The recession has taken a toll on my family. My dad doesn't make much money anymore. He's a construction worker, and works for a business that isn't making as much money as it used to. I suppose people in New York City don't have much they want done to buildings due to the recession. This fall in annual income has been bad, especially now, since my dad has leukemia, and has periodic doctor's visits, which is draining away a lot of his bank account.
Holidays and birthdays are VERY low budget, with no more than one present from each family member to another. I spent less than twenty dollars on Christmas presents for my family this past holiday season. On my birthday, which was February 19th, I got three presents, all less than twenty dollars each.
I might have to switch schools because my grandparents have been losing a lot of money, and don't have as much money as they used to. Thus, they might not have enough for me to attend my private school. I might have to switch to public school, which would be a very difficult and hard change to deal with, at least in my opinion.
My dad has done all he can to get money: he's sold tables and chairs, he's sold toys my sisters and I never use, he's sold an old video camera, a radio, three computers, and many other things. I had sentimental attachments to some of the things he's sold. He used the money he made from selling things to buy necessities, like food, clothes, and school supplies.
My dad is always tense. I think it has more to do with his illness, but it's clear that it's also because he's not able to support my sisters and me as much as he used to. My youngest sisters -- who are ten and nine -- don't really understand the importance of saving money, and how we don't have a lot of money right now, and they ask my dad for things. They ask him for toys or clothes or DVDs a lot, and he snaps at them whenever they ask him, and make them feel like they're being bad people.
The tension at home follows me to school. It hangs heavy in my mind. My grades have been going down. My friends are tense. I sometimes snap at them when they ask the wrong thing, or just do something that annoys me. They are always on edge, trying not to make me angry. I can't concentrate in class anymore.
I feel my family being torn apart. It's been EXTREMELY difficult, especially now with my dad's illness. I never imagined that something like this would ever happen to my family. We used to be so tight-knit; now, we're sort of falling apart, and I'm trying to pull us all back together.
It's been rough. It's been very rough, and I'm scared, honestly. I'm terrified. I'm terrified for my dad. I'm terrified for my sisters. I'm terrified for my grandparents, and my friends, and my cats, and everyone else who is struggling like me.
I'm terrified for my future, and the future of my sisters and my dad. Will I ever go to college to become a chemist? Will my oldest sister grow up to be a doctor, like she always wanted? Will my middle sister grow up to be an actress? Will my baby sister grow up to be an astronaut? Will my dad overcome his leukemia?
All I can do right now is take every rough day in stride, be there for my dad and for my sisters, and hope that everything will get better soon, because deep down I have a feeling that the recession will soon end, and my family will be back to the way we were before the financial crisis.|||Well, i had to quit dance which i became very good at and i love to do. I also cant get any more clothes until the recessions ended. Also, my washing machine broke, and we were going to get a flat screen which we'veee saved up for for a Long time, and use it for the new washing machine, so i have to watch a TV with barley any channels. We'veee also been buying in bulk, so theres no room in our cubbords for any of my favorite things.
Hopefully, the recession will end soon, and everyone will be able to fully recover.
Recession= the plague of the world.|||I was already in deep financial despair, so it didn't bring me any lower.|||It hasn't really affected me that much. I just think my dad isn't making as much money, he has his own buisness so people are spending less.|||Yess. My family owns a restaurant/golf course and we're about $30,000 in debt. Stupid economy. But you can't do anything but hope it'll get better.|||I think the financial crisis has made our family, myself mainly extremely grateful. Our family is not being affected by it at. I mean my mom's a DON/RN which both combined is great pay and they will always have a job. My dad works at a trucking business or whatever for the Army and plus he's in the Army.
Just because my family is well off, that doesn't make me ignorant to know that people aren't as fortunate as we are. People are losing their jobs left and right, families living from paycheck to paycheck, parents wondering whether they should use their little paycheck money to pay rent or buy food. It's absolutely terrible.
Hearing what some of my friends are going through with their families, especially when some of them are in pretty big one's. It makes me feel so bad. So we've been donating more of our stuff. Old clothes, shoes, books, whatever is in okay condition but we don't use anymore.
I'm just so lucky that my family doesn't have to worry about that. We have a roof over our head, electricity, and food on the table, etc. I'm truly grateful and my heart goes out to any families out there who are struggling to get by. Hopefully this economic crisis will end. But I have a feeling it will be done later, rather than sooner. Let's hope everyone can hang on tight and just hope we can all get through this. :)|||Well, my mom and I have always struggled with some sort of debt from credit cards or the like but that plus the way things are, makes it a bit more difficult.
I haven't gotten new clothes in the longest time.
Sometimes, we run out of food and have to have soup or whatever there is around the house to eat until my mom gets her paycheck.
We can't go do much because we're always lacking gas money...
In a way, it's always been like this... but it just feels so much harder now because I have so much anxiety being in high school and whatnot.|||My brother (who's my foster father) has less hours to work at the shipping company where he works and he's looking for a second job because things are getting tight. Because he has less hours my sister in law (who's my foster mother) has taken the dreaded 12 hour shifts at the hospital where she works. Before she used to come home between seven and eight pm but now I hardly see her. She comes home when I'm asleep and leaves before I get up. The roles between my brother and my sister in law have changed. Before she was home more often and was around to put my niece and nephews to bed and they miss her a lot. They like having their dad around doing chores but its obvious they miss their mom. I miss her too.
I can see the stress getting to my brother. He's smoking again and is in a frantic quest for another job because the savings he had are now gone. He doesn't talk to me about money but I know he's afraid of what's going to happen and so am I.
My sister in law sold her wedding band and jewellery that her mother gave her on her wedding day. She cried like crazy and I almost cried along with her. She's still sad about it but it helped with the debts. Before it was relatively easy to pay the rent and still have some money for groceries and gas but now we hardly use the car, every penny that comes in is to keep the apartment and a lot of our neighbors are getting evicted. I'm afraid we might go next and we don't really have anywhere to stay but to travel to Reno where my other brother is and live with him, which no one wants.
As for me, I have to do a lot of the stuff my foster mom does. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and looking after the kiddies. I'm getting my PhD on stamps and coupons, now no coupon escapes me, everything is cut and ready on the kitchen table. I was saving my meagre mimum wage salary to buy selfish stuff but now I'm just saving it for when my family needs it. It's almost a joke but if things continue to go bad it might help in someway.I was going to ask for a new wheelchair this summer because the one I have is getting small for me but now I am not going to. Chairs are expensive and since I am already getting surgery and that is going to be a drag for everyone I'll wait indefinetely. Two weekends ago my brother said to pick between the computer and the television because one had to be sold and he sold our computer. The car is going next and it sucks because my sister in law just finished the payments a year and some months ago. The computer I'm using is my sister's laptop which she lent me while she's away. We need it to keep selling crap on ebay.|||My parents stopped buying junk food and I couldn't join any activities. And my dad decided since he didn't work as much he should get super active now hes trying to make me go on these long exhausting bike rides with him. I don't mind doing it every once and a while, but everyday is nuts. But it has made us more grateful for stuff. So it isn't all bad.
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