Financial Stress

Advice for Beggars

Before avarice and evil overtook the world in the 2008 economic meltdown it was considered bad form for an able-bodied man or woman to beg. Unless you were clearly old, disease... ...read more

Welfare and My Moral Dilemma

After some years of unemployment, an expensive divorce, and an imprisoned and non-contributing ex-husband, I finally have a job. Of course, it’s a part-time temporary job... ...read more

My Kids Are Freaked Out about Money

A year after our foreclosure, my kids and I are still staying in a one-bedroom apartment — most of our stuff in storage. Although we are fortunate in many respects, and I ... ...read more

James Verone and Tom Lutz and It’s Time for Some Civil Disobedience

While I’ve been whining away on this column and feeling frustrated, James Verone and Tom Lutz – two very different characters – have started ripples of social activism that I ho... ...read more

Why You Must Save in your 401(k) – No Excuses, NOW

In the last week I’ve encountered three people who are in terrible economic circumstances – as I am. They are all well-educated formerly “successful”[1] people, who I wil... ...read more

Getting a Job Means Losing Medical Insurance

Yes, I finally seem to have gotten a job. It turns out I had to know someone. I’ve applied for many a job, yet without knowing someone at the potential place of employment I had... ...read more

Ex-Husband Out of Jail

My ex-husband was released from prison after serving about eighteen months. The kids and I hadn’t seen him for nearly two years. And he wanted to see his kids. Before he ... ...read more

Measuring Failure: Jobs I Didn’t Get

My kids and me during the seemingly neverending divorce Copyright 2004 Alison Wachstein ...read more

Food Stamps are a SNAP

I had a little blip with my Medicaid recently – because I had moved they cancelled the medical insurance for me and my two kids. So, I had to hunt down a social worker here in o... ...read more

Unemployment Benefits: What They Are and How to Get Some

I’m going to put the moral of the story first, because if you’re anywhere near as thick as I was, you will need to hear it more than once. The moral: If you lose your job, file... ...read more


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