<prompt> Human: My wife and I are at a turning point in our debt struggle. We are still current on all of our payments but we are barely getting by each pay period and are starting to have to put essentials clothes, food on credit cards at times. We both make decent salaries but have managed things poorly and we bought too large of a house. The house is now our only source of savings though, so we dont want to downsize and lose what we have paid into it. We have cut back on everything we can, including eating out and entertainment. We both require a broadband internet connection for work so that is the only semi-extravagance we have. My wife and daughter have special medical needs so maintaining our health insurance is a must. We live states away from all family so getting additional jobs is not an option as we work different shifts and making sure our daughter is cared for is already a juggling act.I am looking at what options I have that will open things up a bit so I can start knocking off more principle. Right now I am doing minimum payments and the interest is killing us.Some info, I am sure I am leaving out a lot: We have about 60k in credit card debt. House was financed at 260k. Current balance is 245k. Rough appraisal from realtor friend is 265k. So roughly 20k in equity. We each have roughly 10k in retirement savings, her in a 401k and me in an IRA. No other savings. After paying the mortgage, utilities, and bills each month roughly 5-6k, we barely have enough for gas and food, sometimes having to resort to buying on a credit card. Wife is currently looking into going back to school to finish her degree as her job is causing a lot of her health issues, due to stress. This will entail some student loans over the next two years.I am trying to figure out a way to find a reputable local debt counselor but my searching so far has not brought up anything that looked trustworthy. I am too ashamed to ask friends or co-workers for referrals and expect if I did, that they also would be too ashamed to admit to having acquaintances that could help.I read that its normally not a good idea to trade unsecured debt for secured, so that rules out the HELOC that I had in mind, which I thought was my best option. I really dont want to even look at Chapter 13 but without the HELOC option, I am starting to worry. Anyone have any ideas?  <response>: Could you do a bit more of a breakdown of income vs expenses? I see you say you spend 5-6K on bills - but 1000 is a BIG gap there so there must be something in the math that isnt adding up there.You can still use rough numbers, but monthly income and monthly expenses itemized out could help us help you see if there are things you can do outside of another loan in the form of a HELOC. 