Getting so frustrated!

[*Lindsey*]

I'm getting so frustrated with debt and not having any money.

A little bit of background: My DH is a self-employed masonry contractor. I graduated back in May from college and I have about 40K in student loans. I'm a sahm and I absolutely LOVE it. It's what I've always wanted to do but I finished school to finish, especially to prove all the people who said I'd never finish since we got married and had kids, wrong.

Before we got married we bought a mobile home on a few acres. We are still living here, though our plan was only to live here for a few years. It's so tiny and cramped! I am thankful, though, that we have the land and clean, fresh air and aren't stuck in the city. We have been talking about building another home, buying another, or putting an addition on this home. As you all know, everything is so expensive these days. We finally settled on the addition idea, planning to do all of the work ourselves. After running numbers today, we found that refinancing and taking out the loan would be more than we can afford at this point. :

We have 16K in cc bills to pay off. We have my DH's truck loan and all the business expenses. We have my student loan payments. We have health insurance (we have to buy our own), house payment, my car payment, insurance....

I am starting to babysit a few kids, so that will bring us in a bit of extra money. I plan to take it all and put it towards the credit cards. We decided tonight to sell my car since I stay at home and only go to the grocery or library, those will just have to be done when DH is home. That will also save us on the insurance. I am cook everything from scratch and have been trying to keep our grocery bill at $300/month or less. My DH makes decent money and it pays the bills, but that's it. And I realize that we are truly blessed to have that much.

Our goal is to pay off the cc by next summer and then begin the process for doing the addition then. We have to have something bigger, especially since we want more children.

Thanks for listening. If anyone has any tips, advice, or just wants to commiserate, I'd LOVE it.

[*Lindsey*]

No one?

[FillingMyQuiver]

I don't have any ideas, I just wanted to offer you some mama. I know what it's like to be in a tough financial situation and to wonder where the light at the end of the tunnel is.

We don't own a home or property, but we have no debt at this point and like you, DH makes enough to pay the bills. There's nothing left at the end of the month and so savings is nil.

Are there any ways you can cut your utility bills? I found this past month that by hanging my laundry to dry, it cut our monthly electric bill by $30!! That's quite a bit. Can you have a yardsale and sell any "extras" you have? Hmmm... I don't really have any other suggestions for you. I hope your situation betters soon though

[emilys_mom1]

I agree with the PP, sell the items you don't use in your house. They are lots of places on-line to post them. You may not make alot, but it is worth it.

Do you recycle cans and bottles?
Do you have a veggie garden?
Can you plant some fruit trees on your land?
Do you hang dry your cloths, sheets, towel, etc.?
I use netflex instead of renting DVD at Hollywood, it's cheaper and easier?
Turn off the heating unit on your dishwasher, that has saved us like 20 a month.
Cook are the barbaque when possible
Shop thrift stores, I just got a great pair of GAP pants for $3.50

[velochic]

You can try to apply for a deferrment on your school loan payments until you get a job. If these are Stafford loans, you should be able to defer the payments for at least 6 months, if not longer. That might help.

When I graduated from college, I moved to Moscow, Russia. While I was living there, I was able to defer my payments and accrue only interest. I was earning money, but because it was not hard currency and not tax liable, it was off the radar. Of course, this was 20 years ago, but...

Give that a shot.

[kittywitty]

I would check out the Self Sufficient Life book by John Seymour. He has lots of tips on saving money doing things yourself. I wish I could be more help.

[*Lindsey*]

Thank you all!

We do have a big garden and I'm just finishing up my freezing and canning. That really saves us a lot of money! We're planting fruit trees next spring, I can't WAIT! I also hang dry outside whenever possible, thinking of getting one of those racks to use in the house when it's rainy/cold. Anyone do this?

We shop thrift stores, I just got all my kids fall & winter clothes for $150 at Once Upon a Child.

I appreciate all the tips and hugs. It's nice to know I'm not alone.