Can anyone tell me what to do now? I'm at the beginning of a financial crisis.?

Question

I'm from a small town in TX. I've tried to get help with social services, but have been denied. My family earns too much on paper. We have a gross monthly income of $2500, but because my husband owes monthly child support of $1200, and our rent and utilities and car payment add up to $1186. We are left with about $14 for food, laundry, and things we need like soap, etc. Everywhere I go for help, turns me away! My husband's child support is for four children. They all live in New York state. We are a family of four, and have tried to get his child support orders modified, but our attempts only made his child support increase. We are really in need of help. Suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks a million for your advice.

We both work. I only earn six dollars an hour while my husband is on salary. I get NO overtime. My children are 7 & 4. I am also a full time student. My husband works 65-80 hrs a week. We are not bums! We are hard working, and we are in a bind. We can not move, we have a lease agreement for six more months. Our car can not be sold. My husband needs transportation, he works in another town 30 miles away. Besides we have no public transportation. The school my kids go to does not even have a bus route. I really can't walk anywhere because everywhere from home is about 4 miles away. That's a bit far, especially with the two boys. I don't own a bike, so I can't ride and tow them with me either! I just don't know what else to do and I'm about to have a nervous breakdown, not to mention that, I haven't eaten anything in a couple a days...in order to make sure my kids have enough to eat my husband and I have not been eating.
I need real advice.

Answer 1

This is a very hard situation. You don't mention how old your children are or if you work, so I'm assuming your kids are young and you have to be at home with them. The only realistic options are getting some additional income or reducing your monthly expenses. If at all possible, try to bring down your utilities and car payments. Can you sell your car and buy a cheaper used one? Are you able to move to a smaller or less expensive home?

As far as bringing in additional income, there was a story on ABC News, which I am attaching to this reply. Tory Johnson has some really good advice for work from home moms.

Good luck!!

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/TakeControlOfYourLife/story?id=2621388&page=1

Answer 2

Sorry, you only have 2 legitemate options, spend less or make more. Selling the car and getting a cheap one that you can buy out right can make some sense as can moving to cheaper rent. But making more money is the way that gives you the most options. Stay away from the jokers who steer you to websites. For the most part that's a way to spend more. Not what you need right now.

Consider a paper route (not kidding). Or the route I would choose .... go to your local trade unions for skilled trades (plumbers, welders, machinists, carpenters, electricians, millwrights, etc) sign on to an apprentice program. You will make more as an apprentice in a skilled trade than you do now.. And yes, I am talking about YOU, not your hubby! You will have a better chance of landing such a position because of your gender. You will eventually make more than hubby does. If he can't handle that, trade him in on a more useful model.

Answer 3

Go to a local church (or churches) and ask if they can provide or recommend any type of assistance. There should be a food pantry in your area which can provide you with some groceries. Some pantries are governed by state rules regarding income, and some are not; so if one pantry says you don't qualify, see if there is any other pantry you can go to. Call every church in the phone book if necessary. You should find something.

Go to your local library and get out some cookbooks that feature thrifty recipes. Some suggestions are: "Miserly Meals" by Jonni McCoy, "Cheap Eating" by Pat Edwards, and "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Daczycyn (which actually has a lot of thrifty suggestions, including some recipes). Ask a reference librarian for more suggestions.

Also remember to check out what your local library offers by way of entertainment: programs for the kids, maybe a dial-a-story on the phone, free books, movies, & music; sometimes even video games. This can help you cut your entertainment expenses (if you've been spending in that category) and also help provide the morale boost you probably need. All drudgery and no play tends to lead to depression. We're only human, after all, not robots!

Shop at places that tend to sell things cheaply: local thrift stores (clothes, household items), dollar stores (true dollar stores sell everything for a dollar; some stores with "dollar" in the name are just discount stores), and garage & yard sales.

Another place that can help you is to sign up for your local Freecycle group. This is a site on which people post offers of stuff they have that they no longer want, and choose a respondent to have it free for the hauling away. You can also post requests of what you want on the site. Each location's group rules are slightly different, so read them carefully; there may be restrictions such as, possibly, you may have to post an offer first before making a request.
http://www.freecycle.org/

Also ask your local community service organizations and churches if there are any free stores in your area. Some churches & community organizations have "free stores" where people in need can come and take stuff they need for absolutely free. What the store has will vary; some have food, some have clothes or household goods. Check to see what's in your area.

Some websites to help you with further ideas for frugal spending and wise money management are:

http://www.bankrate.com/
You should have an interest-bearing checking account with no monthly maintenance fees. You don't necessarily need to have an account with a bank in your area; this is a great bank account comparison site.

http://home.ingdirect.com/
The above is an online-only bank that I like. There are others similar to it. The checking account pays you interest without monthly maintenance fees, but you have to also have an account with a physical bank, and you can't write paper checks from your online account; you can use a Mastercard debit card or make online transfer payments.

http://www.crown.org/
Crown Financial Ministries is a Christian financial counseling group.

More financial advice:
http://www.daveramsey.com/
http://www.oprah.com/money/debtdiet/experts/qa/debtdiet_qa_budgets.jhtml

A television reality show that helps couples in debt:
http://www.slice.ca/Shows/ShowsPage.aspx?Title_ID=93097

More frugal living ideas:
http://www.debtproofliving.com/
http://www.miserlymoms.com/

Regarding cleaning supplies: you can do a lot with basic supplies such as baking powder, salt, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol or vodka, distilled white vinegar, club soda, washing soda, bleach, and borax. Look at your local library for books on making your own cleaning solutions or green cleaning (not everything in the preceding list is "green"). Ask a reference librarian for help. Of course, you can probably also find chemical, pre-made cleaning solutions at your local dollar store, but knowing what you can do with what you may already have will also be a help to you. Plus, less toxic options are better for everyone's health!

Evaluate your clutter. What do you have that you could part with? There are probably local resale stores that will give you a small amount for movies, books, clothes, and other household items. These places won't pay you much, but when you're desperate, every dollar counts. If you have any antique furniture, call a furniture dealer and see what he'll offer you.

Another option is to take some of your stuff to a place that will sell them online for you, in return for a commission of the selling price. Of course, you can do it yourself if you have the time and the know-how. There are probably several places in your area that will sell online for you, if you don't want to do it yourself. One such place that provides this service is http://www.i-soldit.com/index.asp

I'm sorry to hear you are going through such financial difficulties. I wish I had more suggestions for you. My most important suggestion is to pray! And if you are Christians, to tithe in faith.

Answer 4

For a temporary fix, you might look at having a yard sale or go to your local food closet at church...


Long term... you need to be looking for a higher paying job....