I Am More Poor Then Dirt Poor in Me Being Me

Revised: 09/30/2023 2:13 p.m.

  • Sept. 30, 2023, 2 a.m.
  • |
  • Public

I really appreciate everything everyone has told me these recent years as I complain about the slum lord that lives above me. The only good thing about this place is I only pay $550.00 rent and about 180.00 for my entertainment which includes the TV , the internet and the phone. And after that if I have enough money for groceries for two weeks I am very lucky but that would be becasue of tax credits and the GST.
I am living on about $1300.00 a month so me moving is not really an option unless I can find a rent like where I am now.
But rent here in B.C. is this…

https://globalnews.ca/news/9492924/average-cost-rent-apartment-bc-new-report/#:~:text=Economy-,It’s%20now%20%242%2C471%20a%20month%20on%20average,an%20apartment%20in%20B.C.%3A%20report
and the povery line here is at

The poverty line for the majority of the province is roughly $2100 per month for a single individual[1], and so this rate increase still will not meet the poverty line. This will continue to have further impacts on the quality of life, health and well being of low-income people with disabilities.
So you can see that I have to be very careful where I live or I won’t be able to afford to eat or sleep.
I don’t think I have bought any clothes in more then 20 years and it’s a good thing I take cre of my clothes or I wouldn’t have them.
The next place I can afford to live will be a low income place but I can’t even apply till I am 65 and on Social security and something called Safer. And maybe something called Gain. The latter two i probally won’t qualify for because I am on disability.
So the question I have is where am I suppose to live and how much do you think I should eb paying for rent? Right now I am paying $200.00 more in ent then what the recomended amount should be.
And when I do move I will have to pay the electricity and the heat so there will be that. And even with a roomate it will be a lot. But now I do have a roommate of sorts but he can’t afford much either. I mean he does work and can pay for a bit more then I can but still it’s still a lot. And I run out of money a lot faster then he does.
So you see why I can’t move and I have to compalin to get things fixed becasuse the more I complain the more sicker I get because this mold and the musty smell is contributing to my health. Even the doctor says I need to move or get things fixed but my hand are tied.
But one day soon things will get fixed and then I will be happy again.
The thing with this slumlord is that she can afford to fix things but she chooses not too because this house is 54 years old and she considers that old and not worth fixing. And she says that the electric and gas has risen so much that she is having trouble paying it plus the property taxes are about $10.000.00 a year. So she says she can’t afford to fix things. But the law says she has to maintain this place so people can live here.
I don’t omplain about the little stuff just the stuff that isn’t up to standard and acording to the law and that is no exucuse not to fix things and to tell me it’s becasue of my behaviour is a crock of shit becasue it has nothing to do with my behaviour. It has to do with my health and wealfare and that is all.
Why should I have to live with mold and musty smells when it wasn’t my fault to start with? And why should I have to live with it when I know it’s affecting my health?
I have never eevr lived in aplace like this and everytime I needed something fixed it got fixed or replaced. Appliences get old and need to be fixed or repalced and there should be no blame that it’s my fault and I am going to get eveicted. To tell me I am going to get evicted for no good reason just puts me in a space that I wonder if she will actually do that and if I have any leagal grounds to fight it. But then I really don’t have the money to even fight her for it so here I am wondering if I will die or just get sicker.
I have even told her that I would pay half to get things fixed even though I can’t afford to and I also offered to get new appliences and she said no to both. I even offered to pay for someone to come and fix things and she said no to that so i am stuck wondering what will just break and stop working or explode or catch on fire because nothing is being maintained. And things not working really scares the hell out of me because I kow I will get blamed for it and then evicted. So that is why I get mad and yell and scream at her because she doesn’t listen to me or care about my concerns. And I can’t really have nothing to do with her becasue she does come down once in a while for something minor to fix becasue she won’t let me fix it or anyone else and then I ask her when things will be fixed and she says they won’t be and that is what trigers me and I start on her because I can’t undertsand why she is abusing me. Plus when she tells me not to do something I do listen to her for the most part but latley I have decided why should I do what she wants and not do what I want.
I have lived her for 9 years and my parents have been here once and won’t come back becasuse of the mold and the smell and plus my parents think she is a witch.

So this is how it is for me. I hope yu undersatnd now and realize when I can afford to move I will, but until then all I can do is try to not have anything to do with her and do what makes me happy no atter what she says.


Last updated September 30, 2023


theKat September 30, 2023

but don't you count your husband's income? He probably makes pretty good money with what you make. (hugs)

Jodie theKat ⋅ September 30, 2023

No I can't do that because then he would have toi support me and I don't want that and whatever money I do get will be taken away...Being poor really sucks

Asenath Waite September 30, 2023

I can feel your frustration. I wonder if the landlady just knows that you're kind of stuck, so she can treat you poorly if she wants to. She knows you'd be hard pressed to move, so she takes you for granted. It's a horrible situation all the way around.

Not to be rude, but how comes your partner doesn't help pay the bills? Or does he? Sorry, it's just the obvious question.

Does Canada not have something like Food Stamps in the states, that covers your groceries?

We just have the most basic internet, and we get a government credit that makes it $25. We have a roku for the TV, so no cable bill, and I just pay for Shudder. Don watches loads of really old shows with commercials. I pay for streaming services only when there's something I specifically want to see. Like Shudder for Joe Bob.

I don't understand the animosity in some comments. You have nothing but my sympathy. We lived in a van once for six months. I know how shitty things can get when you're poor.

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