Let\u2019s talk about poverty.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mean the kind you\u2019re talking about when your friends invite you to go shopping or for a night out and you say, \u201cNo, I can\u2019t. I\u2019m poor right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mean the situation when you\u2019d like to get a nicer car but decide you should just stick to the one you have because you don\u2019t have a few thousand for a down payment.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mean the scene at the grocery store when you decide to get ground beef instead of steak.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m talking about when you have already done the weird mismatched meals from your pantry that are made up of cooked rice, stale crackers, and a can of peaches, and you\u2019ve moved on to wondering what on earth you\u2019re going to feed your kids.<\/p>\n
Or when you get an eviction notice for non-payment of rent, a shut-off notice for your utilities, and a repo notice for your car and there\u2019s absolutely nothing you can do about any of those notices because there IS NO MONEY.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve never been this level of broke, I\u2019m very glad.<\/p>\n
I have<\/em> been this broke. I know that it is soul-destroying when no matter how hard you work, how many part time\u00a0jobs you squeeze in, and how much you cut, you simply don\u2019t make enough money to survive in the world today. Being part of the working poor<\/a> is incredibly frustrating and discouraging<\/p>\n It is a sickening feeling when you\u2019re just barely hanging in there and suddenly, an unexpected expense crops up and decimates your tight budget. Maybe your child gets sick and needs a trip to the doctor and some medicine. Perhaps a family member is involved in an accident and can\u2019t work for a few weeks. It could be that your car breaks down and you need it to get back and forth to work because you live too far out in the country for public transit.<\/p>\n As our economy continues to crumble, these are the situations going on in more homes across the country every single day. It\u2019s simple to believe that the people suffering like this are just lazy, or not trying, or are spending frivolously. No one wants to think that these things can occur through no fault of the individual. \u00a0Why? Because that means these things could also happen to them.<\/p>\n