<prompt> Human: Hi PF folk,My boyfriends Mom 55 recently moved in with us California, North Bay with her teenage daughter 15F because her husband retired and so stopped providing childspousal support payments. Her financial situation is a complete mess. She got divorced a few years ago, and has subsisted largely on child and spousal support payments 2600 per month as well as side income from housekeeping 500 - 1000 per month. But she has poor health and can no longer do cleaning work, a number of food allergies, and an unrealistic obsession with moving back to San Francisco has been pursuing employment opportunities in a few preschools in SF, but progress is slow. Finally got her to sit down and talk me through her situation, and its really bad. Like I actually think that she should declare bankruptcy. She has no savings, almost no social security retirement funds never worked, and has difficulty being employed. Would really appreciate PFs advice. Her current Credit Score: 540 was 600, but has dropped significantly as shes stopped being able to pay bills when support payments were suspendedCredit Card Debts - Debts spread across 5 Cards, 25-30 APR - 3000- Debt on card with 0 APR until Oct 2016 and 25 thereafter - 2000- Debt on Macbook for 15yo bought on a promotional card 0 APR, deferred financing, until Jul 2017 - 1200- 2x Secured Credit Cards has 500 CD each, with 0.5 on one and 0.1 on the other, 10 APR - 1050Total Credit Card Debt: 7,000. Minimum monthly payments: 200Other Debts- 3000 auto loan on 18 interest Minimum 90mth- 5000 owed to relatives growing figure, possible write offStudent Loans- 73,000, 4.25, no minimum payment. Incomplete Bachelors Degree education since 1999, apparently refinanced in 2013 after going into default.Expenses 3000 for 2 pax, inclusive of rent currently not being paid, but excluding minimum payments 300 and rising- Renting boyfriends 1b1ba at 1000 per month, utilities waived market rate in area is 1300-1500 for 1b1ba. We were in the middle of renovations and she moved in before we could put in a kitchen. - 500 gas transport daily 60 miles commute to SF - 500 groceries 200 eating out groceries are expensive imo because she insists on eating organic, and has a ton of food allergies. She also says it may be high because she has no kitchen and a very small fridge. I went through some of her statements, it seems like she shops at wholefoodscommunity market type places, which are ridiculously expensive - 270 phone plan with Sprint Im not sure why this is so expensive. includes plan for herself, 2 children not my boyfriend, ipad not used, iPhone 6 idk why she went with such an expensive phone, phone insurance. I told her she needs to call Sprint and minimally stop paying for ipad, phone insurance, would appreciate advice on what else to look out for- 75 monthly repayment for childhood education course that was completed this year 2000 balance remaining, 0 interest- 60 entertainment Netflix, itunes, movies for 2pax once every 2 weeks- 20 clothes, shopping- 120 propertyauto insurance- 50 dog yes they have a dog - 55 - healthcare and prescription medication - 40 - public transport for 15yo going to school - 20 - monthly legal service for divorce attorney- 40 - public storage she seems to have a hoarding problem- 300 - schooling fees for 15yo currently waivedIrregular expenses- Car: huge money sucker even excluding registration, smog, oil change, etc., auto repairs have been 2500 in ytd, with an additional 3000 works pending- Subscribes to Amazon Prime and Costco 200 per year- Books, Education for 15yo wasnt able to find out how much this is per yearIncome- Support Payments: was previously 2600 per month, stopped receiving payments in July, but now receives 1000 per month through the forced garnishing of ex-husbands retirement payments for child support. Probably unlikely that she will get much more in future since its impossible to squeeze money if he doesnt have any to provide. Theyre going to court in September.- Income: Patchy, income for substitute teaching in August was 400, will get 1000 in September substituting at a preschool in San Francisco. Her costs of commute are 25 of the daily pre-tax wages she receives 20 out of 80. Apparently there may be more permanent pre-school teaching jobs opening in Sept 2016 1600 per month and Jan 2017 2000 per month. Both are 2030 hours per week, and I doubt they come with any kind of benefits.- Food Stamps: Have just applied and submitting paperwork for means testing. It appears that shes marginally above the income threshold of 1,300 per month for 2 pax and may not qualify. Her income for August was 1,400 including 1,000 in child supportPrelim Thoughts- Not sure what might be a good way to transfer the balances of her high interest credit cards. Im thinking she should do that, and concurrently work on slashing her expenses. - I think her expenses are ridiculous, especially food and phone. But shes convinced that shes already living as frugally as she possibly can. She has gluten allergies no rice or bread and has been advised by the doctor that she needs to consume meat as part of her diet, but the only meat she can consume is beef, apparently. Also she insists on no GMOs, organic only for health reasons. Not sure if PF has good advice on how to cut this, as well as where else she may be able to shave expenses- Shes thinking of selling off the car and taking a car lease instead. The payments seem to be 90 per month as well, but she wont need to pay for repairs which have been quite substantial.- I personally think her bids for employment in SF is an exercise in futility, because even if she does get employed shes never going to earn enough to meet her financial needs. Not sure what sort of work she should actually be gunning for as a senior with health issues and no work experience though. - She grew up and has family in Oklahoma where COL is substantially lower. Boyfriend and I are thinking that she should move back there.- I think that bankruptcy might be an option for her, but Im not sure how that might affect her debts.- Not sure what else she can do. Shes been applying for food stamps.Any advice is appreciated!  <response>: Ugh, I make significantly more than her, live in a lower cost of living area, and absolutely do not consider myself to be able to afford a 1200 laptop, a 600 phone, a 270 cell phone bill, and regular grocery shopping at whole foods. Also, Amazon Prime ... what the heck? She shouldnt be buying anything on Amazon in that situation. She should have been saving a significant amount of money from the government imposed shakedown of her ex husband , and other sources of income.In-sane. 