Oh, am I in need of support
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| Thu, 04-28-2005 - 9:23am |
I'm new here, but so glad I found a place where others are feeling the pinch like I am.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I'm about $10,000 in credit card debt and my savings account has dwindled to next to nothing. I just looked at my bank account last night and I was devastated. On April 8, I had $2,000. in it, which included a bonus I'd received from work. As of last night, I was overdrawn by $11.00. And I've spent nothing except for bills and food. I had to pay income tax of $900.00. The dog's vaccinations cost $250.00. I sent money to CC's. And I paid my monthly bills. And things go like this from month to month and I don't know what else I can do to make the money go any further.
I buy clothes at thrift stores. I buy generic groceries and shop at Wal-mart and other less expensive stores. I hang clothes outside on a clothes line. I'm conscious of heating and A/C and use neither unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't drive anywhere I don't have to (my commute to work is 40 miles a day round trip). I'm just so bummed because I don't know what else to do. It's coming down to where I'm going to have to dump internet service and cablevision because those are two things I can do without, but I have kids at home. How do I do that to them?
It just seems like I can no longer keep up. The price of things have exceeded my ability to pay. I have a good job and it pays well for what it is, but just not enough to take care of everything that needs taking care of. If I could get the CC's paid off, that would probably help, but I can't foresee that happening.
How many of you have had to take on a second job just to survive? This is where I'm at right now. I don't want to have to work ALL the time, but that's the only way I can see me being able to keep things together.
Thanks for listening. Advice, suggestions, hugs are appreciated.


Here's your hug <<<<>>>>
I've worked two jobs most of my life. I still ended up with $24K in credit card debt, and had to sell my house before the bank foreclosed. But after just two years of working really hard at debt reduction (and getting two inheritances), I became debt free. Right up until I bought my new car last September.
You might be doing your kids a favor by cancelling cable. Most of what I see on TV shouldn't be seen by young eyes anyway. And I just heard a study on the radio that top-level students study 11 hours a week, and watch TV only 3-7 hours a week, as opposed to struggling students who watch 14 hours of TV a week.
Do you have a budget written down to show your income and outflow? If income is less than outflow, you'll only go deeper into debt.
Since you have children, have you considered babysitting on weekends or evenings? It doesn't have to be a full-fledged daycare center, just a kid or two a couple of nights a week. If you have someone else in your home to watch your kids, perhaps a breakfast shift waitressing on weekends would help put you back in the black.
The book that helped me turn my finances around is "How to get out of debt, stay out of debt, and live prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis. You can borrow it for free from your library. There are lots of other books out there too, that's just the one that helped me the most. I should read it again! :-)
Best of luck, keep posting here. This board is the greatest help I know.
Lee Ann
Lee Ann
www.werenotafraid.com
(((HUGS))) (((HUGS))) (((HUGS))) (((HUGS))) (((HUGS))) (((HUGS)))
Welcome to this board. Sorry to read about your situation...BTDT over and over again. I guess the first thing I would suggest is to really look at where your money goes. Track your spending for one whole month. Write down EVERYTHING (not just fixed items like mortgage, car payments, utilities - but everything: newspapers, magazines, dog food, school supplies, trips to McDs, candy bars, library fees, video rentals, - EVERYTHING). This will definitely tell you where all your money goes and where (if any) there are items that can be cut or pared down.
Have I ever taken a second job to make ends meet? Absolutely - I found a retail job that would work with my schedule and paid $10/hr (I was a single mom at the time and had to work around my fulltime job and my son's visitation with his dad). I did that for almost a year - paid off a couple of small cards and made it through Christmas. I also cleaned my grandparents house for $35 every Sunday. My grandmother had osteoporosis so sweeping and mopping floors and scrubbing tubs was difficult for her. They eventually moved into a retirement village. But I did that for almost two years. I would watch my neighbors' daughter at least twice a month. All of this *extra* money went directly toward the credit cards.
I'm sure others will have more suggestions. Hang in there.
(((HUGS)))
Christie
Hello and thanks for posting.
All my best,
Danni
Thanks to everyone for suggestions. I really didn't want to do a second job right now. I've got a son who is on probation and is in drug abuse recovery and I really hate leaving him at home alone too much. That's where a lot of my debt has come from. Lawyers, court, etc.
I'm considering starting a p/t publishing business. I have a Master's certificate in Word, and I'm very good with Publisher and Powerpoint. I recently made 250.00 creating a piano recital program. I know I can do the work, it's just getting to that point of finding customers and clients.
Right now it seems life hasn't had any real upswings for a while. My fiance, poor guy, was laid off from an IT job in 2001. He hasn't been able to find a similar IT position since. He's been working 10.00 an hour labor jobs since then, and was put out of a job 4 weeks ago when the boss decided to give a nephew my fiance's position in the warehouse. Nepotism at it's finest.
Now my fiance will probably move in with me. He's desperately looking for work, hasn't been able to get anything. His two kids are moving back with their mother. I know that hurts him; that he can't even support his own kids.
We've just had a long run of bad luck. Seems we were all fine until a few years ago, then everything came undone at once.
So, my next question. Has anyone done any business work from home? How successful were you at it?
I freelance out of my home, and it's going extremely well. But the main thing you need to know is that, at first, 95% of what you do will be prospecting and building business, not actually working for money. It takes a long time to get to the point where you are spending even half your time actually working on paying projects.
My most basic and essential advice is, give value first. There are a million people out there who freelance publishing (and writing, for that matter, which is part of what I do). Give your potential clients a reason to hire you instead.
One way to do that is to establish a relationship with one or two non-profit organizations, and do their publishing for them pro bono. That will help you develop a portfolio of work, as well as get your name out there in a positive light. Choose organizations that are in line with your values, but that also have a high profile in your community (feel free to volunteer for organizations that *don't* have a high profile also, but not instead) or among the types of businesses that you want to work with. By publishing for, say, the United Way instead of "Lu Lu's Dog Rescue," your portfolio looks much more professional and you will have much more interaction with people who may want to hire you. I'm not saying don't publish for "Lu Lu's" too, but if you do, do it because you believe in her work, and don't expect it necessarily to have an impact on your sales.
Also consider offering a promotional--free flyer design to the first 5 companies to respond, or something of that sort.
I have been writing freelance for four years. I just started a business that offers business writing and speaking training. The writing has taken off like a rocket, in part because the training business has put me in front of a lot of people. One of the things I've done that has been successful, is to offer a free lunch seminar for business owners and HR managers (my market). People love free lunch. I partnered with a catering company, and my cost was around $200 for everything. I got in front of a lot of people and showed them what I can do. $200 is a lot to put out there if you're already struggling, so I don't recommend it right off. But perhaps you can come up with a creative way to put your name out there, and set yourself up as *the* place to go for publishing, that won't cost money.
I will tell you--the first year or so of freelance writing was rough. Granted, the economy stunk--it was at the end of 2001. But most of it was just that I had not yet established enough relationships. Now that I have, I don't have to market my writing any more--it sells itself through my network of relationships. All I have to do is call people once in a while, go to networking events (I'm a member of a business association--when you have the cash flow for it, this is a good idea), and enjoy myself. The training end of the business is what occupies my marketing dollars and time, now, because it is still getting established.
Anyway, good luck with it. It's a great way to make some extra money, but it's hard at first, especially if you are struggling. I definitely recommend you find a way to get all your bills paid reliably, and *then* start your business. If that means working two jobs for a while, then so be it. It's so much more fun running a business when you're not relying on it to put food on the table, especially at first. :)
Good luck and blessings,
Heather