Reflecting on the past year, it has been fraught with many difficulties.
My father had passed away the very end of 2010, giving 2011 a rough start as the family, still devastated from the loss of our mother, now grieved for our patriarch.
During the economic downturn in 2010, my husband and I were fortunate enough to remain employed, though I had shortened hours (therefore less pay). What little savings we had was quickly depleted in just trying to make ends meet. Even though the hours returned to full in 2011, the majority of the year was spent trying to stabilize our finances.
We managed to get my daughter through her first year of college, but we knew we’d need a 3rd vehicle. So we pinched pennies and bought a vehicle from our local Meineke shop. They ranted on about how wonderful this vehicle was because they had put in a new motor. We thought that, coming from a business, we were getting a good value. We had the vehicle for about an hour, when the engine blew. They had lied about everything they had done to it. Not only did they prove disreputable, they tried to get us to pay even more for the installation of a new motor (which they had lied about replacing in the 1st place).
We ended up in a very long dispute, reporting them to the better business bureau. Then we heard an advertisement from a dealership that said they accepted tow ins. Knowing we were still taking a loss, but glad to be rid of the headache we bit the bullet and went into further debt for a van.
In the meanwhile, I was using my vacation time from my day job in order to attend a large number of shows for my part-time business. I would go several weeks without a single day to relax; by the end of the year I was completely exhausted and really not any better off for all the wear and tear.
We kept our expenses to a minimum and made a detailed repayment plan that targeted bills one-by-one for payoff. Despite the many set backs, by the end of the year, our finances were starting to become more manageable.
We went through some rough weeks as our teens, normally pretty good kids, decided to take turns acting like typical know-it-all, rebellious teenagers. The added stress was almost more than we could take, but somehow we got through it with the family intact.
Now that 2011 has come to a close and we are on the front step of 2012, we can look at the coming year with hope. Our family has taken steps towards maturity; we have a payment schedule that should enable us to climb out from under at least a few of our bills in the coming year; and my work schedule for the coming year will be greatly eased as I target only a few of the better performing shows.
So for our family, 2012 is looking hopeful of a little more prosperity and time to spend together. I’m sure we’ll hit a few snags along the way, but we’ve already overcome so much that I’m sure we’ll be alright.
