On your medicial bills, don't pay them. I know it sounds horrible but you've already received the service. Then they will come back to you with a payment plan or a dramatically reduced amount. My kids had medicial problems where we were having to have them in for tests and sonograms a couple of times a year and we were in no position to pay the bills. So when I just couldn't pay any more, they turned it over to a collection agency. After they had harrassed me for a while, they offered me a 'buy out'. I think I paid something like $800 (in payments) for a couple of thousand dollars worth of bills. HTH

Don't beat yourself up over this. Everyone has been there. You'll get through this!

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Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. ~Oscar Wilde

merandmom, how did that buydown work on your credit? Did it show any ding? Some say to put that part in the negotiation when you agree to give them money..?

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Make someone's heart smile today.

We are going through this right now. We have settled two cards. They cut the balance in half (the interest and fees) and set up a payment plan. Just paid off one of them this month
I have taken on a second job on evenings and weekends to put strictly towards cc debt and medical debt. I will be starting that next week. Grandparents will watch the girls if DH has to work overtime.
Sadly enough if it wasn't for those we would be doing good. Not rich by any means, but not struggling either.

My advice is to sit down with ALL (even gas and food) your bills. Put in order of most important (ie mortgage, electricity, gas, water, etc). Pay in order of importance.

We were able to get on a repayment plan with our electric and gas companys. This is our last month with electricity and we will be caught up with them.

Get a second job if you can.

Shop frugally for groceries. Meal planning and shopping in my own pantry has saves me tons. I also shop at fareway instead of walmart to avoid buying stuff I don't need. Plus fareway is a discount grocery store and much cheaper.

For us it has been a slow process and we are still in the red every month money wise, but we have a plan.

HTH

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It didn't show up on our credit report; however, the next time we went to the hospital for tests, they required all payment in advance. Fortunately, we'd started using our flexible spending, so it was a matter of writing a check and then getting reimbursed.

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Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. ~Oscar Wilde

I feel the same way. For the last few months I hvae been able to see that we were going to get in this place but you know I was thinking that something was going to give like it always dose I am not sure how we do it but every month it all seems to just work out untill NOW! I went to pay the morgage yesterday and relized after that was paid we were going to have 150$ left from mu HD pay check, that leaves still like 4 bills unpaied! how did we get here I keep asking myself as much as I try to save coupon clip and go with out it just never seems to be enought. So today I sat down for the first time and wrote down all of my bill and the money that we need to get through a month including GAS ( it is crazy ) food and extra money for spending and you know things that just come up. We are 1000$ dollars short every month! I can't belive it I have been crying all day b/c you think 1000$ were am I going to get that! I look at my three adorbule grils and I think I could I do this to them I we have 800$ in our savings and alsmot no collage fund, I feel like a worest mother alive.
So I have been looking at my bills you know trying to find 1000$ ( like that is going to happen) I called the phone company and cut the phone bill down 20$ so now it just rings no bells, I cut some things off my cell ( under contract ) 20$ and I called to DTV and cut down like 30$ ( also under contrtact) what is up with all of these contracts It is killing me! so I found 70$ whooo! So we have come to the decission to sell DH jeep we pay way top much for that ( 314 ) and are still 3yr for having it payed off ( this is a long story but never lease a car! ) and we are going to take what we make off of it Like 5000$ and but a 2000 dodge truck so Dh has something to drive to there is 384$ still short like 616$ my mom said that she would start paring me agian to clean her house 100 a week so there is 400$ so I am not sure how I am going to come up with 216$ a month but I am hoping Dh will take some side jobs to help make that up.
I know I am not in the exact same suation but I do know kind of what you are going throught right now I have thought about forcloser everyday for the last three years. We moved into a forcloser three years ago and I never really thought anything of it untill then.
Just try not to get your house taken from you sell first if you need to I know thatis not ideal but you are not in an ideal suwation eather.
My prayers go out to you.
all my love :love:

actually they can't refuse to treat you. you could have simply said i can pay you this amount right now...just so you know for future refrence hospitals can't refuse you care.

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Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.

i agree with everyone else! You just have to call everyone and prioritize! the medical bills are dead last! Your house and van are first! Both your auto and mortgage loan companies should work a repayment schedule out with you no problem! hang in there!

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I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do. -Edward Hale

Oh, don't feel so terrible. I had my van repossed, and had foreclosure proceedings start. I didn't die when they took my van, it was hard only having one car, but we managed. My mortgage company did work out a repayment plan, so do call them and explain. They don't want to foreclose, they want you to keep your house. I did start a 2nd job to help get caught up. You are not the first one to expierence this, and you will not the be last.