I realize it's been a long time since I've used this blog, but I intend to start using it more now. The last few years have presented themselves as the most trying times of my life. I'd like to attempt to use this blog as an outlet for things that I've been through in the past, as well as dreams I have for the future.
I last posted here in December of 2007. At the time, DH and I were preparing to list our house for sale. We both had good full-time jobs and wanted a larger, nicer house. Our wish-list included more square footage, a master bath with jacuzzi tub, full finished basement, larger yard and nicer location. DH had been at his job for at least 10 years. He had worked his way up as a bagger at a grocery store, to second in command in the accounting department. He liked his job (for the most part) and his boss. They were both in their 30's and had planned to stay at this job until retirement. At the time, I was working for a small marketing firm doing design work. I loved the environment and the people I worked with and had no plans to find other work. In other words, we both felt stable in our jobs.
All was going well until January 2009. DH found out his company had sold -- what had once been a family-owned private company, was being bought out by a large, publicly traded company. They already had their own accounting department, so DH was laid off since they no longer needed him. With just my salary, we could make it, but dreams of a new house were put on hold. Then, a month later, I was laid off. The economy was getting BAD...and clients weren't spending money, therefore there just wasn't enough work coming in to keep me employed.
Within a few months, we went from planning on moving up to a nicer, more expensive home, to both getting laid off and trying to find a way to live off of unemployment until we could find better work. At first, we were optomistic that we would both find new jobs within a few months. We both had Bachelor's degrees and plenty of experience in our field. How hard could it be?
The answer? HARD.
We lived in a city with probably one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. The economy was awful...crime rates not much better...and places just weren't hiring. It wasn't until September of 2009 (7 months after I was laid off) that I found a job. It was part-time, second shift, and less than half of what I WAS making, but it was a job and it was in my field. So I took it. DH ended up going back to the grocery store as a cashier -- working part-time and making almost a third of what he was making. With these jobs, albeit part-time, and unemployment, we could hold our heads above water for a while at least.
That is until April of 2010. By then, we had exhausted all of our savings to make our house payment. We sold DH's car...paid it off and made just enough off of it to buy a used car. My car got paid off from some inheritance that we received. But savings was running low, and but were drowning trying to hold onto our house. As hard as the decision was to make, we had to let it go. But instead of not paying the bank anymore, we got lucky, and DH's mom decided she wanted to live there. We wrote out a land contract, she moved in, and DH and I moved in with his dad until we could get back on our feet.
We moved in with him in April of 2010. It was difficult living with DH, the two dogs and our most important possessions in a tiny bedroom, but we had no choice. Finally, by September 2010, DH found a job; and with me still working at my part-time job, we had enough to buy a house and move out. Turns out...a nicer house than we had before...and the payment was less. We got lucky!
However, two months after we moved in to our new house, DH got laid off again :(
