Everything we worked for going down the tubes

I am very upset right now and I need to talk with someone. I have been busting my tail in college to make life better for my family. I work a work study job when school is in. Right now we are on a break so no work. I am trying to find a temp job until school starts back up but so far I have not been able to find anything.

Husband told me the other day that next week his hours were cut from 40 to 34 i thought not bad we can get through that. Well he just called me and told me that the week after that his hours are cut down to 25 with the possibility of being laid off if sales do not pick by the 4th of July. If things do not pick up I may have to drop out of school just to help support my family. I am so not happy or ok with this. I have worked so hard to get this far and it might all be for nothing.

Right now we are about to sale a bunch of stuff in our home to try and weather this storm. I just can not believe this is happening to us. We already barely get by paycheck to paycheck and now this. I have no idea what we are gonna do. We have debt collectors that have already taken us to court in the last year (2008) and they got their judgment that if we don't pay every month my husband could end up in jail.

What on earth are we gonna do.

*hugs* I'm so sorry to hear this Please don't think about it as 'going down the tubes', it's just a set back and a bump in the road. There are viable options that can help you

Have you looked into personal bankruptcy? It's a last resort, but you know what? By the sounds of it your situation is becoming dire. Hours cut back, facing jail for missed payments etc.

I was off work for several years on disability. Everything went up by more than double except my income which remained the same. It finally came to a point where I just couldn't stretch my money anymore. I had to choose between a roof over my head and food on the table or shoving all of my money to creditors and being abused by bill collectors.

I made the decision to declare bankruptcy at the end of November 2007. And you know what? As soon as I made that decision a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I made the call to a bankruptcy trustee the next day and the next day went and met with her. After talking to her and leaving the office I felt like I was floating on air and didn't have a care in the world. I knew that I would now be ok! I don't regret for a single second having made that decision. It was the best possible decision for me to make at that point in time in my life.

I've been reading your posts for awhile, and you have both been struggling to keep your heads above water. And it's not nice to feel like you are drowning with the land getting further and further away in the distance and you just can't seem to reach it.

My advice would be to contact a bankruptcy trustee. The debt/judgment will be wiped away and while you will have to pay something each month to the trustee, it won't be anywhere near as much as you are currently paying out.

School is the most important thing for you right now. You absolutely can't afford to drop out because getting that education means a higher paying job which means more financial security for both of you.

When I was in nursing school, they had a program in place that allowed students to drop to part time and extend their time in school by up to 6 months or a year. Is that an option for you? It would allow you to stay in school and maybe get a part time job that can help with the money. Your husband can try and get another part time job too to supplement the shortfall of his hours too. Gone are the days, at least right now, where you can survive working only one job. Sometimes it takes 2 and even 3 part time jobs to make a full time one.

It is frustrating, I'm sure. It's happening to lot of people. That's why I'm glad I have no one to support but myself.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

School is the most important thing for you right now. You absolutely can't afford to drop out because getting that education means a higher paying job which means more financial security for both of you.

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Please talk to the school to see if they can offer any options or assistance.

I'm very sorry that things are going so badly for you financially, and am sending that you get over this rough patch.

I am so sorry to hear you are having troubles. I hope things work out for you.

I am so sorry for your challenge right now. To get through them. Most importantly, don't give up! Not that it helps, but their are many of us who have lost so much and starting over during this recession, that it is more then humbling.
I only hope that others support your concerns as much as you.....

Originally Posted by cheylink

I am so sorry for your challenge right now. To get through them. Most importantly, don't give up! Not that it helps, but their are many of us who have lost so much and starting over during this recession, that it is more then humbling.
I only hope that others support your concerns as much as you.....

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I'm so sorry.

that you'll find solutions that work!

Laurie

I am so sorry. I don't really have any advice but here's some good luck vibes for you both

I just want to point out that in the US you CANNOT go to jail over a debt judgment. You can only be sent to prison over something criminal. A judgment against you where the courts say you owe a collector money only says "yup you owe the collector money." Your husband was not found guilty or was brought up on charges. There was no jury trial... no sentencing there fore there is no jail. If the debt collector is threatening you with jail they are the ones breaking the law. They are trying to scare you into paying. If they persist you can contact the FTC and your Attorney General and file a complaint.

A very good site to read and get info is http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...dit/cre18.shtm .It will tell you what your rights are and what you can do to protect yourself. There are also many other good sites out there that will arm you against the scourge known as debt collectors (sorry any of you debt collectors out there).

Like the others have stated you may want to start looking into Bankruptcy. Find a lawyer that will give you a free consult and go from there. If you choose this route the lawyers will take care of any harassment from the debt collectors.

Now as for the Judgment, I really don't know how that will play out in a Bankruptcy. I do know that the only things they can do with a judgment is to garnish your wages, put a lien on any property you own (not entirely sure on this one), and of course ruin your credit since most judgments can continue to be renewed every 10 years. They may have other recourse's but you can sleep easy knowing your hubby won't be wasting away in jail over credit card debt.

And just a disclaimer I am not a professional I just have some experience when a really old credit card of mine resurfaced that I thought I had paid off and the debt collectors started calling. I actually had one guy tell me that if I didn't pay them that minute he was going to call the police and have me arrested. I had done my homework by then and told him go for it and that I would wait on the line until the cops showed up. He cussed me out and told me to have a nice stay in jail then hung up on me. The cops never showed up

Do your homework and get yourself knowledgeable and you will be better able to tackle this tough time.