When Kristine and I were married, I worked as a salesman for Sears, selling maintenance agreements..er...appliances. Kristine worked as the second shift manager of a 24-hour daycare. We determined that we could live off of my income and so she quit to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. I promptly lost my job.
I quickly got a job as a car salesman, selling Saturn vehicles and made about $2000 a month. One night, Kristine called her parents, weeping, telling them that at the end of the month, we would be $350 in the hole with no end in sight. And we had nothing. We didn't have cable or even internet. No cell phones. Nothing.
Her parents went to work and in fifteen minutes, our family doctor called and put us up for six months in a trailer on his farm for $300 a month, all utilities paid. With this gift, we got ourselves on our feet and moved forward in our lives. Ten years later, we are alive and well. Those rough months at the beginning turned into a few rough years while I wallowed in sales and then banking, finally going back to school for a new career. We are comfortable now.
Everyone doesn't have Dr. Al Clark with a trailer on the back forty.
Scottie and Anne Moser are some dear friends of mine. Some of you may know Anne from her blog,
The Eighth and Final Square. They are in just that position in life where that little bump will get them over the hump and onward toward success in life.
The birth of their daughter was not covered completely by insurance and they now have $5000 in medical bills to pay. Scottie has a Flexible Spending Account that will cover at least $1000 of this bill and a maximum of $2500, should a mix-up in paperwork get ironed out.
When Scottie and Anne moved out of their apartment, they had been told that their initial months rent covered the last month of their lease. But, when it came time to move out, their landlord told them that their understanding was flawed. So, they had to pay their last months rent from already earmarked funds. Those funds were meant to cover vehicle taxes and licensing fees for 2012 as well as a car payment and the electric bill.
They do have two small credit cards but they have been used to cover other needs.
In Scott's own words, he says that an extra and immediate $500 - $1000 will get them over this hump and push them toward freedom.
And that I completely understand. Many people struggle for many years just because they don't have that extra $500. And they handle money well otherwise.
Can you help? Even a few dollars?
Thank you.
I. C.
Chip-In for Scottie and Anne Moser
