overwhelmed and out of choices

[Mer_Adella]

Okay. I have 3 bills I should be paying...i know i know...and I am sure that everyone is thinking..."3 bills thats it?" well look at it this way. I work 40hrs at 9.50 and only make 313.40 a week. I have a 500.00 bill that needs to be paid. A 846.35 bill that needs payment. and school loans that total to 22k. When you only have 313.40 coming in a week and need to put gas in a truck that gets 10mpg (i have no other vehicle and not an option) plus a dog and a house. I am overwhelmed. all the house bills are my bfs which I write checks for. I know that if i skip one of his checks that I will be in trouble so I pay those on time (through his checkbook however not mine).

heres the problem.

313.40/wk
-100.00 bill (1/week. so one bill is paid a week)
-80.00 gas
-60.00 food(for house not eating out)
-32.00 bad habits (we will just leave it at that)
______
41.40 left in checking acount

i am so overwhelmed that I can't even cry any more. I need to get these bills paid. I had a strategy all worked out. But as most of us know. unforseen goings-on happen and you can't pay a bill this week, then you don't have enough the next week and so on. Usually my bf comes home on weekends and fills the truck up on sunday before he leaves but he hasn't been home for 3 weeks now (job is on the road) and this is just adding to my stress. I dont know where to turn to, I dont know what I can do (they want their money and begging is not an option) and i can't get a raise out of my boss. Maybe someone has a suggestion?

[Mer_Adella]

btw this in no way hinders making tops...i have all the materials i need at home in a stockpile that i have been building for a while. so thats at least safe

[Mermaid Celissa]

Wait...you owe money for your own bills, but you pay for your boyfriend's? That isn't right. Does he at least help you pay his bills? If not, that's pretty screwed up.

[Mer_Adella]

Wait...you owe money for your own bills, but you pay for your boyfriend's? That isn't right. Does he at least help you pay his bills? If not, that's pretty screwed up.

as i said before...i pay his bills for him ....from HIS checkbook.

[Mermaid Allie]

Well I'll buy a top from you when you start making them :)). i'm young so i don't know much about money, but i know my parents used this website and radio show to help them pay off their mortgage! This could help you with your school loans and saving money!! http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

[Gem Stone]

I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm also sorry that as of yet, I've not been in that situation so I have no help to offer. I am planning on buying a top though!

[Mermaid Celissa]

Oh okay, sorry. Never mind! Blonde!

[MerAnthony]

Ok here is another question how much does he make? An what total do you have between the both of you? The bills should be paid out of both not just yours

[Mer_Adella]

Well I'll buy a top from you when you start making them :)). i'm young so i don't know much about money, but i know my parents used this website and radio show to help them pay off their mortgage! This could help you with your school loans and saving money!! http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

thanks alliegator i will check that out.

I appriciate everyone that wants to buy/check out my tops when I make them. They won't cover my bills but it was just supposed to be a hobby/craft thing during the winter anyways for me. But I appriciate the thought :) I will let everyone know when I get some made that are for sale so you can see what I do

[Mermaid Saphira]

^ Sign me up! I am considering purchasing a top from you as well ;) a little goes a long way in some cases

[roamingmer]

Vallee is right; the two of you should try to work something out so that you can share bills for a while. For a while i paid things for my other half - i figured it was worth the investment to destress them.
A gas guzzler does not help but are there local car pool options to be considered?
If you are home alone can you use your creativity for immediate benefit? Making t-shirts might take too long; so figure something faster - mermaid cards which can be precut from stencils? Or set up a premium rate number (joking)

Most Important is do not dispair- time times teach us for a reason

[AniaR]

I sincerely appreciate what you're going through. I am currently unemployed and only have mermaid gigs paying for things. Not by choice mind you, there's no work in my field here and I'm trying to find SOMETHING to pay the bills :( it's making me sick with stress, I can only imagine working 40 hours a week and still barely having enough. ugh :( someone needs to make it rain for us!

[malinghi]

Adella, how much is your rent? Your breakdown of expenses seems a bit odd. In descending order of cost, mine basically goes rent+utilities, food, then gas, then everything else. How much is your rent and utilities? Also, of all these expenses, which ones do you share with your boyfriend, and how do you split them?

Also, I'll take your word for it if you say you spend $80 per week on gas, but that's extremely high. You must drive a ton, and have terrible mileage on your car. Do you have to travel far for work? Is there some way you could reduce that, by either a) carpooling to work, b) getting an different car with better fuel economy, c) public transit, d) get a new job close to where you live, e) get a new apartment close to work?

Have you checked your utilities to see if there's anywhere you can save money? You might find a cheaper provider for one of the utilities. If heating costs are too high, you could try fixing the insulation. Is your cell plan ripping you off? If you have cable, you can cancel it to save money.

If you make lots of small purchases that add up and are hard to track, you could get an app for your phone that lets you enter expenses as you buy them. If you don't have a phone that can run apps, you can keep track with a pocket notebook.

Can you get more hours at work? Can you ask for a raise? Can your boyfriend do either of those things?

Are your student loans deferred? Can they be?

Sorry if some of these are dumb or patronizing, I'm just trying to propose everything I can think of.

[Mer_Adella]

The bills I listed before at the beginning are the only ones I have. I live in my bfs house an he doesn't make me pay for any of the utilities knowing that I have my stuff I need to get rid of first.
I cannot differ my loan anymore ergo the problem. As far as carpooling I am the only employee besides my boss and he lives no where near me. $80 a week for gas literally lasts me from Friday afternoon till Friday afternoon. So a whole week on a v10 f250 which is bad but great at the same time. A raise HA it took me a year to squeeze $0.50 out of my boss. I understand about small purchases and have cut down on a lot of them. But it's just almost as if I keep turning around and smacking into a brick wall.
Raina: I feel for you more than I do for me now. :( I'm sorry about no work for you honey. I would hire you in a second to help me work on the Mer tops :)