Hello, I'm 54 years old and lost my husband to cancer several years ago. Due to hospital bills, after his passing there wasn't much insurance money left. After a couple of years (with two teenage sons) I had to either sell the house or lose it to foreclosure, I sold it but didn't gain anything with the sale. Since that time I've continued struggling. There has been no great event that has put me in financial hardship, it's been a like a snowball rolling downhill and piling up at the bottom. I do work, and actually have a pretty good job, however due to old issues I can never get above water. I owe the IRS (I did not contribute enough because I needed all I could get) - I owe student loans and have really bad credit due to being unable to pay other loans because of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I try to pay as much as possible and then don't have any food money. I know there are people out there that have had catostrophic happenings in their lives that would make my problems seem small but they don't seem small to me. All I want is to be debt free and be able to put a little away for when I can't work anymore, if anyone could help, even a little I greatly appreciate it and if I am ever in a position will 'pay it forward' to someone else.

I am a college graduate living on my own. I currently work in non-profit journalism and recently moved home to be with my family when my mom's cancer came back and she eventually passed away from the disease. After losing my mom, I became very ill and the doctors were unable to figure out why I was so sick. I was eventually diagnosed with a chronic disease I will have for the rest of my life. After my diagnosis, I was sent immediately to the hospital, where I spent 15 days receiving treatment. I make just enough to cover my basic bills and had been living just fine until these unexpected medical costs happened. I took off a lot of time from work during my mom's time in hospice to care for her and then following her death as I dealt with immense grief. The week I was planning to go back to work full-time I became very sick and was hospitalized. I am finally back to work full-time, feeling so much better and have found ways to cope with my grief. The medical bills I am now facing are very overwhelming and a severe stress as I try to form a normal life again. I will need a lot of medications and IV infusions for the rest of my life and it would be so helpful to leave these bills behind and start fresh in 2014 so I can manage my medical costs. I currently have more than $2,000 in medical debt and $8,000 in credit card debt from the last year. This year has been the hardest of my life. I would be so grateful for the help as I have often felt so alone dealing with this disease and losing my mom. Just knowing there are people out there who care means more than I can express.

Hello. I'm 22 years old and unemployed through no fault of my own. In December 2012, I had quite a nasty car crash and ended up really hurting my back. I lost my job and since then, I'm unable to find another one (apparently it looks really bad if you don't have work on your CV/Resume for 9/10 months!) I've decided, to try and help me get back into work, that I want to take a course in IT in January. However, this is going to cost me £720 (or $1145.74 if you're from the USA.) Being unemployed, it is almost impossible to raise this money and my family aren't in a financial position to help me either. I've already maxed out both my credit cards and my bank account is barely in the clear. I know this sounds a bit cliché, but every little does help and I would greatly appreciate any help that you can give. Thank you for taking the time to read this :)