Not So Much Money, Definetly Mo' Problems

I haven't been avoiding paying my student loans on purpose...well, sorta. I just can't afford the payments. I'm in a little bit of debt (who isn't these days) and I'm trying to work my way out, but my job doesn't pay much and I still want to have fun. I moved in with my dad to help with my financial situation and get a break, but that didn't happen.

Instead my mom figured it was a good time to cancel my car insurance. She was paying because I couldn't afford it before, but once I moved into my dads she quickly handed it over to me. Ok, not a big deal. Then I ended up having an infection in my tooth and without insurance I had to pay for my visit and x-rays out of pocket. I need a lot of dental work as it turns out and can't afford any of it, I'm still trying to pay off the x-rays. Soon after that I found out I was being sued for not paying my bills. I ended up settling so I didn't have to go to court. Money is taken out of my account once a month for over a year to pay off the lawsuit. That's only for one bill, I'm sure it's the first lawsuit of many.

Around the same time I ended up really sick with a double ear infection and asthmatic bronchitis, which left me with a lovely souvenir of a constant cough and asthma that I have to deal with every day now. Again, no insurance. So the visits and prescriptions all had to be paid out of pocket. I had to get breathing treatment done at the clinic too which was very pricey. After I finished my prescriptions I was still sick and needed more medicine. I had to borrow money from my dad and luckily my mom knew the owner of the clinic I was going to and got me a free second visit.

I'm fortunate that both of my parents work in jobs dealing with health care. Without them I'd be in more trouble. They work out deals to get me medication. My dad is able to get me inhalers now that I have asthma and my mom was able to get her hands in some pain killers when I broke my finger in October. Because I don't have money or health insurance, I never went to the hospital or to a doctor for my finger. In fact, I broke my finger while at work and had to work the entire day (I broke it in the morning) with nothing to dull the pain. I couldn't get anyone to come home till about 4:30 that day. Once it healed a little after a few months and I allowed my mom to touch it, she told me that I dislocated the bone. The only way to fix it is to rebreak the bone. No chance in hell. So as a result I have a bone that sticks out of my finger, right under the fingerprint, which is rather painful. There isn't complete feeling in the finger tip either and the nail (almost completely grown in now) is pretty gross.

I sat down not too long ago and figured that I could just barely afford to move out of my dad's house. A lot of ramen noodles and spaghetti are in my future, but I've been there before and made the best out of the situation. I'm not happy living with my dad and teenage brother. An opportunity came my way to rent my moms house from her so she can move back in with my dad. Her house is small and perfect and affordable with a roommate. This idea was introduced to me over the summer and it's been pushed back ever since then. Finally it sounds like March is when we can actually move in. I made a budget chart that would allow me to save up some money now so I could afford to pay my mom rent and have extra money for things for the house. Then everything changed with one phone call Tuesday morning.

I only answered my phone because I thought it was my hair dresser who has been trying to reach me. I was wrong. An hour later (I was at work and tried explaining to them that I had a child to take care of, but they didn't care) I was forced to enter a program for my student loans. I was told that I had to make a down payment of $2,000 by today. I've never had that much money in my life. Actually, I've never had more than $800 dollars. The man on the phone asked what kind of down payment I could put down after telling him that I don't have that kind of money. I explained to him that I'm moving in a few months and just started putting money on the side this past weekend and that all I had in my account was $150. He agreed to that. There is no way I could afford to pay that amount every month, especially when I move. When I told him that he spoke with his supervisor and they agreed to $122 and change. That's still too much for me. He told me to ask my parents for the money. How is it that after giving him all my information (monthly income, full expenses and my bank account information) he couldn't see that asking me to pay $122 a month would leave me with negative money? I tried explaining to him that I wasn't going to ask my parents for money and he simply told me to find the money. Outstanding. I understand that I need to pay them, but something a little more affordable would be nice.

So I have to find money. I decided to tell the people I work for about this situation. They knew about all the previous money problems and offered help but never followed through. This time it's serious. If you break down my paycheck at the end of the week it comes down to just a little over four dollars an hour. Most people my age make triple that. I figured that getting paid at least minimum wage would solve this problem. I also thought that asking for just minimum wage wouldn't be an issue but apparently it is.

Tuesday evening I was told that whatever help I needed I would get. I wasn't stressed anymore. I felt like everything would be alright, she just had to talk to her husband that night. Wednesday morning came and I realized she hadn't talked to him yet. She told me that the amount I owed wasn't really that much and I should ask my parents for the money. Really? I'm not asking for something ridiculous, am I? I'm not a flashy person, I don't need a lot of money. I choose to make little money because my job makes me happy. But I do need some money to get by in life. I didn't think minimum wage was too much to ask for. I told her that with the lawsuit and the student loan payments I can't afford to move. I need to move. They agree that I need to move and ask about it frequently. Once I told her that I wouldn't be able to move all of a sudden she said that she would "sit down and make an excel sheet and figure things out"...whatever that means.

I'm not looking for a handout. I want to get out of debt. I know that I should look for a new job, but I just can't. It's not just the bond I've created with the 22-month-old I've been taking care of since she was 3 months, it's her well being. She honestly needs me. I never asked for money when I got sued. I didn't ask when I was sick. What she may not understand is that if they won't pay me more then I have no choice but to leave. I think she's avoiding telling her husband about what's going on and I plan on talking to him if I can get him alone tonight. If not then I should see him tomorrow night. They tell me that I'm part of the family and that I can never leave them, that they don't know what they would do without me. By tomorrow night I'll either have a raise or I'll be unemployed. I make the same amount as a person on unemployment. The only difference is I work 55+ hours a week for my money.

The State of the Union was on last night and President Obama was really hitting home. Among all the topics he covered, he talked about helping with fair pay, health care and student loans. It made me emotional at one point because those three things are the heaviest burdens in my life right now. It felt surreal to have someone of his stature on my side. I'm not special (arguable) and there are people in this world woth far more problems than mine, but knowing that there is someone in this country that actually has the power to make some changes and give some relief gives me hope. Gives us all hope. The previous administration left us with nothing but relying on our luck and I think we're all looking forward to a change.
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