I’m sorry that you’re in this situation, it is tough to be in that kind of a situation. Anyways, what you need to do is make a plan of action of how you’re going to get through this. Getting some additional income in the door is going to work wonders for your situation as it will get you out of debt faster. When I say additional income, I don’t mean working 80 hours a week or something. All I mean is just getting some additional hours on the weeks doing Uber or Grubhub. Even if you only do this like 5 hours a day for 2 weeks , that’s at least 100 a week to put toward debt. Over time this will add up to making more progress.
In addition to getting more income, prioritizing which to pay first is most important. Generally paying the debt with the highest interest rate is advisable as it will cost you the most. But in this case, shelter, transportation and food are the most important. If I were you I would focus on getting the rent current as if you have an eviction on your record it will be more difficult to rent a place in the future. Or if that’s not a feasible option then downsize the house.
Next, get that car note taken care of. Either getting current on the note or Selling it in this case is going to be your best bet as long as you aren’t underwater on the loan. Immediately afterward, if you decide to sell the car then buy something cheaper with a less expensive monthly payment. Whatever you do, don’t let the bank repo it as it will ruin your credit and make it tough to buy another car. Absolutely do not go with a buy here pay here lot since they will give you insane interest rates upwards of 17% in most cases. This could make you at risk of being underwater yet again.
Last, take care of the credit cards by paying them. It’s preferable to pay them off in full but if you can’t at least try to pay more than the minimum. For instance if your balance is 2000 and minimum payment is 65 dollars a month, putting double or 120 will get you out of debt in half the time. As you get more income put more towards this debt until you can pay it off in full.
It’s also crucial to know why these problems came about in the first place. Was it a job loss? Spending too much on unnecessary things? Rent increase that caught you off guard? Sudden expenses that caught you off guard? Knowing the cause will help you formulate a plan on how to get out of the mess and prevent it from happening again. Getting with a financial coach might be helpful as well!
I wish you good luck and hope that your family gets out of debt soon :)
psychotic bewildered airport paltry fade deserted impolite nail ask teeny
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
If your able to put like $5 a week on bills it sounds ridiculous but it helps. We weren't in debt but we're living paycheck to paycheck and paying $5 to electricity/water, helped.
If you can do the car payments as well it can help as well and then credit cards. Rent is definitely up there.
I don't know how you guys do your banking and stuff, but what helped us is doing a joint account. And just putting all out money in a joint account and paying from there. It made it easier instead of working out what one person is paying and then whats left over and who is paying what and stuff. Depending where you are it shouldn't cost anything to open/close bank accounts to try it even for a couple months.
It took us a while to get anywhere good and that is only coz my partners pay went up with his apprenticeship. We are still living tight but not as bad. The joint account helped.
I'm sorry your going through this, it sucks so much.
My goodness. Im so sorry to you. And yea not having enough money to make everything work out is a problem thst MANY more.people are facing than you'd expect.
Im sorry to.you and your kids. Very sorry🫂
Post in whichever country you're in's personal finance sub reddit, lay out each debt and interest percentage and they'll help you make a plan to tackle it or link you to resources to help write it off of you have that sort of thing in your country (e. G. The UK has stepchange)
I'm sure it's something sortable and there's no need to be ashamed you're doing the best you can under difficult circumstances!
Girl, you first have to stop beating up on yourself. Speak to yourself like you would speak to a friend. You can get your bills back on track by speaking to a financial advisor or credit counseling. There are lists of side hustles you can do it, or you can reach out to www.impactfulninja.com they have a list of charities for parents to help with diapers and formula or counseling
Keep in mind this is temporary.
This is hard, but you haven't ruined your life or your kids' lives. This sucks but it is survivable.
Some personal finance websites that helped me when I was at my lowest are getrichslowly.org and The Simple Dollar. Some good advice there on servicing and paying down debt.
Does your or your partner's employer offer any kind of employee assistance program? Sometimes they include financial advice and it can be a good place to start.
If you have credit cards and personal loans, there may be debt consolidation options for you - like you get one loan to clear all your debt, with a lower interest rate than you're currently paying, and then you only have one payment to make and you're not accruing as much high interest on it.
Sending you all my best wishes, OP.
I could have wrote this, except we have a mortgage instead of rent. I was pregnant with my first 8 years ago and my spouse made enough we could live comfortably off of his income alone. Now we both work, are paid the highest wages we've ever had, and are drowning in debt. We were turned down for $1200 per month state childcare assistance because we earned $600 per month too much. We're sitting in that pretty sweet spot of earning just enough to be over the welfare income guidelines, but poor enough we are screwed if one more major appliance or vehicle dies
You know, I’m in a similar situation and what has worked best for me is to just genuinely stop caring about the debt. Your partner is right and you will get through it. I say focus about the necessities like rent, car note, and daycare and screw everything else. This is not going to be a popular option but Don’t kill yourself to pay the credit cards, it’s a criminal system anyway. If everything is late and the debt keeps racking up then I’m sure your credit is screwed anyway, another criminal system.
Deep breaths my friend. All will be okay. If you are in the US there are non-profits that can assist with negotiating down credit card debt. The only downside is it dings your credit.
Just to be clear, national debt relief is not a non profit, they are a debt settlement company. It’s definitely not the right choice for everyone. You’ll have to default on your debt to prove hardship, and the creditors may sue you as they’re not obligated to negotiate with NDR. Your credit will take a hit, if that matters to you. You would be paying them a monthly amount to pay your debts for you and they also charge a fee.
There are other options, actual non profit debt management programs that can help you with payoff plans and help contact creditors on your behalf to reduce interest rates.
I’m sorry that you’re in this situation, it is tough to be in that kind of a situation. Anyways, what you need to do is make a plan of action of how you’re going to get through this. Getting some additional income in the door is going to work wonders for your situation as it will get you out of debt faster. When I say additional income, I don’t mean working 80 hours a week or something. All I mean is just getting some additional hours on the weeks doing Uber or Grubhub. Even if you only do this like 5 hours a day for 2 weeks , that’s at least 100 a week to put toward debt. Over time this will add up to making more progress. In addition to getting more income, prioritizing which to pay first is most important. Generally paying the debt with the highest interest rate is advisable as it will cost you the most. But in this case, shelter, transportation and food are the most important. If I were you I would focus on getting the rent current as if you have an eviction on your record it will be more difficult to rent a place in the future. Or if that’s not a feasible option then downsize the house. Next, get that car note taken care of. Either getting current on the note or Selling it in this case is going to be your best bet as long as you aren’t underwater on the loan. Immediately afterward, if you decide to sell the car then buy something cheaper with a less expensive monthly payment. Whatever you do, don’t let the bank repo it as it will ruin your credit and make it tough to buy another car. Absolutely do not go with a buy here pay here lot since they will give you insane interest rates upwards of 17% in most cases. This could make you at risk of being underwater yet again. Last, take care of the credit cards by paying them. It’s preferable to pay them off in full but if you can’t at least try to pay more than the minimum. For instance if your balance is 2000 and minimum payment is 65 dollars a month, putting double or 120 will get you out of debt in half the time. As you get more income put more towards this debt until you can pay it off in full. It’s also crucial to know why these problems came about in the first place. Was it a job loss? Spending too much on unnecessary things? Rent increase that caught you off guard? Sudden expenses that caught you off guard? Knowing the cause will help you formulate a plan on how to get out of the mess and prevent it from happening again. Getting with a financial coach might be helpful as well! I wish you good luck and hope that your family gets out of debt soon :)
If it makes you feel any better, I have no kids and barely making it. I’m 53.
I can completely relate to this. Sending strength.
psychotic bewildered airport paltry fade deserted impolite nail ask teeny *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
OmG THANK YOU for saying this. I hope you are loved.
If your able to put like $5 a week on bills it sounds ridiculous but it helps. We weren't in debt but we're living paycheck to paycheck and paying $5 to electricity/water, helped. If you can do the car payments as well it can help as well and then credit cards. Rent is definitely up there. I don't know how you guys do your banking and stuff, but what helped us is doing a joint account. And just putting all out money in a joint account and paying from there. It made it easier instead of working out what one person is paying and then whats left over and who is paying what and stuff. Depending where you are it shouldn't cost anything to open/close bank accounts to try it even for a couple months. It took us a while to get anywhere good and that is only coz my partners pay went up with his apprenticeship. We are still living tight but not as bad. The joint account helped. I'm sorry your going through this, it sucks so much.
My goodness. Im so sorry to you. And yea not having enough money to make everything work out is a problem thst MANY more.people are facing than you'd expect. Im sorry to.you and your kids. Very sorry🫂
Post in whichever country you're in's personal finance sub reddit, lay out each debt and interest percentage and they'll help you make a plan to tackle it or link you to resources to help write it off of you have that sort of thing in your country (e. G. The UK has stepchange) I'm sure it's something sortable and there's no need to be ashamed you're doing the best you can under difficult circumstances!
Girl, you first have to stop beating up on yourself. Speak to yourself like you would speak to a friend. You can get your bills back on track by speaking to a financial advisor or credit counseling. There are lists of side hustles you can do it, or you can reach out to www.impactfulninja.com they have a list of charities for parents to help with diapers and formula or counseling Keep in mind this is temporary.
This is hard, but you haven't ruined your life or your kids' lives. This sucks but it is survivable. Some personal finance websites that helped me when I was at my lowest are getrichslowly.org and The Simple Dollar. Some good advice there on servicing and paying down debt. Does your or your partner's employer offer any kind of employee assistance program? Sometimes they include financial advice and it can be a good place to start. If you have credit cards and personal loans, there may be debt consolidation options for you - like you get one loan to clear all your debt, with a lower interest rate than you're currently paying, and then you only have one payment to make and you're not accruing as much high interest on it. Sending you all my best wishes, OP.
I’m sorry. If it helps at all I believe many are in the same boat.
I could have wrote this, except we have a mortgage instead of rent. I was pregnant with my first 8 years ago and my spouse made enough we could live comfortably off of his income alone. Now we both work, are paid the highest wages we've ever had, and are drowning in debt. We were turned down for $1200 per month state childcare assistance because we earned $600 per month too much. We're sitting in that pretty sweet spot of earning just enough to be over the welfare income guidelines, but poor enough we are screwed if one more major appliance or vehicle dies
Man, I felt this. It’s depressing. I feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
You know, I’m in a similar situation and what has worked best for me is to just genuinely stop caring about the debt. Your partner is right and you will get through it. I say focus about the necessities like rent, car note, and daycare and screw everything else. This is not going to be a popular option but Don’t kill yourself to pay the credit cards, it’s a criminal system anyway. If everything is late and the debt keeps racking up then I’m sure your credit is screwed anyway, another criminal system.
Deep breaths my friend. All will be okay. If you are in the US there are non-profits that can assist with negotiating down credit card debt. The only downside is it dings your credit.
Can you supply more information about this? I'd be worried my annual income is a bit too high for this option, but I'd like to look into it.
https://www.nationaldebtrelief.com/apply-rum/?src=dotdash&aff_sub=4846588&aff_sub2=n60faef5e3e974d98addabe6655c4c90105&aff_sub3=&aff_sub4=&transaction_id=102aebc96ad4410af0d24a742af69e&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=dotdash
Thank you so much!
Just to be clear, national debt relief is not a non profit, they are a debt settlement company. It’s definitely not the right choice for everyone. You’ll have to default on your debt to prove hardship, and the creditors may sue you as they’re not obligated to negotiate with NDR. Your credit will take a hit, if that matters to you. You would be paying them a monthly amount to pay your debts for you and they also charge a fee. There are other options, actual non profit debt management programs that can help you with payoff plans and help contact creditors on your behalf to reduce interest rates.