Hello. I'm having a hard time paying my bills and my rent. I have been looking for work since September 2011 and although I apply for at least 6-10 jobs a day, I haven't found anything. My boyfriend and I are sharing my car and because I didn't get my disability check in Nov. I didn't pay my car insurance. I haven't paid for the last two months. I received a bill from the car insurance company; it totals $530.00. I am supposed to pay it by the 16th which I know is not possible. Because I just moved in, I am having to pay deposits for some of my utilities, particularly my electricity. The deposit is $172 and together with the bill, it comes to $194. I didn't know they can make you pay a deposit based on your credit history. They didn't do that in Massachusetts. I have to pay $126 for my rent next month (thankfully, I have section 8...for that I am extremely grateful). After paying for a new premium for car insurance once my current one is closed however, may make it impossible to pay the rent. Hopefully I will...I did receive my ssdi check in the month of December so I think that might be taken care of. My boyfriend has been working part time. He's in construction and because that field has been slow since no one is really building, he works between 3 to 5 days a week if we are lucky. He is currently looking for a second job. The money we are spending is frequently on gas...he works at least 20 to 30 minutes away from where we live. I drop him off in the morning, go to the library to look for a job afterwards, and then I have to pick him up again at the end of the day. Because of the price of gas, we usually fill the tank to half a tank once a day. Also, if we want to see his kids, we have to travel to the same area he works in. They live with their mother, also about 20-30 mins away. Although they aren't currently living with us, we pay for their expenses as well. My mother has custody of my daughter because I went to the hospital for a depressive episode related to my bipolar disorder in early September. I also need help paying for my counseling and psychiatrist visits and for my medication. I have applied for Medicaid; I'm just waiting on them to see if I have been approved. I have to give my mother money for my daughter's activities and for other necessary things, such as food and rent. My boyfriend has to pay child support each week for his two children. I received $468 in food stamps in November and the amount has been decreasing since then. This month I got $200. I don't know if they were back dating the benefits, but I know $200 isn't going to feed myself, my daughter and my boyfriend (although she doesn't live with me, my daughter does come over to do her homework and eat dinner at least twice a week). We don't have a home phone, but we do have cell phones. We figured this would be easier than also having a home phone bill to pay. We do not have cable or internet. Most of my stuff is still in storage up north, so we have to pay the storage bill, which is $50 a month, as well. I was hoping to start saving for a lawyer to regain custody of my daughter. But I think the first thing I need to do is figure out how to pay these bills before they go to collections. Any advice or help you can give is GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thanks for reading...have a great weekend!
