Two Working Parents Trying to Find Our Way Out of Financial Hardship

We aren’t asking for a luxurious life. We’re just hoping for a chance to make it another month… maybe even be able to breathe again.

Hi, my name is Whitney. My husband and I are the proud parents of a wonderful 5-year-old little boy, and I never imagined I would find myself writing something like this.

Both my husband and I work hard to provide for our family. We aren’t looking for someone to support us indefinitely, and we aren’t expecting anyone to solve all our problems. We’re simply hoping for a little help getting out of a financial hole that has become increasingly impossible to climb out of on our own.

Our financial struggles really began when we brought our son home from the NICU in 2021. We eventually adopted him through the foster care system in 2022. It was the greatest blessing of our lives, and I would make that decision a million times over. But during that time we were a unlicensed kinship foster placement for which we did not get paid (thankfully he got daycare vouchers and wic but diapers, clothes and all other baby necessities were on us), I was unable to work or receive a paycheck, and we had to rely on loans and credit to keep our household running and provide everything our baby needed.

Those debts, combined with older student loans and medical bills, damaged my credit. Despite having steady employment now, I haven’t been able to qualify for the kind of financial assistance that could help us consolidate our debts into manageable payments.

To make things harder, my husband has been dealing with wage garnishments stemming from a motorcycle he returned nearly a decade ago because of problems with its condition. We’re trying to resolve the matter through the court, but in the meantime, hundreds of dollars continue to be deducted from his paychecks. These garnishments have taken thousands of dollars from our household - $1470 just for the month of October.

We have exhausted our retirement savings, fallen behind on bills, and relied on paycheck advances and short-term loans just to afford ordinary necessities. Unfortunately, those advances create a vicious cycle. When payday comes, so much of our income is already owed that we have to borrow again just to make it through to the next paycheck.

It feels like we’re constantly trying to climb out of a hole that gets deeper every month.

But the hardest part isn’t the bills, the phone calls, or the sleepless nights.

It’s watching our little boy begin to understand that money is something we don’t have.

He’s only five. When he asks for a little toy or something special and I tell him, “Maybe later,” he sometimes responds, “Well, maybe Christmas or my birthday.”

He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t throw a fit. He just accepts it.

And as his mom, that breaks my heart in ways I can’t explain.

I know toys aren’t necessities. I know there are families facing hardships far greater than ours. I’m grateful that we have each other, our health, and jobs to go to every day.

But I desperately want to give my son a childhood where he doesn’t have to worry about whether Mom and Dad can afford something. I want to be able to buy groceries without calculating what bill will have to wait. I want to pay our rent on time, replace something that breaks without panic, and finally begin saving for emergencies instead of borrowing to survive them.

We aren’t asking for help to take a vacation or purchase anything extravagant. Any donations would go toward catching up on overdue household expenses, reducing the high-cost debts and paycheck advances that are consuming our income, and helping us regain enough financial stability to move forward on our own.

We both have steady jobs. We have the willingness to work hard. We just need a chance for our paychecks to start supporting our family again instead of constantly paying for the financial struggles of our past.

If you’re able to help, no matter how small the amount, it would mean more to our family than I could ever express. And if you aren’t in a position to donate, sharing our story or simply keeping our family in your thoughts means a great deal, too.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, for showing kindness to a family you’ve never met, and for reminding us that there’s still hope for a fresh start.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. ❤️