The Proof That You All Wanted!

Minimum_Wage_2

Hello all, there has been a lot of heart breaking lately and some of us have been giving support to help them pick themselves up. I have done this thread to show these people that after a very bad year and being at rock bottom that there is only one way that you can go and that is up.

Six months ago this year I was sent home due to there not being any work to do. which wasn’t so bad because of the good weather we were having at the time. The bad thing was that because I wasn’t working my company was only going to pay me one day a week for the next three weeks. I couldn’t claim JSA because I wasn’t actively seeking work and I couldn’t claim any benefit because I wasn’t working enough hours a week.
I went to the council to see if I could have any help with my rent only to find out that because it was only two months at very low pay it wouldn’t make anything difference or very little. I then informed the CSA of the changes and that I wouldn’t have been paid enough for them to take there money. I also informed the HA that in these two months that I wouldn’t be able to pay them a full months rent due to the fact of these three weeks with very little pay. I promised them that when my wages are back to normal after 2 months that I would pay them five weeks at a time to catch up with my rent.

This wasn’t too bad as I could of just scraped through, got a good sun tan anyway, and pretty soon I was back at work and looking towards my first months normal wage. When I got it I was shocked to find out that the CSA had taken a rather large lump sum from me which left me with another extremely low wage for the next month. I get home to find I have a letter from the CSA saying that for the next six months I will be paying near enough double a month of what I normally pay. My heart sank at this point as I didn’t have enough to live on if they were to do this, I phoned them and told them of what was going on and they had no record of the call earlier the previous month. They told me that I am now on the new scheme and that they have to take back the money that is owed as soon as they can, I explained that I could not afford this and that was there any other way. He explained that the only way was for me to pay a lump sum back in order for them to be able to change it, well with what I had been through and savings being none existent that I couldn’t pay anything. The only things they take into account now are tax and national insurance to which I was very annoyed about as I have always paid and I have never disagreed paying.

I was rattling my brains of how I was going to survive and with there not being any overtime at work there was no way that I was going to get through this, I tried cutting back with everything even down to using candles to save on electric. I told my family the bad news that Christmas is going to be cancelled this year and that if I don’t get an evening job that come next year that I will have to go for bankruptcy. I then phoned my GF to explain to her that I was not going to be able to see her for the next six months because of this and she took it as if it was an every day thing and said that it was ok as she would try and get up when she could, which would have been if lucky once a month.
As time went by things were looking bad and very lonely not being able to do anything due to having empty pockets and having to save on everything just to make it to the next pay day. Feeling really bad my family were helping me with coming to pick me up for the Sunday dinner and to see the family, even the ex-wife was helping out by dropping off and picking my daughters up, even giving them money to get food while they were here.
Even though my family was pulling together and helping made me feel worse that they had to do this for me and that there wasn’t anything I could give them back. I looked towards my GF for a bit of support and love but I didn’t get anything, I wasn’t asking for a lot just something that would have picked me up and made me feel a little better. I explained to my GF that a little support from her would pick me up a lot and that even in texts it would help me but I got nothing, I will admit that she isn’t any good at this sort of thing but I would have thought that at this time she would have made a little effort but even the phone calls became just silent and I was having to do all the talking. The more I needed some support the more she moved away from me and the less of everything else I got from her. It got that bad that I decided to finish it and just go it alone, I’d hoped that this would have changed things between us and maybe have tried again but I think she’s just glad to go back to what she was doing anyway. I guess that love thing about setting your loved one free didn’t work as there wasn’t any.

I sold as much as I could but it still wasn’t enough and my car was even going more miles on just fumes. Life couldn’t have got much worse and had even approached my boss in the hope that he could have helped in some way but there was nothing he could do, I couldn’t find an evening job anywhere and I had lost my loved one, and also looking towards and into bankruptcy for the New Year. Then my mother taking a turn for the worst and being in hospital, my life couldn’t get much worse could it?

Minimum_Wage_2

Then out of the blue I get a letter for my gas and electrical company saying that I have over paid and that they are sending me a refund which was ten pounds for the gas (I don’t really use it that much) twenty five for my electric and fifteen for having both with them. Ok it wasn’t much but it was something, then my boss came up to me and said that if I still need the money that he is able to give me some over time. I got home that day to find out that the council tax is refunding me three hundred and fifty pounds. I get into work the next day and the person that does our wages had asked to see me, and she asks me how would if I needed an advance on my wages as I have a tax refund this month of four hundred and thirty pounds. At this point I had to sit down and try and take in what has been going on, pinching myself several times, I told the accountant that I could manage until next pay day and thanked her for trying to help me out.

Gas n electric = 50
Council tax =350
Tax refund = 430
Total = 830

In this time I have been to two parties and got some new friends, have been told that one of them fancies me and would like to see me again but I’ve told her that I’m not looking at the moment but when I am I will let her know. I have another three parties before Christmas, all the overtime I want, and telling my kids that Christmas is back on my calendar. My mother is back out of hospital and making a good recovery, when I get paid I’m thinking of having ago on the lottery see if I get the winning numbers with the way my luck has been going!

This thread is not a dig at any one as this was just a turn of events that have happened for me over the last five months and I still have another four months before I’m out of it, but this will put me back on form and where I should have been to begin with.
Hopefully this will show a person that no matter what life throws at you or no matter what happens in your life at some point it’s going to get better. Your friends and families are the ones that really do knuckle down with you and help you through your hour of need. They are there through thick and thin, they don’t judge you or run when you need them most.

“In every cloud there is a silver lining.”
“From the $h!t roses do grow.”
“At the bottom you can only go one way and that’s up!”

[Deleted User]

inspirational!! You must have done good things for others at some time, what goes around comes around but what a hell of a test of your strengths.

Barneysmom

Minimum Wage, you just brought a lump to my throat!
You are The Lion King! Everything went really bad and then the sun came out on you and turned it all around!
A lovely end to the year, all the best to you, I hope when the time is right, you'll find someone who appreciates you and takes care of you the way you deserve xxxxxxx

You should change your i.d to Simba!

scooper

wow ! so hapy you have had some good luck and things are turning round for you,sounds like you have had it hard for a while.

good luck for the future x x x

WannaBeTeenager

thats great stuff! really shows how bad things can get and that if you keep going it does shine through. i do hope that you find a person as good as you are.

BitterAndTwisted

I'm so happy for you I'm having a little sob over here. I hope anyone else in a similar situation can take heart from your experience and believe that better days are ahead

zztopgirl

Thank you:j, ive had a terrible day, been crying so much and didnt know what to do, felt at wits end and lowest ebb again. I called the mental unit, they calmed me a bit, rang my mum, sobbed even more, then realised i do have a best friend, so rang him, he left his work and came straight round and now feel much calmer. Have my eldest with me at the moment, i still have an urge to cry and scream, but life will get better, and you are proof.:j

jennihen

Hi Minimunwage
Great to hear that life is on the up. I wish you luck, love and happiness in the future - you deserve it. we all have carp times, sometimes as carp as it can go, so its good to hear when that someone else has hung in there.
ZZtopgirl - tomorrow is a new day - you've made it this far - so glad you have such a wonderful friend - have a hug from a stranger too!!!

Minimum_Wage_2

Thank you all for you kind words, i thought i would put this up just to show people that even when the times are tough just keep on going and it will start to come back up.

lilmissmup

Awww thats a great thing to hear MW.

I know my life will get better eventually, esp with the support of the lovely MSE folks.