Trapped :-(

[BLACKTUESDAY1]

We live in a house we love. Mortgage not too bad but we have a lot of unsecured debt. I've just lost my job and DH is self employed. We are living week to week at the moment and are just about staying afloat. We have 2 dcs. I am looking for work but nothing as yet and even if I do find a job soon money will still be really tight as tax credits decrease accordingly. If we sold we would have just about enough equity to buy a very small house outright in not a very nice area but this would mean our finances would dramatically improve as we would be mortgage free. I love our house so very much. It is in a lovely area and the dcs are so settled and happy here. We have had so many Christmas and birthday celebrations here. It breaks my heart to think of selling and moving somewhere not very nice. However I don't think I can deal with the stress of carrying on like this. Can't afford simple things any more and we are still using credit cards for unexpected expenses. I really need someone to tell me what to do. We have been in our lovely home for 10 years now. Cannot downsize with a mortgage as we wouldn't get one due to debt and self employment.

[DownUdderer]

Have you looked at ynab? It's an amazing budgeting tool. The forum is great especially the journal section. I always sound like a salesperson when suggesting ynab, I'm not though.

The people on the forums are knowledgeable and generous with ideas.

Ynab helped me and dh talk about finances in a new way and it helped focus on joint goals.

I'm sorry if I sound unhelpful

[BLACKTUESDAY1]

Not at all. Thank you for the suggestion, I will have a look. I had a drive round yesterday to look at some houses we could afford outright if we sold ours and they were pretty awful. I will do my utmost to keep my house. I am hoping for some positive job news this week

[DownUdderer]

Perhaps there is a middle ground (nice house but cheaper than current situation). I'm hopeful for you. Fingers crossed.

[MyKingdomForBrie]

I would keep soldiering on for now but be absolutely tight about any spending whatsoever and save every penny to reduce the unsecured debts. Don't give up on the house just yet.