Every year, our family has always done something charitable, for example donating food. Then, the past few years, for the first time, we fell on hard times.
I’ve always been very careful with my money, but sometimes circumstances beyond your control happen.
The worst period was this past summer when, for a few weeks, I had less than $1. I’m serious.
When you have no money and a family to feed, you’d be amazed by what you can make with whatever’s in your cupboard, even just flour and water.
Once the cupboard is empty, you’d be amazed at what you can sell, even junk around the house, for some quick cash.
Even though other people would’ve happily helped us, if they’d known, I didn’t want to ask for help. At one point, my sons and I were in a store, with a few dollars, trying to figure out what to buy that we could stretch out. A sweet lady (who happened to be black, a detail I add just because of some of the stuff people write on this forum) must’ve realized what was going on and tried to hand me a $20 bill. I thanked her very much but refused to take it. She looked angry at me, but I knew we were just going through a tough period.
Eventually, everything did work out. But, now I have no trouble believing there must be some very poor people, with very little food to eat, in this country.
Oh, the people who know how to game the system are doing fine, in some cases better than the rest of us.
I’m thinking more of the disabled and/or elderly and/or ill people who might’ve fallen on hard times.
Hardest time for me was going from a weekly paid job to a monthly paid job. I like the Biblical, pay at the end of the day rule. Electronically they could do it.
But choice, having left all, i lived in a church doing ministry full time w/ no pay, and sometimes we had no food but salt and pepper, but God would provide something. A casserole would be dumped into a lot of potatoes we bought cheap, to make it streacth. Baked our own bread, one packet of yet to 10 loaves. Praise God He was with us and brought us thru. But i still try to be very careful about spending money.