your lowest ebb

as there's not really a general subsection, i thought i'd post it here, just wondering what people lowest ebb in their financial life was, this came about after a discussion at work, your lowest and how you overcome it to where you are now, maybe it'll give hope to others in the same position......mine's as follows...

around 12-13years ago we got behind with rent & and council tax (or whatever it was back then) due to job loss and not much money, we ended up being evicted and sleeping in our car (an old ford sierra) or stuff was stored in a relatives garage, our kids were staying with my parents, we slept in the car for 2 weeks until my cousin finally heard and gave us a room for a few month. when i went to sign on one week they asked if i would be willing to work for 2weeks for dole money,with possibility of a job after if all worked out, anyway long story shortish, job was with an oil and gas company, got job, finally got council house, and few years later promotion and we bought our 1st house, still in oil and gas, good job, good pay & good company to work for.now owning a further home and no other debt. it was a hard few years to get back on track thats for sure, it makes you really apreciate what you have and that life can deal some cruel blows. for all those feeling down about finances..you'll get there in the end, just keep positive. good luck
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  • What an amazing and inspiring story, thank you for posting it.

    My story is not nearly so dramatic, but can remember a time when my husband left me suddenly and refused to give me any money towards looking after our children, and our house (i didn't work at the time) that I used to go without anything to eat for days, just so we had just about enough to eat for my children. I remember my youngest had a birthday during that time (he was two) and I had to go to Charity shops to buy a few toys for him, i wrapped them in in bits of A4 paper stuck together with sellotape (very MSE). I still feel very guilty about this even now! Even though he has no recollection of it. My lovely parents, grandparents and neighbours helped me out with Food and meals, and I will always remember their generosity. It is at times like that, that your friends and families show their true colours, bless them.

    Congratulations on your very successful outcome, and for being debt free, what an achievement.

    Dolly x
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  • nat21luv
    nat21luv Posts: 3,434
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    Similar to you Dolly, I lived in a flat with my young son and everything was going well. Then I lost my job. Had no money, couldnt pay the rent as the council took ages to sort out HB and ended up selling my car, possessions(until the internet was disconnected) and eventually evicted. I found a horrible damp flat and moved in over winter. Debts spiralled from the last flat(gas/water ect) and I became very depressed. I lost all my friends and couldnt work as my son was only 4 and felt very isolated. Had no family near, no phone to ring them and I spent many a night alone(once my son had gone to his dads) sat in the cold and dark once the electric ran out. I remember picking mould off bread and toasting it just so my boy could have dry toast for breakfast on his first day of school. That day I went straight down town and got job as a waitress working days and the first thing I bought?!...bread! Horrible time in my life I never wish to repeat. Now though I have a beautiful home with my 2 children and fabulous fiance who works so hard to look after us. Onwards and upwards I say!
    £20k in 2023 = £2718 £2023 in 2023 = £196.41 Grocery challenge £250= £195.80 **MONEY MAKES ME HAPPY**
  • my lowest ebb

    was acually about 2 weeks ago being made redundant getting screwed by the banks ect having no money no job and having to wait almost 3 weeks for JSA i had run out of power in the flat (i managed to pay the rent as i was always taught no matter what always have a roof over your head)

    so having no food and i mean nothing..it was all gone..except packets of cup a soups..so i had to use the water from the tap and one of these packets as survival kind of..i managed to make a small holder from some wire i had in the flat and some candles i was useing for light i made a make shift type cooker for cooking pasta so that i could have something else with these packets of dried soup...not that it was cooked very well was very gross acually BUT it was food

    i managed to scrape some cash and get some power and it was then someone on here told me about food charites....and by god ive never eaten so much after i got that..i lost about a stone in weight so thats an upside i guess..but its well and truley put back on now :P

    it was this experiance that made me see what a mess my life was in..and i am now very firmly on the road to sorting this out...i never want to experiance that again or wish it on anyone
  • Watalie
    Watalie Posts: 535 Forumite
    After my ex husband left.... I'd no place to go and no idea how to cope on my own. He left me with a lot of debt and reduced my self-confidence to nothing. I tried to end it all and failed, which in itself brought about depression and lots of other dark times.

    Luckily I had my sister & close friends (family in Ireland) who I stayed with while I found someplace to live and try to fix myself.

    That was 7 and a bit years ago. I'm now almost Debt Free and my new fiance an I are finally saving for our own home.

    My story isn't as dramatic as some of you guys but it was the darkest period of my life and I've worked hard to leave it behind.
  • geoffky
    geoffky Posts: 6,835 Forumite
    Getting my house repoed in the 80s crash after losing my job and many other jobs in the 80s then living rough in Portsmouth after getting a job down there 300 miles away from home and not having a single penny to my name..things started to turn the corner and i landed a good job overseas and while working there decided to return home to start my own business, well it took off and we made a lot of money and a company bought me out for a large sum of money enabling me to retire at 40..during this time the repo reared it head after ten years as i was back on my feet and oh boy they wanted paying. We do not have money worries now a have just bought a lovely 4 bed det house but i will never forget the time i was at rock bottom and walked the streets broke in mind and spirit, life is hard but you will over your lifetime have a chance at succeeding,,take it with both hands..
    It is nice to see the value of your house going up'' Why ?
    Unless you are planning to sell up and not live anywhere, I can;t see the advantage.
    If you are planning to upsize the new house will cost more.
    If you are planning to downsize your new house will cost more than it should
    If you are trying to buy your first house its almost impossible.
  • When I was 18 I left home, very unhappy with my parents, to move in with my then boyfriend - now husband. The flat was damp with a bit of mold and not in the best of areas. My job was miserable I was a junior typist/receptionist and made to feel the lowest member of staff, left out of conversations etc. I was depressed and my partner worked long hours and I was lonely. Both young and on low incomes, partner had debt even then and remember nearly a year of not enough to eat and going round the supermarket with a calculator and £20. By the end of each week all that was left in the cupboard was salt and pepper and we didn't eat properly. I got glandular fever in the end and it was horrible as we couldn't afford to go out and my entertainment was housework!Now we have a small 3 bed detached house in a nice area and about 50% equity in it, a reliable car, an old but clean caravan and while very little saved we have no debt but the mortgage. Looking back we've come so far...
    Every day is a new life to a wise man.
    Sufficient for the day are it's own worries.:cool::cool:
  • brenda10
    brenda10 Posts: 340
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    edited 3 March 2011 at 9:43AM
    I had a good job earning £32,000 a year and husband earning £12,000 a year.In 2005 I lost my job, had a 60,000 mortgage. I became ill through depression but with the help of my husband and good friend started to save. We bought the cheapest food we could, tesco good value and shopped in lidl. 6 years later and with my husband working overtime we are well on our pay to repaying our mortgage debt. Hopefully our next 6 years will be easier than the last 6. We have survived the bad times and have lived to tell the tale. We faced up to the choices we had to make and we made them and lived as cheaply as we could by shopping around.
    Never give up because you will get there in the end but you must spend within your means!
    Mrs M.:money::T
  • Danni-R
    Danni-R Posts: 641
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    For me it was about 3 years ago on my birthday when I was already 3 days late paying my rent, had no money, no petrol, no food and a maxed out OD. Crying in the street on my dads shoulder.

    Dont know what set it off.

    I've always been really thankful that there has only just been me. With a child or OH i dont know what I would have done.
    [STRIKE]£2200[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£1950[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£1850[/STRIKE] £1600 on my credit card
    £1200 of £6000 Savings
  • Melaniep101
    Melaniep101 Posts: 637
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    My lowest ebb was back in 1996, as a young single mum to a 2 year old, living in council accomodation, and trying to get back into the job market. As I was working, (and due to council officials incompetance) I was unable to get any help with my rent or council tax. I was earning £150 a week as a receptionist and paying 2/3rds of that in childcare. I eventially ended up being evicted from my home and had to stay with my neighbour until a very good friend offered me a room in her flat.

    I'll never forget making a last ditch attempt in court to avoid being evicted, then having to rush home and move as much of my furniture and belongings out before they came to evict me. It was a very dark time for me, and something I'll always remember.

    It's been a long hard slog getting back on my feet, it's taken me years to get to the point where I was better off working than being on benefits. I'm now out of debt and on a good salary, plus i have a wonderful partner who loves me all the more for my inner strength that my past has given me. I know that whatever happens, I can survive!
  • kev.s
    kev.s Posts: 513 Forumite
    some heart touching stories there, it just shows no matter how low your life has become, a positive belief will see you through, it's true you realise who your friends are in a time of crisis, and it certainly inspires you to be respectful of money as you're never sure what's round the corner.
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