First, I'm sorry you're going through this. That said...
Ok - you asked for it - so brace yourself - here it comes. This is going to be cold, hard facts. It won't be easy to hear. I'm warning you now because I'm not pulling any punches. Its not personal, I'm not judging you, I'm simply laying out the facts. If you have the intestinal fortitude to hear the facts and not take it personally but look at them objectively, then you can get through this. If not, denial, excuses, and disaster will follow. Not may. Will.
So please know, what I'm about to say is actually being said in kindness with concern - because if I lied to you right now I'd just be setting you up for worse later.
The first thing you need to do is get on a budget. If you're already on one, review it and make sure it conforms to what follows. I know you need to do this because if you're on one, its broke, and I'll bet you're not on one at all. I know THAT because you've got 10k in consumer debt and an 8k car loan. That means you've been living beyond your means for some time.
Establish priorities for payment. Each month, whatever money comes in gets paid out in PRIORITY order.
You ask yourself - if I only had enough money to pay for ONE budget item this month, what would it be.
I'll help you get started:
#1: FOOD - Food must be your #1 priority item. You want to reduce this # as much as possible but you and yours NEED to eat.
#2: Essential clothing - whatever you can find at the salvation army, thrift stores, etc. Bare minimum but you've gotta have clothes.
#3: Lights/Utilities - you need heat and electricity. You DON'T need multiple cell phones, high speed internet, land lines, etc. You need 1 phone number and possibly dial up internet.
#4: Roof - keep the roof over your head
#5 - #100: Other *essentials*.
#101 and beyond: DEBT payments.
Yep - those urgent phone calls you'll start getting demanding you pay them yesterday are bottom of the list. They'll have a fit. **** em. Pay em when you can - right now you can't.
Ok, a few other things:
- Sell the van. You owe $8,000 on a van. You can't afford it. Find out what its worth to a private buyer (
http://www.kbb.com) and sell it. If you owe more than its worth, get a loan for the difference plus another $2,000. Better to owe $4k on unsecured debt than $8k on a van that will just get repo'd leaving you with NO transport.
Take the extra $2,000 and go pay cash for a beater. It needs to run, it needs good tires and a good engine, and thats it. If it's main color is "primer" and the roof leaks, I don't care - getting you from point a to B is all that matters.
Talk to me about the house - what's the house payment? Not the total - the payment.
How much income will you have coming in if he's laid off?
When does he start his second part time job delivering pizza? (YEP, time to start now!)
UNTIL you know for sure if he'll be laid off or not, STOP ALL DEBT PAYMENTS except Car and House. You're selling the car, don't get it repo'd in the process.
You MAY have to sell the house and rent. We'll see.
More to follow when I know more about your situation.