Hello everyone,
I'm posting on behalf of a close friend who's in quite the dire situation. She's been just trying to get by without facing the issues that have been piling up, and it finally got so bad she reached out to me for support. I'm glad she did. I didn't know how bad it was until yesterday, but I believe there is a way out. Here's the situation (keep in mind we're sitting at basically $0 in the bank account atm):
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$2,730 due in rent in a few days (last month didn't get paid and this includes a $130 late fee; usually $1300 a month)
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$189 phone and $70-100 electric bill coming up soon.
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$1,192 sitting on credit report from collections from various things
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$5,413 in debt from 2 unpaid credit cards that have been closed for nonpayment (idek what happens in this situation).
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No job at the moment (her new bartending job immediately let her go because they said they didn't have any hours to give her before she started. Is willing to work. Is quite good at bartending, hosting, serving. Warehouse work is a consideration.
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Her lease ends in July. This is the thing that has me most concerned. It's not possible for her to couch surf for any length of time (don't wanna get into details, but yes I'm sure). We really, really need a way to secure her housing.
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Owes money (around $5,000) to a few friends/ family members for a very recent, failed business venture attempt. This is partially what got us into this bad of a situation. She's actually really intelligent, but I think she was just getting desperate. Now that I'm in the picture, I can be sure nothing else like this will happen again. None of them are going to cause her harm for nonpayment, but it is a consideration. I hope that some part of this plan will eventually have her pay them back.
So that's where we're at. I'm providing advice and support, but I live across the country, so I can't help with the housing stuff. I also plan on talking with my company's employee assistance for some professional advice tomorrow when they open.
Any ideas on first steps to take here? I know a job is a big first priority (serving or warehouse likely), but that's not going to pay her bills in a few days.
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How do we secure her housing in 30 days in this bad of a situation?
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Is there any sort of government relief she can apply for?
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How much concern should we have at present for collections and her closed credit cards?
Any advice is well appreciated. I really don't want her to be homeless in 30 days. I know we can make it out of this situation, but we need a solid plan to execute. I'm now fully involved in her finances and she trusts me to help with the decision-making as we have a long-established friendship. Some of this is just a bit out of my wheelhouse as far as personal finance knowledge and government aid knowledge.
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Submitted May 30, 2021 at 12:05PM by JMoisture https://ift.tt/3bZPMeX
