05-18-2009, 01:10 PM
Kyle, good luck man.. that really sucks.The two companies I work for have recently begun picking up more work (one is a metal fab company). Everyone's been closing up shop around us and so we went and got extra salespeople. The idea being that whatever's left of the dwindling local market is ours, even if we're stuck losing a little bit of money. It's better to lose money on a job than literally have no money circulating.. it at least offsets the paychecks and overhead. It's working for us though.. we're recovering, and seeing more money moving. Our "area" was from mid-to-lower Florida, but now we've got stuff in Alabama and Virginia. I guess our lower pricing is helping other folks too. We're taking a bit of a hit, but every now and then, we get a project that makes enough extra money to cover it.My gf on the other hand, lost her job awhile back and the dried up market has got her back in school now (medical field) She's was supposed to be getting unemployment, which should have paid the bills, but her old boss contested the claim. We're still waiting on that, she managed to network her way into another job, but there's still another 2 weeks until her first payday. Without her income, I'm paying for all kinds of stuff, that I really can't afford. Sucks with her diabetes and asthma, etc.. it's a lot of medicine, plus her daughter living with us (on our couch). I had to take the big nasty stance, stating that if she didn't have a job by the weekend, she neded to go EVERYWHERE to look for a job.. not just picking favorites. It's the same as at my work... Get SOME money moving, even in an undesirable part time job, and we can keep things together long enough for a better job to come along. I was going to take a few days off work and escort her on her job hunt. It's not cool, but it was coming to a point where I was going to stop being able to get gas in my tank, which would mean moving into my workplace, or lose my job entirely. I CAN move in there, but I couldn't bring her and her daughter. Any way you look at it, the end of the road was looming, and we had to take steps.Thankfully the landlord has been cool about taking partial payments and stuff. We also rely on Amscot a lot.. Borrow $300, then return it and borrow again immediately afterwards. Slowly we're working our way back, and with her income starting up in a couple of weeks, we'll probably be alright. It was a pretty close call though. Everything worth pawning, was pawned and lost already. It sucks, when there's no money I just wanna' hibernate. I come home from work and just want the day to end. There's just no energy anymore, and part of me is rationalizing that if I'm asleep I won't have to think about anything. Time will cure these wounds in the long run. I just eat my raman noodles for dinner, make a peanuit butter jelly sandwich for lunch, sleep, skip breakfast, go to work, come home and want sleep.I can't even imagine what happens if I lose my job. I don't think it's in immanent danger, but I don't think it's completely safe either. I was already living paycheck to paycheck before the recession started. Upon news of her new job, we splurged and went to McDonalds for the first time since November. Placed our orders, and discovered that our only bank account was in the negative again. What do you do? you know? You laugh, and tell the cashier you'll be back in like 10 minutes with the cash. Drive home in silence, and make-up some sandwiches.. play the avoidance game, and just rattle-on about how happy we are that she's working again and how it's gonna' fix everything.. Rather than admit that you're broke and angrily point fingers, claiming we're broke again because she took her daughter to get new shoes and downplayed how much they actually cost. She needed the shoes, how you gonna' say "no" to her, especially on her birthday, no less. Just gotta' hold on, brainstorm ways to get some extra money into play.. lower your expectations, and hibernate.