I currently owe $800 to my landlord but I recently lost my job. The housing authority won’t pay my rent because my landlord is withholding paperwork, and my landlord won’t submit the paperwork until I pay her the past due $800.
I’m sick to my stomach. I apply for jobs every single day but nobody is getting back to me. I have zero source of income. I’m hungry and extremely stressed over this.
I thought of applying for a credit card just to pay the rent amount but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. I don’t want to be stuck in credit card debt. But I don’t know what else to do.
Any advice on how to handle this, please?
EDIT: I am not eligible for blood or plasma donation because I have chronic health conditions and take opioids for chronic pain.
Comments
You’re in a tough spot, but you’re not alone start by calling 211 for emergency help with rent, shelter, food, or legal aid. Visit a local food bank today so you’re not handling this hungry. Reach out to charities or churches for rent support or help dealing with your landlord. Avoid using credit cards unless you know income is coming soon, and in the meantime, try finding temp or gig work to get by while continuing job applications. One step at a time you can get through this
Run
This is overwhelming reach out to local housing aid or call 211 for emergency rent help check food banks and charities before turning to credit cards since debt could add more stress
A little credit card debt is better than losing your home. I would take the other advice here and also apply for a card if possible, to give you a little working room. I wouldn’t have made it to my 30s without a credit card, though I kept the limit low.
I know getting a credit card sounds scary, but your top priority needs to be NOT losing your housing. Do whatever it takes. It is extremely difficult to regain housing after becoming homeless.
If you have a car start doing Uber, Lyft, anything to get money in. If you don’t have one, go rent one and start driving 16 hours. Stop spending time on Reddit, every waking minute should be about making money. You’re in a bad situation, there’s a way out. Look for a cheaper housing option, if you’re not living with roommates, it’s time. The landlord can’t evict you today, it’ll take time. Use that time to find some runway.
Do you have family?
Location matter but Take an appointment with a social worker asap Depending on your situation/location some government welfare/private charity program might exists
Sell plasma.
Donate plasma. It’s a start. You should get at least $70-$150 your first few donations and that can knock down some of that debt to the landlord. Getting a credit card in the interim will also offset some things. If you have a car, even if it’s old, you can do DoorDash, Instacart, uber eats.. or if you have a friend that can drive you.. some cities allow you to do DoorDash with a bike if need be
If you get evicted your credit will be bad anyways and it will be almost impossible to rent in the future with a eviction on your record.
You need to go to Walmart or something similar and get hired.
Credit card debt is the way to go get a credit card with 0% apr for 15 months buy some time to get a job then set up monthly payments on the debt to pay it off before the interest hits. I did this exact thing and guess what it was actually a blessing my credit sky rocket the pressure helped me land a good job and I didn have to be homeless. My company is always hiring aply at RTD.com starting pay verrys by location but by me it started at 28 an hour and if you don’t want to drive a bus no worries there is a shit load of job positions
I took out a credit card to buy food for my kid one time. I don’t regret it.
This is a short term emergency. Deal with it and then recover.
What can you sell? Jewelry? Furniture? Clothing? Devices? FB Marketplace is your friend. They are just things. You can buy other people’s used stuff later. Sell the iPhone and get a flip phone. Do whatever you have to do to keep a roof over your head.
Is a roommate an option? Let someone else deliver the $800 to share your place.
Find short term income.
Call 211 for aid
If you have a car, sign up for all the delivery gigs
Taskrabbit website
Post on community FB groups (older homeowners are there, trust me) that you are available immediately for babysitting/yard care/pet sitting/elderly companion/ whatever. At $25/hr you’ll need 32 hours to get $800. Bonus point if there’s food.
Post a gofundme
Register with temp agencies
Visit food banks
Contact local churches for help.
Good luck
Wendy’s. Hired today and paid tomorrow. Tell them you’re available for every day and every shift. Well that should be for any job you apply to. It’s actually a great time to get a job in retail because of Christmas season coming up. Costco is always hiring. Go in with an upbeat attitude.
Try opploans.com
If that doesn’t work, sell what you can that you don’t need at a pawn shop, if you still don’t have enough – immediately go to your local government center for shelter / homeless help. They may have apartments or hotel for you.
If you’re about to be homeless, hustle like one. Recycle cans, donate plasma, do surveys, etc.
Use your credit card. Try to find literally anything in the meantime
Have you applied for unemployment. Also go to your local DHS office and apply for food stamps. Look into Catholic charities or Salvation Army. Not sure what state you are in but some townships help residents pay rent or utilities
join the military
I’ve heard donating plasma or blood will get you a few hundred a pop. Look it up in your area. This too shall pass.
Try day labor. They will pay you for the day at the end of the day and you can go every day. It’s minimum wage unless you have a skill they can use.
I’m really sorry you’re going through this. My only advice is to see about using AI to auto apply for jobs.
When I was in a pinch and needed to make funds anyway I can I started door dashing. If you have car. Or take out pay day loans. And I know this is gonna sound bad but last resort steal. At this point you’re following the rules and cooperating with the system but it’s not working cuz it’s purposely set up like that. I’m setting an intention right now that everything works out for you. 🙏
Call Catholic Charity, they help with a lot of different issues
Maybe plasma gets you a check but donating blood is just that… donating (for those suggesting it)
Start with 211 as others have said, social services/housing department. I wish you luck.
If you’re in the Philadelphia area msg me we are hiring
Go to a food banks. Contact local churches or volunteers of America to discuss your situation
There are organizations who may help to bring rent current so you can get paperwork.
First take a breath
You cannot be homeless without being evicted by a court, if you landlord goes to court and you tell a judge or magistrate that your landlord refused to fill out the necessary paperwork for you to get assistance or housing, they won’t be happy and could very well refuse to evict you.
As for the credit card, you owe $800 anyway, so you may as well owe the credit card company and pay the minimum payment until you get a job
Find your local food pantry, contact a local church
Try doing clinical trials
If you are a lady I highly recommend stripping. You get hired on the spot usually and no experience is necessary
I don’t know where you live but most places have rental assistance programs in place for this type of situation
I’m willing to venmo $200 to help you get by, as I’ve come into a decent sum of money recently. I just need proof that you’re truly down on your luck, and are actively applying to jobs.
If in NC I might be able to be of some service
Did you apply for unemployment?
I don’t know you, so I will make some assumptions, don’t get offended, and try to read till the end. If you have face piercings, strange by office standards look or views is now the time to suck it up and start look the way bosses prefer. There are still entry level jobs that pay minimum and hire same day- coffees, retails, cleaning, suck the environment, suck the talk of the colleagues and get the money. As other said check for free food. Check your options for free shelter if the time comes. Hate it or no, dress like the f…ing virgin Mary and go to the churches in your area, bite your tongue if needed , play humble and get the help you need. Politics, preferences, ideologies are not more important than shelter and food whatever some may say.
You are this worried about credit before you get it then you will probably be ok! For reals, I wasn’t this hyper aware of the impact of credit until like yesterday and I’m almost 50!
What you are facing is scary, I know but you have a good head on your shoulders. First, trust your instincts and you will find your job but even if it’s 2am and you are trying to sleep but you feel the need to check the job sites… Do it. Second, don’t ever be afraid to look for and ask for help. Google “emergency rent assistance near me’ and don’t click on anything that says sponsored.
Life is hard and it’s easier if we help each other and most but not all people know that. If you get turned away.. keep trying. Finally, give yourself grace and processing time. Optional.. find a life savy friend, maybe an older friend or role model that kind of seems to do stuff the right way and do what they do.
But just a little insight.. no one really knows what the eff they are doing no matter what they say. Effort and intentions are what matter most in the end. So keep trying and be good and stuff often works out at the very last possible second when you just keep trying.
Look into apps like whatnot where you can sell stuff if you have anything of value. Get creative and find a hustle. Use chatgpt give it a list of your skills and tell it where you live and the reasonable distance you can travel and ask it to master search you all job openings. Hope some of this helps.
I dont know about your area, but around me every fast food restaurant is hiring. Are you only applying to jobs you want? If so, start applying to jobs you need.
If you can get a credit card do it. It’s much better than being evicted and you don’t want to take a chance on losing your voucher.
Not every place take credit cards for rent. You would want to make sure they do before you even did that although if you’re hungry, you need to eat and a credit card will help with that. And as others have said get to your food bank immediately , and there are, at least in my area, churches that host free meals nightly so look in your area for something similar. I’m rooting for you.
You can’t just get kicked out. There’s laws protecting you. Go study them and get informed
Donate sperm.