[Tricia]

My husband and I were excited about starting Ramsey in 2020 but he passed suddenly from a heart attack at 34. That left me as sole earner for our household which is me and my three children. They are now 16,14 and 12.

I was working a small office job at the time under my father but left shortly after he passed to focus on the kids and making sure they were adjusting well. I took about a year off at first and used our little bit of savings and some of the kids monthly survivors benefits to pay the household bills.

My late husband bought our home in foreclosure in 2008 and our mortgage is only 279 a month luckily and about 600 a month can completely pay the necessary bills for basic needs. These include the mortgage, electric, gas, water, trash, internet.

My mother paid for our cell service at the time and after about a year I had to return the vehicle because I could not keep the payments without his income while still needing to focus on the kids. Well long story short my children decided they would like to live with their grandparents which was fine but it kind of took me by surprise because of the way they approached me with the idea.

I let them leave but that meant my mother now would be getting their ssi payments so I needed to look for work since I also could not use any money I had saved since he passed to continue to stay home, that money I saved had to go with the kids because it came from their checks .

It didn’t make sense to stay home anyways with the kids gone. I have had the hardest time finding employment! I have 12 years work at home Customer Service experience. 8 at Amazon and the others at UHaul and Victoria’s Secret. I am just in a pool of too many other applicants to any position I apply for though.

I have gotten interviews a couple times but that is all. I have steadily applied for at least 50 jobs a week for a year! I am broken and I am about to be at my bottom I believe. The house, which is still in an estates name will be sold at foreclosure auction the first Monday in April. After that I will be homeless with no vehicle either. Because the mortgage is so low I am actually only behind a little less than $1900.

It seems like such a small amount normally but with no transportation or reliable friend for rides and not already having a job that is WFH it seems like such a mountain to climb with such little time left. I have to have the $1900 there at the bank the first Monday in April if I want to stop the sale and keep my home.

I am so stressed out to the max. I don’t even have money to store my very personal items and my other things I cannot take with me, if I had the money I still couldn’t get them to the storage unit.

I have nowhere to turn for help at all and I am alone. I want to work and get a vehicle asap.

If I had a car tonight I would be out door dashing until I couldn’t keep my eyes open and go right back at it when I woke if I had to. I feel like I need a break just to be able to finally sleep through the night and breathe without the daily stress I have on me since he passed.

I feel like I am just stuck in a loop. Can’t get to work with no car, can’t buy a car with no money, can live in my home if I don’t get either of those things.

I am just at the point of tears most days these past couple weeks and need encouragement and a miracle!

[Kim]

3 years is a long time to run away from all of this. I want to be sympathetic to your situation, but something doesn’t add up for me because you could have done so many of the things people are suggesting before being in dire straights/foreclosure.

Maybe you actually need to hit rock bottom to figure it out. And I hope you can.

[Katie]

I am so sorry for what you are going through. We were in a similar rock-bottom situation for different reasons, and our local church was amazing. They have a specific ministry for financial hardship, but we also gained an emotional and spiritual support system. As dark as it seems, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I would encourage you to reach out for help. There are people just waiting for the opportunity to help and be a blessing to you. No matter what, God will bring you through if you lean into him and trust him.

[Rena]

Hello, I’m widowed as well. Did you apply for spousal survival benefits from ssa? This is different than what your kids get.

[Sadie]

“The money I saved had to go with the kids because it came from their checks” – did it? Says who? I’m sorry but those checks are meant to help the kids with what’s needed; which includes things like mortgage etc. I hear you on not wanting to use it, but if there’s an option there….this was money leftover from those checks while they lived with you. Sometimes pride stops us from doing the obvious thing.

[Lisa]

Ever thought about getting your CDL? Will deff keep you from losing everything and will get you on your feet. Companies pay for your CDL and transportation. Then the truck becomes your main place then you just to get your money up and get you a car again. Getting my CDL after divorce changed a lot for me. I’ve been at it for almost 3 years.. (got it two years after divorce) i have kids too. They stay with their dad and wife .

[Sadie]

Can you rent any of the rooms in the home?? $279 a month for a mortgage is quite the steal- you cannot lose that house girl. Do you attend any church? Sometimes they have money just for when situations like these hit their members. Praying for you!

[Lisa]

I’m not sure where exactly you live, but can’t you walk to work? Even if it’s a couple hours each way at least you’d have a job. Time to flip burgers, pour coffee or wash dishes. You can do this!

[Sadie]

why do your kids not want to live with you? Why are you okay with them moving in with someone else? I think this is more than a math problem.

[Shannon]

That SSI money isn’t the kids’ spending money. That’s money that’s supposed to go towards the cost of raising them – like paying for a roof over their heads, paying for transportation so you can get them places.

[Author]

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