Life Is Finally Starting To Brighten

[Lister]

well finally, I think i have made it thru the worst of it, between beeing sick all the time and stress of life, I really almost took my own life. But i stuck with it and finally i have came out of my tunnel of depression and things are finally looking better

Physicaly- well besides for still fairly persistent stomic burning and (what feelings like tightaning) im not doing that bad the doctor says the healing processes can really hurt and with the damage done to my intestines hes amazed that i have been able to work while healing

Emotionaly/personaly-

Well i talked to the hospital again, about financial help. Aparently i still have not been processed so the lady put stickies all over my forms saying ( he keeps calling and really needs help) so that i have a higher chance of getting help since i keep calling to find out about help. She also had the bills pushed back for 1 year, because she does not want me making any payments until she can find out if i get finacial help so i dont get sent to collections. So i dont even have to worry about the hospital bills for 1 year now (wew thats 4000 i dont gotta worry about right now) so all together for now all i ow is like 450 in dx bills from other offices

Today i got aproved for my first credit card the apr is kinda high 19.9 but im not really planning on using the card much( i know i know credit cards are a bad idea) but i figure if i use it for emergancys only it can really save my butt plus i can raise my credit score ( i have none currently) so one day i can finally get a car or a new computer.. i wish i already had the card today is the first day of 3 more days where i am broke and out of food so i dont get to eat..... well i have a lil food but im gonna have to make it stretch for 4 days tell payday- i have 1/4 of orde-la frys 1/4 a bag of lettece 3-cans of pineapple juice 2- Enjoy life snack bars 1-bag of lumbarg rice chips and 2-small slabs of pork- so i am gonna be able to eat for today and tomorrow but after that it looks like stomic pain for a few days. But im so relived about the bills it was like a giant cloud was removed from above me.

Well im off to go save the planet...... well ummm crap you where not supposed to know that

[AndreaB]

That's great that you are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel Lister.

Great news about the hospital bills to.

[Guest Robbin]

Lister, I am so glad to hear you are doing better. I had a bad sense of your depression. I bet you do feel like a huge weight has been lifted. Is there a food pantry in your town? Or salvation army? Maybe they could get you a bad of groceries (you could sort through the stuff for gluten-free items) to help tide you over. Us mom-types tend to worry about you young people. Take care.

[Green12]

Well im off to go save the planet...... well ummm crap you where not supposed to know that

Lister, when going through the process of healing things often get worse before getting better. I'm glad you made it through some of the roughest patches. Just keep plugging away, taking it one day at a time, and everything will fall into place for you

[Guest nini]

that is good to hear... the depression is a hard one to work through, I was absolutely amazed when my depression fog lifted (after many many years of being depressed) and I finally saw the light and the end of the tunnel. Good news about the hospital bills too...

I also wanted to suggest a food pantry. You could go there and get things like canned veggies, bags of rice and dried beans, peanut butter... some even have sections for people on special diets.

[rinne]

I'm glad you are feeling better.

[taz sharratt]

Lister, when going through the process of healing things often get worse before getting better. I'm glad you made it through some of the roughest patches. Just keep plugging away, taking it one day at a time, and everything will fall into place for you

that is so true about getting worse b4 better, each day as it comes. keep your chin up !

[TCA]

So glad to see a positive post from you!!!

As for food, we're on a tight budget around here and I find dried beans to be a lifesaver. They're cheap (under $1), easy to fix if you just follow the directions, filling, high in protein and VERY nutritious. I bet if you fixed a pot you could eat it for days and get by just fine. All you need is salt to add to it. Ham or onion is good added in too if you have a little, but they're good with just salt and a little pepper.

I remember a while back you were looking for a way to get a better job. With this new and imporved attitude, it might be a good time to start on that GED. That way you'll be a step ahead when the bills do come due!

good luck!

[gfp]

Well im off to go save the planet...... well ummm crap you where not supposed to know that

Sense of humor... always a good sign ...

Dude, on the food if your broke I have a few suggestions....

Get a big bag of cheap rice and do east asian.... with just a bare minimum of meat you can extend it with gluten-free soy sauce, garlic etc. and cheap vegetables...you can use some pinaple juice to marinade some and then a bit of cornstarch to make a sauce to cover the rice...

Another trick i taught my friend is buying the offcuts (prices are based on Paris so what's cheap here might be different for you) but you can buy a whole load of chicken legs or drumsticks really cheap.... about 2$ here

Grab 5-6 in a big pot and add whatever you throw away off the vegetables (except potato peel unless your really despo) so celery leaves , carrot peel etc. etc. most times you can scrounge this stuff completely FREE but any ways its left over from your other veg... stuff like the hard bit outside onions, tops of carrots etc. etc.

Boil it up all together for 1-2 hours with lots of water and if you have some seasoning like bay leaves (can be borrowed off trees outside fancy resto's when you know what it look like) garlic (esp bit you chop off)

and then take out the legs ... carefully they stay freakin hot! Leave em to cool and pull of the skin and chuck it back in the pan ... then pull off all the meat (usually they cool faster without skin) and throw anything dodgy back in the pan bones and all.

Give it another hour .. all the vitamins are still in the pan.... strain it and add a bit more water and boil it another 10-15 mins and strain this too.

So far total cost a couple of bucks....

Now you have the stock.... full of vits, calcium from the bones etc. etc.

recipe 1)

take a large bowl full of stock add decent veg .. doesn't need to be the best buyt stuff you'd eat... a bit of the chicken and you got basic chicken soup ...

From here you can add cream ... or you can add say sweetcorn (tinned works fine) for an asian type ... or just have it as it is.... the adsorbtion of the vitamins is much better because they are laready in the right state ....

There are lots of varaitions but they mean investing in herbs, spices and stock items...

Extra cost $1

recipe 2)

Onion chopped ... fry until tender then add some rice (real arborio is better but hey... ) fry this gently for 30 secs and add the chicken stock (a good cup) and some salt ... keep the liquid and cook for 15 mins and you have basic risotto or paella

extra cost an onion....

recipe 3)

chicken curry, chicken something.... chicken salad ... stirfry with some of the pork ... etc. etc.etc. if you need more ask...

I once lost my wallet on vacation and we were almost pennyless and I bought two rotiserie chickens and some veg we had some gluten-free chorizo saussage and lived like kings for about $5-10 for a week...

[ravenwoodglass]

I am so glad your feeling better. You have gotten some great advice food wise here. You must be so relieved about that hospital bill. It's horrible when you have stuff like that hanging over your head. And while your saving the world make sure you do something nice for yourself too. You have gotten through a real rough patch, but there is a light now and the end of the tunnel and each rough spot will now be easier to handle. Give yourself a pat on the back.

[jerseyangel]

Lister--So happy to her that things are turning around for you--that's great!!! Those medical bills have to be a big load off your mind. I just knew things were going to get better--and you hung on and proved me right! Onward and upward

[CarlaB]

Glad things are looking up for you! I'm sure there's some kind of food pantry, Church, St. Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, etc. you can go to for food. I remember those days ... thankfully, that was a long time ago!

[aikiducky]

Glad to hear you're feeling better! Great advice here already, I hope you won't have to go too hungry too long!

Pauliina

[Lister]

yeah and i got a life gameplan now also.

Step 1

max my credit card out on a xbox360-pay it off all the way

request higher limit

max card out on tv

request higher limit

get a car (this is what it was building too i need a carrrrrrr)

Start school in august (hopefully) take some basic math and spelling courses then my GED

after the GED is obtained i hope to transfer from the community college here to Full Sail in washington

Full sail is a video game design school, where i will become a mapper/modeler/skinner for videgames

anyways bye back to my pos job that i hate for now

[Guest nini]

I feel like I gotta tell you (and this is from personal experience) that using credit cards like that is an extremely bad idea... I went into it with the same idea you had and guess what, I wasn't able to pay off the card... the interest was too high, I could barely afford the minimum payments and that didn't do anything toward the principal... I have NO credit cards now. I have terrible credit. I really hope you were joking about using the card like that. Save it for emergencies ONLY... trust me on this. You will get yourself in a much worse financial bind than you currently find yourself in. I was in my early twenties when I did this and I am now almost 40 and have still not been able to pay off those cards from my early twenties and boy do they haunt me. If you want to get a car, go to one of those buy here pay here places that finances and make your payments directly to them, that is what I had to do, but it was the only way for me to get a car.

[ravenwoodglass]

I feel like I gotta tell you (and this is from personal experience) that using credit cards like that is an extremely bad idea... I went into it with the same idea you had and guess what, I wasn't able to pay off the card... the interest was too high, I could barely afford the minimum payments and that didn't do anything toward the principal... I have NO credit cards now. I have terrible credit. I really hope you were joking about using the card like that. Save it for emergencies ONLY... trust me on this. You will get yourself in a much worse financial bind than you currently find yourself in. I was in my early twenties when I did this and I am now almost 40 and have still not been able to pay off those cards from my early twenties and boy do they haunt me. If you want to get a car, go to one of those buy here pay here places that finances and make your payments directly to them, that is what I had to do, but it was the only way for me to get a car.

I have to agree with Nini on this one. You may want to start with the buy here - pay here car first as that will do a much better job of building your credit. Also you may run into problems with getting help on your medical bills if a credit check shows you obtained a credit card shortly after incurring your medical debt. They may figure if you can afford payments on a high interest credit card that you can afford to pay your medical bills or they may want you to put the bills on the credit card instead of either forgiving them or giving you reduced payments. Just something you should think about before you accept that card and use it.

[jerseyangel]

Lister--This is the advice I gave to my 2 sons--they are now 21 and 25 and both have excellent credit. The older one bought his first home 1 1/2 years ago and outright owns a truck, and is almost done paying off another. He is not wealthy/did not get an inheritance. He works hard at his job as a truck driver/supervisor at a large moving company. I told him he needed credit--good credit. I urged him to obtain one credit card when he was about 19. I told him to use it to buy something every month that he would normally buy for cash. Pay the balance off every month. This would give him a good paying record, and allow him to get the car loan and later the house. To this day, he still only has one credit card. The younger son still lives with us, but also has the one card and pays it off each month. He pays all his own expenses, car insurance, cell phone, etc. Having a credit card is a huge responsibility--if you don't use it correctly, it is all too easy to end up in a situation where you are struggling to pay the minimum payment. Once that happens, you are likely never to get out of debt. I have seen this happen to a couple of my kid's friends, and it saddens me to see someone start out "in the hole". Please re-think the big ticket items, and Nini's suggestion about the car may be a good place to start. Be careful

[Lister]

yeah, i figure the first things im using it for are to just work off my doctor bills, like put both of my low bills on it then pay off the card that way those are out of the way.. and so on and so on until my credit is built. Im not stupid and wont f the card up. I already figured out how much money if i was to max it out(not planning on it) but if i was too, and i made one 100 doller payment a month with the intereist its basicly 80 dollers per 100 dollers that acually go on the card so its not that bad. but like i said im not planning on maxing it out, for now its for emergencys. But i am eventually down the road going to use it for personal things that i cant afford upfront. But not yet, not until the doctor bills are sorted out and payed off.

[TinkerbellSwt]

I am also glad to hear that you are feeling better. I was also in somewhat that position some years back and I know how tough it can be. I used the help my township gave me for people who had nothing or very little to live. They kept me full with peanut butter and some canned veggies and such. I hope you can find a way to get some help and stay feeling better.

[jerseyangel]

yeah, i figure the first things im using it for are to just work off my doctor bills, like put both of my low bills on it then pay off the card that way those are out of the way.. and so on and so on until my credit is built. Im not stupid and wont f the card up. I already figured out how much money if i was to max it out(not planning on it) but if i was too, and i made one 100 doller payment a month with the intereist its basicly 80 dollers per 100 dollers that acually go on the card so its not that bad. but like i said im not planning on maxing it out, for now its for emergencys. But i am eventually down the road going to use it for personal things that i cant afford upfront. But not yet, not until the doctor bills are sorted out and payed off.

Of course you're not stupid! I think your plan to go back to school in August, and get your GED is a fantastic one. That alone will give you more options than you have open to you now. One step at a time--I think you're doing great, considering the year you've had

[Guest nini]

Lister, I'm not saying you are stupid, I was only relaying my personal experience... I certainly didn't think I was stupid either. I had the best of intentions of only using the credit card for emergencies... yeah right! anyway... not trying to lecture you at all, just sharing what I've learned and hope my stupid actions will help save someone else from the same fate.

I've learned that if I do not have the cash or the money in my checking account for something, then I cannot afford it. Even if someone were to give me another credit card, I wouldn't accept it. I think they are a trap to keep people in debt.

[CarlaB]

yeah and i got a life gameplan now also.

Step 1

max my credit card out on a xbox360-pay it off all the way

request higher limit

max card out on tv

request higher limit

get a car (this is what it was building too i need a carrrrrrr)

Start school in august (hopefully) take some basic math and spelling courses then my GED

after the GED is obtained i hope to transfer from the community college here to Full Sail in washington

Full sail is a video game design school, where i will become a mapper/modeler/skinner for videgames

anyways bye back to my pos job that i hate for now

Max- ing your credit card out is not a good idea. I would save for a car instead. Go ahead and use your card, but use it for the things you are already buying, like groceries and gas and pay it off every month. If you can't afford an xbox now, you can't afford to make payments on one either! If you want one, save up for it, then charge it on the card, then pay the card off. Because you currently have no credit, your rates are too high for you to afford interest! I t is a mistake to think you can afford things you can't afford to pay cash for! You can build your credit the other way, probably even more quickly since you'll get your two items you want without all the interest, and you'll still be running that money through your card. Charge ONLY what you can PAY OFF COMPLETELY EVERY MONTH!!!! -- I know, I know, free advice ... you'd be smart to take it from someone with a very high credit rating!!

Good for you with the school. That is awesome!

yeah, i figure the first things im using it for are to just work off my doctor bills, like put both of my low bills on it then pay off the card that way those are out of the way.. and so on and so on until my credit is built. Im not stupid and wont f the card up. I already figured out how much money if i was to max it out(not planning on it) but if i was too, and i made one 100 doller payment a month with the intereist its basicly 80 dollers per 100 dollers that acually go on the card so its not that bad. but like i said im not planning on maxing it out, for now its for emergencys. But i am eventually down the road going to use it for personal things that i cant afford upfront. But not yet, not until the doctor bills are sorted out and payed off.

No, you are very smart, working on being healthy, doing what you need to get there. Working on your education. Working on your credit. Don't get caught up in paying all that interest though! Let the hospital work out a payment plan with you, they do that and probably at a better rate. Eighty bucks per hundred dollars is a lot. Think of how much you could buy with that $80!! I know you have good intentions. I also work with rental properties and people's credit ... many people have good intentions, but end up in trouble.

BTW, medical bills show up on your credit rating, so don't worry about financing them on your charge card. Other things that will show up are bills at Blockbuster, electric/phone companies, etc. These only show if you don't pay them ... so if you have any outstanding debts like these, it will help to pay them off, too.