? Does your landlord participate in the program?

We don't really have any expenses anymore as we have been moneyless for a couple weeks. We basically borrow money here and there for gas and we use food stamps for food and Christmas gift cards for other necessities. Once we have income again, I will be able to evaluate our income vs. expenses and I WILL NOT mess it up like we did before. I definitely learned my lesson there and that is my number one NY's resolution.

We live in Cleveland, Tennessee. (About 30 minutes from Chattanooga)

My husband can't do a lot of "labor" because of a knee problem, but he's great with computers (he is almost certified due to some HS classes he participated in and almost had a scholarship until some things pushed him down another road.

He recently had an interview with a staffing agency and they are going to call back by Monday with matches to his skills! We are so thrilled.

There isn't much around here that is subsidized AND safe, and I have no intentions raising my child in that kind of area. I have looked into it but so much goes on and I wouldn't feel comfortable for a second.

I'm relying on faith at this point to get us through this, but I'm not doing it alone. I'm pushing and shoving to get to a solution before Monday comes around. Keep your fingers crossed!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

We don't really have any expenses anymore as we have been moneyless for a couple weeks. We basically borrow money here and there for gas and we use food stamps for food and Christmas gift cards for other necessities.

Of course you have expenses. Whether or not you can afford to pay them is a different issue. That's why you started the thread - you didn't have rent money. That's an expense. You are borrowing gas money, so you own a car. That means registration, insurance and maintenance expenses. Are you posting from a public access computer like the library or do you have internet service at home? Do you have utility bills in addition to rent? Do the food stamps cover all of your food costs? What about child-related stuff like diapers, bottles, etc.?

[vole]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

Maybe I should go live in a tipi. Wouldn't that solve everything. :P

In my small city, there's some guy living in a tent in a wooded area by the side of the main road. He's been there for years.

Personally, I can't imagine living without indoor plumbing no less a tent.

I encourage you to try the rent party. A good party can be a regular occasion that everyone looks forward to attending. Cheery, upbeat, fun. That's what everyone wants these days.

-Dave

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Of course you have expenses. Whether or not you can afford to pay them is a different issue. That's why you started the thread - you didn't have rent money. That's an expense. You are borrowing gas money, so you own a car. That means registration, insurance and maintenance expenses. Are you posting from a public access computer like the library or do you have internet service at home? Do you have utility bills in addition to rent? Do the food stamps cover all of your food costs? What about child-related stuff like diapers, bottles, etc.?

We don't pay registration, insurance, or maintenance because it is my husband's parent's car.

We are using a friend's wireless internet as temporary access.

We will eventually have utility bills but we just moved in so we haven't received any yet.

Everything else has been bought with Christmas money we received.

We have expenses, we are just finding ways to pay them without income, so it's hard to base a budget around that. We take everything as it comes.

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by vole

In my small city, there's some guy living in a tent in a wooded area by the side of the main road. He's been there for years.

Personally, I can't imagine living without indoor plumbing no less a tent.

I encourage you to try the rent party. A good party can be a regular occasion that everyone looks forward to attending. Cheery, upbeat, fun. That's what everyone wants these days.

-Dave

I can't imagine it either. I hate being outdoors it's entirely too cold. I wish I had the guts and resources to do it though. Separating oneself from what this world has become would be ideal. Drop all materialism and live naturally. But it's just not possible.

I want to try the rent party but everyone I know is just as poor as we are. I live in a college town so all our friends are broke, and the only family I have here, my parents, are far worse off than we are. But that's a completely different story in itself.

[skylovessea]

I just want to add that after reading my replies to the past few responses, I realized that I sound very negative and that is definitely not intended. I'm just being realistic. I want to thank everyone for their ideas, and I don't want anyone to feel as if I am not listening.

[vole]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

I want to try the rent party but everyone I know is just as poor as we are. I live in a college town so all our friends are broke, and the only family I have here, my parents, are far worse off than we are. But that's a completely different story in itself.

The rent parties were usually done in poor areas. People who live with wealthy neighbors are usually not poor. The people who can't pay the rent usually have neighbors in similar situations and they'll tend to be helpful.

Of course, if you can attract wealthy people to come to the "in" party, that's all the better.

Everyone seems to have a couple of bucks to kick in to help pay the rent or they have a few bucks for entertainment. And the rent party offers food and entertainment at a big discount to going to a bar or restaurant.

Not having done it, I think the secret is getting a big crowd by publicity and word-of-mouth.

-Dave

[skylovessea]

UPDATE!!!

I talked to my landlord today and she is giving us until the end of the month! AND my husband and I might both have jobs now. All in good timing and I will be on the right track again. :]

Thank you all for your help, and I'll see you around the other boards.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

UPDATE!!!

I talked to my landlord today and she is giving us until the end of the month! AND my husband and I might both have jobs now. All in good timing and I will be on the right track again. :]

Thank you all for your help, and I'll see you around the other boards.

That's good news. Keep us up to date.

[minnie1928]

That's fabulous! Let us know how things settle out, Congrats!

[vole]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

UPDATE!!!

I talked to my landlord today and she is giving us until the end of the month!

Does that mean no party?

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by vole

Does that mean no party?

I don't think we will have to since we have a while longer to find funds. We have some stuff that is hopefully selling on CL and I might have a job by Monday. We'll see what happens. :]

[arthurb999]

How old are you guys?

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by arthurb999

How old are you guys?

20, why?

[hmd2009]

Congrats, I hope things work out for you guys!!

[minnie1928]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

I don't think we will have to since we have a while longer to find funds. We have some stuff that is hopefully selling on CL and I might have a job by Monday. We'll see what happens. :]

Any word?

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by minnie1928

Any word?

I might have a job by the end of the week. I have a typing evaluation tomorrow and then they will let me know. (It's for a medical billing specialist position)

[minnie1928]

Originally Posted by skylovessea

I might have a job by the end of the week. I have a typing evaluation tomorrow and then they will let me know. (It's for a medical billing specialist position)

Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Ok, not really because I'm pretty sure they would cramp up by the end of the week but you know what I mean

[skylovessea]

Originally Posted by minnie1928

Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Ok, not really because I'm pretty sure they would cramp up by the end of the week but you know what I mean

Haha, thank you for your enthusiasm!

[skylovessea]

UPDATE:

We currently have $250 of the $410. We sold some things on CL and we have a few more things waiting to be sold. I am pretty sure we can do it by the end of the month.

I'm just worried about getting NEXT month's rent in time. I'm afraid we've gotten ourselves in a bad cycle. The job situation still isn't looking good but we've gotten to the point where we will take anything, so that should help a little.

Just wanted to keep everyone up to date.