I feel for you, this sort of crushing debt takes an emotional toll. To get out of the hole you either need to 1. Make more money 2. Cut your expenses 3. Both would be the best.
Remember even if you buy 1 cup of coffee a day from a local deli, over a month it can add up to $30, which can be a couple days or a week worth of groceries (depending on your lifestyle).
I used to write a small newsletter for friends and family that had similar issues called Frugal Living, I haven't done that for years though.
Below are some excerpts, please keep in mind that these are several years old and some of the information now may be more common or dated.
Using the below tips won't earn you money but it will save you money which in the end amounts to the same thing, this should give you some wiggle room.
Online Deal Sites
Firstly, there are a few websites you should check daily:
http://www.hotdealsclub.com
http://www.slickdealsclub.com
http://www.dealcatcher.com
http://www.bensbargains.net
http://www.techbargains.net
http://www.woot.com
They all post deals daily and could save you a ton of money. These sites are not for you to buy things for the sake of buying but for you to find things you need at better prices.
Finances
Mint
http://www.mint.com
Being frugal is organizing your finances. It doesn't have to be fancy but how are you going to be frugal if you don't know how much you save and spend. Mint is a free website run by Intuit and even better it's one of the best programs out there and is painless to use. It can connect to all your online accounts, banking, credit cards, car loans, et cetera and downloads all the information into your mint account. Create budgets, track spending and even get email and text updates and warnings; this is a must have if you want to get out of debt or increase your wealth.
Saving for you Kids Future
Upromise
http://www.upromise.com
You want some free money to put towards your kids future educational expenses. Then head on over to UPromise.com. It's free to open an account. Just register your supermarkets coupon card they issued you, your credit card numbers, and a few other items and your set to go.
Unknown to most people, many well known companies are willing to kick in a few cents towards you kids education by depositing money into your UPromise account, they will either be a flat rate or a percentage of your purchase. Then all you have to do is go off on your merry way, and spend like you usually would. After a grocery run you will find out that Coca-Cola deposited 4 cents for every bottle of Coke you bought, or that Del Monte kicked in a nickel for every can you bought, or that Pep Boys gave deposited $3 for that oil change you got, or that local restaurant deposited $10 off that $80 bill. Yeah it may be only pennies, but pennies a day over a few decades adds up. Many well know online retailers will do the same thing, you just need to follow a link that UPromise provides you for the merchants respective site, and presto, money in the bank.
I have been doing this for few years, it works, and I have gotten hundreds of dollars towards my child's education courtesy of corporate America, and it didn't cost me a cent.
Health Care
Eye Glasses
Did you know that the big retail chains, as well as the mom and pop shops, mark up their eye wear by a 1000%. That's right, a 1000%. It may not be that bad if you have to buy a single pair, but if you have four kids, it can add up quickly.
Because its not unusual to pay between $300 -$500 for a pair of glasses, most people have medical expense accounts, you elect to put in a certain amount, and your employer deducts the appropriate amount weekly (pre-tax) and places it into the account. You then submit the receipt and a form to be reimbursed.
Well, you won't ever need to submit that form again. I'm going to show you that you can get a pair of prescription glasses for as inexpensively as $12! Now they won't be the type of frames you want to be seen in public in, but don't worry, getting a pair with frames that wont embarrass you still wont cost you much more that $25. All you need is a recent prescription from your doctor.
Oh, just so you know by law your doctor must give you the prescription in writing if you ask for it.
You may not be able to get all the 'designer' frames you can get in a brick and mortar store, but you can get the same, or similar, frames without the "Designer Name" on it.
To read reviews of online sites that sell glasses,
Eye Glass Retailers Review is an excellent website that rates online eyeglass resellers
http://www.EyeglassRetailersReview.com
I am by no means endorsing any particular vendor, I post the two shops below because they are two online shops I have had personal dealings with, My wife went to a regional chain store and was quoted $500 for her glasses. We got the same exact pair from Zenni Optical for $60 shipped; we also got her prescription sun glasses for $17. Which included the 'thinner light weight' lenses, and if we wanted the transitional (the type that darken automatically in sunlight) it was only an additional $5 instead of the $99 that the retail store was asking for on top of the $500. The quality an material is on par with anything you could get from the brick and mortar stores, only I didn't pay the 1000% markup.
http://goggles4u.com/
http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.
So want a second pair of glasses, or prescription sunglasses, or need a few pairs for all the kids, now you can do it with out worrying about how you are going to pay for it.
Computers
Computers:
Dell Outlet
http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb
Don't think you can afford a new computer, well you just might be able to. Dell Outlet is to computers what Sears' dent and scratch warehouse is to appliances. At Dell Outlet you can find everything from desktop systems, notebook, to servers and peripherals. Unlike their regular website, the Outlet lists all hardware that is 'dent and scratched', returns, open boxes, previously ordered new, and off-lease systems and peripherals. You can't configure the system you choose, its sort of take it like it is. But anything you buy is factory certified to be in working order and comes with a warranty, and any computer comes with Windows (unless otherwise marked).
I have personally bought a new desktop Dimension computer from the Outlet for below $170! The only warning I have is don't buy the first computer you come across, learn how to use their search tool first, and make sure you read everything about the system so you know what you are getting.
Free Office Suites:
Open Office
http://www.openoffice.org/
You could buy Microsoft's Office Suite for around $400, but why should you if you can get most of the same functionality far cheaper. Try Open Office, not only is it FREE but it can read Word, Excel, and Access files; it can also save files in Microsoft format so they can be open, viewed, and modified by Microsoft Office.
Google Docs
http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html
Google offers a free online suite of office tools that really are good. You can also store all your documents online and access them from any where there is web access. For most people this suite will meet all of their needs. You can also save and open files of different formats.
Free Tech Support
Protonic.com
http://www.protonic.com/
Say it isnt so, free computer support!
Yes Protonic offers free support. As their web page says&Got a headache with your computer and no budget to fix it... protonic.com is here to help. We offer FREE computer support and computer related information online and by E-Mail. We are a free service manned by volunteers all over the planet, helping people fix technology problems. We enjoy the challenge of solving your problem, we are up to date and work as a team. We maintain our high standards through Quality Assurance sampling... We do our best to put the smile back on your face.
The Tech Guy
http://www.techguy.org/
If you're looking for free technical support, you've found it! This site is run completely by volunteers and paid for completely by donations and sponsors. There is no charge to you (although they appreciate donations).
Household
Diapers
Amazon Mom
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/welcome
Any new parent knows one thing, diapers arent cheap. Even from one of the big wholesale clubs, such as
Sams Club or Costco, they typically will run you about $40 a box of two hundred or so. But no fear Amazon Mom is here! To give you an apples to apples comparison we use pampers; at one of the big name club the box usually costs $42 with tax. At Amazon we can the same exact box for $28 shipped (that includes two day shipping!). No cost or obligations to open an Amazon Mom account and contrary to the name anyone can sign up for an account.
Amazon.com Subscribe and Save
http://www.amazon.com/gp/subscribe-and-save/details/index.html
You can find many items you use everyday around the house here. You may be surprised to find things actually are cheaper shipped to your home than you can get from the store. I was surprised to find I could get 4 boxes of Capri Sun shipped to my door cheaper than I could buy in any store. Some of the features of subscribe and save are automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select--every one, two, three, or six months; get a discount on our everyday price; get free shipping on every Subscribe & Save shipment; pay for each order only when the item is shipped; have the option to cancel at any time.
Energy
The cost of heating and cooling a home have skyrocketed and there seems to be no bright light at the end of the tunnel. You can take some steps to help ebb the tide of the rising costs. Not only do these options save you on your monthly utility costs, they also happen to be good for the environment.
Heating: Have you heard of pellet stoves (or alternative fuel stoves)? No, well let me introduce them to you; to find them you can do a search on the web. Below I include a link to one manufacturer (I am not endorsing any one manufacturer or type over another, I am just giving you a place to start looking)
http://www.harmanstoves.com/
You can get a free-standing model, a fireplace insert model, or entire house forced hot air or boiler models. These are very efficient and can heat your house for a fraction of the cost of traditional electric or natural gas heat.
Make sure you do some research to see if this is right for you.
Electric (Cooling): There are a few alternative energy sources to replace your traditional 'on the grid' system. You need to do some research and find out what is best for you and your area. After all you don't want to install solar panels if you live some place that only gets sunlight a few hours a day. For the sake of this space though, we will talk about solar power.
Traditionally there was only one way to get solar power installed into your house. You had to pay for it out of pocket, sure there are still some federal, state, or county grants and loans you can get but it still is going to cost you many thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to install. The benefit of course is then you do not have to pay for electric, and is some cases where the power company must buy back any surplus energy you produce, you can actually receive a check from the power company at the end of the month (called net metering). Of course you still need to pay for maintenance on your solar system, and it may take many years to get a return on your investment.
There are companies offering a new way though, let me introduce you to one of them, Citizenre.
http://www.citizenre.com/web/index.php
They give you the hardware, install it, monitor it for performance, and maintain it for free. You buy the electric from them and pay a monthly rental fee that will work out to be a bit less than your paying a month now for electric. They get any money from power company for the generation of surplus energy from net metering. What's the benefit of that you say? You are locked into the rate you are buying electric from Citizenre for the life of your contract, which can be up to twenty five years (imagine if you locked in a rate in 2000); with no out of pocket costs to you and any surplus power your solar system generates will spin your electric meter backwards, giving you credit. That way any power you use at night or any other time you need power from the grid will most likely be for free.
Furniture
Did you just spend every last dime you had to buy your home. Sure its great to be a home owner (a bit of a lie), but now that you have a home, wouldn't it be nice to furnish it so it doesn't look like your old college dorm room.
Well here's how. Did you know the mark up on furniture can be as much as 500%! Yup, that nice retail chain you visit all the time gets a real good deal on that furniture, but do they pass it on to you, nope. They add a few hundred percent and expect you to pay for it. Maybe you would have yesterday, but not today. Like all good dealers, it takes time and patience to get a good deal.
Ebay
http://www.ebay.com
I know you're saying, I could have figured that one out myself! But did you, have you ever looked for furniture on eBay? You can usually find some pretty nice antiques, inexpensively, but be aware of merchants that are ripping you off on shipping. If the shipping isn't posted, always get a quote. The best bet is to hopefully find someone with in driving distance so you can pick up the item yourself and avoid shipping.
I myself have gotten some good deals, for instance a coffee table, a crotch flame solid mahogany base with a solid white marble top, $262. A similar table at an upscale retail furniture chain, $2500!
Overstock.com
http://www.overstock.com
Overstock is a good place to get most things, but furniture is not usually something most people go there for. Take a look, we have gotten some very nice chairs and tables from them. They carry a variety of household items, including the kitchen sink, check often as their stock rotates. The best part, shipping is typically $1.
Clothing and Shoes
EBay
http://www.ebay.com
Okay this can be a touchy subject, some say eewww, I'm not wearing someone else's clothes, but fear not, you can get new clothing on EBay at a fraction of the cost.
If you want to look like a million bucks, but don't want to spend a million, then eBay is for you. I've gotten $300 Brooks Brothers blazers for $6.50. I have designer outfits that would of cost $750-$1000, if I got them at a store, for only $60. Believe me when you walk into the room, no one will know that you only paid a few bucks for that Armani suit. Be careful though, don't go so much by sizes but by the dimensions that are posted on the garment. Sometimes if you are buying something, it could have been altered. Shies
Groceries
The Grocery Game
http://www.grocerygame.com
Food is expensive, and feeding a family exponentially so. Many people think there is not much they can do to save money on groceries. Do you want to cut your grocery bill by 50% or more while getting more groceries, all name brand? Let me introduce you to the Grocery Game.
I'm still amazed to this day, that 9 out 10 people I tell about this don't do it, but will still continue to gripe about their grocery bill. Let me put it to you this way, would you work a 36 hour week for a $5000 pay check, tax free. If you answered yes, then continue on; if you answered no, can I borrow $50?
The cost of the grocery game is $5 a month (actually billed $10 every eight weeks). What is it? Simply, grocery game keeps a database and tracks food pricing at your local stores. Then matches the true lowest price with a coupon, if there one is available. They currently run an introductory special of trial period of one month for $1.
The coupons come from your local Sunday paper, I use the local 99 cent store to buy 3 copies of the paper.
The downside, well you will have to spend about a half hour or so a week clipping coupons (I give up half a lunch hour on Mondays), you can't be brand specific (really, you can't be brand specific about everything, a few items probably won't matter).
The theory: you will notice that sales run in about 12 week cycles. One week may be paper products and meat, another week may be canned goods and frozen dinners, etc. The point being to try to buy enough of those products to get you through the next twelve weeks until the items go on sale again.
I have more than 2 years of personal experience with the grocery game, at first was I skeptical, you bet, but in the end I am a true believer.
Phone Service
Magicjack
http://www.magicjack.com
With so many options today its hard to decide what is the best deal. Magicjack works similar to Vonage or your cable companies phone, as it uses your broadband internet connections to make phone calls. Magicjack works a bit different, it is a hardware USB dongle that plugs into your USB port on your computer. Thats it, no software and set up is done in thirty seconds and its ready to go. You get all the usual features that your cable company throws in for free (or Verizon charges an arm and leg for), free local and long distance to anywhere in the United States or Canada, free directory assistance, free call waiting, free voice mail, free caller ID. The difference is it is only $19 a YEAR for the service! The original outlay will be $39 for the USB dongle, but that includes one year of service, after that it is only $19 a year. The only caveat is in order to receive incoming or make outgoing calls your computer must be on.
Tip: For those that have or need to have the traditional phone line through the phone company- Keep your existing phone line with the phone company but take all the features off your account; all local and long distance service as well as any other add ons and just strip your account down to the basic, which should be about $15 a month (those with Tivos or alarms systems that need a traditional phone line and those who wish true 911 service will need to do this). This way you can keep your old phone number and receive all incoming calls on your existing line. Just set up a cordless phone with the magic jack and use that for all your outgoing calls.
Everything Under the Sun
Freecycle
http://www.freecycle.org
Going to the main website will allow you to find a moderated list local to your geographical area. What is freecycle? Briefly it is a mailing list where people post items they want to give away for free. We all have things that we no longer want laying about the house, whether it's a couch, computer monitor, paving blocks, etcetera. We don't want to throw these items away because they are still in good and useful shape, and no one we know wants them. So post them on freecylce and some one will come get it. It also works the other way around. Looking for something and don't want to put out the money? Keep an eye on the list or post a 'want' request.
Personal Grooming
Manicure - Pedicure - Facials - Haircuts
Can't help but get that manicure, pedicure, facial or haircut? Don't want to do it yourself, or by a flowbee? Don't spend a ton of money going to your local salon, instead find a local beauty school in your area. They usually offer most of what you can find in a local salon for a fraction of the cost, the catch is that students will be doing the work.
Entertainment
Video Rentals - Red Box
http://www.redbox.com/home.aspx
Sure you can go down to the local video store and rent a single movie for over $5, or you could subscribe to one of the videos by mail companies such as Netfilx, but you still would be spending at least $15 a month whether you rent any videos or not. Give Red Box a chance, you can rent movies for $1 each a night. You can find a local Red Box's by doing a search on their website.
Roku
http://www.roku.com
Ditch your cable TV and get one of these wireless streaming devices that connects to your TV, you just need internet access. They offer free and pay for channels; you can also stream Netflix, Hulu (or Hulu plus),and Amazon among others. Have a computer get Playon (
http://playon.tv ) and stream pretty much anything on the web right to your TV including full episodes of your favorite shows. You can pick up a roku box for around $50 and the playon software for about another $30. Amazon has a huge selection of movies and TV shows; think about buying a season of your favorite show for $15, that's a lot cheaper than even one months of cable.
Free Museums Admission
http://promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums/
Do you have a Bank of America credit card or ATM card? You do, did you know you can get free admission to over 70 museums of the first week end of every month with your card! See link for details and to find a participating museum near you.
Going Out to Eat
http://www.restaurant.com/
Like to eat out but hate paying the bill, join the club. Well then you need to go to Restaurant.com.
Always read the rules first, and read the redemption instructions for each particular restaurant. Such as some will only accept the gift certificate on Wednesdays, some may require you to have two or more people in your party, etc. You can buy gift certificates below face value and then redeem them at the restaurant at face value. I know it sounds fishy, but it works. You want to get some good deals, then check the online sites I mentioned to get up to 60% on an order. So you can buy a $25 gift certificate for $4, and then redeem it for $25 at the restaurant.
Your Local Park System
Do you know all the public parks near to you and all of their attractions, I bet you don't. Try searching on the web or calling your local Park office, you may be surprised what you find. For instance I have been living where I am currently for some years, I found out recently that there is a water park, kayaking, roller hockey and petting zoo that is part of the county park system and is free to all.
Automobie
Swaplease
http://www.swapalease.com/
That lease for the new car you just had to have killing you, then get rid of it. Swaplease is a site that will help you find someone to legally assume your car lease and get out of it. Now go take the bus.
Gasoline
Hypermiling
Did you know your driving behavior has a very direct impact on your gas mileage? You may not be able to change the price of gas, but you can change your driving habits. Change your habits and you can significantly increase your miles per gallon. The concept and tips are a bit much to go into detail here, go to your favorite search engine, like
www.google.com, and do a search for hypermile.
Hang in there. Are you going to pay for your mother's rehab? If yes, I would look into sources of help for that. You are not accountable for her medical bills and if she has no money herself, she may be able to get assistance.
And while I don't want to pay for the rehab, she has to have it.
It also sounds like you're quite a bit behind in all your bills,since you mention cc bils,medical,car payments,and paying for your mom,who I assume is not paying for any of her own care?
Many people have managed to do it.It is possible-
