Greetings, I've posted here before but my situation is particularly intense these days and I'm not at all sure how to deal with things. I'm 25 and my mom passed away in February of this year, as I said in my intro I've had problems holding down jobs but remain a student in College, which I have a fairly easy time doing.

Anyway my monies from the insurance I collected have run out, I'm still looking for a job, though I have not acquired one yet. I've calculated I need at least a thousand dollars a month in net income to survive, that is of course more than a full time minimum wage job would pay. My school costs have been paid for via financial aid. The problem is I'm already out of money for food and utilities, starting around the 3rd of September I'll start having services cut off, I'm going to go see if I can find some work through the school but I don't know how optimistic I should be about that plan. The actual long term problem is It's doubtful I can go to school full time, and find a full time job that would pay for the expenses, considering that without seed money of any kind I'm going to have a hard time paying all the costs of ownership here.

I really don't have anyone to help me or anywhere else to live, my father is of little consequence, though I may ask him what he thinks I should do, my grandmother has also expressed no desire to let me stay with her, I'm going to be in contact with the Executor of the Estate to see if there is anything I can do to bring in some money so I wont starve or have to live in a homeless shelter. My situation was not envyable from the begining and it is finally reaching a head now in late August.

There is good news however, the sale of this house will net me around forty thousand dollars, in addition, we are awaiting a settlement from a medical company relating to injuries my mom recieve a year before she died, and I may have thirty-five thousand coming in from further life insurance policies my mom held. The crux of the problem for me is the here and now, the future isn't all that dreary. I was expectinga bout six-hundred dollars in checks which have failed to arrive this month and my financial aid disbursement, my check, wont be in until nearly October. Actually I'm posting here just because I really have no idea what to do anymore, these situations and responsibilities are entirely foreign to me, and I have no one to seek advice from anymore, any kind of input you might be able to offer would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Richard

Looks like in october things will start to turn around for ya. Till then I would go to a local church or a hospice, I think the red cross may be able to help too since all this stemmed from a tragity. In any case one of those groups should be able to help or point you in the right direction to where you can get some help till things turn around in october. and when you do get your checks, I would suggest you look into getting a financial counsoler. because if you ar bad with money as I am your gonna need help. in any case we will be here to lend an ear if you need it.

Financial institutions normally want collateral before they will give you any kind of loan, but I wonder if there is any way you can negotiate a short line of credit or advance against the money you will receive from the sale of the house?

Talk to the school. Some schools have "emergency loan" funds or some other type of temporary help. Susan

Well thanks for the replies I have indeed talked to the school, they have offered more of what I would call a "long term approach" to helping me out. What they did do was direct me to the Texas Rehabilitation Comission. They have said that the TRC will be able to help me get into counceling and find work I can deal with. I really dont' want to quite school or anything as that will not improve my situation at all. TRC will apparently be able to help me build a schedule that work and help me with my finances. They gave me an apointment on September 15, as my situation is particuarlly dire.

However this still pretty much leaves me screwed in the short term, and recovering from having utlity serivce is a hastle as they often like to charge reconect and reinstatement fees that are significant. The school made no reference to an "emergency loan" though it wouldn't surprise me if such a loan existed. My credit is bad so my ability to get credit isn't good as it is, how I would aquire a loan without colateral is an open question. I don't technically OWN any of the estate assets, for example I am the heir (with my sister) but the House deed is in my Mom's name and technically is still her property. So as far as loans go I don't know.

It appears I'm not in line to get any government subsidies and even if I were it would take alot of time beyond the ammount I have left. You know I realize I got into this situation of my own volition, for me I knew this would eventually happen, but being the way I am with my own psychological issues this outcome was largely unavoidable. What with my untreated OCD/ADHD, coping is very difficult and I really haven't got the skills required to make it on my own (as yet), surely these skills can be learned over time, but it would seem that is the one thing I do not have.

I really don't know where is the best place to go, or how effective a student I will be while dealing with problems of poverty and hunger, I suppose it is a matter of irony how my home life is shot but my collegate situation is taken care of and paid for already. I wish I knew more of how to control my own thoughts and deal with these situations, I suppose I'll get to learn the hard-way, and I guess most people learn through that method. At least the school tried to do SOMETHING for me...

Have you taken Stafford Loans for school yet? These loans are guaranteed regardless of you credit history. My guess is that if you have spoken to the school that this has already been exhausted but I figured that I would bring it up anyway.

Also there are alternative financial aid related loans that are available if you can get a cosignor. Financial Aid in the US is structured so that living expenses can be included in the calculations.

I used to work in College Financial Aid before I had my children.

I hope everything works out for you.

I am drawing financial aid, in the form of a 4000 dollar Pell Grant and an 800 SEOG grant, this gives me about 2800 per semester in monies. The grant structure at San Jac Does take into account living expenses, however I do not know if they offer Safford Loans or if those loans would be applicable, since my grants pay for my tuition and books with nearly 1200 dollars left over, since I'm already getting money back I'm unsure if they would allow me to take out loans to cover non existant expsenses.

I am considered a financial independant and would likely not get a cosignor even if I wanted one. My family is in no position to help me. That being said at least I have something to go on at the moment...

Unless your college figures living expenses to be extrodinarily low you should still have availability. If you get a pell grant then it is very likely that stafford loans are an option. My recommendation is that you speak with the FInancial Aid office about this. The funds might not be available right away but it might help some... you could also ask aout a perkins loan but the rules for that are a little more difficult and may not be an option.

I don't know if it is the answer to your immediate problem though...

If it's just for a month, do you have a friend you could stay with?

I know moving is a pain in the tuckus but you may just have to bite the bullet on this one...

Well I really haven't got anyplace to go or anyone to live with, barring any unforseen charity that is not going to change. That would be an ideal situation I suppose to move in with somebody for a short while I just don't really have anyone here that would be willing to do that that I am aware of. I might be able to ask Financial Aid about Subsidized and Un-subsidized loans, I've already been awarded my aid so I don't know if they can offer me anything more since the award has already been paid to the school, I suppose I can find out.

A friend of mine reocmended I explore unemployment benefits, although I guess I need to continue to be unemployed to draw them, if I do get a job that would pretty much end anything I could draw from the government would it not? I've heard a movie theatre somewhat nearby is hiring so there's a chance I'll be able to work there, I'll have to go by and apply. It's not much and it wont help me now but some job is better than no job. The way it looks right now, barring any unforseen charity I'll need to either live out of my car, or go to a homeless shelter, and I'll probably have to eat from some charitable locations as well at least for the here and now.

This isn't the situation I imagine my mom would want me to be in, but it's the one I'm faced with. Things could improve, money could come in, or it might not. In the immediate here and now I really don't see any option besides going to a shelter after the utilities are cut off.

Do you have anything you could sell to make a month's worth of expenses?

Could you advertise yourself as a roommate at your school, and explain the situation to them? All sorts of students are looking to room together to reduce expenses. They might want you to sign a contract saying you'll pay them after the month, however.

Oh that brings another idea to mind. At the college that I used to work for a lot of students would get "live-in" positions. Basically trading some services like housekeeping or baby sitting in exchange for a room to live in. You might check to see if your college has any kind of a housing department that might know of something. That would be a fairly painless way to cut your income needs pretty drastically.

The room mate idea is a good one also.

Hmm never heard of the live-in or roommate thing, that might be something worth investigating, I'll know more about my situation today after I hear from my father on a few things, I'll see what I can find out about these alternatives in the meantime.

Cheers.

As an aside, no I can not sell anything since it's all in the probate courts and I'm not allowed to sell any of her belongings. I may still be getting a 450 dollar check in, or I may not, in any event things are in a pretty good downard spiral, I might be able to sell my computer, although I would only get a fraction of the price I paid for it and in the long run it might hurt me more to get rid of my only means of communication with people.

Oh well I just found out I have another 150$ I wont be getting, gotta wonder just why things are going as poorly as they are.

If you were in pennsylvania I would offer you to stay with us for a while, heck we all need to stick together. Anyway, I think your problem is more the short term right now, until prbate gets finished. Have you talked to your school about a deferment. some schools will give a deferment due to hard ship where it will defer costs to a later time, possible a month or so. As for everything else, I would go to you church and talk to your priest. they may be able to get you some help for a month or so till things settle down for you.

Another possibility: If you discuss it with the utility companies, they may be willing to grant you an extension, especially if you can make partial payments. Tell them you DO have money coming and the exact date you plan to pay them. Some are less friendly than others in this way but our phone company, for example, has always been willing to do this... there's still a small late charge, but in the end, we keep the phone service...