We Are SUNK - Any Advice?

[MoonpieMomma]

What about mowing grass/raking leaves/shoveling snow? And it would cost $10 to drive him to work and $10 to pick him up? There is nowhere closer? Even if your car got 10 miles to the gallon that is about 25-30 miles. Where do you live? There is no McDonalds? Where do you work OP?

Closest town to pick up work is 11 miles from where we live. There is only a small mom & pop shop in the tiny town where we live and they use free labor called "Their Grandchildren".

I work for a local borough. Used to be full time with benefits, but two years ago they took all the benefits from myself and another employee. As I said, it is good steady guaranteed work though and the pay is decent. I always have my eyes and ears open for another opportunity, though, for myself or my DH. We have looked into my DH doing side jobs, but he isn't a licensed contractor (he works for a modular home builder), so anything he would take on could be a Huge liability for us personally. Don't know that its worth the risk.

 

[sissy_ib]

The problem with that idea is it would leave the OP without a vehicle for however long it takes to fix the van. If she lives in an area that you have to drive 25 miles to go to work then there is a good chance you can't be without a car unless your getting someone else to drive you everywhere (I couldn't be without one here)

OP-What kind of work needs to be done on the van? $500 doesn't sound like much. It may be done in one day.

But I say try to find other things to sell to raise the money first.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

Call the credit card companies, tell them the same thing and ask them to reduce your balance/payments.

You could also consider CH 13 bankruptcy, in which you pay back your creditors, but on a reduced and affordable schedule (consult an attorney and check out www.bkforum.com).

 

[sarahkaiserdse]

I guess I am in the minority I would file bankruptcy. That is why its there. They have plans where you are paying off a portion of your credit cards each month. They are usually a five year plan your house and all debt gets rolled into one payment. After five years you have your house left and no other debt.

 

[crashbb]

Closest town to pick up work is 11 miles from where we live. There is only a small mom & pop shop in the tiny town where we live and they use free labor called "Their Grandchildren".

I work for a local borough. Used to be full time with benefits, but two years ago they took all the benefits from myself and another employee. As I said, it is good steady guaranteed work though and the pay is decent. I always have my eyes and ears open for another opportunity, though, for myself or my DH. We have looked into my DH doing side jobs, but he isn't a licensed contractor (he works for a modular home builder), so anything he would take on could be a Huge liability for us personally. Don't know that its worth the risk.

But the side job doesn't have to be construction. McDonald's, Walmart, whatever would help bring in money.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

In my opinion you need to apply for assistance. It is there to help people who are able to work and need some help! There's no harm in it and they consider family size along with income. Have you applied for free/reduced lunch for your kids at school? That would also help and it always seems to me that the income requirements for that are fairly high. Plus their school gets money from the government for having kids in that program. If you applied for food stamps and heating assistance it might give you some wiggle room in your budget. Plus some states offer free prepaid cell phones to families who receive food stamps so if you did that you would be able to drop at least one phone from your plan and save some money that way.

 

[robinb]

Consumer credit counseling is a free service and reputable.

They have changed their name to "Apprisen": http://www.apprisen.com/. I called them for my mother's debt and they were VERY nice. They would have been able to cut my mother's payments almost in half with the agreements they already have in place with creditors.

 

[MoonpieMomma]

It's actually the motor. We got a used one and my DH, who is usually a whiz at fixing vehicles, is just not able to do it. You need special tools that we don't have. $500 is the lowest "estimate" we have to do the work. And if I've learned one thing with cars and repair estimates....if you are told $500 - better plan that it's gonna be $1000. Thats just an impossible number right now.

 

[sissy_ib]

It's actually the motor. We got a used one and my DH, who is usually a whiz at fixing vehicles, is just not able to do it. You need special tools that we don't have. $500 is the lowest "estimate" we have to do the work. And if I've learned one thing with cars and repair estimates....if you are told $500 - better plan that it's gonna be $1000. Thats just an impossible number right now.

I vote both you and your husband get night jobs. You could make $1000 in a few months. Places like Walmart hire extra people for the holidays.

 

[mrsklamc]

But the side job doesn't have to be construction. McDonald's, Walmart, whatever would help bring in money.

I think she is saying the mom & pop place is the ONLY business it town, not the only construction business.

OP- when you say they took benefits from you and one other person-- if you work full time, I think benefits are an all-or-none thing. I don't think they can offer them to some full time workers but not others.

Do you have ANYTHING that can be sold?

 

[KennesawNemo]

The problem with that idea is it would leave the OP without a vehicle for however long it takes to fix the van. If she lives in an area that you have to drive 25 miles to go to work then there is a good chance you can't be without a car unless your getting someone else to drive you everywhere (I couldn't be without one here)

Find body shop and make sure that they will fix the vehicle within 2-3 days. Only send in the van when the f150 is sold.

I think the inconvenience to go 2-3 days without cars is worth taking. Try carpool, take leave from work. The saving is long term.

 

[MoonpieMomma]

They have changed their name to "Apprisen": I called them for my mother's debt and they were VERY nice. They would have been able to cut my mother's payments almost in half with the agreements they already have in place with creditors.

This is the place we kept hearing good things about. Never truly know if they are real testimonials or not though. Figured if my DIS friends have heard of them and recommend them, they must be ok. I think that will be our next step.

My kids do received reduced price lunches at school. We make enough to qualify for reduced. What we make, however, is too much to receive any other assistance. We do have income, its just not enough to cover everything anymore. We have looked at downsizing our home, but there's not really anything to downsize to. Our home is only worth $120,000. Isn't much you can find for less than that amount.

 

[sissy_ib]

I think she is saying the mom & pop place is the ONLY business it town, not the only construction business.

OP- when you say they took benefits from you and one other person-- if you work full time, I think benefits are an all-or-none thing. I don't think they can offer them to some full time workers but not others.

Do you have ANYTHING that can be sold?

Yea, but she said the next town is 11 miles away. That must be the town she and her DH work in.

OP-Is the town 11 miles away where you work?

 

[kimkoz]

We use consumer credit counseling.. I'd check it out. It's non for profit. You can go in for a consultation and decide from there. I still own my debt, nothing was cut in half however working with them they were able to lower my interest rates. I'm on a 3 year plan, just finished my 2nd year. I can't tell you how great its been. We're now about to have a good savings, starting paying extra to the accounts, and are living comfortably on a good budget. They offer classes and talk to you about every months to see how you are doing. I do it all over the phone but they always offer to have you come in and speak to people. Of course its on my record I work with them so my credit is still bad.. I will have to rebuild it but right now we're good.

Good luck to you.

 

[MoonpieMomma]

I think she is saying the mom & pop place is the ONLY business it town, not the only construction business.

OP- when you say they took benefits from you and one other person-- if you work full time, I think benefits are an all-or-none thing. I don't think they can offer them to some full time workers but not others.

Do you have ANYTHING that can be sold?

We are union, and there are only two of us in the employment category that I fall into. It's now considered a non-benefits eligible position. When they renewed our contract, it was either give up the benefits all together, or they would just do away with the positions. A rock and a hard place, so to speak.

I don't know what we could sell. Those are the two vehicles we currently have. Other than our furniture and clothing, there's not much else left. Kids have a video game system for their entertainment, but can not sell that. They only get new games with money from their birthdays. We never go to the store anymore because its just too depressing. Any ideas on what I could sell? Other than my wedding bands, I have no jewelry worth anything.

 

[Pigeon]

I say sell the F150 and use the money to fix the van.

.

I wouldn't do this. How much are you going to get for a truck that old with that many miles on it? Next to nothing, I would think. I'm sure the van is going to be better on gas, but it's still not going to be great. At some point, you will need two cars.

You need to change your employment situations. It sounds to me like most of the fat has been trimmed already. You could cut a tiny bit more, with things like the cell phones and the kid activities, but the main problem is really the lack of income and benefits. Your husband needs to do something that is going to get more steady work and one of you needs benefits for the family. What you are doing is unsustainable, and it's probably going to be some time before the housing market really rebounds.

I know, it's hard and I'm sorry for your situation.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

This is the place we kept hearing good things about. Never truly know if they are real testimonials or not though. Figured if my DIS friends have heard of them and recommend them, they must be ok. I think that will be our next step.

My kids do received reduced price lunches at school. We make enough to qualify for reduced. What we make, however, is too much to receive any other assistance. We do have income, its just not enough to cover everything anymore. We have looked at downsizing our home, but there's not really anything to downsize to. Our home is only worth $120,000. Isn't much you can find for less than that amount.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but have you APPLIED or are you assuming that you make too much for assistance? Because it's not just for people who have no income, a few years ago DH was starting out at a new job and we had to have some help for about 6 months until we got settled and even with his income we still qualified. If you google your state and food stamps there may be an online calculator that can help you determine if you do.

Another idea, do you own the van outright? Instead of getting it fixed could you sell it and use the money to buy a "beater" car?

 

[sissy_ib]

We are union, and there are only two of us in the employment category that I fall into. It's now considered a non-benefits eligible position. When they renewed our contract, it was either give up the benefits all together, or they would just do away with the positions. A rock and a hard place, so to speak.

I don't know what we could sell. Those are the two vehicles we currently have. Other than our furniture and clothing, there's not much else left. Kids have a video game system for their entertainment, but can not sell that. They only get new games with money from their birthdays. We never go to the store anymore because its just too depressing. Any ideas on what I could sell? Other than my wedding bands, I have no jewelry worth anything.

You can sell literally anything. Do you have any broken jewelry? If it is gold it will sell. Any old toys the kids don't use/want anymore? Extra kitchen stuff just collecting dust? Electronics? Even broken people will buy it.
I sold 3 blankets that had been in the trunk of my car for $10 on Craigslist.
People will buy ANYTHING!

 

[KennesawNemo]

I wouldn't do this. How much are you going to get for a truck that old with that many miles on it? Next to nothing, I would think. I'm sure the van is going to be better on gas, but it's still not going to be great. At some point, you will need two cars.

You need to change your employment situations. It sounds to me like most of the fat has been trimmed already. You could cut a tiny bit more, with things like the cell phones and the kid activities, but the main problem is really the lack of income and benefits. Your husband needs to do something that is going to get more steady work and one of you needs benefits for the family. What you are doing is unsustainable, and it's probably going to be some time before the housing market really rebounds.

I know, it's hard and I'm sorry for your situation.

Out of curiosity, I did a quote online for a 1998 F150 with 200K using my zip code and assuming everything is in good condition. A guaranteed offer is $908.

I somehow agree with you that they would need a 2nd vehicle and a van is not great on MPG either. However, I think it's insane to spend $400 on gas given their current financial situation.

 

[MoonpieMomma]

I wouldn't do this. How much are you going to get for a truck that old with that many miles on it? Next to nothing, I would think. I'm sure the van is going to be better on gas, but it's still not going to be great. At some point, you will need two cars.

You need to change your employment situations. It sounds to me like most of the fat has been trimmed already. You could cut a tiny bit more, with things like the cell phones and the kid activities, but the main problem is really the lack of income and benefits. Your husband needs to do something that is going to get more steady work and one of you needs benefits for the family. What you are doing is unsustainable, and it's probably going to be some time before the housing market really rebounds.

I know, it's hard and I'm sorry for your situation.

Actually, my husband carries health insurance through his work. At least that's not an issue for us. My prescription costs of $75 per month are what it costs me with our prescription card. I just don't have any benefits from my job. If one of the kids gets sick and I can't work, I don't get paid. No paid time off and no retirement. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like we had no healthcare coverage. We do and that's a major blessing.