Feeling Overwhelmed Need Advice

[Nutria]

Find a cheaper plan. With some investigation, you shouldn't spend more than $10/line for mobile phone these days.

Not until the contract runs out...

[disneysteve]

Not until the contract runs out...

That depends on the contract terms. Sometimes it is cheaper to pay the termination fee and get out of the deal. And she didn't say whether or not she is under a contract. Most companies did away with them within the last couple of years so fewer and fewer people are still contracted.

[disneysteve]

We can pick and poke at the budget but the biggest problem is that you are only earning $19,200/year. Tell us more about your job. What do you do? How many hours do you work per week? What level of education do you have?

Given your income, what are you receiving in the way of public assistance? Food stamps? Housing voucher? Medicaid? Make sure you have applied for everything you are eligible for.

[TexasHusker]

The thing I like is that you seem to be enterprising since you are selling on eBay. You effectively have your own business! I would see if I could triple that income right away through creative means - seeking stuff out of the storage could be a great launch pad.

Many successful businesses were started out of necessity due to a financial crisis.

If you can ditch the storage unit AND double or triple your eBay sales, you've moved the needle significantly.

Find stufff at garage sales and Craigslist that you know full well will do well on eBay. You will flunk out on a few items but you will quickly figure out a niche.

Might not seem like it but the potential is there for you - exciting times!

[msomnipotent]

Hi horselover12. I honestly can't tell you how many times I have told myself, "Ok, this is the last time" and something happens to derail me. If saving was easy, everyone would be rich.

Ebay takes roughly 20% of my sales price once I factor in listing, paypal, and shipping fees. I sell on bookoo and Facebook now for free. My area isn't extremely hot, but my sister's FB groups will buy anything. Are you in an area that has active FB groups?

I bought my daughter a Tracfone because I didn't want to put her on our plan. We had a plan that offered triple minutes with a hideous phone that I swear weighed 3 pounds, but it was $20 every 3 months. I see a tracfone on the walmart website for $9.99 that offers triple minutes. You can also buy 1,000 texts for $5. The trick is the find out which carrier offers the best coverage in your area and then buy a phone that runs on that carrier. You can tell by the code on the phone. Just google "how to tell which carrier a tracfone uses" if you are interested.

Set money aside for times when you are depressed. I like pretty nails and champagne. I found out that an $8 bottle of cava can pass for champagne (but personally, I prefer a $15 bottle of prosecco) and $10 will get me a bottle of Sally Hansen polish, store brand remover, and a bag of cotton balls. I have also found out that store brand polish remover is actually very good, and OPI sucks. Really, they are really expensive and they are the worst polish and the worst remover. But my point is that you can splurge on yourself without spending a lot, and you should splurge once in a while. Take a few bucks out of your next ebay sale to set aside for yourself.

[GoodSteward]

OP might benefit from Dave Ramsey.

I agree, but I the reason I sound reserved so much is because finances and emotions are married. When you have someone who is already suffering from depression, recently lost a VERY important figure to a female(their mother), and have financial problems it is very easy to hit a trigger and undo any progress made.

Expense tracking, trying to increase eBay sales, and then only use that money to go towards a savings account would be a great start I believe.

[StormRichards]

OP might benefit from Dave Ramsey.

I would recommend "Debt Free For Life" by David Bach.

Here is an 8 page summary with the stripped down essentials

http://www.capitolreader.com/sum/040711-debt-free.PDF

[scfr]

Hello horselover 12,

I wonder if it might be helpful if you had someone help you sort through the things from your late mother's estate? Having someone with you could provide you with both emotional support and objective opinions about what to keep, donate, toss, or sell. Does your church have a ministry program with volunteers who might be able to help you?

Good luck.

[sv2007]

Try meditation. It helps you solve problems too by letting you think clearly. Once you learn how, you can achieve good rest/concentration in just 10 minutes. Kind of like a super power nap (which I used to take before learning meditation). I think it can solve a lot of problems by helping people think logically.

[StormRichards]

Try meditation. It helps you solve problems too by letting you think clearly. Once you learn how, you can achieve good rest/concentration in just 10 minutes. Kind of like a super power nap (which I used to take before learning meditation). I think it can solve a lot of problems by helping people think logically.