Mishka, have you ever been to Dave Ramsey's site? He would advise you to pay for necessities first. Power, water, food shelter. Credit cards don't come first. We got into trouble over them, and struggled to make the high payments. After awhile they are willing to work with you, and lower the payments. Also, on one of them, I paid a small payment for nearly 8 months, and they sent me a letter saying my account was eligible for the REAGE thing. Basically, since I paid something each month, they made it to where the payments were smaller. I mean,, when you are hurting, who cares about collection calls? But, call them first, and let them know you are in a hardship situation. Cut off your landline to the basic 20 dollars a month. You can sign up for a free or cheap internet service. Some are only 14.95 a month. NetZero Platinum is about 9.95, and they have a free one, too, you get 10 hours a month, and free email. You can also go to the library for free. You can make a budget for your food costs, say no more than 6 dollars for each dinner. We feed 3 on that. Whatever meat is on sale, say ground chuck, get the family pack, usually cheaper, say for 12 bucks, you get enough for 4 meals. Get bid bags of potatoes, carrots, stuff like that, and you can make really cheap dinners. It can be done. Feed, shelter and clothe your family and you have the basics, everything else you pay is gravy. And continue to sell stuff. If you have a talent for making things, try to sell them on Etsy.com, they have gotten national attention. Call your power company, and see if they have payment arrangements. They sometimes will let you have an extra amount of time to pay it. If you are already delinquet on utilities, speak to a customer service person, they will usually work with you. Same with the water company. See about their budget billing. I have done all of these things. H's income dropped 20% two years ago. They cut off all overtime, and we counted on that. Thank God, he has a job, because they are laying off deputies, but the city isn't laying off police. If you get a paycheck within the next 7 days, then pay those things that are crucial first. Long post, I know, but I also have been there, and to some extent, still am.
