<prompt> Human: When I was waitressing, I was in a joint account with my dad, letting him take money out to pay house rent and now everything is gone. My dad and I have been having conflicts because I suffer from depression and he strongly believes mental illnesses are a myth. I stopped working to return to college for computer science and I havent been doing well, at all,and campus services are rejecting their mental health services because they believe I have used their resources for too long. My dad had been really angry with me and so he left us, just like that. I wish I wasnt so damn stupid and depressed. There is no income in our family right now. And neither my mom or I know how to do taxes, pay bills or rent because my dad always assumed control. He didnt teach me when I asked. Right now we are both at loss and I only have the remains of my tips from waitressing to pay off bills. I failed two of my midterms and the financial stress is pushing me deeper down.I dont know anything about personal finance so Im trying my hardest to research with the links given in FAQ but the bulk of information has got me paralyzed and I was hoping to get advice on this post. What do I do and where do I start? I need help please and thank you for reading. Edit: Thank you very much for all your replies. Im really grateful to everyone for sending me their practical advice and best wishes. It really makes me happy to know that so many of you care about a stranger online. Also, I really want to note that I am not, in any way, going to accept donations. Its dangerous to send money to an online user because of your emotions. I came here for advice and I think that if a charity or donations are made to me, there will be a snowball effect for future posts and I dont want my issue to kickstart personalfinance into a donation pool for scammers. Again, thank you for everything and its been said and over done but I really cant thank you all enough. Edit2 Im really sorry I cant reply to all your comments. Please know that I read everything in my inbox and you are all very wonderful people. I think from everything Ive read, Ive learned that I need to start moving forward by taking responsibility, staying strong and take into mind what I dont want to hear and what I do so I can move forward by acknowledging and understanding everything thats on the table. I have a notepad filled with lots of links and advice to go through thanks to all of you. Im really happy for all your care and kindness. Thanks to everyone who responded and for all your help. Assistant: It sounds like your father wasis abusive and controlling. The first thing Id do is inform the police if there is anything you can think of that might be a crime his disappearance and his withdrawal of money from joint accounts is not, weird as that may seem. This might help you in several ways, not least of which would be preventing him from taking anything more. The second thing Id do is to try to stop blaming myself. You didnt cause your dad to leave, and any dad who would skip on his unemployed, ill daughter and his wife after taking all their money and not saying a word is a huge scumbag. Its his fault, not yours. Third thing Id do is call up all your creditors and tell them what happened. The primary earner in your household just disappeared on you. Many organizations will give you a break for a month or two while you try to get things in order. Fourth thing Id do is spend a couple of days seeing which government benefits, if any, I qualify for. I dont know what programs Canada has with regard to income support for destitute people, but anything will help. Fifth is that Id try to figure out what my expenses are - you and your mom really dont know what rent was? Can you look at bank statements or old bills to get estimates for everything else?And unfortunately, after youve done all these things, you and your mom are probably both going to have to get work - depending on your expenses you will probably have to put school on hold while you get back on your feet. Once you have some income coming in youll find its not too hard to pay bills. Cut a check for rent or however you usually do things in Canada - maybe electronic funds transfer? ask your landlord, and pay your other bills electricity, internet, phone, etc. after you pay your rent. In order of importance, your expenses are: food, rent, heat, everything else. Cut expenses as much as possible - cable TV? High-end phoneplan? Expensive internet? Get rid of them. You might be able to get away with not paying your heating bill for several months - most cold regions have a law preventing heat from being shut off during the winter months - but I would keep it very high on the list until youre sure you wont lose it. Your dad has left you scrambling, but I am absolutely sure you and your mom can get through this -- youve survived that asshole so far.Human: My mother persistently resists filing for missing person or a crime file on my dad. She doesnt explain herself but we havent set a foot into a police station and Im putting this idea on hold. I have no idea what creditors, bank statements or any finance terms other than tax and rent, and even with that I can explain it only as You pay every month for so and so. I dont know the how or logistics behind it. I do know my dad would pay for bills through his bank account, and since we have no access to that, I have no idea where to start. Inbetween my studies Im trying to find time to set up appointments with advisors to prepare me for the rough patch when my waitress tip money runs out. We really dont know how to do rent or bills - dad didnt need us to look or help. I did open a bank account, if that accounts for progress. Though the terms bank statements, credit scores and the idea of having to spend money every month with my VISA still confuses me. We have the most basic form of expenses. My cell plan is 25 and though the thing is a bit busted I still use it. Im also utilizing campus food bank since I dont have a car and cant travel to the citys food bank buses dont go near there and its winter Canada time. The heating bill is also, I heard, changing from 6cents to 3 cents from some rate next month, which is fortunate. Im still emotionally connected with my dad even if the shock of what he did hasnt left me yet. Isnt it survival of the fittest? I cant even explain my feelings anymore. Thank you very much for you reply. I appreciate the help and Ill journal yours and a few other comments to look back when Im not reviewing. Thank you again.  <response>: Keep your mother off of your new bank account.Talk to your university about financial counseling to help you learn how to manage your money and pay your bills. They also have emergency funds for students that can be disbursed, but you have to ask for them. Most banks will be able to help you set up everything you need to pay the bills. Talk to the people in your local branch.Take care of yourself! 