Oh man we're screwed :o(

[Trapper7]

I'm just writing this here because I don't really have anyone else to talk to right now, except Jeff and he's screwed with me, lol. He started his new job today (after being out of work for over 2 weeks) and he found out that they totally screwed him over. They said one thing in the interview and they said a totally different thing today while he's training! He won't get paid for 3 weeks and we only have $250 left :-( We won't be able to survive on that, we won't be able to EAT! Our internet will be shut off, so will our tv and who knows what else. I'm scared. Jeff is asking me to think of something and all I can think of is selling my very much loved sugar gliders just so we can eat. I'm so upset. Jeff just called and he's coming home, it's not going to work out there. Hopefully he'll get another job soon where they will pay him soon. This place told him today in training that if he quits before 3 months they will take back $600! WHAT KIND OF PLACE DOES THAT?!?!?!?! I gotta go, sorry for this, I'm just really upset :-(

 

[Clint]

Wow holy crap I'm sorry! Ask your mother to wire you some money.

 

[PlantAKiss]

Tell Jeff to go sign up at a temp agency. They will find you work right away. The job might suck but its better than nothing. I had to do temp work when I lost my job because of a corporate merger. Never thought that would happen to me but it did. Temping sucked...but I had A paycheck until I could find something better. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and do something you really don't wanna do.

It quite common that companies withhold pay like that. The company I work for now was bought out by larger company and that happened to us. We were informed it would be 3 weeks before we saw a paycheck. It was definitely hard.

 

[xvart]

Oh my, that totally blows. I'm truly sorry to hear that. I will second PAK's suggestion about temp agencies. They will find work for you fast. I worked a couple temp jobs back in the day and while the work sucked, it paid my bills for a summer. I actually got paid more than I had at any other hourly job I had up until that point. I worked thirty days as a temp for the federal government in an IRS mail sorting deal. I filed Form 4400's for businesses for eight hours a day, five days a week, for a month. It totally sucked, but again, whatever you have to do to put bread on the table.

Good luck, Niki.

xvart.

 

[buster1]

If you want something temporarily, all of the theme parks are looking for people for the spring break time. Well Sea World and Universal are. I'm not sure about that mouse place.

 

[Trapper7]

Thanks guys, I knew you would have some suggestions Jeff is on the phone right now trying to get an interview. We'll be ok, we always are, sometimes it's just really hard. If he gets this job he's trying to get, it is good pay but it's 45 minutes away (in Orlando) and our car is making some weird, BAD noises, so lets pray that it won't break down on us! Plus with the gas prices it's gonna be hard, but at least we'll have FOOD! Did I mention that on Saturday, I had a garage sale, I made $8! EIGHT DOLLARS!!!!! I was out there for 5 hours :-( I don't know whether to laugh or cry.....well I already cried, so I might as well laugh now Jeff says at least we have each other, I love him so much Thanks again guys! Jeff is definetly not lazy so a temp job just might have to do for now. You know things are bad when I don't put my posts in cool colors

 

[Presto]

don't sell your gliders, they're your buddies!! I know at the moment your situation seems desperate, but you'd regret it too much.

I'm in a similar boat, trying to balance student loans, paying off the repairs I had to my car, and rent. That leaves about $40 a month for food/gas/anything else. I've gotten pretty creative about saving/balancing money.

1. don't eat out. at. all. all of your meals must be prepared in your kitchen. and limit yourself to 3 meals a day...snacks are expensive.

2. buy a couple of boxes of Ramen. they're like a buck for 12 meals. Not entirely nutritious, but you won't be eating it forever. well, unless you like it.

3. bike or walk to places if possible. Or take a bus. or if you must drive, try and do as many errands in one trip as possible. gas prices are killer.

4. if you're renting, explain your situation to your landlord. maybe they'll let you give them the check a little late.

5. okay, so you lose your TV and internet for a little while. You will survive. go to the library, borrow a few videos for free, and use their internet for free. borrow a few books, too. Take up a craft, or teach your dog some new tricks. There are plenty of other ways to stay entertained.

6. do some odd jobs around your neighborhood. You're good with animals, why not put up a flyer for petsitting/dog walking? I housesit for people every now and then. I just stay at their house, take the mail in, take care of the pets, and make sure everything stays safe and no emergencies go unnoticed. I get a few extra bucks, they have peace of mind while they go on vacation and pay less than they would for a kennel. Everyone wins.

7. I don't like to put things on my credit card, but when I had my car fixed I had no choice. I'm glad I did, it made an impossible situation much more manageable. This is just the sort of emergency situation that credit cards are supposed to be used for.

Just try and keep things in perspective. This isn't forever. You will eat..not very well, but you will not starve. You still have a place to live. You still have each other and your pets.

 

[Trapper7]

Presto, you are very sweet and smart We have already stopped eating out for a long time now and yes it has saved money. When I told Jeff that I was THINKING of selling the gliders, he just looked at me and said I can't believe you even said that. He said he wouldn't let me do that. I wasn't being rational, I was just trying to think of ANYTHING! Ok, so the good news now! Jeff starts his new job on Wednesday! They hired him over the phone (pretty much). He has an interview with them tomorrow. This is the job with great pay but it's an hour away. I will barely see him but at least we will not starve I would get a job, but I don't have a working visa (yet). I thought about dog walking/sitting and hopefully I would get cash instead of a check. There are no buses here so I can't get around anywhere unless Jeff is here. I would have to walk if I got a job dog sitting/walking. Ok so things are back to being ok now. He will get paid weekly here and they will only hold back his first check for a week, so we'll have money in about 2 weeks, which is way better than three! Thanks again!

 

[Presto]

phew! good to hear! see? it always works out. good luck to Jeff at his new job!

 

[Trapper7]

Thanks a lot Presto

 

[moonflower]

ahhh ramen... i once heard it referred to as Purina Student Chow, about the most accurate description i've heard yet. i'm a broke college student at the moment, who will be a more broke vet student in the near future, and then a MORE broke vet some time after that, so i definitely feel some of your pain

i'm glad everything is starting to work out now though! if you want, i can send along my grandmother's chicken soup recipe... she grew up during the Depression and raised three kids in tough economic times so she's excellent at stretching a buck in meals (and as much as i adore ramen, chicken soup is far better for you!). it's VERY tasty, has only got a handful of pretty inexpensive ingredients and the recipe makes a big pot; i make it all the time here at school to save myself from OD-ing on sodium let me know if you'd like it!

 

[FarmerDave]

I love ramen!!!!

I'm sorry Trapper :-(
I hope that it all works out well for you.
And as Presto said: "don't sell your gliders, they're your buddies!! I know at the moment your situation seems desperate, but you'd regret it too much"
It's soooooo true

 

[xvart]

phew! good to hear! see? it always works out.

Things turn out best for those who make the best out of the way things turn out.

6. do some odd jobs around your neighborhood. You're good with animals, why not put up a flyer for petsitting/dog walking? I housesit for people every now and then. I just stay at their house, take the mail in, take care of the pets, and make sure everything stays safe and no emergencies go unnoticed. I get a few extra bucks, they have peace of mind while they go on vacation and pay less than they would for a kennel. Everyone wins.

Presto had some great advice here. You could even try mowing lawns for real cheap to get a couple extra cash money.

Congrats to Jeff and his new job. What is he going to be doing?

xvart.

 

[bugfreak]

i guess that the job holding the pay was not worth it in the long run, huh? if so i may have suggested taking out a loan if the pay was going to be excellent. i'm glad things are looking up for you guys. i don't have a babysitter next week if you want to babysit my 1 and a half year old.

well, good luck to you guys. i guess this is your first little hurdle as a married couple, huh?

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Man you guys are just making me increaslingly scared, tense and nervouse of the going off to college, and real life...

Glad things turned out ok though!

 

[joossa]

Sorry to hear about your hardship Niki! Don’t worry too much and don’t sell your gliders! Everything has periods of ups and downs, and this will be over before you know it!

One other tip: Try shopping at your local 99cents store. The ones here in California stock everything from fruit to laundry detergent.

I wish you and Jeff the best of luck!

 

[xvart]

Man you guys are just making me increaslingly scared, tense and nervouse of the going off to college, and real life...

Going off to college is no sweat compared to the real world. As a college administrator I can tell you that every university has tons of resources for any type of problem or anxiety you may have. You just have to utilize these resources. You'll do fine.

xvart.

 

[vft guy in SJ]

Dont forget the old standbys, Beans and Rice. Sounds cliche, but I have survived on that for weeks on end in the past. If its good enough for 7/8 of the worlds population, its good enough for us too.

Make homemade pasta. A bag of flour, an egg, and a little elbow grease and you have fresh pasta. Takes minutes to cook and it tastes great.

Try your hand at homemade tortillas.. flour, shortning, water and a rolling pin.. instant food strecher, serve with the beans and rice.. very tasty.

Go to the canned food stores, check out the local churches for low income food places. Most cities have some kind of food bank set up where you can get a whole box of grub for free.

Trust me.. food is the LAST thing that you should ever have to go without here in America.

Good luck
Steve

 

[Trapper7]

Thanks again everyone Moonflower, I would love to have your Grandmothers chicken soup recipe! Jeff would never let me sell the gliders, THANK GOODNESS cause I really didn't want to! So we're off to the interview soon, hopefully they'll get him to start this week

Thanks again for the support

 

[Trapper7]

Still no word on the job, we're getting a little edgy now :-( They have to do a background check on Jeff, which is fine cause he's not a criminal or anything, it's just taking longer than we thought. Kinda stressed out here