Not in the classic sense of the term, where the family has a ton of money and no love to speak of. No, this is a much more prosaic sort of thing, and it has always been the case. Even when I was still married to Abby's dad and we were both out of work, with a new baby and having been laid off; even then we didn't qualify for so much as WIC, because we owned a condominium.
We're too poor to pay our bills on time, yet too rich to qualify for assistance.
We're not starving (obviously; only one of our household is on the thin side, and she never stops moving). We have lots of toys (usually purchased by gift card; in fact, I have already purchased all our Christmas gifts and spent just over $6 out of pocket). We have enough to put gas in our car, food on the table, clothes on the humans (and even those are usually purchased at a consignment shop with store credit, after trading in old stuff). We have a lot of friends and acquaintances in far more dire straits than we are.
But we often end up in a vicious cycle of late fees, and my ten-week job was not enough to catch us up, even with help from family (thanks, guys).
This is getting really old.
On the other hand, I have as noted above purchased all Christmas gifts. For $6 out of pocket. And got the Hubs the stick blender he wanted and me a new toaster oven (because we rent, so what else besides that and light bulbs are we going to get at the home improvement store with that gift card?) Not bad, if I do say so myself.
And school is great (when it's not F&^king Algebra it's As and Bs, baybee), and at least those bills don't have to be paid yet! Abby's shining in school (except in spelling - spelling is her F&^king Algebra). Leanna's doing spectacularly in reading (although her science could use work), and Lizzy is bright as a button in pre-kindergarten (in spite of hitting her head on random objects on an average of twice a week).
All I need is a long-term paying job that pays more than unemployment insurance, and in a couple months or so we will be financially just as rich as we are in family.
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