A glimpse in:
I grew up in a family with limited means. I guess we were considered low income. While I know our family struggled to make ends meet, somehow, we got by. I learned a lot by having very little.
It was summer when I moved out on my own. I had a full-time job and thought I could manage, but quickly realized that my income alone would not be enough. I looked for, and found, two roommates to move in and help with the bills. Things were going well initially, and I felt relieved and comfortable.
In late fall we noticed the bills were getting a lot bigger — our power bill almost doubled, and the cost of food had overtaken the budget I had set. My roommates and I reviewed our budget and looked at ways to cut costs further. As the cost of living increased, we soon found ourselves struggling to pay even the basic bills. We had already eliminated all of the “extras,” but our bills were climbing too high too fast, and our pay cheques were no longer able to meet the increase.
As winter progressed and our struggles continued, we all looked for second jobs and extra shifts to increase our household income. We were becoming more desperate as the days passed. Much of our work was seasonal and weather dependent. All of us had physically demanding jobs so we needed to eat enough to keep us healthy and able to work. Soon we realized that we just didn’t have enough money to afford the current food budget. We called the St. Albert Food Bank and were able to receive a food hamper, which helped a lot, although we really wanted to be able to manage on our own.
As spring approached, we got a letter from the landlord telling us that he would be raising our rent by $300 per month because it was costing him more than before to maintain the residence. How were we going to manage?
There were a lot of things we did to help ourselves through these trying times. We took financial literacy courses to learn ways to manage our budget better. We went to the food bank regularly. We picked up extra shifts at work when we could, and we cut out absolutely everything we could, including our phones, but then realized without them we couldn’t get work.
We recognized the issues that were making things so hard for us were things we have no control over. What are we going to do, how will we manage?
All of us are feeling the stress and the frustration of trying so hard and still not being able to make it. We are all just tired of trying to be strong knowing we are losing this battle. The light at the end of the tunnel seems a little far away right now.
Suzan Krecsy is the director of the St. Albert Food Bank.
