I am a single mom aged 41. i'd like to try to buy a house for my very small family. i want to give my daughter some stability. however. i cannot afford it, because i have an overwhelming school debt hanging over my head. any tips or suggestions on how to pay it back or have some of it forgiven would be most appreciated.

also, the father of my baby will not get a job and pay his support to her. it is causing quite a lot of strain on my finances also...

any help would be paid forward as soon as possible in any way i can.

thanks/

cattiva

Where to begin? I guess things could always be worse but when you're fishing at the bottom of the barrell it's kind of hard to look on the brighter side of things, ya know? I'm collapsing under a bit of debt, and I don't know who or where to look to for help. Friends and family all have their own money problems and I don't want to become a burden, but I need money. Any sort of money. I'm not the type of gal that goes out and buys new clothes or goes to clubs and wastes it on drinks with her income, I spend all I have on bills. School loans, car loan, personal loan, living expenses and the like. I barely have enough money to travel from place to place as gas prices have really impacted my life. My pell grant for college this next semester is incredibley low so this means I have to pay for books and supplies out of my own pocket. I don't know where I'm going to get the money and I'm scared I might have to miss a semester or two just to save up money to buy books. I'm studying to become an art teacher but it's been a long road, as I'm fronting all of the money on my own. Ugh, gotta love the college life.

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Help Understanding Finances 

MONEY 101

http://www.usm.maine.edu/ess/Financial%20Management/Real_Money_101.pd

FDIC Money Smart

http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/overview.html

FDIC Money Smart Order Form

http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/order.html

NJ Money Matters

http://moneymattersnj.com/index.cfm

Money Management International

http://mmiphases.com/home/about-us.html

Consumer Rights 

http://www.naca.net/know-your-consumer-rights/

Fair Debt Collection Practices/Info

Fair Debt Collection Information

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/index.html

Fair Debt Statute of Limitations

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html

Credit Repair Info

http://www.repairbadcreditreport.com/

Student Loan Debt Information & Assistance

http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/

IDA's / Matched Savings

State Administration on IDA Programs

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/dcr/ida/index.shtml

Crisis Intervention - Pro Bono Professional Financial Advisers & CPA's

NJ Money Matters - Request Help for Crisis Intervention - See Criteria

http://moneymattersnj.com/help/request.cfm

Consult a Planner.Org - Request Help for Crisis Intervention - See Criteria

Http://www.consultaplanner.org

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