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And the poverty continues

Returning to college was always going to a be a financial struggle, what with 3 kids to feed, a mortgage to pay, cars to tax and insure, etc. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but figured that if we put our house up for rent and moved back into her parents house, we would (just about) survive. I thought that once I got my third level grant and my tax back we would be relatively secure in time for Christmas.

How fucking wrong was I?

Everything that could have gone wrong pretty much has gone wrong. My tax refund claim has been in the pipeline for 3 whole months now and the fuckers are still sending me out forms to fill in. Our house has been up for rent since August. In that time we’ve had just two people out to view it. We’ve dropped the asking price 4 times since then, and still no takers. My old boss had promised me some contract work which would have helped greatly towards paying the bills but that too has been shelved in the wake of this recession. The part-time job I have now barely covers our day-to-day expenses. So much so that simple things like biscuits and crisps have been relegated off the shopping list in favour of more essential items, usually those that feature in the Tesco Value range. This includes their single-ply, rash-producing toilet roll, tins of over-baked beans in rust & water sauce and that semi-solid sliced shit that passes for bread. Meanwhile, I’ve borrowed money off pretty much everyone I know, the mortgage has bounced (twice) and with Christmas coming, the kids are being encouraged (i.e. told) to put inexpensive things on their list to Santy so that there won’t be any tears on Christmas morning. Well, at least none from the kids.

So when I heard this morning that my grant cheque had arrived I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Finally, I thought, I can get on top of some of the bills, buy a few presents for the kids and repay a couple of the loans given to me. Thank fuck. But, as usual, the God of misfortune had other ideas:

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“Hi, I’m here to collect my grant cheque”

“Okay, what’s your name?”

“My name is H”

“Right, let me have a look… Ah yes, I see it here, Mr H. Now can you show me your student card?”

“I don’t have one”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not officially registered yet, I was told the college could not register me until the grant came through.”

“Well, I can’t give you this until you get a student card.”

“Okay, how do I get that?”

“You need to pay me €72 for your card.”

“Okay, but I’ll need to lodge the cheque before I can pay you, I haven’t got €72.”

“But I can’t give you the cheque until you’ve paid the €72.”

“Oh…………………..fuck”

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God, grant me some fucking patience… please.

How are you fixed for a loan?