OT: What ever Happened to Middle Class? | Arthritis Information

 

we were once considered middle class.  now we are no class and barely hanging on.  our bills are higher every month.  what is a person to do?   all we have ever tried to do is be good citizens and pay our bills on time.  we have nothing new so why is it that we are struggling so hard?  we not wasting nor spending extra.  it is just everything is getting more expensive because others are not carrying their load.  or is the government trying to break us?    you tell me.   or are we the only ones whose bills are skyrocketing?My medical bills are way out of control and so is winter heating. We have a 500 gallon propane tank and the minimum amount you must purchase is 200 gallons. At .75 a gallon, that's alot of cash. Groceries are up, the cost of living in itself is up. It's crazy. I thought we were middle class but now I really don't think it exists anymore. I stress over bills. I just got turned over to collection for a medical bill that I have faithfully been sending  .00 a month. I hope Obama has a few more tricks up his sleeves and something's got to give and fast. My hubby gets paid on Thursday and we have 0.00 in checking and no savings with two kids to feed. I try not to worry and give it up to God. Something always comes through. Hang in there. Things are bound to turn around.

I have come to the conclusion that there arent any middle class families any more. One of the few things that we had of value was our homes. The housing market has tanked and we have little or no value in them. I have no savings and my husband is a tradesman who lost his benifits for 6 months last year do to no work. that pretty much bankrupted us. He will lose his benifits by june and I have no idea what we will do. I will probably have to stop my medication and doctors visits.  I worry constantly and I try to keep the faith but it is hard. I know I am not the only one going thru this so I'm sorry for the whining. It isn't just the middle class that's suffering.  I can't tell you how many formerly prosperous people I've seen come to financial ruin over the last couple of years.  I think that almost eveyone is vulnerable these days.  I do not feel at all optomistic about the future of America.So true. My savings is close to gone from trying to make up the difference between what things cost and what I can pay. Never mind the credit cards...it is so hard right now. Well, we are spending another weekend packing and moving as we are filing for bankruptcy, letting our house go, and have already had a car repossessed.  Its scary to think what can happen.  We lost everything we owned in a flood two days after I was diagnosed with RA.  It was a real struggle to get on our feet again, not to mention trying to understand this disease. 

It took years of struggle.  Most all my belongings (and I use that term loosely now) are borrowed, second hand or hand-me-downs, and that is fine, I am happy to have them and I don't put much stock in material posessions anymore.  We were finally able to position ourselves about 5 years ago to buy a small home.  We were getting by comfortably, paying all our bills with some for savings and a little for extra, on DH's salary and my tiny disability. 

We haven't changed our buying habits nor do we spend recklessly, so why, even with the increase in DH's salary, do we no longer have the money to make ends meet? 

Frugal is my middle name!  I have cell phones that look like walkie talkies just so I can keep an older, cheaper cell plan (they don't even text)!  DH hunts and puts away meat for a year!  I garden and can or freeze what we don't eat.  Our cars are used.  Our most frivolus expense are our pets.  Why are we in a deeper hole???

I don't know what the answer is, but I do know something, some where has got to give.


[QUOTE=justsaynoemore] And then there's the issue of our former governor Blagojevich trying to sell Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder... [QUOTE=JasmineRain]And then there's the issue of our former governor Blagojevich trying to sell Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder... [/QUOTE] my husband works hard.  we are honest.  and what does it get us?  my car is a 1990.  my husband's is a 1994.  and we have no claims and believe it or not they raised our car insurance because other people in tennessee do not have car insurance.  ha ha   we should join them.  what have we got to lose?   we have to pay taxes this year.  why?  we have always gotten a refund.   nothing has changed.  i am tired and upset.  every bill in the last month that has come in has been higher.  WHY?   credit cards we have had for 25 years have suddnely gone to variable rate.  what!  why?  we pay our credit cards not always off but more than the amount due.   we have been in a trying place for several years but now i am wondering what we will not be able to pay.  how much do you give up and is it worth it when everyone else gets away with not paying.   and yes it makes my RA worse when i get another shock i was not expecting.It's called greed, corruption, and a lack of leadership.  Plus a bunch of drunks running the joint.  Personally, I never had any class.  [QUOTE=bob_h76] The one positive out of this is that we are having to take a closer look at the government. My middle schoolers are actually talking about current events. Usually, they don't care, but the economy directly affects them. I grew up inside the capital beltway. I love politics and follow events closely. But, for many, what happens in our government is taken for granted. Not the case. We can create change, but it takes time and determination. It is too early in this administration to see any real results, I just hope they will be coming. There won't be a quick fix but something has to give. Basically, it's like we have received a huge wakeup call.

I got a ,500 medical bill yesterday-just add it to the pile. I am just glad that I have a job. I am in my early 30's. Many of my friends have worked long enough to create a comfortable lifestyle, and accumulate debt. But, when it is time for layoffs, they often don't have enough years in the business to survive the cuts. The school system in which I work is closing schools and laying off teachers. I will retain my job, but will be asked to teach an extra class period, while taking a pay cut. But, I do have a job.That was kind of the point I was trying to tiptoe around.  I don't want to stir up any trouble so I try to keep my own personal political views out of things.  I am not trying to advocate for one party or the other. We are just obviously in a mess. I don't think one person, or administration is to blame. It seems like a snowball effect---small problem got bigger and bigger. Add to it homeland safety issues, and aging population, aging infrastructure....it's all just come to a head. The US is a huge country, so we have a huge problem.The people we send to Washington (and to state/local governments) are all from the same party - greedy rotten bastards.

Everybody... I'm so sorry to hear so many of you are in my boat... and I didn't even know it.  Our severe income drop is from a double whammy; my medical costs with inability to work and my husband's last 2 jobs being eliminated then his current, job that he hates, selling cars, is bringing home only minimum wage. I'm talking with hardship depts for all our bills, loss mitigation program at mortgage bank, bankruptcy lawyer, etc.  I'm so tired of it all on top of not feeling well. And then, like one of you above, I got a bill for ,000 bill for physical therapy.  I think I may "only" owe 00 after insurance pays. Same for Sept surgery. All I can offer to pay every Dr, lab, radiology, hospital... is /mo and though they are all agreeing, it still adds up to hundreds of dollars/month. I still have scheduled colonoscopy Mon (yuck) and hip Xrays, more labwork, a new med.... it just keeps adding up. It wouldn't have mattered too much 3years ago. If I don't get approved for disability and people are still holding back from buying cars, we won't have enough money coming in for an apt. I have to hope that I do get it and by the time we have to leave our house; we'll need someplace to move to. We already qualify for low cost housing, but we have to prove we can pay even that low amount. We have gone from middle-middle class to lower class, probably not lowest because we do own 2 old cars and my husband does earn at least minimum wage. 

I watch those tv shows that have all the suggestions on how to save money, hoping there will be some suggestions that I'm not doing, but I already clip coupons and only buy food on sale, we suppliment with wood to cut down on the oil bill, my DH's truck is 20 years old. I really dislike the blonde that Oprah likes so much. Why doesn't she have suggestions for families that are already doing everything they can to get by. Not idiot families who eat out all the time, who have closets full of new clothes, or 10 credit cards. They honestly deserve the trouble they're in. I have to pay the first ,000 on my medical expenses, that's almost a third of what I make in a year. And this has been happening to us for years. There's no 'bigger picture' for all of the greedy people in the world, they only think about themselves.With the prices these days you have to be rich just to live a middle class life style. I am not joking. Even people with alot of money have gone threw forclosers that did not even loose there jobs. With the high increase of prices the slightest of medical emergencies and bad planning can be finacially fatal for those that were concidered well off. No one was prepared for this. Most people had there morgages set at what they thought they could afford. Nobodies page check no matter how big or small is working for them at presant time. It is just very scary. [QUOTE=Ninilchicken]I watch those tv shows that have all the suggestions on how to save money, hoping there will be some suggestions that I'm not doing, but I already clip coupons and only buy food on sale, we suppliment with wood to cut down on the oil bill, my DH's truck is 20 years old. I really dislike the blonde that Oprah likes so much. Why doesn't she have suggestions for families that are already doing everything they can to get by. Not idiot families who eat out all the time, who have closets full of new clothes, or 10 credit cards. They honestly deserve the trouble they're in. I have to pay the first ,000 on my medical expenses, that's almost a third of what I make in a year. And this has been happening to us for years. There's no 'bigger picture' for all of the greedy people in the world, they only think about themselves.[/QUOTE]

Not sure who the woman on Oprah's show is, but I also can't stand the segments on the local news showing you how to save money on the latest fashions, home renovations, etc.  I mean seriously - my husband and I have an upper-middle-class income and these "savings" tips often cost way more than what we typically spend on whatever it is they're reporting about!  I mean seriously - who spends on a pair of jeans and calls that a huge bargain?
[QUOTE=JasmineRain] [QUOTE=Linncn][QUOTE=JasmineRain] We have a 93 buick and 92 chevy truck and my 21 year old daughter who still lives at home makes good money. Has a full time job and drives an 06 Chevy Colbalt. She has a couple of credit cards. Victoria Secret and JcPenney. Has a purse and shoe collection. I asked her to contribute to the household income and she had the gall to tell me she can't afford to give us 0.00 a month. I have raised a brat and it's my fault! She does have some college loans to pay. But she dropped out after a semester so it can't be that much. Jasmine is right. I'm from IL too. Central IL where the former governor wouldn't even still in the gov. mansion and I don't qualify for disability because I don't have enough work credits because for 4 years I took care of my mom and dad who died from cancer in 2000 and 2002. Sorry to rant on but this subject has me fired up! [QUOTE=JasmineRain] The American people should all collectively look in the mirror and point the finger squarely back at ourselves.  We are too complacent, we don't get involved in politics, and if we do bother to go to the polls, all too often we send the same morons back to office time and again and expect different outcomes.
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