My husband works everysingle day 7 days a week. I do not work i am 4 months preg...how can we make more money?

sheloves_dablues

IF you can hardly afford to live now, what are you doing enlarging your family?

$5200 a month and you can't get by? Honey - you don't need more money, you need to learn to manage what you have.

You've obviously gotten into a pattern of living beyond your means and how you have to change the way you live.

Want to save money? Cut off your cable and internet service. Cancel your cell phone. Grow your own vegetables. Shop at thrift stores. Cut coupons. Take the bus. Borrow movies from the library (free) instead of renting from the video store. Recycle.

There are a billion debt consolidation companies out there so quit whining about no services to help you. They're out there, but they won't help you until you help yourself.

video production

Seems like you need to cut out certain expenses. Is it possible you can break down exactly what you pay each month? You may find ways to open up some more money.

SSG D

There is always a way, try to consolidate your bills and make a schedule for payments like 1st of the month rent mortgage , utilities,

15th of the month credit cards, don't spend anything you have left over if you do.
Cut out the bull S*** stuff, going out to lunch, cut off cable, for a few months to save, buy the prepaid cell phone rather then serviced ones that way you only use them for emergencies, with out really looking at your debt ratio or knowing what exactly you are up against there is no way I can really give good advice, best bet is to get free help there are some out there. Staying above the water is what you want right now , what your doing right now is using a spoon to bail out water.

Mrs. Me

Default, everyone else is doing it. I understand you pain.

jackson

You are probably right about a store hiring you if you are already out there. But a little store or a coffee shop or something might be easier. You never know if you don't try.

Yes you make to much for services. If you were unemployed and illegal you would get them.... it is sort of a shame how that works.

I am a guy. When I was young I worked 2 maybe three jobs sometime to support my family. I did it for about a year and I barely remember that year. I was always so tired I could not even see straight and I never saw the family. It was not my bag but I always found that a restaurant job was good. If we needed money I could always call in and pick up a shift.

It is maybe not for you guys but my solution was to join the military. Technically I made less but all was well with married pay, housing, daycare, healthcare and all of that we were much better off.

Wow... 2500 in bills? Maybe if a large portion is credit maybe you should close the accounts. A lot of times when things go into collections you can settle for less than you owe r make payments. You are getting eaten alive in interest. I don't advocate bad credit but if you can't even buy groceries? Maybe that can be put off until later.

And when the new baby comes your bills will go up of course.

I am sure you have tried but have you really worked on cutting some of the bills down? You might have missed something.
-If you have cells you don't really need a landline. If your contract is coming up then maybe one person could go to a pay as you go. Or at least get a btter plan
-you could go to basic cable if you can. If you have multiple cable boxes do you really need all of them?
-if you have two cars think about if you really need both
-if your credit is somewhat decent a car insurance company may deal when the current term is up to keep you from going elsewhere
-is hubby buying lunch? If so he needs to pack it from home
-lights, and all of that of course. Remember evrything that is plugged in even if off uses electricity

You know all that kind of thing.

Your husband needs to look at how many exemptions he takes on his paycheck. They have to be balanced. Of course you don't want to owe a huge amount next year. But if he gets say $3000 back every year he needs to up his exemptions. Now he might not get squat back at tax time but his paycheck will go up.

Does he have the sort of job where he contributes to a 401K. If so he should drop contributing and worry about retirement later.

There is always the idea that he starts shopping around for a different job.Can't hurt.

Sorry about getting a bit off topic. Just some ideas.

Kelia

Cut down on your expenses. And if it is really that bad, you need to get a job. Places cannot discriminate against you because you are pregnant.

Lindsey

If your 4 year old stays home with you then you should babysit, or clean houses. It wouldn't be a lot of money but it would be some.
If your 4 year old doesn't stay with you during the day then get a job. I'm 33 weeks and I worked up until last week. So to me being pregnant isn't a reason not to work.

Mrs. Heather Schabby

My husband and I only take home $1600 every 2 week COMBINED income, and we get by and have a son too. We have 2 car payments, $1100 rent, car insurance, renters insurance, cable, internet, phone, groceries, karate for our son, a payment on a computer, 6 credit cards we have to pay down, an oil heating payment plan, 2 cell phones, etc. You should probably try to budget your money better. I cannot fathom AT ALL how you could possibly have $2500 in bills every 2 weeks -- that's $5000 a month in bills!!! What are you paying for?!

My suggestions to you:

1. Get a job working from home. It's what I do. I operate a home day care. I most states, as long as you take less than 3 kids (your own don't count towards the limit) then you don't need a license. Check in with your state's department to find your state's limit, but you should be able to take in 3 kids NOT including your own without any credentials. Call local day care centers and find out what they charge each week, and take a little off that. For instance, full centers in my area charge about $175 for a 2 year old -- I charge $150. If you want more information about this, please feel free to e-mail me.

2. Sign up for www.mint.com it's a great website, I've been using it all year. You input all of your account information, and it tracks your spending for you. It really shows you where you're wasting money, and gives you the opportunity to plan out your finances better. I highly recommend it, it's a great website.

3. Cut out unnecessary expenses. Seriously, you don't need cable if you can't afford groceries. Also, watch what you're buying for food. I buy food for myself, my husband, our 8 year old, and 2 of the kids in my day care each week, and for all of us I only spend about $120 a week. We eat pretty healthy, too -- try to budget money for groceries better.

Good luck.

madmother15

The babysitting in your home was a good idea. Do you know how to sew? You could take in repairs and alterations. I did this through both my pregnancies. Are you at all a crafter? Lots of stores will take in goods on consignment. You can also save on children's clothing if you can sew. Use consignment stores to sell off your children's clothing, and purchase more from same store credit.

You could also try cutting back on expenses. IE: do you need full cable? Could you cut back grocery expenses by making your own bread? Jam?

How about a paper route, your children can walk with you? Can you help tutor children in their studies? Do you have any senior citizens in your area that could use some help around the house or yard?

There is debt counselling available. They may be able to consolidate and reduce some on your expensive credit card payments.

I know it seems bleak, and it appears that you are trying your best to make things work. Good luck. I hope this will give you some ideas, or at least generate some of your own.

patron on ice

babysit during the day..... you already have a kid home with you.
post on craigslist

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