Melissa from Baltimore
I am a 30-year-old single mom and until recently, I have been able to support myself and my 10-year-old son to some degree. This current economic system makes it impossible for me to pay rent, let alone feed my kid. I hate not being able to support him and because the system is in my pocket telling me that I should be able to make it even though I have ONE income, which is not much, to pay for school for myself, pay rent, pay my ridiculously high BGE bill and still be able to do things for my kid so that he does not have to sit at home watching TV all day. I am at my wits end and I honestly do not know if I will ever get out of this funk. I know how to do it, but unless I can get a free check for two months I will continue to struggle.
Soon To Be Hungry from Jacksonville, Fla.
I am a single mother of four elementary school-aged children. Although life gets hard from time to time, I have always managed to give my kids what they need. But now I find myself constantly telling my kids what they can't have. I no longer have extra money for field trips. I can't afford to purchase winter coats for my children. I don't know what or how we will eat from month to month. I have cut back to the bare necessities, which is rent, lights, water, life insurance, daycare, car insurance, and my car note, and there's barely $100.00 left for food. I am scared to think of what will happen if the economy continues like this...
Just Me from Greenville, S.C.
Wow! I read these stories and it seems as if none of them are local to the upstate. Well, I am 34 years old and I have a pre-teen daughter. I chose to be a single mother, because I didn't want my daughther growing up with a dad that had no stability. Do I get child support? NO. Do I get government assistance? NO. Do I have a college degree? YES. Do I have a good job? YES. We live in a nice complex and I drive a nice car; however, with the economy going to crap, I am actually struggling for the first time in my life. We don't have food in our house because I have to make sure we have a roof over our heads! It is sad the only good meal my daughter gets is from school. I am now having to make the decision to keep her health insurance or cancel it due to the cost. Sad to know that I work 40 hours a week, live in a nice house, drive a fairly decent car and take great care of my child; however, my state government would rather pay insurance on someone that sits at home and doesn't work, allows them foodstamps to keep their cabinets full and other wonderful benefits!!! What is wrong with this picture??? I work hard to pay for these peoples' assistance, but yet I am the one having to pay for my daughter's insurance and we have NO FOOD in our house. Go figure!!!!
Laticia from Rochester, N.Y.
Im a 30-year-old single mother of two boys, 15 years old and 9 years old. Although I had my children young, I graduated high school and did one year of college. I was out of my mom's house at 17with my boys' father, who chose to walk completely out of our lives when the youngest was 6 months old. Due to lack of financial stability, I've had to struggle to pay bills while receiving $3.55 a month for child support (yes $3.55). I never reached out for help before, I just managed, until I lost my job in February. Now I'm homeless, staying with a friend to avoid going to a shelter. My boys are struggling to cope. It's hard living with someone and their five kids. Everywhere I go to receive assistance, I'm turned away because my credit is shotty. How can I fix my credit if I can't pay my living expenses? I really want to further my education. I have goals and would like to be able to support my family. It's hard when you're all alone. ... I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. If it wasn't for my boys I would have given up a long time ago.
Suzy from Hollywood, Fla.
I am a single mother of three -- my oldest is five and youngest is only three months. My soon-to-be ex-husband was a drug addict with anger problems who I refused to raise my children with. Now I struggle everyday, as he doesn't help me one dime. Child support, ha, it's all a joke. I get assistance, but it's only so much. I have so many bills to pay and clothes to buy with my income and my car needs to be serviced but I have no money. It gets so overwhelming, but I look to my children to get me through it, and pray everyday it gets better soon!
Laura from Pea Ridge, Ark.
I am a single mother of a teenager, not by choice. My daughter and I were left to struggle in uncertain times. My soon-to-be ex-husband decided he no longer wished to be a family and walked out, completely. I have received no assistance and our legal system has been less than helpful while we have struggled to make ends meet. With the help of credit cards I was able to keep my house out of foreclosure, for now. I was forced to trade in my vehicle for a more economical, cheaper version. The small luxuries we once did enjoy are now no more. We pray that one day things will at least be somewhat back to normal.
Amy from Indianapolis
You can't even afford to live anymore. I'm a single parent, working 30 hours a week. It takes me 40 min each way to work. I've been looking for a job closer but can't find any. I can barely get to work and back because of high gas prices. I lost my job last year and now I have a $900 gas bill and no heat, no stove to cook on. I'm just now getting back on my feet after my job loss and it's hard. I couldn't get no help when I lost my job. I got a junky car and just pray I make it back and forth to work every day.
Stephanie from Indianapolis
I am a single mom of three. Times became so hard for my husband after he got laid off that he just checked out of the family. I am saddend because it wasn't supposed to be like this. Feeding three kids, putting gas in the car, and trying to keep our heads above water is taking its toll on me. I can't even afford to get my medicine any more. All of our clothes shopping is done at the Goodwill now. I'm not complaining, but it seems like I'm drowning and no one is throwing me a life jacket. I get sick of watching all of these politicians on TV who are probably making 6-9 times my salary. Forget sending all of these funds to help other countries ... my kids and I are right here. Where is our help????
Nicole from Indianapolis
I am a single parent of two children, ages 4 and 2 1/2. I work full-time and attend school full-time as well. It has been very hard for me to keep my freezer and refrigerator full so that my children and I can eat. I have hardly provided for my family since the economy took a turn for the worse. I have to rely on the childcare my children attend to feed my children, as I don't make much money. I tried to apply for assistance to be able to provide food for my household, and was turned away because of my gross monthly income, which I think it's unfair how the system works against people who are trying to make a living for their family versus the ones who don't attempt to try for a part-time job even, nor further their education. It has been very stressful for me, but I know God will see all of us through.
Tracie from Traverse City, Mich.
I am recently a single parent, as my husband of 14 years decided to leave for a young girl. Two days later, he lost his job due to indefinite lay offs. I have been a home mom for my two children of which my youngest has autism. I have not worked in nine years and now I have to put money before their needs. I can't find a job, I am on welfare for the first time in my life, my home is for sale and may go into forclosure and I feel completely helpless and abandoned.
Brenda from North Carolina
I'm a single mom of two, struggling to make ends meet. I'm working two jobs and still find it difficult to make ends meet. I went through a divorce a few years back and had bounced back until our economy took a nose dive for the worse. Working in the building industry, I've watched my paycheck dwindle down approximately 50 percent. My prayer is that this economy turns around quickly. Single parents, keep pushing and praying for the best.
Kristen from Atlanta
I am a 22-year-old single mom. I live in a city about 45 minutes south of Atlanta and work in North Atlanta. I commute everyday to work. With the gas prices the way they are, I go to work 30 minutes early and stay on my lunch break and leave 30 minutes after normal hours just so I can make two extra hours a day on overtime to pay for gas. I have a one-and-a-half-year-old little boy and my mom lives down in Florida, so I have no help, and I have never received child support. It is an ongoing battle between me and this chaotic world we are living in. I am stuggling everyday just to live another day. I hate that I can't provide more for my son, who is the most prefect little boy anyone could ever ask for. I thank God everyday for him and I feel blessed that he is here to get me through the day. Hoping soon that our society will come together and help one another...
Yolanda from Canton, Miss.
My story might not be as sad as others, but nevertheless it's sad. I am a single parent of three. This economy has really taken a toll on me. I can't keep food in the house because there's no money to replenish it as it depletes. My job hasn't given a cost of living raise. When it was hard to make ends meet previously, it's a constant struggle to get back to a struggling point. When I was struggling, I could make ends meet, I just didn't have much left. Now, I'm not making ends meet and have nothing left.
The bailout should have been for the people. We could then afford to buy the overpriced groceries and gas. The businessess would benefit because the people could afford to make purchases. Everybody could survive.
Junebug from Winter Springs, Florida
I'm a single mother of 2 girls. I've never gotten child support but was finally able to purchase a house at the height of the housing bubble 3 years ago. I was doing nicely and getting my girls plenty of extras until the last 6 months or so. I work for a Sheriff's Office here and Florida Residents approved a sweeping property tax ammendment that left local governments short because there was already housing trouble. I lost all overtime and with increased gas and food cost I'm now barely able to make the bills If my parents didn't help with food I don't know where that would come from. I don't have any luxuries, no cable or internet. Only a cell phone (but no home phone) for myself and my daughter. I've never had credit cards. I didn't want the temptation. I don't know how much I can outlast this economy. I pray there is some relief in the near future.
Jenny from Honolulu
Aloha. I'm a single mom of 2 young boys Ages 4 and 5. There is a constant struggle each month financially due to the sluggish economy. To make matters worse I work for the financial industry in a company which is a subsidiary of AIG. Just this past month before the announcement of AIG's struggle I thought to myself that I needed to get a better paying job. I make just under $34,000 a year. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment which costs me $1,200/month with utilities. My 4 year old still attends preschool and his tuition is $725/month. I have $400 to live off of each month. It's hard with the rising gas prices and groceries there is never any savings. The hardest part of all is that I am just above the threshold for many federal programs (Welfare, Food Stamps, Medicare, Section 8). It is very hard being a single parent in America. I struggle living out here in Hawaii (it is not paradise - unless you are financially independant). I sincerely hope the government takes a look at our dire situation and makes the necessary changes to help people like me who are working hard to support a family. I know my story is a very common one. What keeps me going everyday is my children. The hope that our country will recover from this financial mess and be stronger than ever is what I cling to each day. I plan to continue my work in the financial industry with the hope that I will be able to help others like myself become financially independent and have enough money to retire with.
Egcako from Elk Grove, Calif.
I am a single dad of two teenagers, working two jobs. Last spring I lost my $80K job, so I contacted my mortgage company. I was told I needed to bring the account current and then they could talk to me about help. I borrowed money from my siblings and paid the mortgage and penalties. The second month I was unemployed I called again, they said the same thing. This time I received money from my church and again the mortgage and penalties where taken care of. The third month, I told them I had secured a job, but I took a drastic cut in pay and would like assistance. The company deferred that month’s payment. I asked why not more help -- the reply: "You're not at least three months behind, if you were we would have deferred six months." Three months later I got a personal loan to try to consolidate loans, it worked for about four months. Then in the spring of this year my credit card increased my interest to over 24 percent even though I had good credit (greaterer than 700 FICA) and always paid before the due date. That broke the bank. I call HSBC –- no help for three months. I tried not paying unsecured loans and saving in case I could save the house. I went to Governor Schwarzenegger's home assistance program where my mortgage company was represented. I was pre-approved for six months at an agreeable monthly payment. But, after a week I called and was told I would have to make one payment before they could discuss anything with me. Frustrated, I finally was able to get a representative to tell me if they approved me, I was told “no” but the monthly payment was changed to $100 less than the current payment. Since, I have called every month trying to get a better rate and hope they will work with me. The last conversation I was told, "pay the attorney fees and penalties and we can discuss possible arrangements." I am in the last 90 days of foreclosure, will be filing Bankruptcy Chapter 7 in October 2008, found a rental barely, and PG&E wants $200 down. I am still in my house (for now), but will be moving in October.
Tiff from Raleigh, N.C.
I am a single mother of one that lives with me full-time. I get no child support because his father is trying to get disability and has no job. I have a decent job and a college degree. The gas prices have hit us hard. We use to be able to go out to eat at least once a week without worries, but now we hardly go out once a month. I am paying my bills, but how long will that last once we get our heating bills this winter? It is so unfair that the middle class and poor have to worry about this all the time just because the oil industry is so greedy right now.
Dina from Kansas City
I am a single mom with a respectable income, a modest home, and an old car. I have no debt other than medical bills, which I pay as I can. I am barely making it from week to week. I make way too much to get any assistance, but not enough to pay my bills. I have no hope of making any more money than I currently do in this economy. I could cut back on something, I am told, but what would that be? There are no luxuries left for me to give up. This is America -- what happened to the dream?
Heidi from Forestville, Conn.
I am a divorced mom with three teenagers living on one salary. I work at an insurance company that will be celebrating it's 200th anniversary in another year and a half. All this time I thought I was the only one barely making it to the next paycheck with no savings. We are living dangerously. However, I have no credit cards and rent a home. I live within my means. I remember in 1987 when I purchased my home we could not go beyond 30 percent of our income to pay for the mortgage. I live within my means and control my spending habits and so should everyone else. It is not just the fault of the banks, it is also the folks that signed on the dotted line stating they could pay their mortgages. Why should I and my three kids bail anyone out when it I know how to financially balance my check book? I have no credit cards for a reason -- so I won't have to go to any one else to pay my bills. Since the U.S. government is bailing out homeowners, can they pay my rent for me, too?
Pat from Bakersfield, Calif.
I am a single mother of two girls and I am living off of my retirement disability. I also just finished college with my associate teaching certificate and now I am looking for a job making more money than I currently receive, which is being garnished $198.00 per month. Trying to feed my girls has become difficult because they need to eat healthy because they play volleyball. I am trying to feed them healthy meals, conserve on the gas and electric, and also conserve on gas to their games. We also have two little cockapoo's that we are trying to feed dog food every day. It's a struggle and this winter we have so many no burn days I can hardly use my fireplace to keep us warm. I guess we'll have to use the dogs! :(
Melanie from Omaha, Neb.
I am a single mother of two teenaged boys. And let me tell you how much atheletic, energized teens really eat ... I can barely keep up. I get no child support, as their father has lost his job and is homeless. I have always worked. I have worked for the same state agencie for 25 years. We only get a cost of living raise once a year, and this year's raise sucked. We got 1 percent. Can you believe that -- 1 percet? And all the higher ups got thousands for their raises and bonuses on top of that! My utility bills have increased, the cost of food and gas is out of hand. I am barely making it paycheck to paycheck. My oldest boy has asthma and allergies and sometimes I can't afford his medicine. He has a junkie car that I make him pay his own insurance on because I can't afford it, he also pays his cell phone bill. Thank God my dad put me on his plan last year and he covers that for me. Sometimes I can't sleep just wondering what life will be like for me in a few years. The only way my children will be able to go to college will be to get scholarships because I can't help them. I do feel fortunate, though, because I still have a roof and food to eat. My boys have a lot of friends and I willingly feed them all, because I know their parents are struggling like me, but I don't know how much longer I can do this. Can someone please tell me how we survive like this?
Mindy from Kansas City
I am a single mother who is trying to get child support. I live paycheck to paycheck with a 10 year old, and when I made a complaint about the child support office not really enforcing the court order, I had a worker call me at my place of work and scream at me. All I can say is apparently that person is feeling the crunch on his wallet, too. I watch what I spend, but after paying any kind of bills I still have to bounce a check to get by until the next pay period. I just hope that the price of gas and food can at least go down. Or at least with everyone's credit being affected they can re-evaluate the credit scores. Because now the way things are the ones with bad credit have good credit now, or should.
Makena from Kansas City
This struggling economy has affected me in the worst of ways. I am a single parent of one child, and every day we fight just to see the next day. I am a working parent but I still don't make enough to make ends meet. Utilities get shut off. We run out of gas just trying to get my daughter to school. It is truly a struggle. Then Bush wants to bail out businesses by giving them $700 billion. I think that is the wrong answer. He can give another economic stimulus so we can pay our bills. Or what about giving that $700 billion to these community action agencies that assist with light bills, gas bills, and rent and mortgage? Every time you call them for asssitance they say they are out of funds. Or how about the first economic stimulus should have been at least $2,000 per household. The average struggling household in America had $1,000 worth of past due bills and needed another $100 to get ahead. This is a cycle as long as times are hard and getting harder for us. Wall Street and other financial/stock firms will suffer. Real estate especially. They rely on the people to pay bills and solicit them. We don't have money to pay bills so they can't get what we owe. That is the story for so many Americans. That is why companies are going bankrupt. Once we are rewarded we can reward the many companies that are needed for us to survive. What did they really think $300 per head of household was going to do for the economy. That $300 only kept the gas on for another two months. It's sad but true.
Thomas from Des Moines, Iowa
This economy has really struck my daughter and I really hard. I work for a biodiesel company and the price for oil has caused some major problems for us. I am a single father with my daughter living with me. My hours have been cut at work and I was laid off for a little while. I managed to get back to work, but that time of being laid off really hurt us. I have been behind in bills for months and I just had my car repossessed, not too long ago. I am barely hanging on. I just live day-by-day and hope for a miracle. I don't think that will happen soon. I have had troubles with money and backed up bills for a year now. I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope there is a miracle for us. I pray to God every day in hopes he will end this nightmare. The way it looks, there is no end in sight yet. I can't hang on much longer. If there is help out there, please let me know where.
Karen from Clarkston, Mich.
As a single mother of one still at home, I am finding that we stay home nine times out of 10. I make sure all trips are a necessity and when we make those trips, we gather what we need at this store, or make sure that appointment is scheduled around when we do have other appointments.
I don't know how some families survived. We have cut down all we can out of the budget. We don't do any entertainment activities out there, so we have television and the computer to occupy us. It seems like this country is getting back to good old fashioned methods of entertainment, which is OK by me. But the food issues and gasoline issues are what occupy my thoughts for those less fortunate. Gone are the days of luxury and waste.
I get after my daughter for holding the fridge open long and for unnecessary use of electricity. Don't know what we are going do this winter. I'm already looking into alternative methods for heat and we will be using mega blankets and wearing lots of layers in this household. It would probably be warmer to sleep outside! (laugh)
A from Baltimore City, Md.
The economy has truly affected the best of us. I am a single mother of 4 and I make decent money, but I now have to make choices like feed the car or pay BGE. My food supply is barely existing; I depend on the daycare provider to feed my kids before I pick them up, and I barely eat myself. Social Services said I make to much. WIC says I make to much. the lunch application says I make too much, but I can't survive buying food for the house, milk and pampers for the baby and paying for lunch everyday along with all the everyday bills -- mortage, BGE, car payment, phone, etc. I don't make enough and can't get any help.
Amanda from Deland, Fla.
I am 23 years old and a single mother of 2 boys. I am always wondering if I am going to come home and there is no power or water. My 5-year-old will ask me what is for dinner, and sometimes I have to say I am not sure; we will find something, or I have to take them to someone's house to eat. I've tried to get state help and I am told I make too much money. I don't know about everyone else, but when you make just over minimume wage and you get paid biweekly and you pay $800 a month for a place to live, there is no way you can make to much money!!! I always hear of ways for the rich to make it better.
Kim from Sacramento, Calif.
I see so many negatives out there, I'll share a positive. I am a single mom of three children and work full time. I have never been able to provide much for my children since I pay child support for two of them. However, the economy turned at the right time for me. I was able at 34 to finally buy my first home. By myself, no help, conventional loan. I purchased at a 1/3 of the value it was sold at 3 years ago. Even with the gas and food prices going up, I have started building a future for myself and my children. I have retirement funds and yes, live day to day with a tough budget, but feel that if this is the worst it gets for me, there is a positive future.