Expert: Michael Brotherton - 1/13/2009

Question
Oh what troubles, I am self employed in the construction industry and as such my business has suffered for 18 mo. during that time i used credit cards to help my business now i am maxed out, I have never been late or defaulted on an account but now I am weeks away from trouble,I am on an extention with 2 auto loansfor 2 months only. My wife still works and is in the medical field but her income is about half of what mine was and therefor only about a third of what we need to maintain, I am 54 years old and have worked hard all my life and never recieved a dime from any gov. angency and now when I need help there is none to be had, I want to keep my credit in good shape dont want to default on any lenders but am without options that i can see, please help
Thanks Tim

Answer
I understand your distress. I am seeing more and more of this with the economy in a slump. I also understand you want to maintain your credit but your options may be limited at this point with regard to your credit without finding a way to increase your income.

One suggestion would be to contact a consumer credit counseling service and see if you qualify for a debt management program to reduce interest and payments. Your payments may not go down susbtantially but every little bit helps.

One other thing you need to do for starters is to put your budget to paper and see how much you need to balance the budget. At least it will help you to set a goal for your income. If you shoot me an email I can send you an emergency budget assessment form. This is a critical step in dealing with your finances. If you are not confortable crunching numbers I can do the assessment for you for a small fee. My assessment is substantially more than just a budget analysis. It helps me to determine your real options and come up with a plan.

Without the income to balance the budget your options are few. But dont dispair. Things have a way of working out when you are determined to do so.