My Story

As I read other blogs and how some are able to pay debt down by thousands by selling on ebay, I get a little discouraged. I will be lucky if I have $200. I know, I know—every little bit helps and I still plan to sell what I can. Unfortunately, the money I make may need to go towards my current bills as I still have no income. Most of my debt didn’t come from spending, although about 10k did (and that's a problem). 3 years ago we found out my partner had cancer. It was very sudden, found during surgery so we had no time to adjust. The chemo that followed threw us out of whack financially. We weren’t doing so well either with all the stress. I realize we are very, very fortunate to have insurance and the means to afford treatment, but it’s still financially draining. So, I incurred a lot of debt there and in the following 2 years where my income was all we had. We made about the same, so to lose half of your annual income is quite an adjustment. But we made good money with relatively little debt and no kids, so it was manageable. Then came my surgery. Again, I know I am fortunate to have the means to have this surgery, but it didn’t come cheap. I also had no idea that I would not be working 5 months later. Having another surgery really concerns me because I keep thinking “what if”. The first surgery was supposed to cure all and it didn’t, so what if this one doesn’t either? I have done the same job my whole life and worked my way up to a decent position. If I cannot continue to work in the same field, I will probably have the potential to earn maybe half of what I do now. As I try to find ways to make cuts I realize that I am pretty frugal already. I use suave shampoo, shop by unit price and buy in bulk, buy what’s on sale (usually) at the grocery store, shop at Old Navy mainly, no hand bags or designer shoes at all (I don’t even carry a purse), get my hair cut at The Hair Cuttery.

The biggest problem is that I need to learn that if I don’t have cash then I can’t afford it. That includes groceries, dog food, and gas. A lot of those habits I picked up when struggling with 1 income and all the medical bills, but that makes no difference. Debt is debt. Even if I had donated 23k to the SPCA, it’s still debt that needs to be repaid.

I think what I will do for now is organize what I have to sell, take pics, research, etc. I’ll put listing on hold until I find out what’s up with long-term—she is supposed to let me know this week. I have the money to pay March’s mortgage and should be ok for the other bills as well. I still have sick and vacation time I can use for April’s bills if things haven’t improved by then. I haven’t spent any money this week but when I do I will track it here. In the meantime I am having fun reading all the blogs out there and getting to know you all. It’s great to know there is so much support out there.