{"id":179341,"date":"2025-11-13T23:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T23:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/179341\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T23:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T23:52:08","slug":"i-dont-know-what-to-do-im-72-with-a-minimum-wage-job-but-still-helping-my-daughter-financially-and-have-70k-in-debt-who-can-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/179341\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I don\u2019t know what to do.\u2019 I\u2019m 72 with a minimum wage job \u2013 but still helping my daughter financially and have $70K in debt. Who can help?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question: <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m a 72 year old female with no savings. I\u2019m still working a minimum wage job and paying for two trailers for my daughter and I on my credit card which means I\u2019m financing about $70,000. We also have to pay for parking for the trailers, insurance and registration. Last but not least, my health is becoming more and more questionable and I could end up in a wheelchair. If that happens, I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll do. I don\u2019t suppose there\u2019s any sort of financial advice out there for someone in my position, maybe even pro bono?\u201d (Looking for a financial planner too? This free tool from our partner SmartAsset can match you to financial planners<\/a>, as can sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.)<\/p>\n

Answer: <\/strong>There\u2019s no doubt you\u2019re in a difficult situation, but not all hope is lost \u2013 there are financial advisers who are low cost and those who are pro bono. But first, let\u2019s talk about the situation with your debt and your daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage it is less about investing and more about survival planning. The first step is to stop digging the hole deeper by addressing the credit card debt,\u201d says Gabriel Shahin, a certified financial planner, principal and founder of Falcon Wealth Planning. \u201cHigh interest debt will bury you, so looking into credit counseling or a nonprofit debt management program could reduce rates and consolidate payments. It\u2019s also important to explore government benefits you may be entitled to including Social Security, Medicaid or housing assistance. You\u2019re not alone and there are resources designed to protect seniors in exactly this position such as Section 8 housing for free rent, EBT and utility discounts,\u201d <\/p>\n

Furthermore, \u201cI would explore state programs that may be available for you from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to rental assistance, or even utility subsidies. Some states have programs for many of these types of services,\u201d says Joe Favorito, a CFP and principal at Landmark Wealth Management.<\/p>\n

Something else you might look into is reducing your spending. \u201cYou might consider moving into a single trailer,\u201d says Alonso Rodriguez Segarra, a CFP and CEO at Advise Financial. \u201cAs you mentioned, if your income were to decrease, both you and your daughter would face a more complex situation, so it would be good to analyze how to proceed to see if your daughter could start generating a little more income in order to cover the missing portion of income with this new income.\u201d<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re certainly well-intentioned when it comes to helping your daughter, the reality of paying for her trailer might not be the smartest move given your lack of savings. Are you able to push her to take some expenses on herself? \u201cA financial planner can help you review disability options with Social Security and other programs as well as evaluate whether filing for bankruptcy might make sense for you,\u201d says Segarra.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: \u201cYou\u2019re in a tough spot,\u201d says Anthony Ogorek, a CFP, president and founder of Ogorek Wealth Management. \u201cIn addition to the Financial Planning Association, the U.S. Department of Justice has a list of approved credit counseling agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

How to find an adviser to help you<\/p>\n

Finding a specialist with extensive experience in handling pro bono cases would be ideal. \u201cSome advisers dedicate a few hours a month to pro bono cases, but that doesn\u2019t mean they have a detailed understanding of all the assistance programs you might be eligible for,\u201d says Segarra. \u201cI\u2019m not going to suggest any credit card payment strategies because it\u2019s clear your expenses are exceeding your income.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact the Foundation for Financial Planning \u2013 they have a pro bono department \u2013 as soon as possible so you can begin working with a financial planner who can help you review disability options. \u201cThe important thing is to apply corrective measures as soon as possible,\u201d says Segarra. There are other pro bono help options here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In addition to the FPA and FFP, professional organizations like the CFP Board have professionals who set aside a portion of their time for pro bono cases. \u201cCommunity legal aid groups and even local credit unions often have programs that provide guidance at no cost,\u201d says Shahin. \u201cThe key is to reach out and ask. Be clear about your situation and you\u2019ll find professionals willing to help.\u201d (Looking for a financial planner too? This free tool from our partner SmartAsset can match you to financial planners<\/a>, as can sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.)<\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions edited for brevity and clarity. By emailing your questions to The Advicer, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch; they may appear anonymously in other media and platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: \u201cI\u2019m a 72 year old female with no savings. I\u2019m still working a minimum wage job and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[2552,8139,85029,79,13782,41565,6567,13062,101373,101368,18,101370,47522,18131,101369,3334,19,41586,3442,41557,17,84217,66910,101372,101371,47521,234,235,9436,44285,19363,41589,41574,827,41575,41590,41576,26243,82,10654],"class_list":{"0":"post-179341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-analysis","9":"tag-banking","10":"tag-banking-credit","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-corporate","13":"tag-corporate-industrial-news","14":"tag-credit","15":"tag-credit-cards","16":"tag-credit-types","17":"tag-credit-types-services","18":"tag-eire","19":"tag-electronic-payment-systems","20":"tag-financial-investment-services","21":"tag-financial-services","22":"tag-financial-technology","23":"tag-general-news","24":"tag-ie","25":"tag-industrial-news","26":"tag-investing","27":"tag-investing-securities","28":"tag-ireland","29":"tag-labor-issues","30":"tag-living-wage","31":"tag-minimum","32":"tag-minimum-living-wage","33":"tag-mpsmartasset","34":"tag-personal-finance","35":"tag-personalfinance","36":"tag-political","37":"tag-political-general-news","38":"tag-securities","39":"tag-selection-of-top-stories","40":"tag-selection-of-top-stories-trends-analysis","41":"tag-services","42":"tag-suggested-reading-industry-news","43":"tag-suggested-reading-investing","44":"tag-suggested-reading-investing-securities","45":"tag-synd","46":"tag-technology","47":"tag-trends"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}