tobygirl wrote: Wow, I can't believe the deals some of you get. We live in the country with one phone company and no cable available. Per month we pay $30 for local phone, $35 for DSL, $61.50 for basic Directv and about $25 to AT&T (for their 7 cents a minute plan), not including the cost of toll calls. Ditto for us! No cable and no DSL. $30 for land line (must have for my business) $5-20 for long distance (depending on usage) $90 for Dish (includes HD) $80 for cell phone service (2 phones) $50 for Internet (WildBlue satellite) It seems high to me compared to what others pay. :(

I just saw this see this is why I rarely play because I forget about it and then have no idea I won LOL I can not believe I got the hair transplants one, I was going for extensions and thought at the last second to throw in transplants too.

I think the first thing you need to do is sit down and be honest with yourself. You need to honestly answer whether you'll be able to stop spending money. If you were using CCs to just help out and now can't make minimum payments, I think they may well have been more than just helpers. Anything major that you bought that can be returned? Have you minimized everything you can think of? You should not have any of the following: cable/satellite TV, broadband internet, restaurants/fast food on your menu, cell phone, and you should be turning off lights, etc. Read through the forum on frugal items and how to save. Once you've cut out the luxuries, start economizing. Price comparisons on most everything. Shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. No "treating yourself right now and then" and the like. No shopping. Make a list of what you NEED from the store (as opposed to what you WANT from the store) and stick to the list. Make meals from scratch. Tap water and possibly KoolAid in place of soft drinks. No drive through coffee on the way to work. No vending machines. No this isn't a punishment. Make it a game. You may be amazed how much you're spending that is simply wasted. Ask questions. No problem. Don't feel embarrassed. But be prepared to be honest with yourself because this is a great group of people with a lot of good ideas, but if you kid yourself you won't help yourself at all. BTW, summer is about over so shut off the a/c completely. Use a fan. Since winter is coming get out a blanket and a set of sweats and plan on keeping the thermostat as low as possible. Limit trips. Combine trips. Eliminate useless trips. Just because something is on sale doesn't mean you need it. You can check for various assistance programs if you qualify for it. BTW, you should already have cut off all extras on the phone service. Make sure you have nothing more than absolute basic service. All utilities should be minimized (garbage can to the smallest/lowest price). Watch your driving habits to maximize your gas mileage. You have a major project and it's going to take a while to get out of it. It's also going to require a lifestyle and attitude change. But I'm sure you can do it! Good luck!

Don, I understand your point about the land line. We have had a land line with the same phone # for 45 years, but lately it has been a battle to find a phone company that will support it. They want us to sign up for the "latest" technology. Our land line connects directly into the telephone wire, no towers, no cable and no electronics. We have a very old phone that can handle the direct connection. We live in earthquake country and that old phone never let us down. When we had our big quake , and everything went to h@ll, it worked and neighbors stood in line to use our old phone, Having said that, I'm all for checking out the new technologies. Thanks for the links.