2.djaultra.pics
Two months behind on rent. Account balance: $104. My name is Michelle Harper. I'm 41 and I've lived in Mount Maunganui for twelve years. I work as a cleaner through Crest — offices, medical centres, shopping centre corridors across the Bay. Just me and my daughter Chloe, who's 9. Between my hourly wages and the Working for Families tax credits I get through IRD, I bring in just over $3,200 a month. Rent takes $520 a week. Then the Baybus, the power, the water, the Pak'nSave run, the repayments on my ANZ personal loan that never seem to go anywhere — another $850-something that disappears before I even see it. By the end of the fortnight, I'm done. Sometimes before. When my ANZ account drops below fifty dollars, something tightens in my chest. --- In March Crest lost the contract with our main site. No warning, no notice. My shifts just stopped. I went to Work and Income to apply for JobSeeker Support but the paperwork alone took weeks — I couldn't wait that long. Two months without being able to cover rent or my loan repayments. I spoke to my landlord twice before he got the property manager involved. The second time he didn't want to hear it. One morning there was an envelope in the letterbox. I opened it out front, still in my jacket. 21-Day Notice. Dates. Amounts. Everything typed up clean, like it was normal. I went inside and put the kettle on. That evening Chloe asked me if everything was okay. I told her yes. After that I'd slow down every time I walked past the letterbox. Just in case. --- Mere has lived next door for years. Her husband lost his job at the factory last year. I see it on her face — I get it. One evening she knocked. She'd seen me with that envelope. I told her what was going on. She waited a moment, then — Mich, I'm going to tell you something but don't laugh at me. I'm not laughing. I tried this app. Put a bit in, came out alright. Took it all out that same night. Then I tried again and covered the months I was behind on.
