cowboy style - help

[Johan01]

yeah we also bought every thing cash when we got here ... but due circumstances all just went down hill and a lot of thing went skew. Our medicals for one was a huge expense as it was thought I had cancer i for that had to undergo a huge amount of testing including some inside examinations and cat scans and so on and so on .. just at the end of day to be told no there's nothing it just might have been a little infection at the first time of the medical. Somethiong the Doc. had stated when doing the medical at first.

we'll we will not give up and will battle this one out. At least my wife and I have each other ...

[paula]

Hi, i feel completely shocked at how you are having to live johan and hope that things start to look up soon. makes me appreciate what we have got.  TM is a good place to sell tho, at least its some money. and for those coming over with only a little... buy off trademe, it will save you money... we have got some great stuff! and for really cheap.

[johanpet1]

Johan01 Man we hope that your things work out and we feel for you

From another Johann (Still in SA).

Although you guys have your hassles now, SA has radically changed in the past few months. A few examples.
Our housebond increased with R3850 per month
Our Rates and taxes as it is now worked out at in a different way - From R692 per month to R2077 per month. This happened over a 5 month period.
Electricity with 14% (Not to sure of this figure)
Groceries up with huge amounts
Cooking oil with a lot. 5 Litres of cooking oil now R96,99
Tomato sauce increased from aroung R9 to over R13 per bottle
Macaroni up from R4,98 to R9,69 per packet
Petrol and diesel is up with huge amounts - over R11 per litre - now came down a bit but food and everything else did not.
Our medical aid had another mid year increase in July increase of 11.5% - had a 22% increase in Jan 08.
Man, everything is up and the pay stayed the same.
We have also started to downscale A LOT  as we just cannot keep up - even let Sipho (garden helper - every 2 nd Saturday) go as the budget only go so far.
Everything but everything is just so damn expensive and there are no light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm sure you don't need another person to advise you - but I say hang in there brother. SA is just not an option anymore.
 

[Amber]

Johanpet1 thanks so much for that wake up call.  I have been feeling things a bit expensive here but R96 for 5l oil OMW!
Johan01 hang in there, try keep positive and everything will be ok.  Look on the bright side your medicals all came back ok, the results could have been very different and your life would have been in a much worse mess.  So look for the small blessings and count them one by one!
Amber

[Johan01]

Look you get times when you just feel that this is it ... had enough ... but then   ... life goes on you make changes go back to the drawing board rethink and re build. We landed here bought car cash not a flashy one ... but whe we hit South ISalnd we realised we have been had. Becuase immigration wanted to se money in our bank account of $11000 we had to sell the car and lost $5000 on it. I think and I hope even thoug we are going through a lot of stresses and the what have you not that people after us could learn. One big lesson we learned is yes NZ is great but this does not mean it is free of people out their trying to rip you off. and being a newly arrived you will be an easy target. 

Seems that the 23 months period for medicals does not always apply, have submitted Application for PR within time frame of 3 months but will have to redo medicals it seems. So I don't know if we will continue with PR application the medicals is just to costly. If Immigration insist on me going throug every thing again then I will leave the PR application. So yes doon't count on the 3 month valid period for medicals it is not always the case. The sad point is my wife has top do X-rays but the docs don't want to because it is to soon after the previous ones and they feel that since their was nothing wrong why do they have to do it again. So this is also a stand off between the doctor and immigration and we caught in the middle. So I will have to plead with the doctors just to do the X-rays so that we can move on.

I will when we eventually have our PR write a little story on our journey and the things we went through just to be here ...

[zatexnz]

THere's a little scripture in the Bible (if you don't mind me quoting that), that has helped me through many hardships: 

James 1:2-8
²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

So it is, that when we go through these very trying times, if our faith is in God, He will carry us through, and when we look back, we'll see how we have grown and matured through it...
it's our choice - we can allow hardships to make us bitter or better.

I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through all that, Johann, but if you and your wife stick together and support each other and lift each other up, you will come through this and be the better for it.   

[Durbschick1]

Hi Johan01, I have tears in my eyes reading your post. Partly because we have also had a hard time since we came here in April (hubby) and May (me and kids) We live from week to week and buy the cheapest food possible. All I would like to say though is that I'm happy to hear you and your wife are standing together in this (and that you are well after all the tests!), and I know one day we will all look back at these months/year...s knowing that we did a brave thing for our children. Good luck and may God bless you and your family!