When a Debt-Free Christmas Goes Wrong

I was talking to a friend this morning before pickleball. He’s a retired teacher who stays in touch with former students, and right now he’s trying to raise some money for one of them who’s in a tough spot.

Here’s what happened: The guy is in his mid-thirties with two small children. A few weeks ago, he lost his job but, thankfully, found new work within a week.

Then the timing fell apart. His old employer was supposed to pay his final wages last Friday, but administrative problems pushed it to the next pay cycle—after Christmas. His new job pays every two weeks, so that first paycheck won’t arrive until after Christmas either.

The bottom line? No money for Christmas presents for his young children.

For this working family, like so many others, living paycheck-to-paycheck isn’t just a phrase, it’s reality. Sometimes you don’t realize how fortunate you are until you hear a story like this.

I asked what seemed like an obvious question: why not put it on a credit card until the paychecks come through?  Ironically the family is proud of having no credit card debt—they don’t even have a card. It certainly challenges the unfair stereotypes about paycheck-to-paycheck living. Though in this case, a card would have actually helped.

I handed my friend a couple of twenties to add to what he’s collecting. Maybe it’s their own fault, maybe circumstances just conspired against a fragile financial situation. Either way, I couldn’t not contribute knowing two young children might wake up Christmas morning with nothing from Santa.

Handing over that money reminded me how fortunate I am and what I take for granted, not just to be able to help, but to help from a place of financial security where I don’t need to calculate what it costs me or judge how they got here.

But it also made me wonder: how many other families are facing the same situation right now with no former teacher in their corner? No friend-of-a-friend passing the hat? This family had someone who remembered them and cared enough to reach out. That’s its own kind of luck—its a sad Christmas thought.