MatthewHSE - 2:15 pm on Nov 20, 2007 (gmt 0)

C'mon you should have sold that story to the press.

I'm not sure I understand - if you doubt my story, I can assure you it's absolutely true. The father worked for a contractor friend of mine, who could only afford to pay $10 per hour. They put in some 10-hour days together, but then they also didn't have work every day. I imagine the guy grossed about $400 per week.

They made it for quite some time just by living frugally (including generic groceries, cloth diapers, hand-me-down clothes, etc.) He eventually got a much better job and they're now doing well financially, but they made it on that $10/hour job for about a year, all without any previous savings, government aid, or going into debt. (It helped that they didn't have any debt when they got into that situation. They're also fairly devout and I have no doubt their financial situation was a subject of frequent prayer.)

I should add that this whole thing took place within the past five years, during which the economic situation around here really hasn't changed much. So I presume a careful family of seven could still get by on that kind of money.