Hi there -- What we did in the credit card situation is, paid the highest interest rate card OFF, as quickly as possible -- if it means paying only minimum on other cards then do it BUT DO IT ON TIME!!! Then when that one is paid off, go to the next highest, until it's paid... It's something you have to do, and if it means cutting out eating out or buying a pair of shoes, so what, your credit is the most important thing... Not sure if you know this, but since GWBush has been in office (no reflection on republicans so don't go getting in a dander out there), the corporate credit card companies have instilled a Universal Default which means that if you are late even w/ your gas bill (they report to your credit company -- unless your gas bill is part of your rent that is :), your credit card companies have a line in at the credit agencies (TRW, Equifax and Experian) and once you are late w/ a credit card or utility, they can jack up your rate to 29.9% in some cases. It's a financial slaughterhouse for those who played their credit cards loose in the last few years. What you should do is call each credit company and tell them what is going on and ask to lower your payments or work out a schedule for you. Then, whenever you see a credit card offer w/ 0% financing, open account and transfer whatever you can to that card. Don't do this too many times because too many credit cards and credit lines work against you w/ credit companies and your overall credit score. If you have cable TV, a land phone line and the internet, put them all on 1 company deal, you can save $50 a month dong that. Stop eating out if you do that, too much money lost. It's a long hard road to getting better financially, but it's worth it.
Most of what it takes to do this is having the inner strength to DO IT, to actually NOT spend extra money on entertainment, we feel like we deserve it.
A few yrs ago my husband and I decided I would leave my job when i got preg w/ first, he's now almost 3 and we have a daughter, and it was SO HARD at first to even live w/ this tight budget, i cried so much giving up all these things like $30 haircuts and buying clothes for myself when I didn't need them. Felt so sorry for myself so many times but with financial strength comes peace of mind.
To save tons of money, I joined the Dupage County Freecycle group (you can find them on Yahoo), you can give away your still-useful things and pick up stuff for your children and your house, all it takes is a car or van to pick things up with. There are tons of things you can do to save more money. Daycare is usually super expensive -- are you in a center or a home daycare? Before making our decision for me to stay at home, we looked into daycare and i hated everything i saw out there -- the centers were too expensive and too many kids per teacher (they weren't breaking laws, but anything over 4 kids per worker is too much in my opinion), and the home daycare providers either had dirty houses and weren't educationally based, or i just didn't like the lady running them or whatever, soooo...
I now do daycare between 7 am and 5 pm, 3 days a week, i make $140 a week on these two part-time kids I am taking in. I could make more but don't want to take advantage of the families i'm helping, plus my kids get regular playdates and we still have a day or two during week to go and play outside the house. If you worked out of your apartment (keeping in mind that you must be reliable, dependable, and not planning on moving for at least a year, as you will do year-long contracts w/ parents -- i can give you a sample contract if you are interested). The benefit of staying at home w/ kids is just that, you are home w/ kids, no expense for work clothes, no trains no cars, etc., you save TONS on not going out to lunch even 2x a week. It's amazing. But the best part is, everything you buy for the "daycare" you are creating is tax deductible at the end of the year, you can potentially get back up to 50% of what you are buying (like toys, diapers, wipes, anything relating to baby and food and medical expenses, so much is deductible you'd be amazed). SO, you can potentially make up to $45 if you become licensed,have a pretty clean home etc., (for infants it's 45, it's $40 for 1-2, $35 for 2-3, etc) a day per child, if you take in 2 children and say make $60 a day full time, you have $300 at end of week. HOWEVER you MUST file taxes and give parents business receipts, keep track of what you are making, keep track of your receipts marking each item and figuring out the sales tax (also deductible) -- you can pay an accountant to do this for you but that's a stupid expense when you should do it yourself and learn)... ANYWAY HONEY, sorry, i'm just going on and on, but i think you do need help or advice and it's hard to get started but there are a lot of things you can do to change the flow of your money. Let me know if you have questions -- not sure if i mentioned above, i used to work in finance and have counselled so many people w/ their credit. Whatever you do, don't file for bankruptcy, w/ the new laws you are really screwed for a longer time. If you want to buy a home, say in a year or two, you need to set a goal and work toward that, but it's up to you if you stick to your plan. Okay over and out, good luck to you, I hope you figure something out!! :)