Do everything you possibly can to cut the outgoing expenses to the lowest you possibly can...This would be a good place to start.

The next thing you can do is call up your credit cards and ask them if they can lower your rates on the debt you currently owe.

They should be able to work with you if you have always paid on time.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Let me get this straight. You take home $6,400 a month and you are living pay check to paycheck? WHY? Because you over extended and lived beyond your means?

Do you live in a home that you really should not be living in? Probably.

Do you drive cars that you did not pay cash for? Probably.

Do I feel sorry for you? Probably NOT!

I earn what both of you do (I am one person, you are a combined income). I was raised very well off (my fathers family had wealth going back to the 1700's in Europe.) I learned how to make money, not spend it. That is where so many fail. Too many of you feel that you make some money and now you can spend it. So, you buy a house you cannot truly afford. You finance cars that you cannot pay cash for (my fathers rule was buy new/pay cash). You try to keep up with the Jones'.

With $6400 net each month, you should have a large savings account AND should have money left over. You need to look at your spending and adjust your lifestyle....which means STOP trying to impress your friends with what you do not have.

Wow, way to kick someone when their down. Congrats to you for being so well off and going against what every other person has done. I love that you can critisize someone, a family with a child living on an income that YOU as an individual live on. I too am in the same boat. And no, I did not purchase a house that we couldn't afford. We purchased a house that we could afford. And you know what happend? It's called life. The market crashed, our home depreciated in value by half and we went from a two income family to one. We were not trying to keep up with the Jones', don't know them, don't care to meet them. For someone to post their financial situation for everyone to read and comment on was very difficult and maybe a bit embarrasing. Why not give some helpful advise, smart advise. I seriously doubt they were looking for you to feel sorry for them.

I too am in a similar situation. I contacted all my credit cards, told them I was in a financial hardship. I was never late or in default on any of my cards. They told me they couldn't offer me anything until I defaulted!! Struggling to keep a good credit score, I did just that. I did not pay my credit cards bills for one month, contacted them and sure enough they were very willing to help. They lowered my interest rate, even got them to remove late charges. I talked to as many people as I could until I got something that would work for me. It's sad that you have to default before anyone can or will help. Once we get paid we priority pay, mortgage, car payment etc. Then I know how much I have to budget till next payday. I lowered our cell phone bill (don't have a house line) lowered our cable bill, we don't eat out as much, do things around our house to save on electric. I grocery shop smart, use coupons and look for specials. I'm trying the best I can and do a little at time. I know that there is more drastic changes I can do but I want to be happy too. When I freak out and start to feel depressed, I just think that it won't always be like this. I take baby steps, saving a little at a time.

Hi Kittykatmo! I hope you read this. My husband and I both worked and brought home $7500 a month five years ago. We had a 2 1/2 year old daughter who was with a babysitter for two days. With our hectic schedules, my daughter and I hardly saw my husband. I worked tuesday to friday and my husband worked nights and weekends. We bougth a modest home. Then, my husband decided to work out of home which unfortunately didn't work out. At the same time, we got pregnant and decided to have my husband home with the children full time. I decided to keep my job since I get the health insurance for my family and I make more than my husband. My daughter was born in 2006 and she never had to be in a daycare. I work and come home to happy kids. We sit down and eat dinner together every night which is always prepared by my husband.

Our income reduced to $4300 a month. But since January 2009, I have to take furlough days from my work so now the income is down to $3700. We have never had credit card debt and we still don't. We pay our mortgage on time, our cars are both 10 years old but all paid for, and my older daughter goes to a private school and will start taking piano lesson in the fall! How do we do it? Very simple. Sacrifices and Priorities! You and your husband need to write down everything on the budget. For example;

Rent = $1200; Tuition = 500; Utilities = 400 and so on. You need to set your priorities. You need to ask each other, is our big home more important than our kid having a parent at home? Is having a new car more important that putting our child in a private school?

Then, you need to cut everything. You don't need to cut everything everything but cut all the extras such as no HBO for your cable. Our house needs remodeling pretty badly but we're glad to have a roof over our heads. Once the kids are old enough, my husband will eventually go back to work and we can work on fixing our home. Remodeling, traveling and shoppling could all wait.

Even with our budget, we go out to eat every weekend and our limit is $50 a week. And we only buy kids' birthday presents. We stopped buying presents for ourselves and each other once our income reduced to $3700. We don't need materials to make us happy on our special days. We are happy to have each other on our special days. That is what matters. I hope this helps!

I am living paycheck to paycheck, however I don't spend it on 'goodies'. I am 62 and am paid not much over minium wage. One of the reasons for this is that no other companie will hire me because I am too old and not a team player - the company I am with now like me.

With my low income I still have enough for everything. I have a roomate that helps - roomie pays rent, I pay elec and tel and we both buy food. I do have a lot of bills, but am doing some things different than most. I do manage to save some and put it into the stock market in penny stocks and just bought a new computer so that I can start something on the internet.

We watch everything and sometimes do have to pull back a bit at end of month.

If I had your income I would work that money instead of spending it on things that can't earn you money.

Dear Kittykatmo, I forgot to also say that you shouldn't buy things for others, even for you mother in law. If you tell her your situation, she would understand. Mother's day doesn't mean buy something to give. It's about your love and thoughtfulness. You can spend a nice day with her. You can make lunch for her at your house. Something she would appreciate, rather than typical mother's day gift. If you buy her something when you owe money to credit card, you will feel guilty and resentful.

<<I love that you can critisize someone, a family with a child living on
an income that YOU as an individual live on.>>

Um, they say that they TAKE HOME, $6,400 a month. There is no way that they can be failing on that amount UNLESS they overspent.

<<I too am in the same boat.
And no, I did not purchase a house that we couldn't afford. We
purchased a house that we could afford. And you know what happend? It's
called life. The market crashed, our home depreciated in value by half
and we went from a two income family to one.>>

Did you intend to stay in your home? Do you plan to move? If your home depreciated, by half, yet you intend to stay there, who cares? It does not affect your mortgage payment (unless you had an ARM that just or will adjust).

I lucked out...I bought my home in 2001. It was brand new in a neighborhood of 20 homes that the builder lost to foreclosure. So, I got a good deal. Bottomline, my home is still worth just over $100k more than I paid for it. But it really does not matter...I plan to be here for many years.

Please, do not get miffed at me because a family of three cannot live on $6,400 TAKE HOME!

I DO NOT KNOW YOUR FINANCIALS DEBTS--BUT I WOULD CUT OFF MY RIGHT ARM TO LIVE ON 6400 AMONTH----I LIVE ON 1600 AMONTH WITH ACHILD AND NO SAVINGS-I WORK 2 JOBS AND JUST HAD MY UTILITIES SHUT OFF AND I HAVE THREE WEEKS TO PAY BACK THE KIND SOLE WHO GOT MY LIGHTS BACK ON--I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE 800 IS GOING TO COME FROM--I GUESS WE WONT EAT--YOU NEED TO REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW THE REST OF US LIVE AND THANK GOD FOR WHAT YOU HAVE AND POSS LIVE DIFFERENTLY--I BET PART OF YOUR EXPENSES IS A NICE SAFE CAR--I DRIVE A 15 YEAR OLD UNSAFE HUNK OF JUNK--WANT TO SWITCHED LIVES--

I DO NOT KNOW YOUR FINANCIALS DEBTS--BUT I WOULD CUT OFF MY RIGHT ARM TO LIVE ON 6400 AMONTH----I LIVE ON 1600 AMONTH WITH ACHILD AND NO SAVINGS-I WORK 2 JOBS AND JUST HAD MY UTILITIES SHUT OFF AND I HAVE THREE WEEKS TO PAY BACK THE KIND SOLE WHO GOT MY LIGHTS BACK ON--I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE 800 IS GOING TO COME FROM--I GUESS WE WONT EAT--YOU NEED TO REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW THE REST OF US LIVE AND THANK GOD FOR WHAT YOU HAVE AND POSS LIVE DIFFERENTLY--I BET PART OF YOUR EXPENSES IS A NICE SAFE CAR--I DRIVE A 15 YEAR OLD UNSAFE HUNK OF JUNK--WANT TO SWITCH LIVES--

I am in virtually the same boat. My husband & I make @ $2600 a month, we have 3 kids & are currently renting a renovated auto repair shop as our home. Most weeks our next paycheck is all ready spent by the previous Tuesday. We often have to choose between eating a good nutricious meal, or gas to get to work. To the lady struggling on $6400, let me know if you ever get to the point where you're rolling PENNIES to buy bread or milk for your kids. We can't cut any more expenses. We don't have cable, health insurance, or money to drive to the park for free entertainment. We both have ok jobs, they just don't pay well. Life is hard, but you just keep working hard and hopefully things will eventually be better.
--

Wow! Your monthly income of $6400 is more than one third of my yearly income. I make less than $500 a month. If you are

freaking out and depressed on a monthly gross income of $6400, what then do you expect me to do, hang myself? There is an English

word which says "As you make your bed so you lie on it". If you want to cut your coat acording to your size, more better to you. But if you

want to hang your clothes over your head, I wish you good luck.

It's hard to help you without more info. Even if you live in a very high cost area of the country, you need to rethink you're expenses - ALL of them. You might need to find cheaper housing or take in a renter to cut your housing expenses. Something doesn't add up here because you're earning a great living for most parts of the country or at least a livable salary for the high-cost areas. You need to figure out where you are spending your money in order to be able to cut costs. If you're spending $1500/ month on groceries, then start shopping sales and cutting coupons. If you're spending $300/ month on phone bills, find a cheaper plan.

It doesn't really matter where you're spending your money or where you end up cutting, but you need to do so ASAP. Living paycheck to paycheck means you're not equipped to handle any extra expense that comes up, which can permanently damage the financial health of the family.

FYI: Skip the gift for the MIL. Make her something (dinner, cookies, ect) or do something for her (mow the lawn, clean her house, ect) that won't cost you more than time. For my dad's b-day (yesterday), we had a pot luck dinner with the family and got him a $12 remote controlled turantula at Target. He was delighted!

Wow...$6,400 a month and you are having a hard time. I hope you reevaluate your spending habits and find a way to better manage your money. Stop using credit cards. I am a single mom and make roughly $1,600 a month. I recently had to cut my hours at work to 25 a week while dealing with medical issues. My fiance was laid off and a couple months ago and ended up taking a job 4 days a week making minimum wage. After paying his child support you can imagine how little he brings home. He is thankful to be working though. Between both of us we have a JC Penney card that is to be used only for emergencies if someone needs work or school clothes. I believe we owe $60 on it. We have another card that is also for emergencies for gas or food. It has a balance of $75. We have cut every corner that we can. I have $5 in the bank to last 4 more days. We don't buy for birthdays or mother's and father's day. My son graduated in June and I still have yet to give his a graduation gift...that feels pretty lousy. Take another look at your spending habits, where you live and what you and your husband drive. Your children also don't need all the fancy and latest toys...they will survive with less and find other creative things to do...Good luck.

<<FYI: Skip the gift for the MIL. Make her something (dinner, cookies,
ect) or do something for her (mow the lawn, clean her house, ect) that
won't cost you more than time. For my dad's b-day (yesterday), we had a
pot luck dinner with the family and got him a $12 remote controlled
turantula at Target. He was delighted!>>

Great comment, sgretzy. My mother is like that, she doesn't need anything. She has all the "stuff" she needs and, in fact, is now downsizing. So, when it comes to gifts, I put thought in to it. I used to write a wine column for a local TV affliates web site. So, I printed a copy of each of my articles, put them in a binder in sheet protectors, and gave it to her for mothers day. She loved it. Many times, I have put together a "food basket" for her with a theme. One time it was breakfast items. Another time it was coffee themed. Yet another was winter fruits.

These items are far more "valuable" to her than buying some "thing." My daughter has started doing the same for me....she knows that I do not need stuff. Last Christmas, she put together a big gift bag filled with organic foods, many of which I had never tried before. It was fun....asian snacks, high grade chocolate, etc.

If a MIL gets upset over not getting "stuff", well, that is an issue that the MIL really needs to address.