**SIGH**Living poor

[rainbabies]

[Sheherezade]

Ouch! I had a friend in graduate school that had to cut back when they were already on a shoestring. She said it was comical. They hired a financial adviser who came out and told them ..... (wait for it) .... THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT TO CUT !!!! Like they didn't know that already!!! It was depressing. I'm sure you are already living as poor as you can. Maybe you and DH can sit down and figure out if there is *anything* left that you could do without. It isn't surprising that so many people end up taking out additional loans in training. The car breaks down, insurance doesn't cover something, or you have those dang interview expenses and your sunk. At least we have loans to bail us out. In the book "The Two -Income Trap" the bankruptcy study results suggested that those unexpected big expenses put a lot of families into bankruptcy. So, maybe things could be worse. (Although I know that is hard to imagine. ) Hang in there.

[DCJenn]

Yikes!

If it makes you feel any better, you're among friends. My husband get so tired of me following him around turning off lights behind him.

The only suggestion I have is to think about whether there are cheaper forms of public transportation available? Most places around here reimburse for people using public transportation- or at least give a stipend.

Jenn

[rainbabies]

[SueC]

I feel for you! I've attempted to give the bills over to dh a few times but it always backfired in our case. Maybe your dh would be more responsible--I would have given anything to not have the stress of trying to keep us afloat while dh was in residency/fellowship. Any chance your dh will be able to moonlight after intern year? I know that is a ways away, but maybe it can be a little glimmer of light for you.