i hate actually writing this out. until march of this year i had a pretty decent job, made enough money to keep my finances in order. i was laid off, receiving a severance package of eight paid weeks. i wasn’t complaining, as a lot of people i knew that were in the same situation at other companies only got a couple of weeks’ pay. my severance ended in may, and i’d hoped i would have had a job by then. i didn’t have a job right away, but luckily i’ve always been really good at saving my money. i applied for unemployment, but the state of north carolina deemed my severance package too great for someone in my position and denied my claim.

october came, and i was near the end of my savings. i was offered a decent holiday mall job that paid me under the table. i was able to pay my rent and still keep some ramen in my cabinets. by the end of november, a coworker set me up to be fired and i lost my job.

december has come, and i’m completely broke. a few weeks ago i had my power disconnected because i hadn’t received any kind of letters in the mail notifying me that i was behind on my payments or when i needed to come up with some cash. apparently, when your power is disconnected it kills your credit score.

i received a letter in the mail from duke energy saying that i have to pay them another $150 deposit on top of the one that i initially gave them when i started service 4 years ago. after disconnecting my power they did another credit check and, sure enough, my credit was low enough to warrant another deposit. even though i’ve been a customer for a few years and have never had an issue with this, there’s nothing that they can do. i’m screwed.

there is not a bone in my body that feels right about asking anyone for any handouts. we’re all in the same boat in this economy and it sucks that there’s hardly anyone you can really turn to right now. if only bill gates was a close friend… hey, i can dream, can’t i?

if there’s any way that you can help me out, i would appreciate it so much. even $1 would make a huge difference. one day, i know i’ll be able to return the favor. thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

-becca
(paypal: mysteriously@gmail.com)