“Dear Steve, I’m working full time and earning 46k annually. I got married this past spring and then my husband was laid off in June. His unemployment benefits are lower than his previous income and he is missing due dates every other month. We have barely been married long enough to merge bills but I’m scared because he already has ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I owe $17,000 on my student loans. I have been able to make the payments each month, but I just learned that I will be soon losing my job. I don’t have an emergency fund and I will not collect enough on unemployment to make the payments with my other expenses. What is the best course of action ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, Two Job losses,1 death of an unborn child, medical issues and one birth has left me in abandoned credit card accounts but I continued paying on my car from my unemployment payments which recent has also been exhausted. My husband also recently relocated from the UK and has not been able to find a job. Yesterday I received ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I previously owned a company and went out of business due to a number of things. The IRS and the State of Virginia are being very cooperative and recognize my hardship. The Virginia Employment Commission is another matter all together. After several months of me paying them a very small amount, they have decided that is not enough ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I owe over $31,000.00 in credit card debt and I don’t know what to do? I lost my job almost 2 months ago, my unemployment is finally coming through, but unemployment is only about 60% of what you was making at your job so its very hard to make ends meet, I’ve called my mortgage company & hopefully ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I have a few credit card that I am behind on payments,one is about to take legal action against me,Spouse have been unemployed since 2008,unemployment ran out in 2009,unable to find full time work. Have been able to get some temp work through temp employment agencies,only feww weeks at a time.Decrease in household income–50%. where can I locate ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I have been unemployed since 2010. I had inherited some money when my father passed away in 2005 and was able to continue meeting my needs and paying my bills. Unfortunately because of emotional issues, I really did not have a good grasp of the kind of money I was spending. I was able to renegotiate my mortgage ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I lost my job and cannot repay my debts — all unsecured. Shopping for a debt reduction program. The only debt reduction programs I am learning about require monthly payments. I have no monthly income for making any payments. However, I may be able to find a private benefactor to loan / give me the lump sum for ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I am a 77 years young individual. I lost my job on January 2011 and have not been able to find a job anywhere, although I have been trying very hard. I have a credit card debt ( unsecured ) of around $43,000 and I have ran out of money trying to keep my credit in good standing ... Read More »

In 2008, my husband lost his job, and while he did receive unemployment, at the same time I (a State of Hawaii Employee) was furloughed, causing a decrease in our income. So I contacted my creditors, explained my situation and was put on a program to reduce my monthly for only a year. (the program started in 2010, I struggled ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I’m desperate for help…you see I’ve been so embarassed about my financial situation that I’ve just been stuck repeating the same behavior for years. Now I’m unemployed and back at home with my parents and my two children living off of my EDD Benefits. I really want to use this time to create a plan to get out ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I am unemployed and have about $13,000 in credit card and owe about $7,500 on my auto. If I don’t get a job soon I will be unable to pay monthly bills. I don’t know what to do. I know debt solution or bankruptcy would affect my getting hired. Any suggestions? Sharon” The Answer Dear Sharon, I think ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I am out of work and collect unemployment from florida. I also took social security at age 64 to get buy on. My wife works but will retire in Feb 2012. After all our bills not credit cars are paid we haveroughly 1200.00 left We have about 26000 in credit card debt.The excess is used for food and ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, I am 50 years old, divorced single mother with 3 children. Two of my kids live with me (ages 15 and 18) and the 11 year old lives with ex-husband #2 but she is with me quite a lot. I live in Orange County, CA and up until now was a responsible bill and rent payer even though ... Read More »