Unemployed Women Forced To Sell Their Wedding Rings on Craigslist
Many unemployed women hit by the hard economic realities of this recession are having to forgo sentimentality to pay the bills. Huffington Post reporter Laura Bassett contacted women who were selling their wedding rings on Craigslist, only to find out many of them were doing so to support their children or other family members. One woman responded:
“My son is who I need to look out for and when you put it in perspective it is only a material item and although I still have emotional ties with it it really comes down to what is more important.”
Some women hang on to the rings for as long as they can, until they have no choice:
“I’ve mainly been selling appliances to help with rent and utility bills. I just listed the ring last week for the first time, because I need to have surgery on my back.”
The recession has affected women in different ways. Married women, for example, tend to be heavily depended on in their households, for often it is the husband in the family that is unemployed — three out of every four jobs that is lost is lost by a man, after all. These homes are under budgetary strains as well because women still only take home 78 cents for every dollar men earn. The economic downturn has global effects as well. The UN has recently estimated that 22 million women around the world will be plunged into unemployment, the Latin American and the Caribbean regions being hit the hardest.
What about you, readers? Have you been forced to sell something beloved to pay your bills? Please share your experience with us.
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