Some you know that my Dh was laid off shortly before the Fourth of July.  We are currently all caught up on our bills, but that will not last long (as in we won't make it until the end of October without being behind).  Unemployment will cover the mortgage and some of the utilities.  We don't need to worry about groceries because of our friend who is living with us is buying all the groceries in exchange for rent for her and her family.  However, we still have debt, auto insurance, petrol for the car (we are down to one now, because we can't afford to liscense the other), prescriptions, household products (I have enough for about another two months) and pet food ( we have enough for about six weeks).  We have cut out cable, eating out and I have put off buying a few articles of winter clothing that we need.  I found us a discount on our cell phone, which is our only phone and entered a deferrment plan on one debt. Internet needs to stay because of school and job searching.    We are looking into donating plasma again now that we finally are no longer ill.  DH and I have both been looking for any jobs, I have had no offers that would work with school, and all of Dh's offers have paid less than unemployment.  We have managed okay with our savings and an extra student loan, but we can't do it any longer. \

Our options are slim. 

We could choose to allow the house to be foreclosed on, which would allow us to live here another five months or so with no mortgage.  However, this would be devastating emotionally because we would lose our home,  and need to find homes for our pets (who are like children to us) since we would be renting..  It also seems unethical.

We could try to sell the house.  Prices in our area have dropped, but we *might* be able to get what we owe.  However, this would cause issues for the family living with us.  I do feel some responsibility towards them.  We would still need to find homes for our pets as we would be back to renting.  Ths would only save us about $100-200 a month because we have such a low mortgage and rental prices have sky rocketed.  We would still not be able to make all the bills on unemployment.  This savings would be conteracted in some part by needing to begin buying groceries again.

We could keep on as long as we can and pay whatever we can to whoever we can in an attempt to stay afloat.  We would place emphasis on retaining the house and cars.  This might result in filing bankruptcy eventually. We would maintain our home and our fur babies.  Our credit would be severly damaged, but it would not be insurmountable.  The greatest impact would be delaying our planned move out of state in a few years.  This is already on hold due to out savings being gone.

We do have a few positives in that DH will finish school spring semester.  I only have a year and a half left.  However, DH's field is an apprenticeship program (electrical) and jobs are just not out there.  DH finishing school may not change anything.  We are both only 26 so we have a long time to recover from a bankruptcy or foreclosure and get on with our lives.  Being younger, losing the house might be easier on us emotionally because the sense of failure would be less.  Very few people buy their first home at 22!

What do you think?  Am I missing any keys to making this decision?

 

 

AmyC:

We could try to sell the house.  Prices in our area have dropped, but we *might* be able to get what we owe.  However, this would cause issues for the family living with us.  I do feel some responsibility towards them. 

Regardless of your feeling responsibility towards them, whether you sell the house or are foreclosed on, or lose the house to bankruptcy, the result for the family living with you is the same. You need to have a frank discussion with the mother & let her know that she needs to be looking for other options, because at this point, none of yours are going to be good for her. On the positive side, you have been able to help her stay afloat for the time she has been living with you. If you choose to have her keep living with you, you are choosing to sink yourself.

AmyC:

Unemployment will cover the mortgage and some of the utilities. 

If you can cover the mortgage & some of the utilities with unemployment, then what you need is a paying renter, who will cover the rest of the utilities & some food. You are in a college town & should be able to find someone to rent from you.

Donating plasma is a good idea.

You mentioned that DH's job offers would pay less than unemployment. At some point, unemployment runs out (Been there, done that in 2004 with DH). It sounds as if the 2 of you both need to find small paid jobs on the side.  Holiday season is approaching. Do either of you know how to cashier? I know you are in school, but the stores are open in the evening & on weekends when you are not in school.  Part-time & seasonal jobs can be a foot in the door for something more permanent, & right now money in hand is more important than finding something within your actual training. The job just has to be at hours other than school. Since you are not the one receiving unemployment, it will work best if it is you that finds the job. The unemployment is linked to DH, not your family. Your earnings will not cut his unemployment check.

I know you are working towards being an RN.  Have you looked for unit secretary/tech positions at any of the 3 local hospitals? I can't speak for UVRMC, but at TRH and MVH, they prefer the techs to either be CNAs for have some CNA training - if you do, it moves you to the head of the line. The pay is reasonable for the level of education & working night shift lets you finish school- and most openings are for night shifts.

Have you considered being a custodian in a hospital - they seem to always have openings.

Have you used the food pantry on 2nd west in Provo yet?  It is just past the recycling place. If not, I suggest you check it out. 

Have you tried selling anything extra - as in non-essential - on ksl.com or ebay?

Turn down the thermostat to 62 & wear layers in the house to keep warm.  It should cut your heating bill by about half. Make sure you have a rolled up towel in front of any outside door that leaks air, or a closet door that provides access to a roof swamp cooler - both suck heat from a house quickly.

I also suggest you start now to find homes for your pets.  It is difficult to let them go, but it can take some time to find good homes & if you wait until you are completely out of options, it will be gut-wrenching for you to have to take them to a shelter. You mentioned pets, as in plural, so look for homes for them now, so you don't have to feel like you are abandoning them later.

AmyC:

We could keep on as long as we can and pay whatever we can to whoever we can in an attempt to stay afloat.  We would place emphasis on retaining the house and cars.  This might result in filing bankruptcy eventually. We would maintain our home and our fur babies.  Our credit would be severly damaged, but it would not be insurmountable.

 As soon as you consistently fail to pay one of the bills, the house will be at risk for foreclosure.  If your utilities are shut off, you will have water damage from frozen pipes, as we are headed into winter, & the bank knows that.  I think "this might result in filing bankrupcy" sooner rather than eventually.  Realistically, you don't have a lot of options left. 

I know this probably sounds harsh, but reality often is.

 

Hi Amy.  So sorry to hear about how hard things have been for you.  I will be sure to keep you and your DH in my prayers.  I don't have a lot of suggestions, but I have heard lots of people say that it's easiest to find a job when one is employed.  It may be difficult to take less money, but it might work out to finding a better job if your DH is already employed.  And you may be able to get other benefits from the government.  Again, I know it's not much in the way of advice, but I will pray for you.

AmyC:

We could keep on as long as we can and pay whatever we can to whoever we can in an attempt to stay afloat.  We would place emphasis on retaining the house and cars.

 

Amy, do you need more than one vehicle right now? Are you in a position to let one go back for a couple months, save what would have been the payment for that time frame, and go to a buy here pay here. Some of them really do have great cars. Does a relative have an extra you could borrow or give them a minimal payment for?  Can your friend cover any of the power bill or something in addition to food?

Do you belong to a church that may need someone to clean it for a small fee? Have you asked the church for help? I would call all your debt holders and tell them you situation and you need payments drastically reduced for a few months. Most are willing to work with you if you are trying. Can you do a work study job at school? They pay ok and they definitely put your school schedule first. Check with financial aid about a work study position. They are normally part time, but it is something. I worked full time at the cafe and then was the work study in the library last year. I got between 10-20 hours a week there and it really helped.

I don't know your whole situation, but I really encourage you to hold on to your home, especially since rent is high anyway. If your friend can do the 200 toward the mortgage it would help. Can she take on any little jobs like I have mentioned for you?

I know it looked like 20 questions, but it is what I can think of at the moment. You are in my prayers!

 Hi

 If things are that tight, I don't see how you have any other choice. The only other thing would be to somehow create some income - and even if you do the bankruptcy thing, this is still a good idea because you can save the income you earn.  What I've done is learn how to create e businesses that generate income from knowledge I have or topics I'm interested in. If you have knowledge from a job, life experience, hobby or passion, this knowledge is valuable to others. You can build a site around this knowledge, drawing free search engine traffic, then write and sell your own ebooks or find affiliate products related to your topic and sell those. Of course, there is also Google Adsense, which is the easiest way to earn.

One of my business is climbing up to near full-time income now, but I should say that I didn't just "start" and figure it all out. I guess that's possible, but after I've learned everything I have so far, I know I would have gotten frustrated and probably would have thrown in the towel. Instead I used Site Build It! which taught me everything step by step - and everything was included. Kind of like a paint-by-numbers kit, only for e business.  Now that I have learned, I can use this knowledge over and over to diversify and and repeat the formula. 

 I thought I'd mention this because you can do this at your own kitchen table, you don't really have to have a product, you don't have to drive anywhere, can do research at your local library (free) and really the biggest thing you need is sweat equity. Site Build It! does have a yearly fee, but it has always paid for itself. In fact, my first business is financing my other businesses, so it's self perpetuating.

 Thought this might help - if you not you, perhaps someone else. 

 Good luck to you, whatever you decide!

 

 

 AmyC I feel for you. 

We are in the same boat.  Somedays I think that letting the house go into foreclosure is the answer for us (and avoid bankruptcy by paying the rest of the bills).  There is work for DH but it won't cover our bills.  I didn't tithe in September, there was nothing left.  I clean a home once a week while my little one is in a preschool co op.  Sometimes that $$$ is what I have for food for our family of 7. It isn't much.  

My pantry is running out and so is my freezer.  My father in law is moving his food storage and I will ask him for food.  I don;t see any other way to make it right now.  Today some church members are coming to fulfill an assignment about "self sufficiency".  We will be honest and tell them that our food storage was consumed!

Pray, this too shall pass. It hurts, we might just have to part with our material things.  I have a glimmer of hope and we keep hanging on to them because there is equity in this and that.  Maybe if it all be gone we woudn't have to worry about them any more, equity or not.

Carmina

Amy, I am sorry for your struggles. I know you are helping another family and they are buying groceries but is there any way they could help a bit more? Either pay some of the utility bills or contribute cash at all?

I know you said you are down to one car b/c you can't license or insure. Do you still have it? Can it be sold?

Donating plasma is a good thing. What about medical testing? We have a lab here (MDS Pharma Services) and they pay up to $1800 for a weekend stay and anywhere from $500 to $1000 for weekday testing. DH did a weekend stay (before kids) and earned $1000 at the time. You are a human test for new drugs so may not be for everyone. But the pay is great for a small amount of time/effort.

I will pray for an answer and hope it isn't foreclosure or bankruptcy.

 We have looked at selling the second car (the one that is not liscensed) but it is so old that what we could get out of it is really quite minimal, even though it runs extremely well. We did find out that the company DH was laid off from will have work January 1st, and they want DH back at that time.  If we can hang on a few more months!  The family living with us has offered to contribute $300  month after we chatted about where we are financially right now.  This will ensure that the mortgage, utilities, groceries, and auto insurance is cared for.  That simply leaves debt and prescriptions.  I spoke with my Doctor this morning, and was given samples of the prescription for my glaucoma, they should last about 4 months.  I believe that if DH and I both are able to donate plasma, we *might* be able to cover the debt payments.  In the past Dh has not been able to donate due to low blood pressure.  I have been looking for a job, but there are very few jobs out there.  I looked at going back to working as a CNA, but I am not cleared to do the lifting from my back injury.  I currently am not supposed to lift anything over 40 pounds.  I simply do not think that I could do without risking the patients, and myself.  

Thanks for the support guys.  I think we are going to focus on trying to retain the house.  The other options are rather grim because at this point wewould not have first and last months rent or deposit.  We also have no family in the state who we could stay with.  We would consider just selling everything and moving out of state to live wiwth my parents for awhile, but we can't leave the state because of DH's legal issues.  When it rains it falls right?

I'm glad you have found a temporary solution.  I pray that it will all work out for you.  Believe me I know what it is to be in such situation where you just don't know what else to do!  If this helps, checkout the website for Crossroads food co op.  The package of food is low priced.  You have to pre order but it has helped our family of 7 a lot.

God Bless you,

Carmina

 `What a tough thing. I am so sorry you are under this strain and uncertainty. Try to lean on the goodness of others right now where you can. You would do the same for them.

With the holidays approaching, there are seasonal jobs sometimes - wrapping presents, shipping, assisting in bakeries (at least around here, though now they are snapped up pronto).

Wonderful that your DH will have work again in January and the family has agree to $300.00. As someone mentioned, food shelves can be life-savers. Churches often have funds for folks struggling this way, and also food shelves. The Temple here, in cooperation with other churches and the townspeople has a Fuel and Food Fund.

I understand about the pets.  I had to re-home two a couple of years ago. It breaks your heart, but I kept in mind that I had to do what was best for the animal and myself both. I hope you don't have to give them or your house, up.

You're in my prayers.