Wow...this thread has gotten so many hits, you guys are bringing me to tears...

As for the person I believe may be a troll, I have no problem will telling the truth about anything, whether it matters to this topic or not...

I work for a company that pays me a piece rate, as well as a rate by "piece" of work I do - so I get paid $12 an hour unless I bust my butt and pump out a lot of work that day. Normally, I average 17 an hour, but during the last 5 months, I had been making closer to 21. The job seemed secure, and we were doing so well at home that when I saw the Crossfire, I opted to give my ZX2 to my parents (who needed a vehicle, and originally gave that car to me as a gift) and buy it. My credit was perfect at the time, and I made the first two payments with ease. My income was secure.

Around the time my second payment was due, they cut our rates. Something that I got paid $2 dollars to do at the beginning, suddenly only paid me 75 cents. My hourly rate otherwise got cut to 10 an hour. On top of this, my new boss began cutting our work - he set up a lot of things that I used to do, so that our computer system did it for them, instead of allowing me to do it. As a result, I now have several hours out of my day that are spent thumb twiddling. Our department has become overstaffed by two, and those two suck away work that I could be doing. (Yes, I have been looking for a new job. I cannot work for this man.)

As this was happening (and I was still unsure of how my new paychecks would look), my then-fiance got viral meninigitis. We didn't know what it was and he suffered through it for almost a week before we took him to the ER, where they put him on morphine, antibiotics, a stomach medication (as he had been vomiting), and then did a lumbar puncture to check for blood in his spinal fluid. Thankfully, that came back clear, and we were sent home after 12 grueling hours with no answers. The antibiotics cleared him up - and a resulting test from the lumbar let us know it was viral - and he is fine now...but that left us with a nearly 4k bill we are still paying.

On top of this, I had a pap smear come back abnormal. I went in for a colposopy, only to find out my insurance didn't cover ANY of it, and the resulting tests came back fine - which means I wasted time, money, and pain on that procedure. Another bill, almost 1k, that we have to pay off.

Because of all these things, we have had to move back in with my parents, our bank account is overdrawn, and now we are struggling. We had a few gifts to give that we bought when we still had the cash, but that is no longer an option, so quite a few will not get gifts from us this year. I can only be thankful that our family is understanding and doing what they can to help, but my parents barely make it from paycheck to paycheck as it is (we are only paying them for heat and water now, to help them help us), and my brother is in the same boat. And I do NOT EXPECT any help, from anyone. We dug this hole, and we will get out of it on our own. The fact that you all are willing to help is a blessing, and you have no idea what it means to us. I would never ask anyone for money, and I do not walk around with my hand out expecting it - if it is given, I certainly will not turn it down because we truly need it, but I would never outright ask. I myself have contributed to many charities and I do the breast cancer walk as well, so it is not as if I would be unwilling to do this in return if I had the capabilities. (Oh, my car payments were 480 - but we have had to take it back.)

My husband and I are working long hours, and we rarely leave the house so as to conserve gas. My brothers fiance is trying to get me a job with her company, but I will not know until after Christmas. My husband works 40 hours doing security, and picks up as many extra shifts for events as he can. We don't get to go out, we don't get to eat out, and we are selling things left and right as we can to try and fix this. We made our bed...and now we will lie in it until we find a better one.

To those of you that are willing to help, I have sent out PMs - thank you SO much, I cannot even begin to express how wonderful you are and how much this means to us. You give me such necessary happiness at this dismal Christmastime, and I will never forget this.