Holy crap I'm poor and need help

[spooky]

Originally Posted by BrownEyedBtch

As far as your minimum payments, if you really want to put your life today ahead of repairing your debt, then stop paying them altogether. Debts fall off of your credit record after 7 years. However, the statute of limitations on your debts restarts with every payment you make. Learn to live on cash and the next seven years will fly by.

It restarts with any action from either side on the account. The debt being sold to a new collection agency, for instance, restarts it. Them trying to contact you, that restarts it. It's not just the last payment made, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a change of address restarts the clock. Not to mention it's morally wrong to skip out on debts. Part of growing up is responsibility.

[Alexandra]

If you are really looking for advice and not just whining while collecting your unemployment checks:

1. Listen to Spooky. I cannot say this clearly enough. You need to use his suggestions as a life guide for your current situation.

2. Sell your shit. Seriously. You don't own anything of value to the world, and if you do the Smithsonian will happily take it off your hands. Some very good advice I got from a dear friend of mine: there is a lot of value to a light pack when you have to hump it out of the valley. You sir need to hump it out of the valley.

3. You either see the need to make major changes in your priorities, or you don't. If you don't, enjoy the ride - I expect the downhill plunge will be quite thrilling.

[jeffdrafttech]

I hate tht meme cherry is posting on this thread, and her avatar doesn't feature a pic of her ass. (blame the Whisky high, not the drinker)

---------------------------

You are now, and for the next decade, a part of the cash economy. When you ride the bus home, look around and recognize your people.

Good jobs aren't posted at the unemployment office, on the net, or in the paper. Go out and get a job by working for it. If I gave you an outside sales job where you are expected to find new business by telling potential clients about my service, would you be able to do that? If so, you are the product, go out and sell it.

Can't find a "real" job? Get your hands dirty! Getting a low wage is getting you closer to your goal than not working at all.

Go back adn read Marina's posts. She already gave you the answers.

[DJQuad]

Originally Posted by spooky

1. Tell your parents you fucked up. Tell them you could use some advice, ask them for guidance, don't ask for a handout. The more aware of your situation they are, the more involved you make them, the more likely it is they will bail you out if you wind up totally sunk, but let them offer, do not ask.

2. Stop paying even the minimums on your debts. Send something every month to keep it active, $20 maybe. It won't stop them from harassing you, it won't stop them from selling it off as bad debt, but given the financial crisis, it may delay them, if only briefly. And that gives you a chance to save up a couple grand ASAP, which is what you need to do for a new start.

3. Save a check, use that just for food. Hide the money from debt collectors, and use it on the cheapest food you can get by on for a couple months. Buy cans of tuna, chicken breasts, cans of beans and veggies. Pay attention to calories per dollar and invest wisely in your food. You can easily have three big square meals a day on like $8. And you can easily live on two meals a day for a few months.

4. Get used to reading second hand books from the used book store, because you don't need internet until you are back on your feet. Or cable. Or ipods. Or laptops.

5. Sell everything you own. Everything except a small amount of clothes. Fire sale, everything must go. Big yard sale. Or a booth at the flea market. All that shit you own is a weight that does nothing but cost you money and prevent you from moving on to a better situation.

6. Rent a storage place for your furniture, they aren't but $60-$100 a month. You are mostly holding your parents crap you said, so if need be, you can pass that bill onto them.

7. Get your ass to your new town. Rent a Uhaul to get your shit to the above mentioned storage facility in your new town. Buy a shitty car there. Buy the Haynes or Chilton's manual to work on it, a basic set of tools, and get used to working on your own car, changing your own oil, and possibly sleeping in it. You mentioned a van, I would suggest a little ford escort. Gas is too expensive, and it limits your options if you want to deliver pizza, but it does allow you to stand out in front of a Lowes or Home Depot and hire yourself out for deliveries. Your call.

As far as work goes, you are pretty well fucked. You can't get a job working at McDonalds and make anything close to you unemployment benefits. I'd say get a job delivering pizza. That'll get you close, but it might be tough getting your foot in the door. If you work for a food place, you won't ever go hungry. I've never done the Home Depot circuit, so I have no idea about the money potential there.

Work your ass off, it is better than being bored reading second hand books. Walk on to construction sites and ask if you can help out, tell em you'll work for cash, and take any amount they offer, even less than minimum wage. The painting and lawn work suggestion is fine, but requires equipment. Being a construction site bitch usually does not.

Oh, don't close out your checking account if you are planning on fucking up your credit, I think most banks do credit checks now to start a new account.

And rent in a shitty part of town, you probably won't get robbed, and you won't have anything worth stealing anyway. You'll save hundreds extra a month.

Also, never declare bankruptcy. Its on your record for 7 years, sure. But on every credit application ever, they ask "have you ever declared bankruptcy?" and that pretty much fucks you for life unless you are making a hell of a lot of regular money at a job you worked for a decade or more.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents, I think.

Holy fuck if you and I were gay we'd take a trip to Connecticut or Iowa.

[Nebraskacountrygirl]

Originally Posted by spooky

1. Tell your parents you fucked up. Tell them you could use some advice, ask them for guidance, don't ask for a handout. The more aware of your situation they are, the more involved you make them, the more likely it is they will bail you out if you wind up totally sunk, but let them offer, do not ask.

2. Stop paying even the minimums on your debts. Send something every month to keep it active, $20 maybe.

3. Save a check, use that just for food. Hide the money from debt collectors, and use it on the cheapest food you can get by on for a couple months. Buy cans of tuna, chicken breasts, cans of beans and veggies.

5. Sell everything you own.

6. Rent a storage place for your furniture, they aren't but $60-$100 a month.

7. Get your ass to your new town. Rent a Uhaul to get your shit to the above mentioned storage facility in your new town. Buy a shitty car there.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents, I think.

Oh and yeah, Spooky, you single??? This is exactly what I'm looking for in a man, someone that knows how to manage a little bit of money. tee hee!

[as1eeponatrain]

Originally Posted by marina

As someone who hasn't been unemployed since I was 14, I am unlikely to believe that there is absolutely no work in the world.

Can you make anything? Make it and sell it.

Nobody needs their lawn mowed, a light-bulb changed, a paint job on their garage? Go door to door and ask them these things. They might at least feed you or give you a drink.

Buy a box of candy and sell the individual packs on the street-tell people it's for the vets, wear your dog tags, dress in fatigues or red, white, and blue.

Do you have a home depot in your town, or any other type of home improvement store? Stand outside of it, ask people if they need an extra hand. Work hard and people will call you before they head over there to get guys they don't know for the jobs they need.

$430 a week is a lot of money to be getting it for free. Buy yourself a bus ticket or rent a room in a house. Ask someone if you can give them $100 a month to sleep on their couch.

Head over to craigslist, and buy a $100 dollar car, park it somewhere that nobody tows cars away from and sleep in it until you can buss it back to Boston.

Hook up with some hippies and hitch-hike or bike from Arkansas to Boston. That should take you at least a month.

There are more options open to you than there is time to think of them. Man up.

I love you Marina, you're my kind of gal. Mr. Arkansas, best of luck to you. I hope something works out for you.

[Mikey]

Originally Posted by GirlNextDoor

Do you know that for $430 a week I have lived in NY (one of the most expensive places to live) I paid for my own apartment and everything else to go with it. You sir should be fine and if your not you suck at money management. Ask for an extension on your unemployment. I hear they are giving those out like candy do to the high unemployment rate in most places.

I know how it works when you get out of the service there is no reason you should be in this situation. You didn't prepare and thats your own damn fault. So suck it up be responsible only spend on what you need and you should be fine

thats pretty cheap. how big is your place

[Somethingdumb]

Have you tried being homeless, Tim? It'll be a fun little adventure AND a learning experience.

[DWarrior]

Try being homeless and start a blog.

PS, when I first moved out, all I had was a change jar for cash. You can get Ramen for .10-.15 per pack. Shit, you can find that kind of money laying on the ground between the aisles.

[Newsy]

Well.. The News has been known to be generous here and there. I can help you... there are just some things I need for you to do. Are you willing to accept my hand?

gasp. i take all of that back. I know why your father doesn't speak to you anymore...

YOU'RE A FURRY!


how much did that tail cost you sir? how many cons have you been to lately? those things get expensive.

have you sold that spiffy expensive looking car you have?



judged judged judged.

edit #2

oh. i just saw your car getting repo'd. my roomate had her car repo'd and she became a huge burden on me.

i'm not helping at all. I'm just waiting for the office and ugly betty to finish loading.