The Official Modest Needs Blog

Come On, Share Your Cost-Free Happy

What is the fee-free, no cost, non-possession thing in your life that brings you the most joy.

Share with the Modest Needs community what makes you happy without any need for money. Just tell us in the comments below.

Application of the Day: Single Mom w/ 3 Babies: Energy Bill 10x Normal Amount!

When someone has a limited income, something like an error on an energy bill can mean the difference between having a home and not:

I am a single mom of three (I have all babies: 3 yr old, 1 yr old and 7 mth old.) that really needs assistance because recently I received a bill from my energy company that stated I had been back billed due to incorrect reading of my meter. Due to that incorrect reading, my bill is now $700 (ten times what it normally is), which is making it impossible for me to pay my rent. 

I live on my salary check to check. And I just don't have enough income coming in to allow me to pay a $700 electric bill and my rent. 

I am afraid that my kids and I will be evicted from our home and become homeless. Or the energy company will disconnect my lights. I am stressed out, depressed, and its really taking a toll on me physically. I am constantly thinking about how I will pay this expense and its causing me not to be able to function correctly. 

It's a huge step to ask for help, but I have to put my pride aside for my kids. In the future, I plan on going back to school to further my education so that I can make more money to provide for my kids and myself. 

This assistance will get me caught up for this month of September. I will be relieved that my kids will be able to stay in our home, and it will help reduce my stress level significantly, so I can take better care of my babies, who need lots of attention.

To invest in the life of this single mom who, through no fault of her own, is risking eviction, simply click this link and make a contribution to Modest Needs. Then, no matter how small your gift, you can use your points to vote we fund this request, which will be used, along with other's points, to keep this family of four in their home.

Once Upon a Modest Need

From a substantial gift to the tiniest gesture, we've all likely had some special someone in our lives who have helped us with something without anyone knowing who they are.

The anonymous benefactor. The secret admirer. The fairy godmother. That unseen someone who has stepped in during a time if need or a time of want or a time when no one else could or would.

Tell us your story. Share with the world a time someone whose identity you never learned helped you out in a pinch. How did that secret someone help you?

Application of the Day: Health at Stake, Urgent A/C Repair Needed

This Fulton, Missouri family of three has deal with multiple medical setbacks for both mother and father, which has depleted their savings. But that doesn't have to spell disaster with a little teamwork on our part:

Our household consists of myself and my husband and our daughter. My husband works very hard for us in a local distribution warehouse. I work for a small university helping students complete paperwork and do a great deal of data entry--accuracy is my life. Outside of work I am a very active volunteer with 4-H and a mentor for collegiate 4-H. I am also a student. I am 8 months from completing my bachelors in management with an emphasis in human resources. 

I was diagnosed 8 years ago with diverticulitis and complications from surgeries and infections have nearly taken my life 3 times. Due to the number of surgeries, I now suffer from short bowel syndrome. Almost 2 years ago I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had to have a radical hysterectomy. I am considered cancer free at this time. However, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis as well as lupus earlier this year. The pain is pretty intense some days, but I keep going for my family. My job and my volunteer work keep me young. 

Due to having a very large repair bill on our air conditioner, our mortgage money was used to pay that bill. The bill for our air conditioner was nearly 4 times what we were originally told it would be. Our savings was eliminated by my husband's recent hospitalization of my husband in addition to my medical bills. Due to my medical conditions, air conditioning is vital to my health. 

If we do not get help, we will fall further behind. We could potentially lose our home if we fall further behind. I will have to go without my medication so that my family can eat. 

This will help us save our home and our credit for the future, which are of great importance to us. On a personal level, we are firm believers in helping our fellow man and paying it forward. This is how we live and it is what we are teaching our daughter. Knowing that there are people around the world with the kindness and graciousness to help people they do not even know will cement this belief.

Let's all pitch in and give what we can--even $2 would be a huge help. Let's give this family a break in terms of one-time help to get them back on their feet.

The Poverty That Surrounds You

There news is hard to bear, but it is everywhere, and ignoring it is certainly not an option. Poverty in this country is growing like a cancer in this country. The numbers are astounding. When you read even one story from an individual seeking assistance through Modest Needs and then you scale that to the millions who are at or below the poverty level, and the scope of this tragedy becomes clear.

Census data was released, the most up-to-date information available, and the numbers are devastating.

The Half in Ten campaign, an effort to cut poverty in half in ten years, created an interactive map based on this recent data that allows you to see the number of women living in poverty in each congressional district. The information is clearly presented, and paints, unfortunately, a pretty stark picture.

Again, it can't be ignored. See for yourself how many in your congressional district are struggling. 

You Did It Again. You Changed Lives to the Tune of a Matched $30K!

Way to go team. You can wake with a smile this morning in knowing that the full $30,000.00 grant from the generous Herb Alpert Foundation will be matched so that your "small change" goes even farther to prevent families and individuals from slipping into poverty through no fault of their own.

$30,099.36 was given through 27 September 2011. We'll start a new match on 1 October 2011. In the meantime, thank you so much for your kindness and support of this very important work!

[Photo by Richard Moross]

Application of the Day: Navy Family Needs Hand Keeping Lights On

In this struggling mother's own words:

Our household consists of my husband and I as well as his seven year old daughter. The Navy relocated us a little less than a year ago, and we have been struggling ever since. Last month our military pay was drastically cut because they were overpaying him without noticing, and now they are taking it our of our check 400-600 at a time, leaving us with not enough to pay all bills even at the minimum amounts. I have tried to get help several places and never thought it would be so hard. I have been looking for work since relocating, but have been unable to find anything. Plus I have to transport our daughter to and from school, because there is no bussing service for her school. I am a pretty thrifty mom/wife, but it seems no matter how hard I try, I keep getting shut off notices for our electric bill.

I fear that if I can't get the past due balance paid they will turn off our power and then charge us a reactivation fee that we wouldn't be able to afford. I have a lot of stress and anxiety about our situation. I have tried everything I can think of, but with his pay cut and me not being able to find a job, we have fallen on really hard times. I am sad that we can't do things we intended to do with our daughter.

If we were able to get caught up and stop receiving these shut off notices I believe we could stay on track with careful planning. I would be so thankful if others reached out to help our family. I'd feel truly blessed. Thank you.

Invest in these lives today.

You Can Now Buy "Sorry You Lost Your Job" Sympathy Cards

When I first read the headline I thought surely it was a joke. An Onion headline? Is someone pulling an elaborate prank? 

Turns out, they are totally legitimate: Hallmark greeting cards for the unemployed. This is a real thing.

There are now "Job Loss" sections and "Recession Humor" sections in your local greeting card aisle. I'm not surprised that a company is trying to find a way to capitalize on job loss, I'm just a little surprised people are buying.

What would you think if you were recently unemployed and got a sympathy card for it from a friend? Tell us your thoughts.

Application of the Day: Husband Died, Power Could Be Shut Off

The death of her life partner shouldn't mean this Applicant of the Day goes without much needed electricity:

I am recently widowed. My husband of 27 years passed away on June 2, 2011 in the VA hospital here in Chicago. He was a 100% disabled veteran from the Army. Our children now live on their own. I am not working now due to my disability, I receive SSA Disability because of my anxiety disorder, panic attacks and depression and have for quite some time. I held a job from the age of 16 years old up until I was not able to work anymore, when I turned 50 years old. My disability forces me to stay in my house because I am afraid all the time. When my husband was alive, he always went with me wherever I had to go. Now it is just me and Midnite (cat) and my memories. 

I am requesting help with payment of my electric bill. I cannot pay this bill because I do not have the money. I put in for my husband's death benefits with the VA, but so far I have not heard from them other than them telling me that they are still processing it. I do not get enough money to pay rent, electricity and my other monthly bills that I have. 

I am afraid all the time. I do not want to be in the dark, my food will spoil. I have been stressed out and hospitalized because of all pressure that is building up. l I do not know what to do. Sometimes my medication does not work, I have been failing in school and my graduation has been put on hold. 

This would be a blessing to know that there are people in this day and time that are still willing to help the down and out of this world. God bless them and their families.

To invest in the life of this woman, go directly to her request.

SPENT Game Shows The Difficulties of Poverty

A copywriter for an advertising agency in North Carolina became fed up with the fallacy that poor people must make poor choices to become poor, and so she did something about it. She created a game.

The game is called SPENT, and it's an online Flash program that puts users in the shoes of those unemployed and out of savings. When one plays, they quickly see that it's not poor choices that make people poor, but a lack of choices.

Al Lewis of Market Watch reports:

Nicholson said her inspiration for Spent came from the social-networking game FarmVille, in which players run virtual farms, often scrapping around for farm supplies. It made her wonder: What if there were a game where people had to instead figure out how they could live on frighteningly limited resources?

I played Spent and got through the month with a little cash to spare, but I made choices I wouldn’t make in real life, like letting my dog die to avoid a veterinary bill and denying my kid lunch money.

“It’s a morbidly fun game,” Nicholson said.

At least when it’s just a game.

Nicholson’s mother died at age 46 from her third heart attack. She never got proper care. She didn’t have health insurance, and California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, denied her for years, Nicholson said.

“Her approval letter came three weeks after she died,” Nicholson said. “That was a huge lesson for me. Even as a poor kid, I had always thought, when you live in America, you’re going to be taken care of.”

While plenty of people don't need any sort of computer program to clue them into the devastation that poverty brings, but a good number of folks who think poverty could never happen to them might be surprised by the tough choices that must be faced.

See for yourself.