Thanks y'all.

The ccards aren't nearly so desperate as what I've heard is possible. In fact, they are the least of those worries (unless late charges get applied). Them and the storage rent. It's the big ones like car and health ins. which eat what little paycheck I get. I TOLD my mom I could better afford to fix my old Plymouth Sundance than I could a 'new' car! But would she listen? No. Was I too frazzled to stand my ground? Yes, 'cause I wasn't up to dealing with things then.

I'm going to talk to the people who handle my IRA, to see what I can do with it. The CD I just opened in Nov., and is money received after the selling of my grandmother's house. I will NOT squander my inheritance. I'd rather that be left to grow for a down-payment on a house (when the day comes I actually settle down). At the time, I had put insurance claim money in an IRA, since I thought the job was a sure thing which would last. And at that time, it was. So I began thinking about setting aside for retirement, some 40 years down the road. The IRA has always been something 'set aside' to my mind. The CD matures in a year and is worth more...I can decide what to do with it then. But I will discuss these things with the IRA people today.

What I need is a regular-schedule, full-time job...soon. I already am down to absolute bare necessity...no niceties at all here since last Aug., and few before then. There is no more I can whittle out of my budget. I didn't plan far enough ahead last year for knowing the job might not hold. There's a piece of advice--plan ahead if at all possible!

--RW

(And I said that if I eschewed the 21st century for the 18th century, I'd still keep in contact with the modern world...antibiotics and other meds are HIGHLY important...as is an occasional visit to a washing machine & dryer...and the occasional use of a car. And really, when done right, cooking over an open fire or on a woodstove takes no longer than an electric stove/oven--as long as the fire doesn't go out.