had excellent credit,now struggling.. help!

(mississippi)For years, I payed my bills on time. Unfortunately,I have falled on hard times. I have no transportation,a loss of income of 400 a wk, and I am a single mother of 3 children with no child support. All of this happened in the past 8 mos. I have explained to creditors of my situation and have given what I could to stop harassment.Also,I have explained about transportation. Its hard to get to a job without a car,but atleast I m trying.Since I have payed on time for several years,why cant they understand my situation? They know of my cut in income and told them "I believe in paying debts, if they could wait until april. I finally have a court date for child support. The state of MS has awarded me 1200.00 a mo in support and with that extra income Ill be able to catch up quickly. any info will be very much appreciated. thank you!!!!!

They will not listen to you or anyone else. I too had excellent credit for 6 years, then suddenly last year in October I lost my job due to dept cuts. I called ALL my creditors and told them my situation and that I did not know when I would get a job, I am a single parent also, no child support ever! They did not care they wanted their money, well in good faith I sent 10 to each card, they wanted the full amount and would charge me 29 for late charges and 25 for over limit, one card alone has charged over 100 on my card. I called asking for help knowing that I was paying in good faith a payment and that I had good credit with them so long. They did not care it "was not their problem" I finally got a job in November the following month, but a considerable cut in pay, again they would not work with me, again I in good faith made payments again they charged and then started calling me 20 minutes apart EVERYDAY and NIGHT up until 9pm the legal time, Sat's it started at 8am! I was getting depressed and finally figured out I will have to file bankruptcy. I am a Christian and this too was hard for me to do but I have no choice, the credit counselors want too much money to pay the bills, and I only have 150 for the month to live on after paying my other bills. The credit counselors wanted 200-400 from me a month. I am sure there are alot of people out there in the same situations as us, but keep your sanity for your children, they need you more than the bill collectors!

from mississpi- thanks dmarr for the advice. i know im not the only one with credit problems. its a shame that some people cant understand lifes turbulance, but youre right i wont let them drive me crazy. my kids depend on me... i have 3 kids,twins 16 and 13 yr old(almost grown), and the sad part is their beginning to find out their dad is not so great.thanks again.. good luck....

I have been a single parent a majority of my life and have raised my three sons with the Lord's help. I have a 27, 23, and 15 yr old. They were never told anything badly about their Fathers (I was married twice), they found out on their own, but were taught from a very early age to depend on the Lord as their father, as I depended on Him as my husband. I have not remarried, and depend on my faith tremendously. God Bless you and your children. May you find the Lord's peace in your situation.

miss dmarr, you present yourself as being a wise and wonderful person. i have a problem i must correct- its bitterness. cant explain why ex has treated me this way, especially since we have 3 respectful, kind and generous children.you must have misread my reply or i failed to write it correctly.(its probably the latter. ha ha),but ive have never spoken badly about their dad,ever! its just that now they see for themselves how he does them financially.Heres an ex.-- A yr ago, our son Austin got into serious trouble with law(breaking/entering/stealing a fireworks stand),he was 15 and 1st time in trouble. Heartbroken as i was, i knew this would shape Austin for the rest of his life. He would either go thugging or it would be a positive thing. Thank goodness it was positive. Hes an outstanding young man and has indulged all of his time to band.Austin admitted guilt,and he testified against boy who held gun on him. Thereafter, the boy threatened Austins life with gun narking on him. Nothing came about threat, thank the Lord and Austin went on living up to his promise to make things right with family, church and law. Unfortunately, his dad didnt. dad promised to pay fine because Austinunselfishlygaveme1200(out of his savings)to put down on a car.Well a yrs went by-still not payed and now they have a warrant for my arrest and Austin has to go back before judge and have his reputation in ? by the judge. This would have been wiped off his record if fine was paid.Austin is hurt and confused.Dad pulled up last night drivng new car and he spent 1000s of $ on xmas. I have no car,finacially stressed,and begging gov to help pay for a 600 a mo propane bill. And his father is living high life/while giving no support to his 1st 3 children.. Sorry so long... I was on a role... thanks dmarr

miss dmarr, in my 1st posting i stated the state of ms has awarded me 1200.00 a mo in child support. Well, we have yet to go to court to get it ordered. This will be the first time in 10yrs since the d that i have seen any support from father.Don(their dad)is upset because its so much. OH WELL! Our children deserve every penny. Dons income last yr 100,000,mine last yr 7500.00. I dont want to break Don, thats not my goal. My child support enforcement worker advises me to take him back to court for college assistance and medical insurance. She said the 1200.00 a mo is the minimum he has to pay. I was in shock and had no idea this man made this kind of $. Our lives would have been so different if he would have helped us. Sad to say hes very greedy.(Im not seeking back support.)Our court date is 4-2-01,finally.
Miss dmarr, I dont no why I have taken to you? I guess its your faith and strenght in the Lord. I envy you. Im not a religious person,but my children go to church. I do believe,but I have always worked on Sundays waitressing. Nice to meet you-- where are you from, could you tell me a little about yourself. Your insight on life is straight up! I like that! thanks again...

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction with trying to provide for your children with the child support issue. I am from Chandler Arizona inbetween Phoenix and Tucson. I was saved from drugs, alcohol and an unsafe life 20 years ago, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior my life changed drastically, from having a difficult getting away from my style of life, I was delivered immediately when the Lord came into my life. I have had difficult times in my life but God has always been there for me through every situation. I enjoy sharing with you also and hope to be an encouragement to you. I would like you to write to my home email address DDMarre@aol.com. Talk to you later!

thanks! and mine is peni@bellsouth.net