I'm so stressed right now, I feel like I could just sit and cry for hours. My parents have planned a huge family reunion at Disney World in May of 2007, which we thought was great! Well now it looks like DH and I won't be able to go because we just don't have the money to do it! It may seem silly to some of you, ecause we only have to pay for our plane fare and spending money, about $2000 or so, but in 8 months we just won't be able to do it. Right now we barely can buy groceries every month, because most of our money goes to bills, rent and perscription meds.

DH is the only one working, and I've been applying for jobs of any kind for the past 6 months with NOTHING coming from any of them, which frustrates me because I know that if I HAD a job then we'd be able to go! I feel like a complete failure!

So now we have to tell my parents that we can't go! I don't know what to do! I'm so disappointed, mostly in myself! Boy this is sure not helping the whole losing weight thing....

I have a problem with this kind of family planning ... just like the weddings on hot sunny islands. I know a young couple with 4 children ... ya get the picture?

You should just speak with your parents. They probably just don't realise ...

Perhaps if you explain your situation to your parents, they might be able to help pay your way to the reunion. If they offer, take them up on it (but if you do, don't show up with wads of cash--it would look quite suspicious). Meanwhile, don't give up on getting a job--it'll come your way soon.

Hey wait a minute! We drive to Alabama 5 or 6 times a year. Even if we rent a bigger car it's waaaay cheaper than flying. One of the kids has flown out of Detroit which is cheaper too. Buffalo?
I know Ontario is a big place but ... if you live down in this part, maybe that's an option.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! All my other siblings are having no problem with saving money for it, but they all have decent paying jobs. DH barely makes $18,000/yr! Makes it hard to live. The thing is that my parents told us about this over a year in advance, so it's not like we've not had time to save anything, it's just that we can't cause there is nothing to save! Everytime we do save something, something happens, either with the car, or medical bills, and it's ridiculous! This past month I was planning on saving $200 to put towards it, but now we HAVE to buy new tires for the car....I hate life sometimes!!!!

first off, you are NOT a failure! The job market must be tough where you are. Have you considered going through a temporary agency? Sometimes, temp jobs can become permanent.

I have a suggestion for your trip. How about trying to get airline miles to use for plane tickets for your trip? We use a delta american express and pay many of our bills with it as well as gas, groceries, etc. It really adds up. Plus they usually give you thousands of miles for signing up. There are several different cards that offer miles (capital one is another). For delta, it usually takes 25,000 miles for roundtrip tickets (more for international). You can purchase additional miles. And you can use miles from other people. Maybe someone in your family has miles they could donate to you? I'd rather ask someone for miles than money.

I hope this works out for you!

If you have a way to listen to Dave Ramsey, give him a try. He helps people find ways to get out of enormous debt. Deliver pizza? Sell things on e-bay? Clean houses? Your quote says it all.

You can't find any job? Retail? Waiting tables? I put myself through college waiting tables at a fairly inexpensive family Mexican chain (average check - less than 20 bucks, average tip - 3 bucks). I was clearing 1400 a month just in tips!

It's not that we are in debt, we just have enough money to cover our living expenses, but that leaves only like $0.10 left in the bank!

I've applied for jobs at resturaunts, walmart, grocery stores, offices, temp agencies, shoe stores, the hospital, police station, hotels, retirement homes, video stores... NOTHING!!! Truly frustrating! I've even RE-APPLIED to a bunch of places...I'm just not sure what else to do!

I didn't mean to imply that you were in debt. It would just be the same principle-figuring out ways to net more money. Sometimes it is by cutting expenses-sometimes it is by bringing home more money. That has got to be frustrating to be unable to get a job. Is it the general job market there? Would it be wise to relocate to a better job market?

how about in-home child care? there is always a need for great child care .. and could only have to watch one child and still make 100 bucks a week.. thats still ALOT less than a daycare charges.. could put an ad in the paper and see what happens .. with one child or two .. or family that has a few .. you could watch them at their home if the parents wished and it was feasible for you .. especially with winter coming and such its just awful havin to get a baby out in the cold to take em to daycare before work. anyways ..just an idea

I don't know how it is in Canada but I work at Target here in Oregon and we are in a desperate need of anybody that is willing to work. Do you have a Target nearby? You fill out the application online in the store and they do what they call an instant interview right there and we will hire basically anybody that can pass a drug test and is willing to work pretty much any hours. We need 75 more people before the November christmas shopping season which is going to be imposssible.

Ebay is also a great way to make extra money. If I wasn't working full time I could easily make 300 to 500 a month just going to garage sales and reselling things. My husband bought a fish thingy, not sure what, for $7 and we sold it for $40, his old (20 years old) fish finder went for $110 and an old CB radio I bought for $8 went for $25.

Can you deliver newspapers? Average route here is about $250/month and you can do as many as you like, roughly 2 hours per route.

Fast food?? McDonald's here is offering more than $8/hour plus benifits because they can't get anyone to work either.

If you just can't do it tell your family that. Heck $2,000 is a lot of money when you only make $18,000 per year. That is 11% of your yearly income. Just tell them how sorry you are. Maybe they will offer to help. Good luck.

I'm sorry about the trip, but I'm glad you are handling it responsibly. Sometimes it does stink to be an adult.

Are you not even getting interviews from your applications? What kind of work history do you have? The unemployment rate in Ontario (according to yahoo) is higher than it is here--6.4 vs. 4.3--but you'd think there would be opportunities in retail if you aren't restricting the time you would be available for work.

As someone said, check out a temp agency. You can sometimes work for one agency for months, (maternity leave)
Or you could end up working at a couple of places per month.

Ebay is also a great idea,,,you are doing two things at once,,,cleaning out the house and raising some money.

you could always move to Alberta,,,where there is a sign in everyone window asking for help.

During the time when my son was small and I wanted to stay home with him, I did home child care at night. I watched 4 other children while they slept for $75.00 each per week and made $1200.00 monthly which enabled me to stay at home. I put my ad up in the nearby hospital and the kids I kept were other health care workers children.