I am drowning in debt

Paying the minimum on a credit card usually only clears the interest for that month and not the actual balance, we had the same problem. What a lot of people do is look for credit cards offering 0% fixed rate for a certain length of time and then they have that and put the previous cards debt onto it, that way you will accrue no more interest for so many months and will start to clear the balance. You have had some advice about food shopping but the other thing to try is shop on a daily basis, only buy what you need for that day. I started doing this a few weeks ago and while it is a pain in the backside sometimes, especially when the kids are off school, it actually works out fantastic for me. I have a set shopping budget of £80 GBP a week ($160 approx) and out of my budget each week I have £18 - £25 GBP left over this money I have been able to put away in a seperate savings account. Keep a spending diary for a period of a couple of weeks, keep receipts and each day write in your diary what you spend, after the two weeks review it and see what you spend that you can do without. Trust me you will be surprised at what you do not really need to spend, then for the next weeks cut the unecessary spending out and still keep the diary and you should see a difference. Set budgets and stick to them, if you can make spending cuts do it, the spare money put away and then at the end of each months see what you have saved, put the money you save towards another bill to clear it off. Also go into your supermarkets at regular periods of the day and find out when they have reductions on goods, then go in at those times, you will be amazed at what you can get and make a meal out of. Through all these things I have seen such a difference in our finances, not a penny is spent that is not accounted for and as a result the only debt we have is our mortgage, it has taken some time but it has been eyeopening. I hope that some of this works for you and that things get better for you xx

I am sorry to hear that you are so much in debt. But this problem is not only in the US here in The Netherlands it is the same. There are so many people in debt and banks are having a ball giving everyone loans against extremely high interest rates. Meanwhile all the prices keep going up, even on simple things like milk and patatoes. Sometimes I quickly get all of my salary from the bank after paying the important bills. Otherwise some company will write of again and we have no money for food. I am also doing my best trying to make some extra cash here and there. And I always look for the lowest prices for shopping for groceries, to save a little money. All the pennies go into a piggybank. Life is really hard, and as I have children I really hopen to get out of debt soon, so I will be able to give them a good life when they grow up.

I think many, many people are in the same situation you are! It is very frustrating to be running on such a treadmill with very little options. I do have some suggestions that have helped me though: Go on the internet and look up Angel Food Ministries. They are a church group that actually sells 'food packages' really cheaply. I have a freezer and can save a lot of money by doing this program. There is no church affiliation needed or income proof. It is a great deal! Save your change! I drop all my change into a plastic tub. When it gets full I take it over to the credit union and get the cash for it. This is a very easy way to save and the extra money can help with that credit card bill! Debt help can be found through a company called GreenPath. You can do a search for this too on the internet. They will work with you creditors and give you some leverage. Chat with them, it doesn't cost anything to ask questions! Plasma. We have a plasma bank in our community. I haven't had to go there in a couple years but it is nice to know there is a place I can get some quick cash for selling plasma. Online cash. I have a system for online cash creation. I won't list my link here but you can find it on my pic! Check out my website for ideas for even more income ideas. Use the contact us page if you have any questions. Good luck and have faith!

I can't agree more momiecat, it is horrible and nothing seems to be done about it. We can all bow down to the wonderful jackass of a president we now have for what he's done to our economy for he did a magnificent job in putting us here all the while he lines his pockets with the green. Clinton dug us out and this jackass puts right back in and even made it worse.

I know the economy has hit my husband and I hard as well. I have tried looking for health insurance for low income and have had no success. My husband is Type 2 diabetic and we need insurance for him. We tried getting Medicade, we were told that since he is not pregnant (and I have yet to see any man that can get pregnant) that he is not eligible. My husband and I are struggling. We had to get rod of our cell phones and for a while our home phone (we just bought Magic Jack and now we cannot afford to lose our Internet). We are behind on our other bills and are only current on the mortgage. My husband's boss cuts his hours and has also cheated him out of pay. I am hoping to find work soon. I have a college degree in Elementary Education and cannot find a teaching job. I am applying for a teacher's aid job, but I am sure I will be told that I am over qualified (lately I have been getting that). I am also hoping to make payout so I can start my online business. I need to buy a lot of small mason jars so I can store and sell my bath salts (unless someone has any ideas on how to store them and sell them for cheaper).