Quote Originally Posted by Pike View Post
The problem with handing out tips like this and "just budget your money" and so forth is that while they are sound for most people they are not sound for people who have been in situations where they suddenly find themselves sick/unemployed/disabled/etc. and are unable to budget because they are not making enough money to budget. I know because I have been there. I've had people telling me "just make a budget" when I'm coming up hundreds of dollars short every month just from paying necessary bills, and I've had people telling me "just get a job at Wal-Mart lolol" when I'm sending out dozens of applications to everywhere, Wal-Mart included, every day.

I'm not saying your guys' advice isn't sound. I'm just saying I've been in situations where none of this works.
I completely understand this kind of a situation, but to leave it alone and do nothing is just going to exaggerate the issue. Eventually, inevitably, something will need to change, and that is what budgeting and accounting are all about. If your outgoings are higher than your incomings, it is an impossible situation and will have to change sooner rather than later. Something will have to go. Even people who are on jobseeker's allowance can still survive (and it's been shown that many do so for a living), so even if it means moving in with a large group of people so you have a lower share of the rent, something has to change. This is just the way things are. Moving in with your parents, renting with your friends, cancelling your internet... something. Anything! Whatever makes things work.

I'm not saying this because I'm showing off and I'm not saying this because the person wants help and I'm not saying this because I've been there before nor am I saying this because I have it easy. I am saying this purely for one reason: I believe people need to solve these kind of problems. It is a neccessity for their sake to make things work, or their problems will get worse until they are homeless. Why would I not want to stop this happening to someone that I know?!