Freaking Out About Money....

Well, even if you got a job and started tomorrow, it would most likely be a couple of weeks until YOU get paid.....

Is this typical that you run out of money 10 days after he gets paid? If so, there are a lot of problems...... You both need to be on board on the spending of the money.

You've gotten a lot of good suggestions......

Good luck!

Go to Social Services and get some help-if you make too much money to qualify for help-try Catholic Charities-Good luck and take care.

I'm not quite in that bad of shape, but I had $40 to last 3 days until I can get paid today. Money issues are sooo stressful. Hubby's business is slowing down and I'm already stressing 'cause I don't know where I'm going to find the money to pay the house payment in 2 weeks!

Do you normally run short? If not what happened? What changed?

Places are hiring, they might not be on your area of expertise but places are hiring. Talk to a temp agency, sign up and accept assignments .

Stay away from the work at home schemes that will only make things worse. You don't have the funds to invest in inventory, etc and high pressure sales.

Think outside the box. Babysit, petsit, housesit, tutor if you are qualified.

Go to your local church, salvation army, community outreach services for assistance.

NOW sit down and start cutting your expenses to exactly what you must have. Be diligent and disciplined. Sell anything you no longer use on Craigslist.

Please do your best to separate your emotions from this so you can proceed with a level head. Go to your banker to discuss your situation so you avoid extra service charges and fees.

Hang in there, get a positive outlook and you can manage through this. Best wishes.

You should be budgeting for these things. Do not have much to offer for this month. Can you borrow from a family member. Cash advance on credit card? There is no way you can exist on $.17. You n your husband need to sit and come up with a monthly plan.

KT, it is time for you guys to go over your budget with a fine tooth comb and pull out the things you can live without. Cable TV, if you have a land line and cell phones, drop the most expensive phone service, do you eat out at all, yeah that goes also. It is painful and not very fun, but necessary. I did about two years ago when I was unemployed and was really amazed at what I could drop from my budget and not miss.

I also shopped prices on my car and home owners insurances - saved money there also.

If you have food banks/pantries in your area go to them and help offset your grocery bill. Look into food co-ops also. For your medication check your locale for free/reduced clinics - some may be able to help you with your Rx. Go online and see if there is a St. Vincent De Paul chapter (associated with Catholic churches) in your area - they help residents in their parishes with utility payments, etc. If you can get assistance on just one bill, it would free up cash.

Hold a garage sale next Saturday - clean out your house and re-sell your gently used items for gas money.

Do you have a car loan? See if you can refinance it to lower the monthly note - it may extend the length of the note, but sometimes the short term gain is worth it.

Lastly - do not ever, ever, do a payday loan. The interest rates are humongous and they just suck you into a bigger debt.

I know it is hard - Hugs to you all.

Have you got anything you can sell on Craigslist? Can you clean a couple of houses for cash? Pet sit or dog walk? Baby sit after school?

I would brainstorm any way (legally of course) that I could come up with some cash.

Check to see what bills can be cut. If you get the local newspaper every day...Cancel it. If you have hundreds of cable channels...get the most basic plan possible. Drive the car when you have to...only.

I would have a tag sale or sell items on craigs list.

Bring clothes to a local consignment shop.

Put flyers around that you can babsit for a Mom's day out. Offer to babysit for a child from 9:30 - 1:30 (or 2:30) while the Mom shops and/or has lunch w/ a friend.

When my brother was having a very difficult time making ends meet, he donated plasma for a few extra bucks. Some Halloween stores around here are hiring people just for the season. If it were me and I had 17 cents in my account, 1. I'd ask the neighbor if I can do something to help them out - clean while they are at work, laundry, pull weeds, clean up dog poop, etc. 2. My husband would ask work for an advance on his paycheck.

Other ideas:
- Garage sale! If you make $10, well that's 58 times the amount of money you have now!
- Kid's resale shop - bring the best-looking clothes that you no longer need and get to the consignment shop.
- Church - if they don't have cash to give you, maybe they can find a two-week job there at church for you (deep clean the children's area before flu season? Come in every monday for a deep-cleaning with Lysol?)

So sorry to hear about this. Care to share with us your bills/wages so we can help you out? I agree that you guys need to figure out what are NEEDs and what are WANTs. Even if your "wants" are little $10 this and $5 that, it adds up.

added: Wait do you sell Tupperware? I clicked on your link and it said it didn't exist anymore.

Oh, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I *hate* stressing about money, it just isn't fair. :(

When the occasion arises that I don't have the money to pay for a prescription, I call the prescribing doctor's office and ask if they have any samples to give me to last a month, and they always help out. If it's a name-brand prescription, they usually do. If it's a generic or something that's been on the market for a while, they may not. Worth a try though.

Do you have anything around the house that you can sell on Craigslist? Craigslist selling got me through some hard times when I was laid off in 2007. I sold tons of stuff on there. Clothes, stuff the kids had grown out of, toys they didn't play with any more, baby stuff that we weren't planning to use again, tools my husband didn't need, etc.

If you're a member of a church (or even if you're not) they usually have a monthly benevolent fund to help out families in crisis. You can call and tell them your situation and see if they can do anything to help out.

Prayer & hugs coming your way. Hope it gets better soon!!

Doctors get free samples. Ask the nurse if they could give you one for this month.

I would be freaking out to. How are you going to live?

Is this something new? (that you've run out of funds almost 3 weeks early) Do you have a budget? What went wrong?

You NEED to express your concerns with your husband. You need to come up with a plan. You need to cut your expenses.

When your husband gets paid, and if you guys can come up with this, I would suggest you look at one of the many work at home websites that are out there.

Here are two:

www.wahm.com
www.ratracerebellion

Now, I don't know what your profession is, and I certainly am not suggesting that a part-time gig would take the place of what you have studied and been trained for, but it is a means to an income.

I'm not gonna hammer you about your budget or whether you and your husband need to make some adjustments in your monthly expenses. It sounds like you're just looking for someone to say they understand what you're going through. I most certainly do, but I'm not gonna throw any stones at you. The glass house I live in is far too delicate for that.

All the best. Things will work out.

E.

Can you get ANY job right now? Subbing in an area school district? Look in the paper for someone needing childcare? Fast food? Target or KMart?

It may not be the job you want right now, but it may be the job you NEED right now.

That is a long time with no money coming in. As much as it sucks, you may need to really look at you r needs vs. wants. Do you NEED internet? Do you NEED cable?

Please don't think I am being judgmental. I am having the same conversation with my husband right now. I like cable, but feel it is a want. He thinks we NEED it. I do NEED internet for my job (don't get me started on that one. I hate that I need it for work, yet I am the one paying for it). If not, I think I would just have to go to the library. I try to look at all the things I survived without before they were common place and see what I really need.

Good luck!

I am stressed just reading this... This is what I would do:

1. Call my mom, brother, sister, aunt, uncle and explain the situation. I would ask them to help me out with a bit of cash. If one of my family members were in the same situation as you I would not hesitate to give them something. That's what families do - they help each other.
2. Check what's in the pantry and really do an inventory of how you can eat without spending more (looks like you have this one under control).
3. Talk to my neighbours and friends. Tell them I'm in a bad cash situation and offer to clean their house or mow their lawn for cash. This way you might be able to get money almost immediately. If my neighbour told me they were in a bad situation like this I would certainly pay them to mow the lawn, or clean the windows or the oven for $20.00.
4. Visit the local food bank and Salvation Army.

When I was in a bad situation last year after my husband had a breakdown and we were left short of money, I swallowed my pride and told everyone the truth. People were so kind. The private school my boys go to drastically reduced the fees, the preschool my little one goes to said I could have a break of paying for around two months. I think people are pretty good with this sort of stuff. After everything settled down I took control of the finances and we're not sailing so close to the wind anymore.

Good luck!
4.

Start applying for jobs at retail stores they are all hiring for the holidays.

Go to local food banks and get food for your family.

Go to social services and apply for food stamps and medical assistance. Ask who you can talk to about getting gas vouchers for your car. Contact the Salvation Army ask for help.

You have to sit down and write out all your expenditures. Every single one. Figure out how much you are actually spending for everything. If you are spending more than you are taking in, you have to cut. Do you have cable? Cancel the cable. Change the way you buy food. Eat canned food or what's in your pantry until it's gone.

If there are any food banks in your area, ask to use them. Talk to the power company to see if they have an assistance program.

I hope you find some answers. Meanwhile, if you have family around, ask if you can come have dinner with them a few times before Nov.

Good luck,
Dawn

Is this a normal occurrence? If so, then you need to find a job, like now! How did this happen? Was it an accident, did someone get crazy & over spend? Thing is, unless you are living in poverty & your DH hardly makes anything, you won't qualify for most assistance out there if you're misspending your money.

I would highly recommend going through a job agency for help. They have leads & connections that you won't, and access to jobs that aren't posted online or on a potential employer's job listings. With the right agency, you could have a job tomorrow and have a check within a week or two. Looks like you are in a metropolitan area? Are there any call centers in your area? Telemarketing companies? You can start at those right away. What about doing call center customer service from home?

Sell any non-necessities. Cut cable & internet & eliminate or lower cell phone bills, home phone. Time to cut any extra curriculars for your kids until you're out of this whole. It's time to Dave Ramsey it up & live on a cash basis. Clearly, there is a cash problem & it needs to be solved.

You should be able to get food from the food bank. I know there are ways to get a break on your scripts, but I'm not sure how.

Keep positive & have faith. Just when you think it's about to blow, something usually comes through to save the day. Been there done that.

Now, I don't know everything about mine and my husband's finances. I have access to the account via my bank card. However, my husband is always willing to discuss the bills, our present standing, and if/when things need to tighten up due to one thing or another. I could not imagine not knowing that I am able to get my much needed prescriptions, one of which costs $160 by itself. I'm sure know this already but you two need to openly discuss things, whether or not you're bringing money into the home matters not. I don't as I am a SAHM. Please speak with him about this and figure out a budget so that this doesn't happen again. I'm sorry you're stuck in this rut right now. I wish you the best.

Yep, start with the food bank or your church. They will help.

You will simply have to borrow perhaps a couple of hundred bucks and you hold it and disburse it.

If you don't have family, as a last resort borrow from one of those ridiculous check cashing places, borrow the least possible.

Change your ways. Brush with baking soda, follow the Duggar laundry soap recipe (someone posted that and it works!), press the clothes with corn starch instead of canned starch, cut the dryer sheets in smaller strips or reduce the heat on the clothes and don't use any, look into a possible free lunch program for the kids at school. Find any way to cut the bills now, so you can get back on your feet.

Can you clean houses or something on the side for some cash? I have a friend who was doing child care and now she cleans houses, it looks like she manages to stay pretty busy. She posts on FB every time she is in Vegas and I think she picks up more work each time. I have been thinking of asking for her help myself.

One paycheck per month is a long stretch for any house.

Best wishes.

I SOOOOOOO know what you mean. Before I came on here I was looking at my bank acct. online trying to figure out who/what won't get paid. I do not have a day off until 10/25 and have to figure out gas for my 50 mile commute each day and like you I am going to need my meds (diabetes) in about a week. I'm also figuring out the kids lunches and food for the next 10 days. As stressful as it all is, something ALWAYS seems to come through when it's needed the most. So, try not to worry too much and I will try and do the same. Good luck to you and Big Hugs.

If you only have that much to last you twenty more days, that is not okay. You guys need to look at your budget. We have debt and we live check to check, but we've not gotten to that point in a lot of years. What was all of the money spent on? Where can you cut back? Can you shop smarter?

I'd say you will have to use credit cards, get a loan from a bank, or borrow money from family to get through this time.

I hope things get better for you!

Somehow you'll make it work, even if it means asking for help from social services or friends/family. Definitely only drive when absolutely necessary and combine errands. If your prescription is life or death, certainly borrow money to buy it...otherwise it may need to wait. Then start a game plan for next month so you're better prepared.

My husband just got laid off 2 weeks before the due date of our second baby. We're certainly worried, but we've been in dire straights before and somehow we make it through.

You have a lot of good ideas here about getting through the next few weeks...i am going to post a suggestion about a possible job situation.

Have you considered substitute teaching? I put in an application and was called for orientation in less than ten days. Most places pay 70 to 100 a day and your schedule will be close to your kids school hours. Here they only pay once a month...so it could be a while before you see the money, but it could help until you find something else.

I also second looking for some cleaning work that pays the same day.

Good luck!! I am familiar with some tight months...I am praying for you!! HUGS!!

I'm assuming there is no savings account in addition to the checking. So, on an immediate basis, you are going to have to find some source of credit whether via credit card, bank/financial institution or family. You cannot go three weeks without any money at all.

On a short term basis, places are already hiring for holidays. You need to check into some of those jobs on an interim basis. Also, does your husband work a schedule where he has time for a 2nd job in the evenings through the end of the year? If so, both of you should try for some seasonal jobs to get some extra income coming in to not only get through this but to build up a little cushion. You need to both do an "all hands on deck" to get some more income as quicky as possible and as much income as possible because you need past this three weeks and to get some money for an emergency fund. I think that in pretty much every market, Macy's, ToysRUs and Kohls are already actively hiring for the holiday season. Also, you can register with temp agencies where you can take assignments starting almost immediately and be paid in about a week. Until you have a permananet job, that may be an option.

You guys need help!! Keep searching for a job, but I'd recommend going to daveramsey.com and search for a Financial Peace University (FPU) class near you. You'll learn how to control your money, so it's not controlling you.

If you were closer to me I could give you detailed info but here are some helps...

Food.. Look into food pantries. They can help with many of your daily needs. Many are no questions asked, some want to keep track of you. We are a small area and have 4 that I know of.

Prescriptions, gas, and utilities.... Many churches have assistance programs. You will need to know and be able to demonstrate a need. Like a utility bill, how much your prescription will cost, ect. They will usually help you once to twice a year.

Do not use a credit card like some have suggested unless you absolutely can not make it with out using it. That will just make things worse in the months to come. Credit at this point is your enemy.