The Party's Over (January 2, 2012)

For many who are "without", the holiday season can be a wretchedly difficult time. For some it is a time of particular loneliness, not having friends or family to spend time together.  For others, the inability to purchase gifts for their children or partake in Christmas activities is a stark reminder of their dismal economic status.  And for still others, the increased and visible gap between those who "have" and those who "have not" is just too much to stomach.  For all of these people, Christmas and New Year's can be just another day at best . . . or a living hell at worst.

However, there are some struggling poor who get welcome relief at Christmas time.  They have family in better circumstances who they can visit in order to get a reprieve from the same-old same-old.  They get treated to generosity that abounds during the holidays through invites to dinner, or special gifts that mysteriously arrive, or a gadzillion other forms of hospitality that thrives especially at this time of year.  That Poverty Guy was fortunate enough to find himself in this group, whose Christmas experience was a welcome respite from daily struggles.

In fact, compared to November, December was quite delightful for me.  In November it was a daily grind that depended how much money was available from day to day with the only credit available to ease the situation akin to dealing with loan sharks.  Of course, in December, a new micro-finance program was introduced where I could borrow more and at lower interest rates.  This change on its own drastically and immediately improved my day-to-day experience by being able to plan ahead and spend less money to get more of the things I needed.  However, on top of that, I was blessed to be invited out frequently and showered with little kindnesses from friends and family (. . . as proven by my waistline as I gained 7 lbs in the last two weeks).  In short, in many ways the latter half of December was simply awesome.

Alas, the party's over.  (Sigh.) While I expect January will still be easier than November, it is most likely that the "free stuff gravy train" has pulled out of the station.  This month the micro-finance facility will be adjusted slightly to make access to credit and repayment more flexible although at a marginally higher interest rate.  This mirrors the new credit facilities being introduced to those in poverty in many parts of the world in order to help them break out of the poverty cycle.  However, even with this improvement, I suspect that my living circumstances will be a bit more challenging than in December due to the high probability that hospitality being offered will be quite a bit less.

As it is now the season of New Year's resolutions, here's one for you.  How about taking a look at the generosity that abounds in December, and seeing how you can play a part to make it a reality throughout the year.  After all, the circumstances for a person in need in December are likely to be the same circumstances experienced in January and beyond.  We must make helping those in need a priority throughout the year in order to hopefully create a situation where there are fewer people in need next Christmas.  That's my hope for 2012.

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Phase II - Struggles of the Working Poor Daily Report
Day 52 - 61 (December 22^nd – December 31^st)

Weight at Beginning of Project:  233 lbs
Weight at End of Phase One:  216 lbs
Weight at Start of Phase Two: 221 lbs
Weight at Start of Today:  213 lbs

Available Funds:   $48.71 (leftover) + $9.50 (Dec 22) + $11.00 (Dec 23) + $6.00 (Dec 24) + $0.00 (Dec 25) + $10.00 (Dec 26) + $9.00 (Dec 27) + $7.00 (Dec 28) + $9.00 (Dec 29) + $8.50 (Dec 30) + $9.00 (Dec 31) = $127.71
Funds Spent Today:  $67.98 (Loan Payments) + $40.22 (Purchases) + $10 (Gas) =  $118.20
Remaining Funds:   $9.51

New Loan:  $0.00
Loan Payment Due Today: $34.07 (Dec 22) + $33.91 (Dec 29) = $67.98
Loan Payment:   $34.07 (Dec 22) + $33.91 (Dec 29) = $67.98
Outstanding Loan: $67.50 (originally $135.00) @ 2% per month (non-compounding) . . . payments due as follows:  $34.38 due Dec 8^th (PAID); $34.22 due Dec 15^th (PAID); $34.07 due Dec 22^nd (PAID); $33.91 due Dec 29^th (PAID).

Items Purchased:   5 lb Potatoes, 5 Roma Tomatoes, Deodorant, Hair Gel, 7 Apples, 5 Bananas, 9” Pie Shells, Black Pepper, 6-Pack Dry Cider (for New Year’s)

Free Stuff:  Lunch on Dec 23 (bought by friend), Supper on Dec 24 (bought by family), Supper on Dec 25 (as previously reported re Christmas dinner basket), Supper on Dec 31 (friend’s house), and TONNE of Christmas goodies sent by parents

Gas Purchased* & Remaining:  $10.00 (i.e. 9.02 litres @ $1.109 per litre . . . 90.2 km @ 10 km/litre) + 5.19 litres (gas remaining) = 14.21 litres (142.1 km)
Driving Today:  98.6 km (i.e. 9.86 litres)
Gas Remaining:  4.35 litres (i.e. 43.5 km)

*Will not include any fuel or driving related to work that is paid for by work.

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Phase II - Struggles of the Working Poor Daily Report
Day 62 - 62 (January 1^st – January 2^nd)

Weight at Beginning of Project:  233 lbs
Weight at End of Phase One:  216 lbs
Weight at Start of Phase Two: 221 lbs
Weight at Start of Today:  220 lbs

Available Funds:   $9.51 (leftover) + $8.00 (Jan 1) + $5.00 (Jan 2) = $23.51
Funds Spent Today:  $0.00
Remaining Funds:   $23.51

New Loan:  $0.00
Loan Payment Due Today: $0.00
Loan Payment:   $0.00
Outstanding Loan: $0.00 (originally $0.00) @ 3% per month (non-compounding) . . . re-payment due January 31^st (or earlier)

Items Purchased:   Nil

Free Stuff:   Family Potluck Brunch on Jan 1 (I contributed the sausages)

Gas Purchased* & Remaining:  $0.00 (i.e. 0.00 litres @ $1.109 per litre . . . 0.0 km @ 10 km/litre) + 4.35 litres (gas remaining) = 4.35 litres (43.5 km)
Driving Today:  0.0 km (i.e. 0.0 litres)
Gas Remaining:  4.35 litres (i.e. 43.5 km)

*Will not include any fuel or driving related to work that is paid for by work.

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