Posted 07 June 2012 - 06:41 AM
It's very nice to meet all of you, and I'm sorry my response took so long, I ended up re-typing this response through the whole day and night because I was literally typing a summarized life story to explain some current problems I was having (in response to DarkRain) but then decided it was still too long for this intro thread. I guess it's hard to explain current problems without giving insight to the past. So here are some main problems, and I'll keep it short.
First off I should state I was diagnosed with ADHD and severe depression when I was 15. I don't take medication for it, even though I was initially pescribed Stratetta. I stopped taking it immediately because of headaches and irritability.
Note: I have way, way more issues than described below, but I'll stick to talking about my most important problems for now. I apologize if this isn't the right thread to post this, and I'll repost a more detailed thread with all my problems later.
Back when I 'graduated' high school in '09 (I didn't walk with my class because of grades but got my GED a month later) I was somewhat self-suffiecent. I had a job since I was 16, and used that job to buy a car and pay insurance. I had plans of attending a community college to become a social worker, I played guitar in a touring band with good local following, and had a decent number of friends that I made because of it. Life was starting to look up after the disaster that was high school.
That was 3 years ago, and I've lost nearly all of what I had going since then. Here are the issues I'm facing today at nearly 22 years old
It started snowballing about 2 years ago when I was in a car accident. I was leaving work, and was turning right out of the parking lot when suddenly a 15 year old kid on bicycle T-boned me on my passanger side. I never saw the kid since I was looking left for traffic to turn right onto a rural highway (he was riding is bike down the opposite lane shoulder), but he slammed into me as I crossed his path and the impact broke his collarbone. I quickly pulled over and offered my aid, but was told by his friends with him that his mother was picking him up for the ER, and I reluctantly left after they had said they didn't need me. Long story short, cops showed up at my house and charged me with the accident and fleeing, and discovered I had no car insurance (which I had not known about myself until he asked for it, learning that I had been irresponsible and forgot to renew it). The cop was nice enough not to arrest me, but I was facing 2 years of jail if found guilty in court. I was mortified.
Luckily I had fleeing the scene and failing to yield knocked off my charges (they realized I had a strong case) but was found guilty for no insurance (just had to pay a fine, thank god), and I had to pay money to the kid for a new bike, along with court and lawyer fees. It ended up being over a thousand dollars. Since my insurance rates skyrocketed ($80 to $260 a month!), I could no longer afford to drive and sold my car to pay it the money I owed.
Then debt started to accumulate. The kids medical insurance billed me $4000 since I was the driver of the car, and lacked insurance. Unfortunately, even though I was found innocent/not at fault regarding the accident itself in court, by law my insurance is supposed to cover it (and since I didn't have insurance, I have to pay). Today I'm being sued $5000 by his insurance, the extra thousand now because I've ignored their calls and other legal stuff =/.
To make matters worse, I was involved in ANOTHER car accident the following month in Indiana (this time as a passanger in the backseat of a minivan). Our tire blown on the highway, and we slammed into a guardrail. I was taken away in the ambulance and had to get 2 staples in my head, and luckily the 5 people I was in the van with we're okay. Unfortunately I didn't have medical insurance at the time, and the vans insurance wouldn't cover my medical expenses since my friend driving had the cheapest legal insurance possible. So now I'm stuck with a $1500 bill from the hospital and a seperate $2000 bill from the ambulance company.. for a HALF MILE TRIP!!
Altogether I am $8,500 in debt, and have had debt collectors hassling me me with calls and mail for 2 years.
Since that time I have worked at Meijer (a grocery store) for the past year, and I only make about $500 a month there. I used to get about 35 hours a week, about 1k a month, but now only get 15 to 20 since the store keeps hiring new people in our department. This is due to the store getting more business/profit, and deciding to overstaff for some reason.
I've tried to attend community college but can't afford it, and can't receive any financial aid grants because my parents make way too much money. Not true with my mom, but my dad refuses financial help, reason being he says he can't afford it (possible BS, he nearly makes six digits) and that if I wanna go I should save for it. Fair enough, I guess.
So I spent the last year trying to save money, rather unsuccessfully because I'm horrible at handling money, though I did manage to always have a couple hundred saved. Because of my bad money habits my dad started charging me rent at the beginning of 2012, $200 a month. I could afford that at first since made about $800 a month, but then my hours started getting cut (to my current income of $500 a month). This leaves me with 300 or so a month, which is tough when I buy my own groceries and feed myself, and have to spot my friends gas money if I ever try to have a social life, along with a bad cigarette smoking habit.
My current condition, I'm being kicked out of my dads house at the end of the month since I keep falling more and more behind on rent. I'm literally a mess now. I've been trying to find a second job but with no luck, and the lack of a car keeps my options limited to whats in bicyle distance. Trouble is I live in a small, rural town about 10 miles outside of Lansing. I also have 5 days left before the insurance company wins their $5000 civil claim against me in court, meaning my wages will soon be garnished anyway =/. I literally have a huge fear of my dad so it is hard asking him for advice since he's very bipolar. my mother doesn't know what to do and can't take me in (I've ruined that chance too).
I'm so stressed out all I do is stay in my bed (besides work). I'm literally too scared of what reality brings once I leave my room. I'm scared of my dad, I'm scared of my massive debt, I'm scared of this civil case in court at the moment. I'm too weak to hang out with friends or crawl out of bed. When my dads home I pretend to be asleep to avoid him, much of the time avoiding meals if that's what it means. Everytime I try to attempt to better myself it seems like too much weight on my shoulders. I just need advice. I'll post more later, I literally stayed up all night typing this and I'm about to be late to work =/.
~Alex
