Thread: 2009...the forgotten year!

2009, the forgotten year...or...why things will get better from here!

It was the middle of 2008 when I pulled my internet sales figures and joked with my wife that my sales numbers matched the stock market almost exactly....woot! The market would surely stay over 14k forever, right?

By November of that year, I had gone from making a grand a week to less than $100. I shut down the site and got back into college in December at the age of 35. That month, we also had to give up our house and move in with the grandparents who are in their late 80's...mind you with our three kids.

2009...

The economy continued to worsen and the wife lost her teaching job in May. She was able to get another one in the same town, but at half the pay working in Special Ed. Her pay will continue to be half of what it was until June of 2010. Essentially, our pay went from $6k/month to about $2k/month. This Christmas was particularly difficult and I had to sell off nearly all of my worldly possessions to pay for presents as we didn't want the kids to ever know the situation we're in.

2010...

I graduate as a dental hygienist in February and head out for my externship this month (and to pat myself on the back, I have a 4.0gpa, perfect attendance and have been approached by the school to be the valedictorian). The wife will continue to make less than adequate money until June, but FINALLY, I can visualize an end to the suffering! Our tax return will keep us alive until our pay gets where it's supposed to be.

Don't know about you guys, but I'm glad '09 is over. It has been the hardest year of my entire life and hope that in the future we're stable enough to get through it with much less pain.

Its very brave to share that story with us and I thank you for taking the time to write it. It really does make me think, I must admit..!

Congratulations on graduating and triumphing in the face of such adversity! You should rightly be proud of all you have achieved!

I wish you and your family the very best and all the success in the world in 2010! Good luck in your new role as well!

All the best,

Stuart

I know what you mean. 2009 certainly wasn't kind to many people. Like any hard time however, it's been a learning and growing experience. I had to make decisions I thought I never would have, and I certainly had to re-assess my attitude.

Congrats on a 4.0! I don't know how anyone at my university did it, and to do it with a family is beyond me. Good luck moving forward. The economy is picking up and apparently there will be a nice increase this year, so hopefully we won't need the luck.