help!!!

@nickiy (40)
United States
January 14, 2007 6:58pm CST
i am a married mom of one with one on the way! me, my hubby, and our daughter live with my parents... my hubby makes 1200 a month and we HAVE GOT TO MOVE OUT OF HERE! an apartment will be WAY too expensive...(750 and higher in this area for a two bedroom.... and we have been looking into a manufactured home...) the problem is we still owe about 12000 on our car and untill we get that paid off, we only get to keep about 700 $ after we pay car payment and insurance.... any ideas PLEASE about government programs in texas, (we are on foodstamps, and medicaid.....)or places where we can get a decent place to live. ALSO ideas on how to save money (not extensive bank stuff and such, i mean stuff thats easy to do every day....) and NO I CANT WORK, daycare would be 300 a week when i have this baby and i wouldnt even make that much prolly....
3 people like this
59 responses
@Darkwing (21583)
15 Jan 07
Move One: Sell the car and get a more economic one. Move Two: Any excess from the sale of the car, put into the bank. Move Three: Contact a Real Estate Office. Move Four: Make sure you have the deposit, and secure a loan for the rest of payment on home. Move Five: Find a home. Move Six: Contact Your Real Estate Office Again and tell them you found a home suitable for you all, and ask them what options they have open. Move Seven: Sign Your Contract. Move Eight: Move into new home. Move Nine: Give birth to your baby... good luck, and live happily ever after. Seriously, a home is more of a requirement than a car. The car is a weight around your neck, when you really need a home. Sort your priorities, and you should manage everything. I hope all works out for you. :-)
@nickiy (40)
• United States
15 Jan 07
i agree with what you said but we have only had the car one year and if we sold it we would mek less than we owe so wed be screwed....also we have to pay the car off first before we get into a house so that 1, my hubby has a way to get to work, and 2 we can afford to pay bills also...
• United States
15 Jan 07
You could get a cheap car and send the car with the payment back, you would save alot of money. I make decent money, but I refuse to make a car payment. I pay cash for cars and get good deals. I have a van that I paid $2,000 for 3 years ago and it is still running great and it looks good too. You need to be practical especially if you don't have money.
1 person likes this
• Canada
15 Jan 07
Both of these people are giving you excellent financial advice. Rather than coming up with reasons why you can't make these changes you should be looking at HOW you can do it. A house IS more important than a car, and just because you made a poor financial decision does not mean you should continue to live with it. The car is a sunk cost any way you look at it. The harsh reality is that it doesn't matter how much you paid for it nor how much you will get for it, but sell it and pay off the loan. Whatever cash you have left over use to buy a good used car. You should be able to get something for under $1,000. Just make sure it is in good mechanical shape, but even if you have to spend money on it, it should be less than what you are currently spending on monthly car payments.
• United States
15 Jan 07
why on God's green earth would you marry a man who only makes 1,200 a month. kick him out, get a real man not a guy with a childs job
1 person likes this
@nickiy (40)
• United States
15 Jan 07
i wasnt going to say they pay less here, but by all means if you know of a place where he can work that pays more then so be it, TELL ME! lol....
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Jan 07
oh and I don't wanna hear about how they pay less in Texas I am from Houston and made the same money there as when I came here
1 person likes this
@mkup30 (494)
• United States
15 Jan 07
I am so sorry to hear this. What are your husband's qualifications regarding education and work. By telling us this we can better help and give advice on what he can do and how to find a job that suits him but maybe pays more! I truly wish you the best of luck. This is the advice, dont go out to eat much at all it is much cheaper to stay in and cook at home. dont buy things you dont need.
@citygirl (1080)
• Canada
15 Jan 07
I raized three kids on my own. I never got welfare or food stamps just did it on my own with lots of hard work. I raised my kids all three of them on sometimes less than 1200 a month. Why are yous having more kids if you can't afford a home for the one you have. When you have too kids you surely shouldn't be living off your parents. Give up the car. Be self sufficent and quit expecting the goverment to always help . Stuff that is really easy to do? why are you really that lazy. Wake up and smell the coffee and stop thinking the world owes you. If you can't afford to supply a home for your kids then you should not be haveing more. It is time to be a resonsible adult and look after your own responsiblities. They have such things as babysitters and they are not 300 a week. Time to grow up nickiy.
1 person likes this
@april444 (1341)
• United States
15 Jan 07
you are one rude betch. This lady is asking for help not a lecture. She wants to move out, she needs a car plus she is pregnant....... babysitters and daycare are expensive as hell plus you have to trust total strangers who are mostly in it for money. Dont knock her unless you know excatly what shes dealing with. You of all should understand!!!!!!! you must be the mom that worked all the time and let others raise them so get that crusty foot out of your mouth.
1 person likes this
@gramaj (451)
• United States
15 Jan 07
Wow, that is alot of money for a vehicle. I agree with others here. You need to get out of that payment, and the insurance payment will go down when you get a less expensive car. Buy one outright. I would get with the goverment office and find out about home ownership programs in a safe neighborhood. Get into a house and do whatever you can to keep it. Don't look at the negitive. There is alot of help out there and you appearently have access to the internet so use it to search for assistance. There are alot of owner finance homes and creative financing that can get you started. How about your income tax check that would probably be a great start. Offer to provide childcare for others or do light housekeeping. I am sure you will get ideas here on mylot
@SageMother (2277)
• United States
15 Jan 07
You ae stuck. I hae to wonder why you are pregnant and have that huge car payment and still live with your parents. I suggest you look at Keen or someother platform where you can make money doing advice or other things that rely on skill and are not paying pennies for your time. Since you are on the computer, use it to look for housing assistance in your area. One thing that is workig against you is that you have a place to live, with your parents. Government programs are meant to help those with no other options. The fact that you are married means that any of the single parent programs that might be still fundtioning, will not apply to you. There are alot of homeless families in shelters all around the USA. The chances of your finding aid without being homeless are slim to none. Once you have your baby then I bet your parents will watch the children whle you wokr, since they already don't mind your living in their home, and they will be glad to help you get on your feet so long as another pregnancy doesn't crp up and you aren't buying another vehicle. YOu also need to get rid of the car payment. If the husband insists on keeping it then get rid of him.
@nickiy (40)
• United States
15 Jan 07
like i said earlier, we have to have a car, so he can get to work, and no my parents will not watch the kids because they both work also, and second they do mind us living here....we prolly only have another 6 month before we have to leave...
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Jan 07
You may be able to qualify for the Habitat for Humanity Sweat Equity Program. Basically your husband and any willing members of your family and friends would work under the supervision of the Habitat crew to build/ rehabilitate a home. You commit to putting in the amount of hours necessary to complete the job. When the job is done the house is yours. It may mean having to stay with your family for a little while longer, but it seems like a good investment. They do have income guidelines and they will put you through a credit check. You can log on to the "Habitat for Humanity" website for all the details.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Jan 07
My husband and I just had to resently look over our spending to. The first thing we did was to stop shopping at krogers and places like that and go to save a lot and discount stores this saved a lot of money there. We go to dollar tree a lot as well. They may not have the name brand toliet paper or house hold cleaners but they do the job just as good and saves a lot of money. As far as the car I would go to the dealer and ask if you could trade in on a chaper car which would bring your payments down. This way you are not with out a car. I do understand about no being able to work because of child care we are there are selves.
@Trace86 (5030)
• United States
15 Jan 07
What about working at a daycare center? They will let you bring the baby to work. I know you said you are sure you can't trade the car down for a less expensive one, but have you checked? Have you asked your parents for a loan for a down payment or checked into a FHA loan? I got an FHA which means no money down. Just try to cut back on things that aren't necessities. I cut out starbucks and save 20 bucks a month. It's not much, but it's something. A start.
• United States
15 Jan 07
Oh that's an EXCELLENT IDEA...I am sorry I didn't think of it!
@nickiy (40)
• United States
17 Jan 07
yes we have checked about the car....and we have started cutting back on some stuff.....
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
15 Jan 07
I think I have a really great idea. When you get the 5000 tax refund next month. Use that to help yourself out of your mess. You did post that last week, didn't you? That you wanted people to help you decide how to split it up?? I'm feeling really bad about people that start stories just for the fun of it making people feel bad and waste time trying to help. I may be wrong but this is what it appears to me.
@nickiy (40)
• United States
19 Jan 07
actually no thats not the case here, trust me i wouldnt be checking this for responses if it was, but that tax return is whats going to help us out in other ways... you know how much diapers cost? for a newborn it will run about 60-80 bucks a month, if we have that money in savings then we wont have to borrow it from people when we shouldnt be.... the other things we are going to do with it, are pay off the bills we have from our apartment that we had to leave when my hubby lost his job....and then we are going to take 1000 and get baby stuff and also stuff my daughter needs....
• United States
15 Jan 07
I can relate. I would call your Government worker that is charge of your foodstamp and medicaid case, and ask if they had any leads at all. I know that government assistance is different from state to state, for example here in California, people on aid are able to get help with daycare. Keep doing myLots, it will bring in a tiny amount but even a tiny amount is better then nothing. Have you heard of Associated Content? They are a website that wants articles from people and they pay via paypal for them. You could research that, again, a little amount is better then nothing. I've made 79 dollars from them in two months. It could have been more but I am suffering from writers block on articles. :( eBay: You might be able to make a few bucks if you have anything to sell. CLothes, books, ec. Freecycle: Instead of buying clothes and stuff for the baby, find your local freecycle online and post a request for the baby stuff you need. You never know what you could find. Don't let anyone get you down. If people waited to get married or to have kids when they could completley afford it, then half of us wouldn't be here! lol
• United States
17 Jan 07
contact your nearest avon lady to help you become a rep from home,you sell avon products and make 50% of your sales
• Pakistan
17 Jan 07
Why dont you ask the government for help because I have heard that in U.S. and European countries government helps people who do not have much earnings and support thier children by giving monthly allownces and arrange for suitable jobs. So how could you be in a problem. I recommend you to ask government for help as soon as possible.
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
17 Jan 07
Right now, you are only 4 months pregnant or so. There is no reason why you can't find a job to work during the hours that your husband is home to take care of your other child. For the remainder of your pregnancy, and until you have to move out, save every cent that you can so that you will have it to move with, and as a cushion when you are getting settled. You made the decision to get married and have children. Now is the time to take responsibility for your family and stop looking to government handouts and your parents to pay the bills. Something like WIC is fine to help you with formula for the baby, even foodstamps are ok if your income is low enough for you to qualify..............but I have a hard time with the concept of someone being on foodstamps while they are driving a brand new car.
@sweetee (420)
• Australia
15 Jan 07
Also maybe you should speak to a financial planner..
@sweetee (420)
• Australia
15 Jan 07
Have you got a budget you use? If you don't, that could really help you manage your funds a little better.. Maybe write down every single cent you spend for a month and see where you could cut back...
@cuddiluk (1523)
• Philippines
17 Jan 07
Do you have work? Find some decent work after giving birth though pay less what is important can utilize your debts and so you can move to a small apartment. It's really hard to your husband to carry all the load since his salary is not enough even apartment he'll cannot do pay so. Ask a favor to your mother that she'll be the one to take care for sometimes of your daughter and your baby after giving birth. As of the meantime work at home through internet can help a lil' bit. Both of you need endurance for all the suffering your facing now. Not all the time is pain, as you go along things will get through. Be patient and love should always be there.
@wolflvr (335)
• United States
16 Jan 07
You can look into susidized housing. Your town should have a housing office that can help you. You can also put your name on a list for a Section 8 certificate which are harder to get. You use the certificate to rent an apartment and they help cover the costs of your rent. Where I live the you would go to the Housing Authority. If you can't find an info for your area where you get your food stamps they should be able to point you in the right direction.
• United States
16 Jan 07
I live in Laredo and here we have a program through housing called "section 8" through this program you can look for a house,townhouse or apartment that is to your liking, you pay a certain percentage of rent(percentage depends on how much income there is) and utilities. One of my aunts is on this program and she is doing extremely well. I suggest you look into it. I called the local office to ask and looks like this program is available all over Texas! God Bless You, your husband, and your children! I will keep you in my prayers! God Provides....Look for Him!
@shaz6611 (951)
• Australia
16 Jan 07
Is your husband looking for a better paying job or maybe a second job. After bubs is born perhaps you could find a part time job when your husband is home so he can watch the children while you go to work and you pay no child care fees
• United States
16 Jan 07
Put your family on a very strict budget. My husband and I have been doing this lately and so far it is working. Sell the car and get a cheaper one that is also gas efficient. Also, don't have any more kids, at least not yet. You should be able to afford your children before planning any others. That being said ALL children are a blessing, good luck with the impending new arrival!
@xelissa (776)
• New Zealand
15 Jan 07
Maybe move in with an old high school friend, or rent with a mate, sell some things so it'll be easier on your moving transition. Good luck!