[widowneedshelp]

My income has been cut nearly in half since Christmas, and I've been just hanging on, of course I have a car that I owe more on than it's worth, I believe that the sale of my home Might, maybe break even, and I have no credit card debt - although I still have a job, and things are looking better for the future, I wonder if it would be better for me to sell the car, take the hit and buy something cheaper, or should I sell the house and move to apartment closer to work (I commute 40 miles each way) - rent the house out and live in an apartment? - I'm really tired of just hanging on by a thread, and now I need new tires for the car, and my stove just died (electrical problem, I think), it's getting overwhelming - - I've already had the car company shuffle things around about 4 months ago, which saved me then, don't know if they'll do it again - or perhaps the mortgage company will shuffle things a bit, but I seem to be at the cross roads - - - any advise would be appreciated!! Thanks,

[morgaine300]

First, I'm sorry you're in this situation. Things have been really tough on some people.

I don't feel totally qualified to answer this, but I just wanted to share a few thoughts and ideas. First the obvious, have you been looking for a better job? Yeah, yeah, we've got high unemployment... but never hurts to look.

Also, start paying really close attention to where your money is going. Even when you think there's just no place to save, sometimes there is. I've been there. And also just be a better shopper, remembering that little things can add up.

As for getting a cheaper car... that depends. I hate to see you take a hit like that when it might be a short-term temporary thing, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do. But, is a cheaper car actually cheaper? Look at the real expense of a car. You have your loan to pay, but also insurance (which could go down, something to think about), and also maintenance and repairs, which could go up. Cheaper can be something that's just smaller and less frills. Or cheaper can be older, meaning higher upkeep costs. Don't forget the gas mileage cause you've got a long commute. Keep in mind that you have to go cheaper just to get to the level of your current payments, and then go cheaper still to lower that. Also, if you don't keep the replacement for quite some time, you could end up taking another depreciation hit. Take all that into consideration.

As an added note... I was recently out car hunting. This might be just my area, but it seems people are keeping cars longer, trading them in less, and selling them themselves less. I had a hard time finding used ones from individuals - seemed like 95% of it was dealers. Given that they want to give you less for yours, and charge you more for the replacement, well... I think that's obvious.

As for the mortgage, will it hurt to try? I can't keep up with what the government's doing about mortgages and refi's these days, but don't forget to look into that. That's where I can't be any help. Hopefully someone else can tell you about that stuff, or Google it.

I would hate to see you have to sell. In my opinion, that should be a last resort if you just can't get it worked out. But again, sometimes you got to do what you got to do, but I hate to see that happen.

As for renting... do you know what you're getting into? First off, you better be able to come out ahead or it's not worth it. You'll still be paying your mortgage of course and will still have maintenance costs. You'll have to get the stove. So what you get in rent has to cover all that and the cost of the apartment, plus extra since that's the point. And don't forget those incidental costs like moving. And don't forget you're chancing your house to someone else. If your house is worth a decent amount of rent relative to a small apartment, you might be able to pull that off. (At least it's temporary that way.) Surely we have a landlording forum around here where you could ask more details?

That's the best I can contribute - and notice most of that is just about comparing costs of one thing to another, cause... well, that's what I do. :-) I'm sure there's a lot more out there someone else can post.

Try to hang in there.