I want to inprove my financial situation!! any ideas??

Question

I have a great education, I'm a nurse, but recently my husband became disabled. Now, we are struggling somewhat. I'd like to know what I can do to improve the situation, so we aren't struggling so much. We used to have a house, which we had to give up because we couldnt afford all the expenses. Now that we have eliminated excess, our incomes still arent enough to get ahead, let alone see the end of the tunnel. We budget and so on, but there must be something I'm missing. Any clues?

also he is getting disability, but its a great deal less than we are used to getting.

Answer 1

hard to say without knowing other details of ur life...like what kind of diability does ur husband have? what kind of nurse r u?
1) try finding something else ur husband can do for work. if he's only physically disabled, i bet there's something...just need to be creative. (online business, for example)
2) get training to become a higher paid nurse or switch to a job that pays more...u could also work evenings when they give an additional x amount per hour in pay.
3) move to a different city with a lower cost of living, but nurses are paid very well/same. ...maybe there's some town offering a nice sign on bonus- u commit for 2 years maybe 3 (to save more money) then come back with the bonus plus some money saved up to buy another home and re-start.
4) ..it's too bad u had to give up the house...maybe u could've rented out one of the rooms to a student or something like that. but i guess u could still offer room & board to foreign exchange students.
5) go to a bookstore/library- look at personal finances section, careers and business, too. they may give u some ideas/stories about other options.

Answer 2

Everyone has financial dilemma but as a banker I can offer you some suggestions that can help you.
1. Calculate how much income is coming in the house this should the disability checks and your checks.
2. Calculate all your expenses starting from your husbands medical adding in the home expenses and credit cards and travel.
3. Shop around for accounts that can offer you free checking and savings accounts and also find out if there offer credit card balance transfers. What this does is give you free checking and savings and consolidates your credit card balances into one credit card and only one payment.
4. Keep a register and record all the checks and purchases that you have everyday this will help you understand how much you have spent everyday and help you stay within the budget.
5. When you receive your statement every month go over the transactions and balance it out with your register that you keep. It will help you locate how much expenses and purchases are done for the month.
Right now bank of America is offering KEEP THE CHANGE PROGRAM this will help you save some money while you save. What this program does is transfer the change from the purchases you make into the savings account and for the first 3 months they will match it up 100% and then 5% for the rest of the 9 months. By the end of the year you may have up to $250 free money from the bank. I have this program and it helps me save and I get free money for it what is betters then this.
6. Transfer at least $20 into your savings account every month that will help you save.
7. Since you are a nurse you are offered health benefits for you and your family especially your spouse take advantage of the benefit it will help you with hospital bills and provide your spouse with all the medical attention he may need.
I hope these tips will help you out. Let me know if I can help you out further.

Answer 3

When I do a financial review for a client, I start by listing EVERY expense on paper... I usually break it down by weekly expenses, ( Gas, food, etc ) monthly, quarterly, semi annually & annually.

Then I look at all the NET income sources.

Then I compare the 2.

If you are spending more than you are taking in, you have only 2 choices, make more money or spend less. I know it sounds over simplistic, but it's not that simple.

I always try to get couples to discern between discretionary and non discretionary expenses.

Then after that, I look to see ways to increase income. This can be as easy as trying to get a better job, to taking a second job for a few hours per week, to even starting a small home business.

I urge you to really take a long hard & realistic look at both your income and expenses and see what the both of you can do.

Good luck

Answer 4

I wish that I had more information on your husbands disability. Since I don't I would like to take this opportunity to show you a legit solution to your problem, your being in the health care field will help you to understand the information that much better. I am involved with a company called Melaleuca and am hear to tell you my wife also being a nurse has the hardest time not telling the patients in the ICU at the hospital she works at about the products that we use. These are life changing products with the potential to generate a substantial residual income. Melaleuca has a 21 yr proven track record with over a 95% re-order rate. That means that over 95% of the people who shopped with Melaleuca last month will shop with then again. We just finished our annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah and they have reviled some more life changing products and an all new wellness web site. I hope to hear from you soon. [e-mail]

Answer 5

1) Take one week of your schedule and track the amount of time your have for your work and other activities. See if you have an extra 1 or 2 hours a day.

2) Since you arte a nurse, you most probably have to work on a rotating shift so the best option for you is to start a home based job. If you live near colleges, the best way to start is to do data entry for college papers for local professors or students who want their term paper done up professionally. Other ways include surfing the net and earning some money through reading emails but this approach earns very little revenue as a start.

Answer 6

Many hospitals will give signing bonuses to nurses if they promise to work for so many years, you can go from hospital to hospital to get the signing bonuses and fulfil your comitment, that might help a little. You might think about moving into management, the pay and hours can be better, but it less one on one with people. More education is always a good thing, but working and school might not work for everyone.

Answer 7

Get things that give you income like rental properties, mutual funds, savings accounts, etc. But when you take out always make sure that you get more interest than what you take out each year so that the amount you have grows faster and faster.

Answer 8

My dear bikerbitch,

By having great education it shows U have BRAINS. Dat my dear, is where yo ANSWERS R coming out from.

Getting rid of da expensive house is a good START. CONTINUE getting rid of ALL other unnecesary expenses. Luxury is sumthin you can do without NOW. Remember its TEMPORARY ya? smiles.

Revert to BASIC living.FOOD, SHELTER & CLOTHES. STOMP down on your Xpenses so they are LESSER than your INCOME. LEARN only to buy wat you NEED and NOT BUY wat you LIKE.

At the same time, ENRICH yourself with financial knowledge. WORST cases than yours have found lights at da end of the tunnel after reading RICH DAD POOR DAD by Robert Kiyosaki.

"It is most baffling to see people wanting different results in LIFE by continuing the SAME way of thinking & living" - Albert Eistein

smiles. BIKER ***** , im a biker myself- " Live To Ride"

Answer 9

umm....rob a bank? lol...get a higher paying job? if your husband is disabled, i think you can get help from the government, can't you?

Answer 10

start investing in shares, bonds, mutual funds, property etc.....dont put all the eggs in one basket.....