On Friday, Bill and I came to a crossroad… and are still standing there with no idea which way to turn.
With two children sick with RSV, I decided to make one stop at Walmart for my groceries, trying to save time. I knew I was spending more than I should have but I wanted to get home quickly to Bill and the kids. I was diligent in matching my prices and in using coupons. When the cashier totaled the amount, I swiped my debit card. It was denied. She told me that the machine just didn’t pick up the number. I swiped again. Denied.
I was dumb-founded (and embarrassed). I knew how much money should have been in the bank. So, I came home and checked the account. To my surprise, our mortgage payment which is automatically drafted from our account was almost DOUBLE what it normally is. I immediately put Bill on the phone with the bank and they explained to him that the cost of our wind and hail insurance had caused a huge deficit in our escrow account. The required hurricane insurance shoved our payment over our normal payment by 42%.
Bill checks the mail and says that we did not receive a notice of the payment change. In the past, when there was an escrow shortage, we have received a letter with the projected new mortgage rate so I wonder if Bill tucked it away somewhere, intending to get to it but then forgetting. Regardless, this situation caught us completely off-guard.
I have never kept our financial situation a secret from you. We are a family of six living on one teacher’s salary of $38,000 a year, paying off debts for bad choices made early in our marriage, and trying to pay medical bills where insurance failed us. However, this is new territory. This is an unknown situation for which I have no solutions.
We talked about selling our home and moving in with family. We talked about putting Lira in public school and the children in daycare so I could get a job. We talked about… being homeless.
The truth is… with this new mortgage payment, we will have less than $100 after our utilities and debt to purchase gas and groceries.
Since all of this happened on a Friday, we made a lot of phone calls but have to wait for the week to begin to get our calls returned. We are shopping for lower hurricane insurance. We are trying to re-negotiate our debt payments.
If we can get those payments lower, we will try to stay in our home but there will be even further alterations to our lifestyle. Bill has decided that putting Lira in public school is a last resort right before being homeless. So, I need to find ways to make money and save money more than ever before.
- We will be reviewing our utilities and try to find ways to reduce our water and energy usage.
- We will be giving our cats back to the SPCA.
- I will be spending more time online trying to make money through this blog.
- Bill will be seeking out conferences and band competitions where he can work as a clinician or judge.
How you can help
As a faithful friend to this blog, you can do small things that will help us, and I promise that it will cost you nothing from what you would normally do.
- If you see an advertisement that interests you, click it. When you complete offers through this blog, I get between $0.25 and $3, depending on the offer.
- If you make a purchase from Amazon.com, click through my blog. An Amazon search tool is in the sidebar. Just do a search as you normally would and when you transfer to the Amazon website, my associate number goes with you. You will pay nothing extra and can still use your Swagbucks gift cards. I will not know what you purchased, but I will receive between 4% and 8% of the purchase as a commission.
- Tell your friends about this website. The more traffic I receive, the better chance that someone will click something that makes us a little money. If you are a blogger, I would really appreciate it is you place my button in your sidebar.
- Pin my posts to your Pinterest account. Tweet the articles you enjoy. Like the items so they show on your Facebook newsfeed. This also drives up traffic which can result in more income.
I have no idea what tomorrow holds. I have no idea if any of this will work. But, I have a calm in my heart knowing that God is not shocked. He is still in control… perhaps now more than ever as we have no choice but to turn down the path that follows Him. We cannot look from side to side. We will not be looking back. We have no choice but to seek His face because there are no other answers. We have no hope outside of Him.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we havepeace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
~ Romans 5:1-5
To God be the glory.
Penny, there is hope!! A little over a year ago my husband and I put everything we had into starting a business. We already had a clientele, reputation, etc. All we needed was a doctor to sign off on insurance claims so we could get paid. We invested a little over $60K in the business. Everything we had. We pushed off buying a home, getting a second car, and even paying some bills (not a good idea) to finance our dream. Six months after we began our business the doctor walked away with not only our 60K but all our salary for all the work we had done. ALL of it!!! We had NOTHING left!! We prayed and decided on one course of action, to stick it out and find another doctor who would work with us but for significantly less of a cut than we were getting. We tried as hard as we might to keep our heads above water but nothing seemed to work. Finally we found that there was nothing left for us to do. We were being fed by our church, our bills were being paid (barely) by our church and we were about to be evicted from the home we were renting and had hopes to buy one day. Fast forward a year – God took us in a very different direction than we had ever imagined. We moved across the country to move back in with my folks till my husband found a job, he worked 3 jobs so I could stay home and continue to homeschool our two children. Finally, over a years very hard struggle, we have him working only one job (although still working over 50 hours a week) and our income has leveled out somewhat. Our income is significantly different than it was before. We were making over 100K a year and now this last years taxes showed us clearing around 30K. But we have made huge changes and our lives have improved. We’re even closing on a house in a few weeks. Keep up your faith, know that sometimes the answers you resist the most are the ones you need to do. Remember “Consider the lilies” you’ll be in my prayers tonight.
Thank you, Aimee. I appreciate your comment so much.
Bill was struck by something tonight. When he opened the refrigerator and looked at our stockpile, he said, “You know… we have enough for today. That’s all we need. Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.” That is how we are going to live this week… thankful for what we have each day and not thinking about tomorrow.
I am living a day at a time right now too. We’re going through a similar situation (for different reasons) and have been hit with a lot of things that we didn’t expect recently. I keep reminding myself that God is in control and hasn’t been caught off guard by any of this. I have what I need for today, and He will take care of tomorrow.
Oh, Jennifer… I will certainly be praying for you. We understand those unexpected expenses all too well. Another verse that really blesses me during times of financial difficulty is Psalm 37:25 which says, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.” Every time we have been surprised, God has been faithful. Every time.
May God shine His face upon you and bless you tremendously with unexpected gifts… not expenses. 🙂
Do you really have to give your cats back to the SPCA? I’m afraid that’s a death sentence 🙁 Is private school a necessity at this point, more so than food? I am not trying to be mean when I say that either. Public school is expensive with request for supplies from teachers, supplies for Home Ec, lunch, PE uniforms, yearbooks etc, that I can not imagine having to come up with tuition for private school. Out here it’s more than 1k a month. I think what your mortgage company did stinks!
We do not private school. We homeschool.
I will be praying for you all… definitely using your site to buy amazon products..in fact I have to order this week 8)
Melissa
Thank you, Melissa. Everything helps. 🙂
I don’t know what daycare cost are in your area, but I was making almost $4,000 a month and the cost of daycare was so high for us my checks were going almost entirely to daycare. We are saving money now that I am a full time stay home mom. It is stupid that costs are so high! I also started homeschooling my son who is first grade after I decided not to renew my contract when it was up. He was having so many problems in public school. He is only diagnosed with OCD, but I suspect there is more. His teachers wanted him medicated, which I refused to do.
I make a little extra money by babysitting. Times are tough, but the strong will always find a way. I pray that you will be able to keep your home and find ways to bring in a little extra.
I appreciate that encouragement, Nicole. Bill and I have wondered if God has placed us in this position for the very deliberate reason of helping others through this same situation.
Daycare would certainly take anything I made, especially since we would have three children to enroll. Plus, the idea of placing Lira in public school is just too much to even think about. They would want her medicated too and I am just not ready for that.
Thank you for your prayers. 🙂
Thank you for being so honest in sharing the struggles of your family. Please know that your family is not alone in this struggle, so many families in our country are going through similar trials.Our family has had to make similar choices in the past because our home was re-zoned into a flood zone causing a huge increase in our mortgage. It has been amazing how God has provided. I am sure that he will do the same for you & your family. You sound like such a creative person & that makes the journey so much easier. I cannot tell you how, but we were always able to find something to eat in our cupboards, though most of it wouldn’t have made our regular menu. Just think you may come up with a prize-winning recipe when you least expect it.
Repeatedly through the past few years the same verse has been given to us over & over again & the promise it holds is such an encouragment. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The chapter goes on to tell us to call upon the Lord for our needs because He is listening. Our family will be praying for you. God bless!
Oh Loni… thank you so much. I prayed that verse just last night. We know that some how this is going to turn out for good, although it does get depressing from time to time. I’m just trying to stay focused and it really does help having wonderful readers to stand by me. 🙂
Penny I am so sorry that you are going through this. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your struggles. I would certainly report this to your state Insurance Commissioner and let’s start boycotting whatever company it is that did this to you and who knows how many other families….Do they have any idea what they have done to your family???? I will be praying for you and I trust that God will provide…..
You’re so sweet, Vicki. Unfortunately, this is a problem many people are facing. It has been in the news since hurricane Katrina about how insurance companies are pushing rates higher and dropping families who live too close to the Gulf of Mexico. Never thought it would happen to us.
We had never filed a claim. Never. But our insurance company dropped our wind/hail insurance simply because we live south of Interstate 10… just 5 minutes south. That is what forced this new insurance that the mortgage company purchased on our behalf.
Thank you for your prayers.
I love how honest you are with everyone. I just started following your blog a cpl weeks ago I do believe. I absolutely loved the comment your husband made about having enough for today. I believe everything happens for a reason and I do believe when God closes a door he opens a window. Keep the faith he does amazing things. I have started teaching coupon classes in my area and I have started a couponing 4 a cause mid michigan facebook page organization too all through the Grace of God. I will post your blog on my pages as well as my couponing pages I belong too. Keeping your family in our prayers.
Bill’s comment about having enough for today has really carried me over the last couple of days. Plus, we have really been encouraged by all of the awesome readers like you and the amazing things that God is already doing. This path is uncertain for us, but God is guiding us step by step. 🙂
Many prayers are with you……God will prevail and show you the way. Make sure you check with every insurance company known as the mortgage companies often place insurance that is double or triple or even more. Do this quickly as you do not want to continue with a double mortgage payment. Ask the mortgage company exactly how much the new coverage costs per year with all coverage amounts and then start getting quotes for exactly the same type of insurance. I am almost sure you will be able to get that house payment down. If you have the money in savings, go ahead and pay for the first year upfront so that it will not be paid again for a year and that would be part of your escrow payment with your mortgage payment. Right now, the mortgage company is charging you for this years insurance and next years insurance to cover your escrow account to make that next years payment. Please email me if this didn’t make any sense. God will be with you……just keep believing!
Thank you, Mary. Very good ideas. We actually did negotiate to get the current payment stretched over 36 months and we have a call into another insurance agent to try to get a lower rate. Even though we now know we need to sell our home, we are trying to make adjustments to make the next few months survivable. 🙂