My spuse and I nearly divorced last year. I had to quit my job because I was self employed and our court order had us in and out of our home every 2 weeks. Somehow we racked up $20,000 in credit card debt in just 6 months!!!! We got a heloc for $42 k (we are overmortgaged a bit and paying now 8%) We also have another 12k in credit card debt and a newer car with payments of $345. We owe 17k on the car. Our credit scores are around 740. I am laid off of work now as well and am only bringing in 200 per week from unemployment and am unsure of when I will be called back and can not find a job that pays close to what I was making. Plus I have 2 children. I was working 2 jobs but my husband kept missing work because he couldn't stand the chaos-essentially we have been on the road to nowhere. My last car was a lemon and we spent nearly $20k over 10 years in repairs-that thing took every bonus every bit of extra $$ we had but we didn't want car payments again!! We live as frugally as possible, look for free family events. We don't have time to think about spending money now-our kids keep us too busy. We can't get out anymore unless we get a sitter-our kids are crazy!!! My husband considers the new car a must have because his mother lives 5 hours away and the rest of our family is about an hour away. I live in a rural area about an hour from any metro areas. My former divorce attorney begged me to file for bankruptcy and now I am thinking that I should have. The cost of living has gone up way more than our income has, utilities and fuel and daycare have doubled in the past 5 years-my income has gone down. I pay all my bills on time and only purchase what I need. I shop at consignment stores for my kids clothing. I sell the children's older things on e bay to pay for school clothes. I used to cut coupons as well. We eat at home. My saving account is empty.
