wow jcluvme40 thats awful i hope 2008 is a better year for you

jcluvme40, I hope your better days will come soon and then you'll just look back on what happened. During tough times thats when you will know who and what to keep! When you give up that's the only time that you fail! So even if its hard just keep on going girl!

thanks ladies. i am looking forward to a better year in 2008.

jcluvme40 this is horribly hard I am sure. But you seem to really make it work slowly, but it does seem to work. You are an awesome fighter and you'll make it, I am sure about this. When other people just give up, the strong ones get up from the dirt, and keep on walking towards the destination. I am humble when I see such strong characters.

I am sure 2008 will be a good year for you, because you have the strenght to make it a good one.

On the other hand I'd slap the bastard who left you in all this mess, pitiful coward.

I plan to lease a car in few months and that would put me in a 17-20 thousand USD for 5 years. I want a new car and I am ready to pay 300 USD/month since now I can afford this. It's gonna be pretty stressful, but I think I'll manage it ...

my parents just found out how bad things have been for me, and were completely shocked about it all. for the first time in my life my father admitted to being proud of me for something. he's got friends who's children still run to them for financial help every month, yet i took my faults as my own and dealt with things as best as i could without asking for anything from family or friends, and i didn't complain about it to anyone either. this totally changed how he felt and thought of me, and it strangly also pulled us closer together. on the other hand he was upset because he felt that i'm in over my head and i should have gone to them for assistance.

my point to him was that i need to be able to take care of myself. if i can't take care of things now then how will i be able to manage when they are gone from life. not the best thought, but it worked to keep me pushing forward.

Yeah, it's always a good thing to manage your problems on your own. I also do this and my folks are proud and also a bit mad at me since they consider that they, as parents, should help me.

I do try to solve my own problems and only then (after they are solved) mention this... sometimes they did find out from other sources that I had issues and they were displeased to see I didn't run for help. I really don't want to burden them with my problems and try to help them as much as I can, even if I am the kid in the family.

I am so glad your father is proud. He should be. You have the strength to fight your own battles and you will make it. The though of them passing away is a sad one, but it does happen. And when they will be gone (let's hope this will come in many many tens of years) you will have the power to manage your life. That's just great.

Whan my grandpa passed away my entire family was in dire straits. I was 25 I think, I had a very low paying job and he was the main provider. The others in my family were shocked and feared even more poverty.

That was the moment I took my family's problems into my hands and promised them we will never suffer from money problems ever again. I started working more, got a second job in few months, then I got a job that was paying as the 2 previous ones together. almost 1 year ago I started my own design firm and I am working like crazy so that we can afford more things each day. I do earn quite well now and am able to support my family as much as I can. They also earn, but not as much as I do.

Now I can offer them the certainty that we won't be hungry and that we can do many things too. As I mentioned I am preparing to get a leased car too and for the first time in my life I am able to keep such a lease and not affect our lifestyle either.

We are in debt up to our eyeballs also. We are living month by month in out house because we can't pay the mortgage and they keep extending the foreclosure. Which is good however they won't tell us what we need to pay monthly and when the first payment is due. My name is no where on the mortgage or I would call them myself and get the info. The house was my late mother-in-laws house and my hubby had to get a mortgage to pay his brother his share of it.

So sad to hear this. It's hard living in such conditions. Let's hope that in the future there will be a chance for a better life to you