The review posted today is Hearts of Compassion by Eryn Grace. The story revolves around a homeless shelter.
I have never been homeless but I always try to be mindful that "there, but for the grace of God, go I."
My husband and I did “downsize” at one point to get a handle on debt and maintain our family when I unexpectedly lost a good paying job. We went from a $150,000.00 home to a $55,000.00 home and were able to be debt free except for the mortgage within three years.
I have had occasion to work with people (clients or church friends) who have had to struggle when they lost their jobs and couldn’t keep their homes. I have also seen people who refused to downsize and ended up losing everything.
I have been doing Tuesday comment Giveaways now for several weeks. I have decided to extend the drawing deadline from Tuesday's post to the following Monday at 10pm Centeral with winner to be announced (hopefully) on the next Tuesday. This will hopefully allow a few more people to comment who might not be able to get to the post right away.
Well, I speak from personal experience on this. When my son and I first came to Toronto from out west everything I had planned out fell through. It was one disaster after another. Ultimately we ended up in a shelter until we could get back on our feet. It has its ups and downs, but I have to say that this is where I met a great friend and she and I have been friends since we met there for the last ten years.
ReplyDeleteformycontests@gmail.com
This seems to be a worldwide problem but its all a matter of perception. For the thousands who have no homes at all just getting permission to go back to their own property is good. We still have thousands of people in camps who for various reasons, many of which are known only to the powers that be, are not allowed to go home at all, even if home is just the walls without a roof.
ReplyDeleteHi, Martha! Unfortunately for me, this post hits very close to "home". I lost my job the first of November of last year. I live in a very small town with few job opportunities. Things were already difficult financially before the job loss. I was already living in a very frugal and conservative manner, and I have had to take that to the next level. I stopped watching the news on TV because they showed so many stories of people who became unemployed and then lost their homes. They were sleeping in their cars or worse. Bad things do happen to good people. I am a person of strong faith. All my immediate family is gone, but I have a few very good friends. My main concern has been for my cats. They are all abuse/rescue cats, and they have been with me for a long time. I don't mind being thrifty, and I hate waste. Making the most of my resources, finding at least one more use for something before it's discarded, shopping at thrift stores, buying "marked down" food items--none of those things bother me. What bothers me is that those things may not be enough.
ReplyDeletegcwhiskas at aol dot com
I feel bad for the people that are homeless because of circumstances they can't control and I'm happy when they get the help they need. On the other hand, I don't feel so bad for the people that live beyond their means and are always in debt and then they lose their homes when something unexpected happens. We decided that I would be a stay at home mom and we bought a small home that we could afford and paid it off as soon as possible. Now that the kids are grown, it's all we need.
ReplyDeleteIn this economy, it is probably wise for everyone to do some downsizing, even if they currently have no problems. Everyone can think before they spend, make do with some things the way they are, and save for a rainy day.
ReplyDeletemtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
dh and I are downsizing as we speak; we have way too much and others can make use of some. We have given to the Salvation Army, the MCC thrift store, the local church, a neighbour and her daughter, etc. I love being able to help as I've never been without much.
ReplyDeleteOur neighbour says she and her daughter had to live in a tent in her parents backyard for a summer because she had dogs and her parents didn't want them in the house.
How awful to only have a cardboard box to sleep in under a bridge or some place equally unsatisfactory.