Question #1:

How can I get my husband to agree to a monthly budget with me?

I want to sit down and go over what we pay each month, such as bills, food costs, gas, ect. I feel like if we sat down together and actually went over everything, we could come up with an effective way to budget money and save for things we used to want together (such as a house, a newer car-which we will be needing soon). My husband refuses to do this with me. He says that we don't have to sit down together to realize how much debt we have. I have tried to explain my plan of being proactive and trying to figure out ways out of our debt but he refuses. He would rather pretend the debt doesn't exist and spend our money the way he sees fit, I get no say-so. He even refuses to let me do the grocery shopping! The bills are mostly in his name, he would spend money when I told him it wasn't a good idea and now we're in trouble. He claims it's my fault as much as his. He goes out with his friends every saturday night, he is going to every college football this season (as he did last year) and he is going back to school. I never go anywhere, and when I do, the things I do are free, like visiting my mom or sister or taking the little ones to the park. Please help, I don't know how to talk to him in a way to make him listen. He refuses to go to marriage counseling, he says He doesn't need some stranger knowing our business.
I don't mind him going out and having fun, whether it be to the game or out with friends. The issue is that we are drowning in debt and I want us to work as a team to get out of it, rather than me being the only responsible one, and if anyone has control issues, it's my husband.

Question #2:

How to help my mom with depression...?

Hi. My mom has been suffering with depression for about the last year and a half. Basically, my grandmother passed away more than two years ago, we took on the debt of the house plus my mothers credit card bills. My mom is divorced and very alone. She also lost her job, and after several interviews and "filler jobs" nothing is seeming to work out. Lately, her emotions she kept hidden and covered up from her marriage are starting to pour out, and she now has to deal with them. My father emotionally abused her, cheated on her, and his parents demeaned and belittled her. Her marriage ended about 12 years ago but she is just now facing it all. She never fully dealt with the pain; instead, she used her career and our amazing mother daughter relationship as an outlet. Since her career has left, she has been in her own head a lot and has really lost herself and her inspiration to find a job and herself again. We have pin pointed her problem to not being able to "seek." She knows what she wants, but she is waiting for it. She says that she has lost her ambition and that she just does not care anymore.

The thing is, my mom admits she has depression and that she wants to tackle it. We have had several heart felt talks and goals set; however, we cannot afford treatment. Also, she wants to gain a greater relationship with Christ and go to mass more, but what steps can we take to grow in a relationship, which verses, where do we start? Do you know of any websites we can look at for a self treatment, or if there is free group counseling, or blogs, anything!!!?

Thanks for reading through all of this. I'm a teenager and my mom is in her early 50's. She is gorgeous and I am not just saying that, she looks about 30. She also has an amazing sense of humor and charisma, so I just hate seeing her waste her life away, dwelling in our home becoming stir crazy.

Question #3:

What do i do with my life?

I am really depressed and I dont know what to do about it. My dad, who I am extremely close to, was in and out of jail my whole life and has now been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is my best friend in the world and the thought of life without him doesnt appeal to me. I am in a tiny bit of debt and to me it feels like the end of the world. I dont want to feel like this, and as much as i try to forget about these feelings they wont go away. I took anti depressants for two days but I felt disconnected and out of touch with everyone and everything around me. No one knew how to act around me. I dont know about counselling.. Ive never really liked the idea of it.

Please if any has been in a similiar situation your help would be much appreciated.

Question #4:

Does anyone know if Clear Point Credit Counseling is a good service or not? I want to get out of debt fast!?

Question #5:

Wife says she does not love me anymore, tried everything, what do I do, 3 kids 3, 6, 8?

we have grown apart over the last 3 or 4 years though we carried on as normal as have been together since 19yrs old for 11 years. 4 months ago she started to say she no longer loves me and I almost moved out twice but we managed to talk and I stayed to try everything we could. No-one has done anything wrong, but I am in a one sided relationship where I give everything I can, and receive nothing back. We started talking about these issues about 5 months ago and over the last few months after trying everything I can, I can see now that I have been stupid by ralling around her checking she is alright all the time and doing anything I can to make her happy, though this has turned against me and made her complacent. I feel she does not appreciate me. Affection has been slowly going over the last 4 years or so, though we still have sex about once every 10 days but I feel that is only coz we have not had it for a while. We are in the process of trying to sort it out, but after several months of trying everything including counselling I now realise that I am being a mug and need to think about myself. I deserve to be loved, I am not a bad guy.I have an ok job and pay all the household bills each month, though we do have about 20k debt which I pay off. she only needs to get food and pay for things the kids want. I have blamed myself for a long time and tried to rectify things again by blaming relationship issues on myself, but I have come to find myself again, and realise that I am also not happy in the relationship at all, but as we have three kids i have not wanted to face the thought of living apart. She is a good mum and I know she would let me see the kids whenever I want and I guess if we end now then we can end it as friends. We have honestly tried everything so I know that I have to leave at some point but I would really like some advice, and to hear about how others have left the family home and their children. I never thought it would be me in this situation, but I need to feel loved too and be happy, the difficult part is moving out and the guilt for leaving. Help please x

A bit more info -, well I thought I loved her, but its really hard to love someone when you are not getting loved back. I now realise that actually I don;t think I love her either anymore. I cannot imagine growing old with her anymore, and I feel really hurt after she says she no longer loves me, though I appreciate thats not her fault, just how she feels. It just feels like she is not even trying anymore. Simple things are now starting to go, like a kiss before bed etc, so the situation is becoming more awkward by the day. If / when I go, I would only move to the next village, and make sure I had a 2 bed house so I would have the kids to stay as much as I could, but its still different to being in the family unit which is all I know. I am a really good Dad and if there was any other way in the world I would not leave, please understand this, but I have started to face up to reality which says Dad needs to be happy too x

Question #6:

My wife says she does not love me anymore. We have three kids 3, 6 and 8. What do I do?

we have grown apart over the last 3 or 4 years though we carried on as normal as have been together since 19yrs old for 11 years. 4 months ago she started to say she no longer loves me and I almost moved out twice but we managed to talk and I stayed to try everything we could. No-one has done anything wrong, but I am in a one sided relationship where I give everything I can, and receive nothing back. We started talking about these issues about 5 months ago and over the last few months after trying everything I can, I can see now that I have been stupid by ralling around her checking she is alright all the time and doing anything I can to make her happy, though this has turned against me and made her complacent. I feel she does not appreciate me. Affection has been slowly going over the last 4 years or so, though we still have sex about once every 10 days but I feel that is only coz we have not had it for a while. We are in the process of trying to sort it out, but after several months of trying everything including counselling I now realise that I am being a mug and need to think about myself. I deserve to be loved, I am not a bad guy.I have an ok job and pay all the household bills each month, though we do have about 20k debt which I pay off. she only needs to get food and pay for things the kids want. I have blamed myself for a long time and tried to rectify things again by blaming relationship issues on myself, but I have come to find myself again, and realise that I am also not happy in the relationship at all, but as we have three kids i have not wanted to face the thought of living apart. She is a good mum and I know she would let me see the kids whenever I want and I guess if we end now then we can end it as friends. We have honestly tried everything so I know that I have to leave at some point but I would really like some advice, and to hear about how others have left the family home and their children. I never thought it would be me in this situation, but I need to feel loved too and be happy, the difficult part is moving out and the guilt for leaving. Help please x
your answers are really helpful, thank you so much. A bit more info as requested, well I thought I loved her, but its really hard to love someone when you are not getting loved back. I now realise that actually I don;t think I love her either anymore. I cannot imagine growing old with her anymore, and I feel really hurt after she says she no longer loves me, though I appreciate thats not her fault, just how she feels. It just feels like she is not even trying anymore. Simple things are now starting to go, like a kiss before bed etc, so the situation is becoming more awkward by the day. If / when I go, I would only move to the next village, and make sure I had a 2 bed house so I would have the kids to stay as much as I could, but its still different to being in the family unit which is all I know. I am a really good Dad and if there was any other way in the world I would not leave, please understand this, but I have started to face up to reality which says Dad need to be happy too x

Question #7:

Is a debt settlement program a good idea?

Is a debt settlement program a good idea, compared with using a Consumer Credit Counseling group, or Debt Consolidation?

Question #8:

Thinking of becoming a single parent family?

My husband and I have only been married for 6 months. We have an 8 month old daughter together and another one on the way.

After we got married he suddenly reverted back to his old ways. Everything is all about him these days. He has horrible debt that "we've" (I say that lightly since I write all the checks and make the calls) been working on correcting to buy a house. Last night he went behind my back and ordered a cd from my amazon account and charged it to MY credit card. I found out this morning when I checked my e-mail. When I confronted him about it he started screaming at me and called me a bitch, like every single time we have an issue. He also tries to turn things around on me like I'm calling him a piece of shit or an asshole and I never even call him names. He demands that I apologize, but won't do it himself.

I can't deal with this anymore. I've stretched myself so thin already and I've been doing everything to make this work. I feel like I got duped into this marriage. I do EVERYTHING and get no gratitude or appreciation. He spent all are grocery money on himself last month and we went for 6 days without barely anything to eat. He'd rather look at porn than me. He's lied to me on several occasions about stuff that he didn't even need to lie about.

I told him that if he ever wants things to work he needs to get counseling for his issues or we will end up getting a divorce. He says that he doesn't have time for counseling because he works so much.

My dad says that there is only so much I can do and I should let it go. My mom thinks I should stick it out. I don't know for what though. I put 100% into this relationship and get nothing in return. I fear that I'm only sticking around for my daughter, but honestly, we would probably be better off without him. He barely spends time with her any way and I have to force him to do anything for her.

What would you do in this situation?
Jaded-you know absolutely nothing about me.

I happen to be very educated. I have my own money and I am a damn good mother.

So I fell for someone who promised me the world, but lied. Happens to lots of women, educated or uneducated. My child(ren) are not mistakes and will be taken care of. You don't need to worry about that bitch!
Things have been like a rollar coaster and after a discussion we had a few months ago, it got better. He tried, but as soon as we found out I was pregnant again, it went back to shit.

I wouldn't have had another child with him if I didn't believe that he was willing to make an effort.

Question #9:

Why do American Businesses refuse to assocaite themselves with Glenn Beck?

List of Companies who have pulled advertisements from the show (as of late 2009, could be ever more today):

* Aegon (added 9/14/09)
* Airmiles.co.uk (added 10/20/09)
* Allergan (added 8/17/09)
* Ally Bank/GMAC Financial Services (added 8/17/09)
* AmMed Direct (added 10/6/09)
* Ancestry.com (added 8/24/09)
* Applebee’s (added 8/27/09)
* Ashley Furniture (added 8/28/09)
* AT&T (added 8/24/09)
* Bank of America (added 8/25/09)
* Bell & Howell (added 8/27/09)
* Best Buy (added 8/17/09)
* Binder & Binder (added 9/2/09)
* Blaine Labs (anti-fungal & scar treatments) (added 8/24/09)
* Brez (anti-snoring strips) by Airware Inc. (added 8/21/09)
* Broadview Security (added 8/17/09)
* Campbell’s Soup Co. (added 8/24/09)
* Capital One (added 9/2/09)
* Citrix Online (added 10/6/09)
* Clorox (added 8/23/09)
* Closing.com (Closing Corp.) (added 8/28/09) (read statement here)
* Concord Music Group (added 10/6/09)
* CVS (added 8/17/09)
* Dannon Co. (added 9/2/09)
* Diageo (Guinness, Cuervo, Baileys’, etc) (added 10/5/09)
* DirecTV (added 8/27/09)
* Discover (added 9/2/09)
* DITECH (added 8/24/09)
* EggLands Best (added 9/21/09)
* Elations Co. (added 8/24/09)
* Equifax (added 10/6/09)
* Eulactol USA (maker of Flexitol) (added 10/6/09)
* Farmers Insurance Group
* FreeCreditReport.com/Experian (added 8/24/09)
* GEICO
* General Mills (added 8/27/09)
* GetARoom.com (added 10/6/09)
* Healthy Choice (owned by CongAgra)
* History Channel (added 11/11/09)
* Hoffman La Roche (maker of Boniva) (added 10/6/09)
* HSBC (added 9/2/09)
* Humana (added 9/14/09)
* ICAN Benefit Group Insurance (added 9/2/09)
* Infiniti (added 9/2/09)
* Jelmar (CLR cleaner manufacturer) (added 9/2/09)
* Johnson & Johnson (added 8/24/09)
* Jordan McKenna Debt Counseling Network (added 9/2/09)
* KRAFT Foods (added 8/20/09) (read statement here)
* Lawyers.com (owned by LexisNexis)
* Lowe’s (added 8/24/09)
* Luxottica Retail (parent company of Pearle & LensCrafters) (added 9/14/09)
* Mars (maker of Snickers, M&Ms, Pedigree, etc..) (added 10/20/09) (read statement here)
* Men’s Wearhouse
* Mercedes-Benz (added 9/2/09)
* Metropolitan Talent Management (added 10/6/09)***
* NutriSystem (added 8/24/09)
* ooVoo (added 10/6/09)
* Overture Films (added 10/6/09)
* Procter & Gamble
* Progressive Insurance
* Radio Shack
* Re-Bath (added 8/17/09)
* Regions Financial Corporation (added 8/27/09)
* Roche *
* S.C. Johnson
* SAM (Store and Move) (added 8/27/09)
* Sanofi-Aventis
* Sargento Cheese
* Scarguard (added 10/6/09)
* Schiff Nutrition (maker of Tiger’s Milk & Fi-Bar) (added 10/6/09)
* Seoul Metropolitan Government (added 10/6/09)
* Simplex Healthcare (Diabetes Care Club) (added 9/2/09)
* Sprint (added 8/23/09)
* State Farm Insurance
* Subaru (added 10/6/09)
* Toyota-Lexus (added 10/6/09)
* Travelers Insurance (added 8/27/09)
* Travelocity
* UPS (added 8/23/09)
* United States Postal Service (added 9/14/09)
* Verizon Wireless (added 8/21/09)
* Vonage (added 8/24/09)
* Waitrose (added 10/4/09) **
* Walmart (added 8/17/09)
* Woodland Power Products (added 10/6/09)
* Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (added 9/14/09)
a To date list can be found here: Click Here

Question #10:

My moms bipolar is spiraling downhill and I need to help her. Long story, but I need help!?

My mom and I both have bipolar. My mom made me go to counseling for 15 years of my life, so I am very well aware of how bipolar can affect your emotions and life decisions. I have found ways to cope with my bipolar, because I accept that I have a disorder. My mom however, is in denial. She knows she has bipolar but she shrugs it off her shoulder, and says that's she's fine and she sees a counsler. Thing is, she only tells her counseler that she is okay. She never tells her counsler her true feelings, or the true events that happen at home or in her life. She fabricates everything to be in a little "happy little fake world" that she can call reality. This is very unhealthy. She does not accept that life is NEVER perfect, yet she keeps trying to make it that way by completely trying to pretend that nothing negative happens, by keeping it to herself. She needs to embrace both sides, so that she can overcome anything. Being only subjected to happiness will not allow her to accept when things aren't perfect. I hear her crying in her room, muttering to herself how she's unhappy. Yet when she knows people are listening she sugar coats everything!

She overspends. She gets a paycheck and thinks she has money, that can be spent on anything. She neglects bills until the end of the month, making my dad pay about 80% of all expenses. My parents are in debt. 5 years ago my mom was sent to a mental facility for 3 days, because she had been having a mental breakdown which also included overspending. My mom is doing the same thing she did 5 years ago, and I worry she's on the edge of another breakdown. Except this time, it's worse. She is now involving other people and playing the blame game. My younger sister has behavior problems, which my mom attributes to her being a "weird, bad kid." If I heard my mom say that when I was 13 years old I would be so hurt and I would TURN INTO a "weird, bad kid" because that is how I'd already been judged.

My mom wants to divorce my dad because they have clashing personalites. The clashing is all related to money. My dad is very responsible and pays bills, while my mom spends money on sale stuff thinking it's okay, even if it totals $300. My mom wants my dad to take her out to do stuff, and he won't because we do not have any extra money. My mom calls him selfish and she says everything is his fault because of this. How selfish of my mom! She doesn't realize in order to go out and do things, you need to have money. Sure, there's credit cards, which all of a sudden she thinks is free money. But credit cards create debt if you're already broke!

I feel torn. I can not express these words to my parents because everytime I voice an opinion, and relate it to her bipolar, I get yelled at because I am no medical doctor. Yet, I have gone through the same things my mom has, to a lesser extent. If I voice my opinion without attributing it to her bipolar, I get told I'm being too caring or thinking too into it.

What is there to do? Should I bring my mom to a counsler WITH ME who specializes in bipolar? Should I find a financial counsler? I'm so worried. I know if my mom divorces my dad, she will probably live on the streets. She won't be able to afford an apartment AND a car. She won't walk to work. She won't rely on friends to take her to work, because her friends are an entire 12 hours away. She'd spend and lose everything...

Question #11:

College grad contemplating CPA exam and career change. Advice?

Hi there,

I have my Bachelor's degree in Psychology and I am about halfway done with my Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology. The debt I've accrued from my Master's degree is only growing, which is why I am considering dropping out of the program. I have taken a strong interest in business/finance, and I am wondering what I can do with a CPA certificate and my psych degree. What competition will I be up against? What is a reasonable starting pay as someone with a CPA?
Note: I am in CA

Question #12:

What can I do with my family-in-law?

I've been happily married to Tom for 3 years.
Not long after we were married, I found out he had mental issues - depression and OCD.
The doctor insisted that he needed medicine to overcome them.
However, without medication, he became a better person through some activities like playing the piano or swimming.

Later, I knew his father was a troublemaker and his mother was just used to obeying his brutal order. They are old. The problem is their son, Jin who is my husband's younger brother.
One day Jin cursed me criticizing that I didn't work for my family-in-law.
My husband and I bought a lot of big-ticket items for his parents for the last three years.
While my mother-in-law has not given us even a penny, she gives Jin some money every month (1000-2000 dollors even though she has debt, about million dollars) because Jin's wife threatened my mother-in-law that she would go away leaving her children if my mother-in-law didn't give enough money to her.

For the past three years, I've told Tom and his mother that Jin needs counseling seriously.
However, they just avoid confronting him.
I know my mother-in-law loves her son, but she loves him in a wrong way.
Tom said that he was afraid that Jin might do something crazy that we even cannot imagine when he loses his temper.
Jin live very close to his mom, but we live 4 hours drive away, so Jin has manipulated her.

In this situation, Tom's father is never helpful. People say that Jin is the image of his father, who threatened his family and relatives in a cunning way.
For the past three years, I've tried to help her and also Jin.
However, now I am fed up with such people who don't know how to live.

Jin becomes worse and worse as time goes by.
I want to have a good relationship with my family-in-law, but I am tired.
My husband sometimes blames me that I have to wait trusting him, but I know he is also not that strong to change this situation.

Question #13:

Can forcing the sale of stock by harassment and coercion be unlawful even if you sign a written document?

Under extreme duress and constant bombardment of calls I agreed to part with some stock to pay a creditor. They had issued no written demand nor would they agree to wait until I could afford to pay them. The debt was only owed for one month and I have always made payments for the last twelve months on time. I had suffered redundancy and this had led to an emotional breakdown requiring hospitalization and counseling. I was pressure having only been out of hospital for three days to sign over the stock to a third party who paid much less than it was worth. The cash was given to the individual I owed money to. I realize that everyone must pay their way and have always done so. I was up front and told the individual what had happened and promised to sell some stock to recoup the money owed. i was given no time or opportunity to do this. The individual has continued to add extreme pressure and has since sold more stock with out legal transfer. What can I do to stop this. I want to pay all but as they are reducing my assets for much less than they are worth it is becoming extremely difficult to do so. I am in a better position now. I have started another job and most people have been helpful I don't want sympathy so many people are in trouble I just want to know what is fair and lawful.

Question #14:

What can I do about my child support order amount?

SORRY IF THE DETAILS ARE OUT OF ORDER, THIS IS IN WASHINGTON STATE, AND ALSO I'M SO STRESSED OUT THAT I NEED TO GET SOME COUNSELING, WHICH I CAN'T AFFORD.
About 2 years ago I came back from another country and then I was caught up in a one night stand. The next day the girl told me not to worry about her being pregnant because she was on birth control and that she took plan b bills just in case. So, I didn't worry about if she was going to get pregnant. I just started a job last year and what do you know, she said she was pregnant. To make the story short, got the paternity tests and it was positive that its mine. So she filed for child support at the beginning of this year. I just received the proposed amount I have to pay and its $306 dollars a month. I make salary based income at my job, which is a state job, and its only exactly $788.30 every pay day. I pay rent, $600, car $200, utilities, my debt, and other bills calculates to about $400 a month. Now, I know whatever I say doesn't matter to nobody so I'm not going to bring up too much crap that she puts me through and what she says to me about what she will do with the child support so I'm going to try to keep it out of this subject.

The problem is that I can't afford to pay that amount for child support. I will be left with only like 100dollars and that's not including gas and other things. I understand that I messed up my own life, and I know what I have to go through. I know there are harder cases out there, but I need to get this adjusted. I went through the paper works and it does say we have a court date to summarize the child support. It really seems like the state didn't care about my financial declaration and gave me the highest amount based on just my income and not my financial situation. I have friend that has experience about this and he even told me that's just the amount that the state told me I have to pay until I show documentation of what bills and other things I have to pay.

I know my responsibilities and I know I have to pay, but that's just too high when she lives rent free, free car, free college, and she will be moving out of her parents house to live with her new boyfriend and live off my child support. She makes me crazy, but to me men just don't have any saying about how some women are. She already won a case where she has custody of the child at all times. She also thinks she can get more if she moves out. I'm already in hell with debt and trying to live paycheck to paycheck and I'm only 24.My parents were divorced, my mom can't help and my younger siblings sure in hell can't help . If I have to pay that amount I'm going to have to give rid of my car, sell a couple of things just to make the first payment in October.

She always says to me that shes happy for having a free baby to support, spreads rumors which doesn't really bother me, and posts shit about me on the internet like facebook and myspace. This girl has money and time to go out on weekends, and has NO bills to pay for her to live. I honestly want to just die for the mistakes I've done and the mess I got caught up on. I don't know what to say anymore, she is really crazy and I just wish someone out there in the real world (not just people around my area or my friends) know how she is. Its so hard to explain that I'm crying at this point cause everyone will just put me down and say negative things what I complain about, so I try to keep all this to myself. I just want to know if is it possible that I can get the amount adjusted. I figured $200 or less will be fine for me, I can still have about $200 dollars a month to myself. I know that the state cannot deprive me of my income to just pay for one child. I honestly rather have custody of the child because I would know where my money is going and its my child in my hands. This sucks guys, I just wish someone would just understand and believe me. I don't know what to do about this. Some help about modifying the order will be a lot to me and I will appreciate it.
I do care about my child, the thing is I really hate the mother for who she is and what she is doing.She is using our child to ruin my life because she won't get her way. Even some women I know, for sorry for me, that's how bad she is. Its like she lied, used, is trying to ruin my life on purpose and I already know the reason and that's because I DO NOT want to be in a relationship with her.
The reason I say I a lot is not because its not about the child. I would honestly sacrifice everything if I have custody of my child. But paying for child support and her not giving me visitation rights is probably really stupid. She is just happy that she gets money to do more things with her life only. If only I had proof of what she does on her spare time would be a huge relief.
Since I did get some information about this, if I were to get a second job, will they garnish from that also? I heard from some people that they don't unless your behind. I can get a second job easy, just thinking about it.

Question #15:

Okay, let me try this again...my life is pathetic, and I want to die...?

There is no point to my existence. I have no friends because I cannot relate to anyone in any meaningful way. I cannot have any serious relationships, because I am utterly undesirable. I am unemployed, and my hopes of being anything other than a menial laborer are dead. All there is left for me is paying bills and taxes. What is the point in my just existing to pay for debts and governmental obligations? I have nothing but regret and disdain for every decision I've ever made in my life. I'm at the point now where I feel utterly paralyzed to do anything because I know that I will only fail again.

I wish that there WAS something physically wrong with me, so that I'd have an a reason for being the way I am, other than being a square peg who simply cannot fit-in in a round hole world. If I could be somebody else, that would be great, but I'm not. I am who I am, and my personality is irreparably flawed. If there were the possibility to "fix" me, it would take extensive counseling and probably medication, but I have no health insurance or money.

What am I suppose to live for when I am utterly alone and have nothing going on in my life that gives my life any real meaning?
@SENTfromHEAVEN: If God is my friend, then it stands to reason that he created me for a reason; however, there isn't any. I have no purpose in life, or the desire to press onward towards a purpose. I'd also guess that he'd create me with the means to be able to relate with other people, but I don't. If God is my friend, then why would me make the the way that he did? Why would he make someone meant for a solitary existence? Why would he make someone so utterly pathetic as I am?

Question #16:

How can I repay my college debt on THIS salary?

I'm 23 years old, currently $40k in debt and expect to be double that by the time I finish my Master's program. My degree will be in counseling psychology and I will have my marriage and family therapy license when I finish next year. The career forecast for this major in California is 45k-55k. How in the heck can I repay these astronomical loans with such a low salary? The dream of home ownership and investing never seems like it will be a reality with this huge burden over my head. Someone please help!
Additional details: I am finished with my undergrad and halfway done with my Master's program.

Thank you for the thorough response to the first poster--I feel like I'm out of options; my internship is all lined up for the fall, and the entire program costs 63k from start to finish. the additional 30k is my living costs for the 2.5-3 years it takes to complete it. I wish I could move back in with the folks, but they live too far away from the college and I currently share a home with my girlfriend. That has helped keep my housing inexpensive (relatively), but its still ~$750 a month I'm using of my loan money.

I feel like I have been scammed--that I fought my ass off to get into this school only so I can throw money at them, make the loan companies wealthy and the school running...

Question #17:

how can I improve my credit score considering my situation?

Hello,

I was wondering if someone could offer me some advice as to what I can do to help bump my credit score to the highest possible score that I can currently have.

I am in the process of negotiating for a new Honda Ridgeline. They have a promotion going on where they offer .9 % interest on 2010 models for 60 months.

The guy told me that people with a score of about 750 would qualify for this offer.

My credit scores go as follow: experian 681, equifax 659 and transunion 687.
the negative factors are stated below:

1.payment history
2. credit history
3. credit usage
4. credit applications

Now, here's a bit of my history: I opened my first credit card 9 years ago when I started college. Throughout my college years I racked up alot of debt. I graduated, suffered unemployment for a while, and couldn't make payments. I finally found a job, but as I wanted to start paying back my credit cards, it was really hard for me to make payments. i was late on several of them, etc..

I joined a credit counseling program to help me with the payments. after their help, I was able to pay back what I owed and my credit score improved alot.

I feel like my credit scores should be higher. What can I do? As you have seen, one negative factor is my payment history. My credit report no longer shows that I was late on the accounts that have been closed. Can I dispute this so that they can remove them so that my credit score can go up? I am current on everything that I have and there is nothing on my report that states that I was late.

Another thing, I have a mortgage loan on my account and have never been late on it, and it mark a year this august. So far, ever since I exited the credit counseling program, I have been back on my feet and treated my credit and debt very responsibly.

What can I do to increase my credit score? Is my history with all the closed accounts that i have (which are 8 closed accounts) still hurting my score, even though they all have a status as being "paid"? how can I improve my credit score with equifax?

another regarding the deal with honda ridgeline: can i still get the .9 promotion rate with my credit? I feel that the salesguy is lying to me.

Let me know what you guys think

thanks

Question #18:

Anyone have any experience with NFCC credit counseling?

Just wondering if anyone has experience with this organization: Click Here

More specifically, how they may or may not have helped you with credit card debt and getting your finances in better order. Any feedback, suggestions or experience?
I did just do a search here on Yahoo and found some stuff ... but more input is still welcome. Thanks!

Question #19:

Please tell me if you think I have a chance of getting into UPenn! (University of Pennsylvania)?

My school offers over 20 AP classes, so far I've only taken two (the administrators made this stupid rule when I was a freshman, saying we couldn't take APs until we were sophomores :( ) but during the course of my junior and senior years I will take a combined total of 11 more AP classes.
My grades:
9th grade - 1st semester, 6 As, 1 B; 2nd semester, 7 As
10th grade - 1st semester, 6 As, 1 B; 2nd semester 6 As, 1 B

Currently my GPA is a 3.98

I'm going to start my junior year soon so I don't have the grades yet, but let's say I get straight As this year and my senior year (remember I'm also taking 11 AP classes too)

Also I've passed my two AP exams so far with a 3 and 5, and I will definitely strive to get at least a 4 on each of my future AP exams.

Extracurriculars
National Junior Honors Society (9th grade)
National Honors Society (10th grade and onward)
6th grade leaders (we help out the new 6th graders and counsel them, lead them, etc)
JV swim team 9th and 10th grades, will be in Varsity for 11th and 12th grades
Community service at the library for about 9 months (not sure of the hours but I did it every Saturday)
About to start volunteering at an animal shelter for 6 hours a month for 2 years
Japanese culture club
Social action and awareness club
Helping out at my church with our praise group (volunteer work basically)

I'm thinking about maybe starting some sort of animal related club, but I'm not sure because I prefer working behind the scenes...I know I need some kind of leadership thing though. I'm going to a leadership camp soon if that matters at all. I don't think it's that well known though, it's like a Christian-affiliated leadership training camp. No they don't turn all the participants into preachers lol. Just general leaders.

My highest SAT score so far is 2080 BUT it's not the REAL SAT, I took it at this SAT prep course. they make their own tests and they make them harder so that after finishing the course when people go take the college board SAT, they score about 100 points higher than on the diagnostic from this SAT prep course. I still havent finished the course either so I think I can get my score up to a 2200 (which hopefully equals a 2300 on the real thing).

I don't really have any "unique" things to put on my application, though I considered taking a summer program but finances make it hard; currently my 2 siblings are in college and one is trying to go to grad school, but there's a lot of debt because we couldn't get our residency in time for the scholarship deadlines...I was invited to international student ambassador programs too but I couldn't do it because of finances.

umm I'm not going to share my essay because it's a little personal but it's along the lines of how moving to the US has really challenged me and my family

I want to major in Biology (pre-med?) at UPenn.
I wouldn't normally aim for such a prestigious college (I'd go for somewhere more realistic) but I want to be a veterinarian after getting into Cornell's vet school. However there are only 28 vet schools in the US, so competition is fierce, and I'm hoping to up my chances of getting into Cornell Vet school (the top in the country) by going to a very reputable college like UPenn. Btw I know Cornell is also an Ivy League but when I say I'm trying to up my chances of getting into Cornell vet school I mean I'm going to try to go to a school that's ranked higher than Cornell for undergrad.

Sorry this is so detailed, guys! Thanks!

* 3 days ago

Additional Details
Oh yeah also I play a number of instruments but not WELL
and I'm not good at athletics either
my family didn't have the money to get me lessons so I learned what I could through school (middle school) and through volunteering at church (starting 8th grade)
I don't think I should mention this though because don't colleges supposedly want "consistency"?

oh except im doing swimming all four years of high school, but the instruments thing...I definitely have an interest in music I just didn't quite have the right resources.

3 days ago
yes its my unweighted GPA for my 9th and 10th grade years PLUS all the courses I took in middle school that count for high school (ex. foreign language, or Algebra II)

and I'm Korean :)

Question #20:

Should I move back home, or stay with the guy I love?

I can't make up my mind. Do I stay here in Vancouver, completely broke and in tons of debt, struggling to keep a roof over my head, and go take some college courses that I'm not interested in to avoid paying back my student loan and losing my best friend/the guy I love.

OR

Do I go home to Calgary to live with my family. They are religious, I'm anti-religion, I have to live with their rules and them treating me like I'm 10, when I'm an adult. I will lose my best friend/the guy I love, and possibly need counselling for it, and have to work a ton to pay off all my debt and my student loan.





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