First I am so sorry for your loss. As for the money, I had to work three jobs when my husband was with me and still got the shut off notices, I have been down the path you are on. There is a light. I was lucky that finances were not an issue when he passed. I did go back to school and got my teaching certificate. More education can help increase your income. And so many degrees are offered online. I know it may sound silly to invest money you may not have in education, but it can work. I tell my students the greatest investment you make should be yourself (education). When I have a student who is graduating with not knowing what to do with their life, I always tell them to list their strengths, things they are good at and like to do and get creative on how they can make a living from that. The Internet has opened a huge door with working from home. Medical coding comes to mind. And don't forget to ask for help. This is hard for me. You maybe surprised what help will be given when asked. And sometimes you have to forget pride. There are alot of government agencies that can help. I hope this helps. Blessed Be!

I'm almost certain you can get Social Security for your two children since their parent passed. I'm hoping you already checked into that. It may not be much depending on how much your husband paid in but anything would be a blessing. hugs Arlene

ajm is correct, you should be receiving Social Security survivor benefits for the kids, and depending on your income level, benefits for yourself as you are raising the kids.

Some of the colleges and cities have women's centers that can help you sort out getting the advice you may need to figure out the best way forward financially, and may be able to help you get grants for additional training.

I checked and there is a Womens Resource Center in your city, here is a link to their site so you can get their contact info:

http://www.womenscentergso.org/

I hope this helps....

I am sorry for the loss of your husband and of your home. It's terrible that so many of us find ourselves in financial hardship as well as being emotionally devastated. Hang in there, don't give up.

Love and Hugs,
Martha

Max, you must feel as if you've hit the very bottom. I'm so sorry for your many loses.

As was mentioned, you need to contact Social Security. Then the resource center in your area and the want ad's. Many a job has been found from an ad either online or in the paper.

I know if feels like all you want to do is curl-up into a little ball but this is the time to pro-active and get yourself set up with money from SS and then another income.

Your life will start falling into place as YOU make things happen.

I wish you much luck and I'm passing my very best energy to you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again!

Roz

so sorry for your losses, I do lost my home, but it was before my husband passed, so I didn't have to that on my own, but I did have to watch him suffer the emotions of his thinking he was a failure. What happened was beyond his control, but he did not see it that way. Other than a job center in your community I do not have any suggestions for you. I can offer a little hope in that now that w/all the other stress I am going through w the loss of my husband and spending most weekend with my elderly mother, I can honestly say that while I miss owning a home (we were there well over 20 years) I know deep down that being a retner with a good landlord has actually turned out to be a blessing for me at this point in my life.

I was raised with SS survivors benefits. it really helped my mom.

When Cliff died, I didn't know about benefits for kids. It wasn't until I contacted Social Security to find out where the $255 lump sum death benefit was (I hadn't received it after 8 months), that they told me I should apply for my younger son. My younger son was still in school when Cliff died, and he is autistic. They took the information over the phone, then set me up with an appointment at the local Social Security office to meet with a caseworker type person. She went through my documents and my son qualified. His benefits were backdated to when Cliff died, so the initial amount he got was several months worth of back payments.

Because my son is permanently disabled, he continues to receive survivor benefits under Cliff's Social Security. Normally, the benefits are just through the school years. When I die, my son's benefits will be recalculated to see if he will receive more under my Social Security record as I worked longer than Cliff did. So he will likely get a boost in benefits at that point.

Here is a link to the Social Security website's page about children's benefits:

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/onyourown4.html

It is worth it to contact them. I hope this helps.

Love and Hugs....

Dear Maxim... I do understand a little of what you are going through. I have two daughters, and I am having to sell our home, it sits on 7 acres, and I can keep affording this high morgtage. I believe you can get social security on the kids. Also if your over the age of 50 you can collect, I believe its 70 percent off his earned wages through social security.I know you don't want to hear this, because I didn't but now that some time has gone by since my sean passed, I know this to be the truth. Everything happens for a reason, we may not know, understand or like it, but it happens regardless. Maybe after some time, it will have been a good thing. Really and truly, if you believe, faith is all you need. The rest will fall into place. It;s like this.. ok scenario.. Ok your in a rush, and you get stopped by a train, ok who can raise there hand to say it happened to them, MEEEEE.. Im raising my hand it happened to me just this past weekend. Ok back to the scenario. Ok now your furious, right? Well, sometime down the road, you see a tragic accident that looks like it had jus happened. You think back at the train stop, and you think what if I hadn't been stopped by that train, I might have been the one hurt. We all know life brings lots of tragedies our way, but we also have triumphs. You are a brave soul, and your kids are proud of you. Don''t doubt your ability to survive and heal. I know you will be ok, hope, faith, and love is all we need. Of course it helps if we get a little help aong the way. You are worthy, and you are valued. Much love carla

So sorry for your loss. Very similar story to mine. Check into SS for the kids. It will date back to the sate of his passing. Also check with any life insurance through his employer. Our kids get a monthly benefit from his union retirement. I know these phone calls are hard to make, but it saved us from losing everything after the kids lost their father.

When you call SS, just tell them what happened. They were great with me and walked me through everything. You will need the death certificate, the kids birth certificates and your marriage license. Best of luck.