How much do you have to lose?
Fact: I have a yearly salary above the Pennsylvania household poverty line.
Fact: I have a house, 2 family cars, 2 kids, 3 credit cards-only one of which has a balance, and three cats.
Fact: My car has warning lights on.
Fact: Monthly copays for regularly scheduled doctors appointments a d therapy for my family are over 200 bucks alone.
Facts: I have a wiring problem in my dinning room light switch, so we no longer eat at the table otherwise we'd be eating in the dark -a broken garbage disposal that won't stop leaking -a nasty 70's carpet that needs replaced as its barley attached to the floor anymore -3 couches-none of which are comfortable or not bought/given/or acquired second hand - and another 2 wiring problems in my basement lights.
Fact: I saved a house for five years. Rent is almost twice my mortgage. Prices have raised so much for health and car insurance. But twice as much for homeowners and property taxes that my escrow was negative and I had to spend my entire Christmas bonus and then some on a mortgage payment over twice its regular amount to keep my mortgage from being too much for me to afford monthly in 2025.
Fact: I never knew how to home own.
I always thought I'd have a family that'd help me figure those things out. I also thought they'd teach me how to drive, how to cook, and how to fix things.
Fact: I can't afford shoes without holes in them, so my kids get new shoes instead. I can't afford skin care, so my child gets their inhaler instead. I can't afford a hair cut, so my children will be able to look how they want to for their school photos and go on that school field trip.
Fact: I most certainly can't afford a plumber, and electrician, or a professional carpet replacement/painter/home remodeling. Or the fine for my first speeding ticket, or my MRI bill.
Question: How is anyone doing this? How many jobs do you have to work to afford a one bedroom, and still have money for food? How many Christmas presents is enough for the people you love so much? And how many chairs being empty at your family table is too many before you just break?
Fact: All my chairs are empty. My child wants to live with their other parent instead of me now. I don't have a family to run back home to. And my shoes still have holes in them.
Question: What else do I have to lose?
//C.B.
