• By dalmation60, March 13, 2010 @ 7:27 am I’m in the same boat thanks to Ohio

• By J.D., March 16, 2010 @ 1:57 am Take solace in one of my favorite sayings… “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet”. Just hang in there. It will get better.

• By KA, March 17, 2010 @ 9:03 am cry, fix what is most important first, thank God you are healthy

• By ohm'slaw, March 18, 2010 @ 8:57 pm take a breath the big guy does not give us more than we can carry

• By jimmbobobb, March 19, 2010 @ 8:34 am crouch in the corner and cry for a little bit, then get up and start overcoming this slow and steady one obstacle at a time.

• By summerbum, March 20, 2010 @ 2:13 pm Sounds like you weren’t financially able to take the vacation. If you’re going on military temp duty, park your car so you don’t have to get brakes, make small payments to the utility companies so they don’t cut you off. Forget the cell phone unless you can take it apart and dry it out yourself. Get your bank to skip a mortgage payment. Get used books or spend your time at the library until you get on your feet.

• By Annie, March 22, 2010 @ 11:07 pm Just take a few minutes to relax. Take a deep breath and inhale, exhale, just calm down. and sort out everything. It can be overwhelming when everything occurs at once, but don’t let it get to you. Have a postive attitude. you can’t fix everything at once. You said school starts for you monday? School starts for me too, and to save money I ordered my books at amazon.com. Check your college bookstore for used books if you cant order online. if yu need fast cash sell some of your things that you do not want at the flea market or pond shop. Maybe have a garage sale. Have you also advertised at your school? Put fliers with your name and number that you have a room up for rent. If your phone is out, buy a cheap prepaid cell in the meantime if you cant get a new one. Hope this helps!

• By supergram, March 23, 2010 @ 8:56 pm What is the most crucial of all the problems? Which one cannot possibly wait? Do you have a second car? Can you call the utility companies and explain the situation? They are usually willing to put things on hold for at least a short time. Are the school books for you or your children? Can you borrow or share books with someont until you can buy your own? You can’t fix everything at once, so pick out one thing you CAN fix. When one thing is taken care of, you will see that it is possible to untangle the chaos. Good luck. I’ll say a prayer for you. Supergram

• By lissa, March 25, 2010 @ 10:59 am cry to the Lord, give thanks that he brought you to this situation, and then give thanks that he will bring you out. God is able to do all things. just remember that.

• By CHRIS, March 28, 2010 @ 9:54 pm My God, what a load! And all at once, too. It’s like a toothache. It never happens on a Tuesday, does it? Always on a Friday at about 3:30 P.M. so there just isn’t enough time to get to the dentist or even get him to prescribe some pain killers. Stuff like this comes in bunches. You need to know right now that you are not the only one who has had a load dumped on him. We all go through it. I was delighted to read that no one had died. So, give thanks and go sit down while I talk with you for a minute. Your mind right now is like fried beans. Or if you are really nuts from it, refried beans. Step number one whenever you get a load to deal with is to go sit down and put your feet up and let your brains come to absolute quiet inside. With all that craziness inside your brain, it’s impossible to find answers. You are right in the log jam, so what I am telling you to do is to come over here with me for a minute and stand on the river’s edge and just watch those logs as they knock themselves around and try to go downstream. Watch instead of trying to figure it all out. The bottom line needs to be contemplating right now is “I can handle every single bit of this, step by step. I do not have to be pushed around by it.” You reclaim command of yourself. You come first. This starts and stops with you, front and center. When you have calmed down, look at the list of junk again. Find just one thing you can deal with and go into attack mode and solve it. Does the car absolutely have to be repaired right now? Could it wait until you return from military duty? You start looking closer to what needs doing right now and what can wait. You step up to the plate and reclaim your position in the center again. Get a pencil and paper out and scribble up a new ad to fill up that apartment the tenants left you with – rented again. That is job one because it will help you establish a cash flow again the minute it’s filled. You are focusing on getting your cash flow reestablished. Rent. The car can wait. The bills – okay. Big one. Good news: most companies will be okay with you if they see some movement on the accounts. You do not need to pay in full. Call and explain your situation and lean into it by showing a willingness to pay in installments because of the situation you are in. You will not be the first person who has called them like this.This is a good faith move on your part and many companies will meet you halfway and work out a payment plan with you to get you back on your feet again. Do not get out of that chair until your brain is quieted down. After you calm down, figure out how you will make the rent available again, and then look to which bill needs nailing first. You have a perfectly coourageous excuse: serving your country. Who is going to argue with you about that? I am sending this to you with good energies. I am Chris in South Portland, Maine, U.S.A. (I am 63 years old.)

• By stratmagic, April 1, 2010 @ 3:20 am Just get really mad at a rich guy. write your congressman and ask him to raise taxes. Complain that Wal Mart is too rich and Haliburton is stealing money. Complain about the war and not having health insurance and being spy ed on ant voila your problems are solved.

• By XUSAAAgent, April 2, 2010 @ 3:10 am Delay the brake job, you will be away. Chances are you know someone on base that can do it for a hell of a lot less too. Brakes are not all that tough. The base also should have some form of financial advisers as well that can help out. If you are a USAA member (it would appear you are eligible), they have some excellent programs and are very flexible on payments and so on. Pay the things that will affect your credit rating as any problems there will do the most damage down the road.

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